Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 84237 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84237 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Sam grunted as if he agreed with his logic. “Maps were not known for their accuracy back in the day, shall we say, and some of the records don’t quite agree with the map I do have. I know it was somewhere around the Parque Nacional da Serra da Bocaina. Or north of it. The ship captain’s log said they landed in Tarituba, or what’s known today as Tarituba, and then the dragons came south to help them.”
“Hence you want to start from Tarituba and work your way north. I get it. But that means a lot of hiking for you, Sam-I-Am.”
Sam sighed. Deeply. From the soul. Reactions like that made him even more fun to tease.
“Samuel. Please. And yes, I’m aware, but I’m up for it. I spent a year training so I could physically handle the terrain that lies ahead of us.”
They’d see about that. Going to a gym on a regular basis and hiking in Brazil’s mountains with a heavy backpack were two incredibly different things. Dimitri would reserve judgement for now.
They continued down the winding 101, heading along the coastline. The view was breathtaking with the sea crashing on the left side, the right broken up by various towns. The mountains rose in the distance, covered in a thick canopy of trees, storm clouds grazing the tops and threatening rain with the dense feeling of moisture in the air. It smelled like a storm approaching.
Much like the man beside him.
Why was Sam so dead set against being a mage? It made no sense to Dimitri. Evora had even tested him and the result was a clear yes. Sam had told her she was only picking up on his latent ability, that he wasn’t actually a mage, but that wasn’t possible according to Evora. Latent ability didn’t show up on that device. If it did, they’d be getting a lot of false positives.
There was something else to this story. Something that would make sense of it all.
Dimitri decided to poke at the prickly doctor and see what he’d confess. Might as well. They had nothing but time.
“Sammy, I’m going to be nosy.”
Sam sighed again, head leaning against the window with a thunk. “Color me surprised. Nosy about what, Dimmy?”
Oh, two could play this game. Dimitri was thrilled he was dishing it back at him, finally. “You said you’re from a mage family. And you have a twin?”
“Right.”
“Identical or fraternal?”
“Identical. Well, really, it’s easy to tell us apart. We are polar opposites in personality.”
“Most twins are, I’ve found. You’re not the only mage twins we know of in this generation.”
That brought his head back up and he looked at Dimitri curiously. “I’m not?”
“No. Cameron Burkhard is a twin. Fraternal—he has a sister who’s also a mage. Cassie. She’s…” Dimitri tried to find the right word to describe the strange woman. He’d not spent a lot of time with her when he’d been living in the Burkhard Castle, but then she tended to make an impression even over a quick introduction. “She’s…unique.”
“Oh. How interesting. Actually, the odds of that happening, genetically speaking, are practically astronomical.”
“I know. Not that anyone’s complaining. Both of them are brilliant mages and are apparently very sweet to their mates. Their grandmother couldn’t be prouder of them.” Realizing he probably didn’t know, Dimitri tacked on, “Their grandmother is our new clan consort. She’s mated to Rodrigo. I don’t think you got the chance to meet her. She’s been busy working with the newest mages to join our clan as well as talking with the mages back in Germany about the new dragon babies on the way.”
Sam’s jaw dropped. “Wait, she has to be in her seventies or thereabouts, right? You can get mated that late in life?”
“Sure. What does age have to do with it? I’m honestly relieved for my king. He’s spent so much of his life alone, waiting to meet her. They’re giddy with it now. She’s even promised him children of his own, which we’re joyful about. We haven’t had a birth in the clan in five hundred years.”
“Holy shit.” Sam shook his head in disbelief. “That’s amazing. Good for them. Truly, good for them. Finding love like that is rare.”
Oh? There was something in his voice. Some trace of bitterness. Dimitri was going to say something else, but he homed in on that instead. “You sound wistful.”
“Who wouldn’t want to find love like that?” Sam dodged.
Dimitri’s heart twisted in his chest at Sam’s evasive comment. Anger at Kevin for hurting Sam, but it was mixed with a tiny bloom of hope that maybe Sam hadn’t been so burned by the man that he’d given up on love altogether. Dimitri let it go and moved to his previous topic. “Genetically speaking, it’s damn near impossible for one twin to be a mage and the other not.”