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)
“What about a satellite phone? Don’t you guys come equipped with them? We could just call back to the rest of the clan,” Sam demanded.
Vasily shook his head. “No good. We’ve tried in the past, but there’s too much magical interference in these woods from the various creatures and maybe even the Sousa.” He shrugged. “It’s like there’s a blanket over this area—no signal gets in or out.”
Sam deflated a little, staring down at the remains of his sandwich. A snack had turned into an early lunch, though it hadn’t been much—sandwiches and fruit. Just enough to sustain them until they made camp that night, but it was clear that Sam didn’t have much of an appetite.
“Dimitri…” Sam started, then fell silent again.
“What? Help me to understand. I’m asking for only a couple of days’ pause so we can make sure you’re safe. More dragons.”
“And more mages. No offense,” Gregori tacked on very quickly.
Sam waved it off. “None taken. I get it. I can’t use magic.”
“But they can sweep the area for more traps as well as dismantle any we find. These, I’m sorry to say, are outside my experience. We can trigger them in our dragon form and protect you…”
Sam was quick to shake his head. “No. That’s not an option.”
“It’s doubtful that they’re powerful enough to hurt us,” Vasily countered.
“I’m not thrilled with that idea, but it’s more than that. What if the booby trap is linked to other traps? What if it causes some kind of cascade that damages the site of the Sousa Clan? I don’t want to take that risk. We go over or we go around if we can’t safely dismantle them.”
“If we leave—”
“Please, I know the danger to me is driving you and your dragon crazy, but we’re too close now. I-I can’t turn back. Just a little farther. I—” Sam’s voice quavered and Dimitri immediately grabbed him, pulling him as close as he could without actually putting the man in his lap.
“Talk to me. What’s this about?”
Sam didn’t fight him. In fact, the mage leaned into him. “The Sousa… It’s not only about finding this lost clan the world has forgotten about. They…their technology… There are legends and stories that say their tech could fix broken magical cores.”
The bomb left them all silent. Even the animals of the forest seemed to have briefly lost their voices while Dimitri’s brain struggled to process what he’d heard.
Tech to fix magical cores.
Tech that could fix his mate.
Holy shit. Holyshitholyshitholyshit.
No wonder Sam was so desperate to find where the Sousa last lived. There had to be notes, books, relics of the old tech left behind. If they could get their hands on it, share it with the mages of his clan—all the fucking mages around the globe—they’d be able to fix his adorable mate in no time.
“Are you kidding me? They can fix cores?” Luka choked out first.
“I don’t have absolute proof, but there are some early notes and a lot of legends about it. They are the only mage clan ever believed to have this skill. Even the renowned Abe Clan couldn’t completely fix one. But the Sousa could. I believe they figured it out. All the stories about them involve healing, with the most remarkable being that they could heal cores.”
“Whoa…” Vasily breathed.
“Forget what I said earlier. We’re pushing on,” Dimitri announced.
Sam placed both hands on Dimitri’s chest and shoved so that he could look directly into his eyes. His lover’s face was flushed and those perfect lips parted but, for a second, no sound came out.
“Are-are you serious? You’re willing to keep going. Your dragon doesn’t mind? It’s not panicked?”
Dimitri lifted his hand and cupped one of his mate’s cheeks. “Sammy, my dragon and I will always be worried about your safety. That will never end. But if fixing your core will make you happy, if it will make you feel more complete, then I will move the mountains and reverse the flow of the rivers to get it done.”
“Thank you,” Sam exhaled in a rush. The mage crashed into him, mashing their lips together in a brutal kiss that left Dimitri half convinced Sam wanted to devour him. Dimitri was only too happy to let him.
His dragon was an anxious, excited mess, but having Sam happy and pliant in his arms went a long way to soothing those fears. They could find whatever they needed to make his mage happy, and they could keep him safe along the way.
Three booby traps later and Dimitri’s paranoia was back with a vengeance. He absolutely refused to let Sam walk ahead of him. Sam was torn between finding this overprotectiveness endearing and wanting to smack Dimitri for it. The entire reason he held his impatience in check was that Dimitri was still willing to go forward. Despite the danger it meant, he was right in step with Sam the entire way.