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)
“His mate,” Dimitri finished in a near growl as his arm wrapped across Sam’s waist from behind.
Okay, a touch caveman. Well, Sam had to admit that it seemed rather on point for a possessive, overprotective dragon. He patted Dimitri’s hand on his stomach gently, trying to reassure him.
“I’m Anje Jaeggi, leader of this enclave,” the woman mage said in heavily accented English, her eyes locked on Rodrigo.
“I’m Lester Jaeggi,” Lester quickly interjected, continuing the conversation with more ease and a tentative smile. “Sam told us about what has happened recently with the Jaeggi in Europe. We want no part of them. We left the main part of the clan decades ago to pursue our own means of survival that had nothing to do with old grudges and wars. We have no interest in continuing the war with the dragons and mage clans. We wish only to fix our magic and live in peace.”
Rodrigo stood stiff and silent for several seconds before giving a nonchalant shrug. “Sure. We’re fine with that.”
As Lester relayed those two short sentences with a kind of wonder in his voice, mouths fell open in a massive wave across all of the Jaeggi. Even Sam was staring at the king as if he’d lost his mind. Really? Was it that simple? He’d hoped and prayed that it would be, but there had been a darker part of his mind that feared the Valerii weren’t going to punish these Jaeggi for being Jaeggi? He was just going to let it go?
Rodrigo turned his head a little toward Sam and offered a small smile before looking at Lester and Anje again. “We fought the war five centuries ago and I lost too much of my clan. Yet another battle was fought less than a year ago. The Jaeggi who wanted to hurt both dragons and mages alike are dead. And those who simply want what you want—to be healed and to live a peaceful life—are now finding a second chance among other mages and dragons. There’s nothing to be gained by holding on to the hate. We are only hurting everyone by clinging to the past.”
As the translator spread Rodrigo’s words, Sam watched the wave of relief and even tear-filled joy spread through the gathered people. Sam had brought news less than an hour ago that threw their entire world into chaos. They had thought they might be teetering on the brink of annihilation thanks to angry, vengeful dragons.
He understood. Only an hour had passed since he’d thought that Rodrigo would order his death or at least demand he be separated from Dimitri because of his Jaeggi bloodline.
“We simply ask that you share what you have discovered with our clan as well as the other dragon and mage clans,” Evora interjected. “We are happy to help in any way that we can.”
Lester nodded. “We are happy to accept your help. We are just asking that all artefacts for the Sousa be left here at the site for the time being. It’s important that we keep everything we find intact and in place while we continue to unravel their knowledge.”
“From what I’ve seen of their work, there are a number of pieces missing from the Sousa’s magical and technological advances,” Sam added, fearful that Rodrigo wouldn’t agree to their request out of possible mistrust. “Plus, we are still working on all the translations. I need to teach them the Tupi language so they have a fuller understanding of what they have discovered. We can make scans of books and take pictures of everything we’ve found. Upload it to a shared cloud so all the mages and dragons can study it.”
He didn’t want Rodrigo to believe for a second that this information wouldn’t be shared. What the Sousa had created was a gift that needed to be shared with all mages around the world. But it was still going to take a lot of time to translate and understand what they had found. As excited as he was, there was part of him that was still hurting that the answer to his own broken core wasn’t sitting right in front of him.
But he was close. Closer than he’d been in his entire life.
Rodrigo nodded. “Then I say we declare a truce, right here, right now. We promise to help each other uncover the knowledge of the Sousa and then share what we learn.”
“Yes. Yes, we can agree to that,” Anje said eagerly after Lester completed the translation. She stepped forward, hand extended toward Rodrigo.
The king of the Ice Dragons’ eyes widened slightly as if surprised by the immediate agreement. Sam wasn’t as surprised by her actions. The Jaeggi in Brazil had no interest in fighting, just healing their magic. Plus, their numbers were tiny compared to the Valerii Clan. They had no hope of surviving a fight against the dragons and mages.