Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 40738 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 204(@200wpm)___ 163(@250wpm)___ 136(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40738 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 204(@200wpm)___ 163(@250wpm)___ 136(@300wpm)
“Enter!” Alric called.
He stepped through, while the shorter dragon shut the door behind them and approached the desk where his king sat.
Alric looked lighter these days, far happier than anyone could recall seeing him. His mate and consort, Cameron, likely had much to do with that. Alric must have done something official today, as he wore an impeccable black three-piece suit with a white shirt and tie, setting off his dark hair. He’d always been a handsome man, their king, but as he looked up at Warin with a smile, it was easy to see how Cameron had fallen for him.
“What is it, Warin?” Alric asked. “And sit, I haven’t talked to you properly in weeks.”
“You have been a little busy,” Warin pointed out, taking the chair he’d been gestured to.
“Moving an entire family from one country to another proved to be more of a challenge than anticipated,” Alric admitted with a grimace. “The paperwork alone was outside my expectations. But happily, we’re all settled now.”
That ‘we’ was meant literally, as Alric had redone his own rooms to accommodate his new spouse moving into them. But that was only the tip of the iceberg. Alric and Dieter had worked hard to get Cameron, his twin sister Cassie, and Cameron’s grandmother Ha Na officially moved from the United States to Germany. “I’m glad to hear it.”
“Did you come to chat or with a problem?”
Warin gestured irritably toward his back. “Problem, unfortunately. I feel this sensation from time to time; a tugging. Do you remember how it felt if a mage caught hold of some part of you and used it as the focus for a seeking spell? That’s how it feels.”
Alric’s easy attitude abruptly fell away, replaced by sharp interest and concern. “How many times have you felt it? No, wait—Ravi, go and fetch Lisette immediately. Gunter as well, if you can drag him out of his dungeon.”
Ravi arched a dark eyebrow at him and pulled his phone out of his pocket, tapping in a message.
“Right,” Alric sighed, watching him do so. “I will get in the habit of using my mobile. Eventually. I just don’t think of texting someone first.”
Warin gave him a commiserating smile. It was the same for him. He and Alric were close in age—Warin had only thirty or so years on his king—and while they handled new technology well enough, they weren’t in the habit of it. For hundreds of years, if they wanted to speak to someone, they got up and went to them. The idea of calling for them was still something settling in.
“Both are coming,” Ravi reported a moment later. “Hoheit, I was in the hallway with him when it happened this last time. I saw absolutely no one nearby. I don’t think this is a prank.”
“I do not doubt Warin’s senses. He’s had seeking spells used on him many times. I’m sure he’s correct in what it is. But with the Jaeggi about and causing trouble, it behooves us to be wary about this. If they’ve somehow found a scale of his, or hair, or some such item, then it could cause a great deal of trouble. While the Jaeggi know where Burkhard Castle is located, this person could be using the spell to track when you leave the protection of the castle.”
Precisely Warin’s concern. He’d already accompanied Baldewin on an expedition to track down a mage. He wouldn’t allow the Jaeggi to track him on another trip like that, potentially leading the bastards to another vulnerable mage. They still had no idea what their ultimate purpose was, but there was no doubt in his mind it was bad. Very, very bad.
The clan had been responsible for the Dragon War five hundred years ago and seemed perfectly willing to start more trouble in modern times.
Lisette appeared in a rush, her colorful skirts flapping about her ankles as she walked right into the king’s office. “What’s this I hear about Warin under magical attack?”
Just what had Ravi typed? Warin shook his head and corrected her, “I believe someone is using a seeking spell on me. Hopefully one of your students?”
The head mage of the Burkhard Clan gave him a look like he’d lost his mind. “We’d have asked permission before practicing on you, you know that.”
“I do,” Warin sighed. “I just would have preferred it.”
Lisette gestured for him to stand and walked around him, examining him carefully from all angles. The mage had more magical information locked in her brain than any other mage he’d ever met. If anyone could figure out what in the world was happening to him, it was Lisette. “I do see a wisp of magic, trailing from your tailbone and out. It’s faint, but that’s likely because the seeker is working from a great distance. Incredibly powerful, whoever this mage is, to still be able to find you. When did this happen? Was it the first time?”