frown. “But what about you? What about what you need? Don’t you want to stay with your family? You can’t just think about Ravi.”
“Of course, I’d miss home if I left.” Sora didn’t think he’d be particularly homesick, though. He’d not felt homesick at all his entire stay here, and that said something all by itself.
That satisfied her. “Then you should come home with Ravi. It’ll be better for him anyway to be around the wind dragons.”
Sora was not so quick to dismiss the subject. “But, Kaa-san, it’s about more than being around family. There’s no challenge at home. There’s no chance for me to really use my skills. Honestly, day to day, I’m a little bored at home. There’s not much to do.”
Her jaw dropped. “Bored?!”
His father, however, understood his son’s point and grunted in agreement. “Everyone’s accustomed to going to the older generation. Us. Very few go to you for help. I usually have to shuffle people in your direction.”
Inclining his head to his father, Sora said, “Yes, that’s it exactly. I don’t feel needed at home. I’m not vital. It’s very much the same old thing there every day. There’s no reason to innovate. Nothing to challenge my mind. But here, I would be needed.
“If you’d seen the look on King Alric and Consort Cameron’s faces when I told them that I could help him, that I could reverse some of the damage done—it was like hope had finally risen again on this clan. They thanked me over and over. They were so ecstatic about my being here. It was that moment when I realized what a dearth of knowledge they have here.”
“But we’ll send in help. It doesn’t have to be you,” his mother protested, growing irate.
“And I’m sure they’ll happily accept that help from everyone who comes. But how long can those people be here?” Sora waved a hand toward his father’s laptop, still open but untouched during this discussion. “We just asked the question. How many? How long can they stay? This isn’t indefinite. And the Burkhards need a dedicated healer.”
“And it doesn’t have to be you!” Her voice rose in frustration. “Sora, are you really going to stay here? I want you home, not on a warfront. You and Ravi aren’t even properly bonded yet, and how are you supposed to have children in this clan? They don’t have enough mages to support it.”
“You just said you’d help support an incubator when Ravi and I are ready,” Sora pointed out with ruthless logic. “Are you saying that’s conditional on us being home?”
His father dismissed this with a wave of both hands. “No, no, your mother didn’t mean that.”
“I might,” she fumed. “Because trying to have a child out here, on a warfront, isn’t smart.”
The realization spread through him in a tight, tingling, unpleasant way. But he was no less sure. Sora hadn’t really thought of it in those terms, but this was a warfront. A dangerous place, and Ravi was a key element to protecting not only the king, but his family. Taking him away from here was not the answer. Not when Burkhard was in such dire straits.
“If I try to take Ravi from here, with his family still in danger, all it will do is break his heart. I know he loves me. I love him just as fiercely. I will not ask him to return with me. I will not demand that of him.”
His mother’s jaw dropped. “Sora!”
Resolve and relief with a dash of excitement sang through his veins. Talking this out with his parents had made it very clear what the better choice was. He’d still speak properly with Ravi about this, and if his wind dragon wanted to go back to join Sora’s clan, then Sora would respect that. But he didn’t give that possibility very high odds. He knew Ravi better than that.
His father didn’t seem much happier about this.
“But what about you, Sora? It’s all well and good to want to prioritize Ravi, but a healthy relationship requires that both partners’ needs are met. You can’t let him take priority when it comes to a decision this big.”
Sora was shaking his head before his father could trot all of that out.
“I’m needed here. Respected and valued here. Of course, my family loves me, I’m in no doubt of that. But I’m not needed. I can’t describe this right. But I feel a strong satisfaction in this clan. I adore the people here and how they love