life here and couldn’t imagine being happier. Hoheit and the entire clan have cared for me and made me their family.”
A loud sigh of relief left Balin, and he nodded, looking as if he were fighting back tears. “Sora said the same, but it is good to hear it from you.”
Ravi turned and hugged Sahan again, earning a laugh from the man.
“But I’ve got a cousin now!” He smiled at Chandi, who smiled back at him. “And I think you will be a great cousin for me, as well.” He looked over at Balin. “But you’re more of an uncle. Definitely Uncle Balin, I think. A dragon can always use more family.”
Balin laughed deeply as he rested his arm on Sora’s shoulder. Ravi couldn’t believe it. He was standing with three wind dragons. But not just any wind dragons. Balin had known his parents, and Sahan was related to him. And while he didn’t know Chandi, one look at her told him she was going to be the best partner-in-crime when she finally got comfortable around him.
“Do I have more family?” he couldn’t help but ask, bouncing on his toes with excitement.
“Oh, yes, several more cousins. You haven’t met all of us,” Chandi assured him. “We’re just the first to meet you.”
Sahan fidgeted next to Ravi, pulling his phone from his pocket. He unlocked it and opened the photo gallery.
“We wanted to bring the real thing, but we were afraid it might be damaged on the flight. Balin thought it would be safer if we took a picture for now and then worry about getting the original to you later.”
“What?”
Sahan handed him the phone, and on the screen was a picture of what looked to be a very old portrait. A man and a woman stood together, the woman holding a small baby with black hair. Behind the trio was a large blue dragon with scales that were an interesting mix of sky blue and shining sapphire.
“Those are your parents, Ravi,” Balin explained. “The painting was made when you were only about six months old. Your mother demanded that your father be painted in his dragon form, as well, because she said he had the bluest and shiniest scales of all the dragons.”
Ravi’s legs finally gave out, and he sat on the ground in the middle of the courtyard, cradling the phone in both hands as if it were the most precious thing in the world. He couldn’t tear his eyes away, even after his vision became blurry with tears. He sniffed and roughly wiped the tears away.
His parents. And young. They looked so very young. His father was a couple inches taller than his mother and had a handsome, kind face. His arm was wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her in tight against him. His mother was gorgeous and regal. She looked like she was meant to be a queen. And he was there, in her arms. Looking at the picture, he could see that he had his father’s nose, his mother’s curly hair and eyes. He was definitely a blend of his parents.
While the adults were looking forward, as if staring at the painter, he couldn’t miss the fact that the dragon was staring down at his mother with a look of absolute love and devotion.
The portrait was absolutely perfect.
It was the first time he’d seen a picture of his parents. Ravi wanted to latch onto it and stare at it for a few days. His throat felt tight with unshed tears; he was so overwhelmed with love and grief.
“Thank you,” he finally managed in a choked voice. “I—I didn’t know what they looked like. Hoheit has described them, but he never could have shared this much detail. And my dad’s dragon…I think I have some of his same coloring.”
“If you’d like me to send it to you—” Sahan started to offer.
Ravi was immediately shoving the phone back into his hands while firing off his contact information. He wanted a copy on his phone, and then he’d ask Cassie if she could clean it up a little bit so he could have it printed for his room. He wanted it hanging on his wall so he could always look up and see his parents there. At least, until he got his hands on the original painting.
It all seemed too much. He had wind dragons. He had a family. He had a picture of his parents. Sora had made it all possible.