glass doors behind them, his entire attention on Sora.
Sora glanced at the mountains all around them. It was a breathtaking view, no doubt about that. Ravi had always found it picturesque. And the wind was sharp and clear today, a delight to breathe in.
“This reminds me of home, but it’s so different at the same time,” Sora observed.
“Yes,” Ravi purred, “do tell me more about your home.”
Sora turned those keen, dark eyes on him, evaluating. As if he could see right through to the back of Ravi’s skull.
“Do you want me to wax poetic about the mountains there, with their snow-touched peaks? I think you really want to know why I came here. Why I didn’t say something sooner.”
Ravi nodded fervently. “That. Tell me all of that.”
Sora braced his back against the stone balustrade, hands on either side of his hips, and spoke calmly. Without embarrassment or hurry, he laid it out, each word like a stone laying down a path.
“The Sodalicium is…insulated. We are rich in magic, our very environment hums with it, and we all have our tasks, our duties. I grew up only knowing my home and what I could see of the outside world through pictures. I had everything I wanted, in a sense. A perfect environment to thrive in as a mage. And I was bored to tears.”
He joined Sora at the railing, leaning his body weight against it as standing was a bit taxing. He wasn’t about to complain to Sora, though. Ravi was riveted by the man’s every word.
“So much was already accounted for. Already prepared for, or accomplished, and there wasn’t any reason to hone my skills, except for my personal satisfaction. I wanted a challenge. I wanted to breathe air that didn’t smell of magic. I wanted to see something of the world I lived in, to take it in with my own senses.”
Sora looked levelly at him, a half-smile quirking the corner of his mouth.
“I traveled outside of my clan’s borders often, for that reason. To see more of the world. But what I found was a human world. It was tame compared to what I was used to, and I couldn’t show my true nature when I was out there. It hampered me in a different way. It didn’t include dragons and mages.
“Traveling only took the edge off my frustration. I needed some kind of purpose. Something that I could contribute to in a meaningful way. And I struggled to find it within my clan or in the human world.
“And then I saw a certain interview with a dragon king and his consort.” Sora’s smile broadened at the memory. “I watched them and thought—this was my sign. It was finally the right time for my clan to join the rest of the world again. I hoped that it meant something for me personally, too.
“That’s why I came, to see and judge with my own eyes. I never expected to find such danger here. My family was leery of me coming, and using a false name was a way to pacify them. They weren’t willing to commit to anything until I had checked out the situation here.”
Ravi felt like this was an apology and held up a hand to stop him. “I totally understand your reasoning; you don’t need to feel guilty about it. We were in hiding for five hundred years, remember? We have no room to throw stones at that glass house.”
The line of tension riding high in Sora eased.
“Thank you. I do feel better hearing that. It grated on me, not being able to tell you the full truth. You seemed to trust me completely, and yet I was hiding things.”
“But you obviously got permission from your clan? To tell us? Or did you decide to be a rebel and tell us anyway?”
“Oh, I got permission. After twisting my mother’s arm a bit. I told her of the attacks you’ve suffered, of how alone you are in this battle, and that I wasn’t having it. It’s wrong to expect you to battle the Jaeggi alone. The Council—the leaders of the Sodalicium—agreed, and finally gave me permission to be honest with you.”
“I’m really glad,” Ravi admitted. Even those words were a vast understatement. If voted for the understatement of the year, those three words would have won. “And if you’re looking for a challenge, you have definitely come to the right place.”
Sora threw his head back with a laugh that turned into a groan.