head was spinning too much to respond appropriately.
“No, b-but…you look thirty. Maaaaybe mid-thirties, I can possibly see thirty-five. But sixty-three?!”
“Mages age more slowly. You know that.” Sora shrugged as if this weren’t a big deal. “I’m sure North, Cameron, and Cassie are all—”
“In their twenties, exactly as they look,” Ravi cut in dryly.
Sora blinked at him. “Really? I assumed they were a good decade older than that. Tori?”
“He’s thirty-five, also exactly as he looks. But then, a hard life aged him a bit.”
“But…why?”
“My guess is, they weren’t using magic regularly up until they joined us. Hell, Cameron and Cassie didn’t even know they could use magic.”
“Ahhh. That would do it. A mage who doesn’t activate their magical core on a regular basis ages just like any other human.” Sora made a humming noise. “It is curious to me that so many of the mages who found their way to Burkhard are male, too. That’s unusual. I, myself, am considered unusual because I’m male.”
“Gunter’s been really curious about it, too. He keeps digging into the question. He wonders whether it’s a matter of luck or statistics.”
This seemed a good segue into some of the other questions Ravi really wanted answers to. There was a great deal about Sora he’d not had a chance to discover. And, for once, they weren’t in danger of being interrupted.
In fact, they were on their way to meet the Sodalicium members, who were to land in Munich in about two hours. At the airport, they would be picking up another couple of rental cars to hold everyone.
Alric had offered more dragons for protection, but apparently the Sodalicium were traveling with their own entourage of bodyguards. That was fine with Ravi. It meant he was able to travel alone with Sora and it was blissful, having this one-on-one time with the man he was quickly falling for.
Sometimes Ravi had to pinch himself, half-convinced he was dreaming. He had a hard time believing that he’d caught this man’s attention. Sora was just so much. Everything Ravi admired in a person. And the way he looked at Ravi, as if the sun shone for him alone, made Ravi melt every time. He wanted to know more about this beautiful man. He wanted to know everything. And he feared that even a lifetime wouldn’t be enough.
It was hard to contain his excitement sometimes, as he wanted to glomp Sora. All the time. He shouldn’t, though, and he found outlets to his eagerness—namely, doing other things, like asking questions. He did have a lot of questions. So that was easy. No time like the present, right?
“Tell me more about your family, your home. You’ve only thrown me hints.”
“Ah. Well, I’m an only child. Not for lack of trying, but even with magic, it was very hard for my mother to carry a child to full term. She miscarried nine times before having me. They finally used an incubator to do it.”
Ravi winced. “Ouch.”
“Yeah. She sometimes speaks of those early days with such regret, so I don’t remind her of it often. But they were thrilled to have me. I sometimes think I had too much of my parents’ attention.” Sora hummed. “Hmm, what else to tell you? All of the mage clans still retain their specialties, and I learned my craft from both my parents and my grandparents, some from my aunt.”
“Were you homeschooled?”
“No, not in the sense you mean. We had a public school in the clan. It’s just that we had different divisions for dragons, mages, and those not born with magic. The general classes, we all studied together. Then, by high school, we went into specialties.”
“Ahhh. Small classes, though, I bet.”
Sora snorted. “Very. I had six people in my class. There was no escaping the teacher’s attention.”
Ravi chuckled a little, his hands tightening on the steering wheel.
“Is it…well…are you…” he stammered.
“What? What’s got you so nervous? You can ask me anything.”
Ravi huffed out a breath. He didn’t want to insult Sora.
“Is it weird that you haven’t found your mate yet? You are sixty-three. A really sexy sixty-three, but isn’t that old for a mage?”
Sora laughed, and Ravi felt like he could breathe again.
“You’re asking if I’m considered an old maid?”
A low groan rumbled up Ravi’s chest, and he rolled his eyes. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“I know, and yes, I am considered a bit of an old maid. It has driven my parents insane that I haven’t found my mate. As soon as I was finished with