said nothing. Oh, they would be having a long talk in the very near future. There was no avoiding that. She’d want to know every scrap of information when it came to Ravi. Not that he could blame her. He was the only child of Ryu and Yuki of the Abe clan. He was one of the few mages born to the Sodalicium who hadn’t yet found a mate. It had been bad enough that the two queens had started plotting to help him find a mate.
But he’d found his mate in Ravi, a lone wind dragon who was a member of the Burkhard Fire Dragon Clan. Yes, she would definitely want to know everything about the dragon who was quickly laying claim to every bit of Sora’s heart.
The dragons and mages descended on the unsuspecting restaurant with ravenous appetites. Ravi jumped to the foreground once again, managing the Sodalicium members and expertly directing the wait staff as they stood in shock at the size of the party.
Good food and even better wine helped to put everyone in an excellent mood once again. For now, the Jaeggi were forgotten as stories were shared over delicious cheese and sausages. The Sodalicium dragons and mages talked about their long flight to Switzerland, while Ravi and Sora shared the story of how they’d first met in town. Ravi, with a bit of embarrassment, revealed how he’d come to be the internet sensation who launched the Great Reveal, as it was being called.
And, to Sora’s shock, Ravi had everyone walking back toward the SUVs approximately ninety minutes later. He had them on a schedule, and they were sticking to it. Amazingly, he managed to do it without rushing anyone.
Unfortunately, the Jaeggi had other plans.
Four cars rushed into the restaurant parking lot in a cloud of dirt and squealing tires. They had just been talking about how to divide up into the cars for the drive to Germany when the group appeared. Sora hated to admit it, but they all had stood dumbfounded for a moment, staring as the cars blocked the exits and a dozen mages jumped out.
There was something off…something strange about their magic. Something—
“Jaeggi,” Ravi snarled from beside him, sending a chill down his spine.
He’d never expected to hear such a vicious, blood-thirsty tone from sweet Ravi, but then his voice sounded more dragon than man at that moment.
Ravi shoved Sora behind him as he stepped forward, placing his body between the Jaeggi and their group. “It’s the Jaeggi! Protect the mages!”
The dragons immediately jumped into action, herding the five mages into a group while the dragon kings and two of the bodyguards formed a protective ring around them.
Meanwhile, Ravi and the other four bodyguards shifted into their dragon forms, forming an additional wall of scales, fangs, talons, and wings. The earth trembled under their feet, and the air split with angry roars.
Sora tried not to think about Ravi fighting the Jaeggi but focused on the orders from the other mages. His father started pulling together protective spells as the dragons fought. Sora stood by with his mother, prepared to offer up instantaneous healing spells. His strength had always lain in the healing arts rather than aggressive spells for combat, though he knew a few.
The earth shook under the command of the massive earth dragons, their emerald scales glinting in the midday sun. The metal dragons were a cool mix of black and grey, their scales even thicker and harder than other dragons.
But Sora’s heart skipped a beat to see the small blue dragon weaving in and out of the fray, darting around like an oversized hummingbird, blasting the Jaeggi back toward their cars with brutal gusts of wind. Sora had spent his entire life around dragons. Seeing the air and ground filled with them was nothing new. But he was sure he’d never seen anyone as elegant or graceful as Ravi in flight.
“He’s such a beautiful wind dragon,” his mother whispered in wonder.
“Yes, he’s magnificent,” Sora murmured in return, unable to tear his eyes away.
Ravi worked seamlessly with the other dragons, adding his own talents so they perfectly complemented each other. It was like he’d been fighting alongside them for decades.
The fight was shockingly brief. The Jaeggi must have been able to sense the gathering of mages, but possibly hadn’t realized those mages were accompanied by so many dragons. They’d been outgunned from the start.
Within minutes, they were jumping back into their cars and tearing off into traffic with more squealing