Origin (Scales N' Spells #1) - A.J. Sherwood Page 0,46

what they were saying. Did dragons have their own language? He’d never learned about that in school. It sounded old. Older than the stones that made this castle. Older than the mountains and the sky. He could feel the weight of the words down in his bones. The sound caused goosebumps to break out across his skin and his breath to catch in his throat.

The chanting grew louder as Alric walked slowly down the center aisle, his head held high and his shoulders back. A golden crown gleaming with rare gems winked in the sunlight pouring through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Cameron was speechless.

This was the man who’d walked through the festival, talking about dragons as if he didn’t have a care in the world. This was the man who’d treated him to a private dinner. The man who’d teased him until he blushed. Who’d rescued him, risking his own life.

He was a king.

A king to all of these people. No, dragons and mages.

A leader.

And it took only a brief glance at their faces as they watched their king approach the dais to see that they loved him. They respected him. They trusted him with their future.

As he reached the front of the room, Alric turned his head just slightly and looked straight at Cameron. The tiniest of smiles grew on his lips, and he winked. He fucking winked at Cameron as if he just knew Cameron’s knees were weak and his head was spinning. This was the man he’d daydreamed of kissing.

Holy shit! This was the man he’d shouted at.

The chanting stopped as Alric reached the top of the dais and turned to face the assembled people. He smiled at them for a moment before lifting his lovely voice so it carried across the vast room.

“My people, thank you so much for joining me today. I know you have busy lives you wish to return to, so I will keep this brief. I have two announcements to make that will have a great impact on our people.” He paused, and his smile turned into more of a smirk. “As they like to say, I have good news and bad news. First, the good. We have, at last, found a mage.”

The silence instantly turned into a roar of conversation as everyone started talking at once in what looked to be shock. Several people turned their gaze back to Cameron, and he desperately wanted to hide behind Lisette, but he was way too tall for that.

Alric let the conversation stretch for a couple of seconds before he lifted both hands above his head to get their attention. To his shock, Lisette grumbled something under her breath, glaring at him. It only took him a moment to realize she was glaring at his left arm. Cameron never saw him using it, but he had a feeling it had something to do with his scars. Yet, if he was in pain, it never showed in his face.

“People,” Alric said simply before lowering his arms again. Silence returned, and he smiled. “I would very much like for you to meet him.” Alric turned toward Cameron and extended his hand to him.

Oh, he could not possibly be thinking…

Lisette pressed her hand into Cameron’s back, giving him a little push toward the dais. “Go on. It’s okay.”

He wanted to hiss at her that this was insane. He wasn’t properly dressed with his shorts and T-shirt. That evil woman hadn’t warned him that he was going to be standing in front of the entire clan. Not that he had a single piece of clothing appropriate for such a meeting. Just his vacation gear from the hotel, and that consisted of jeans, shorts, T-shirts, and one passably nice sweater. What would these people think of him? They’d think he was the poorest, most pathetic mage in all the world, which wasn’t far from the truth.

But if he didn’t go, he’d hurt Alric’s feelings. He’d embarrass him. Disappoint him. Nothing in the world could get Cameron to do that.

So, with shaking legs, Cameron slowly climbed the dais, keeping his eyes on those stairs so he didn’t pull a Jennifer Lawrence at the Oscars and fall in front of all these people. As he reached Alric’s side, he stared into his beautiful deep blue eyes and the world fell away again. The king was back to being the man who’d made him laugh, his expression warm and encouraging.

“You’re perfect. I’ve got you,” Alric whispered, and despite his rising panic, Cameron believed