Origin (Scales N' Spells #1) - A.J. Sherwood Page 0,48
give him a sword. He looked strangely naked without either.
This was the fourth dragon he’d found himself sitting and talking to. Alric had escorted him into the dining hall for dinner—and it was quite the feast with a wide selection of foods—and introduced him to several people before being pulled away. Cameron didn’t mind since Warin seemed really nice. The time he’d helped with the almost-kidnapping attempt, he’d been nice, at least.
The dining hall in the castle was massive. It looked like something out of one of those period movies, with the long tables stretching along the room, with a smaller and shorter table at the far end. Presumably for the reigning family.
Now knowing what he did about the history of the clan, it was sad to see so much empty space. It was at the peak of dinner hour, and yet most of this cavernous room wasn’t filled, people sitting here and there in groups. It should have been full with mages, dragons, children. Not like this.
“Someone mentioned you have a sister?” Warin asked, hope in his voice. “Will she join you here?”
“She really wants to, yeah. Her and my grandmother. They’re really excited about dragons still being alive. And possibly having magic of their own. I know you guys are really interested in meeting my sister, but I have to warn you, she’s one hundred percent gay. She won’t be interested in the guys that way. Like, happy to meet you and talk, no question, just not romantically interested.”
Warin shrugged, accepting this easily. “I think I can speak for us all when I say we want a mate. We’ve all dreamed of finding that person who’s meant for us. But we won’t begrudge a clanmate if you choose someone else instead.”
“Er…really?” People were generally more selfish than that.
A sad smile graced Warin’s face as he explained, “We’ve learned the lesson the hard way, you see. What jealousy can beget. Our clan was decimated because of one man who let himself be consumed with it. None of us needs a repeat. And I cannot begrudge another the happiness, in all truth. These people are brothers and sisters to me; I know the heartbreak they weather all too keenly.”
It was settled. Warin was the nicest guy ever. “Well, I hope you guys realize it’s not just me and my sister? I’ve got cousins, too.”
Warin’s face lit up. “Do you?”
“Three, to be precise. I’m not sure how we’ll get them over here, or if they’re magical—could be they aren’t. Who knows? But there’s more than just us.”
A weight dropped next to him on the bench, and Cameron turned his head to realize a woman he didn’t know had abruptly joined them.
“What’s this I hear about a sister and cousins?” she asked.
Warin waved a hand between them. “Cameron, this is Sasha. Sasha, Cameron. He just told me that he has a twin sister and three cousins.”
Sasha looked like a bodybuilder who could walk right into the Olympics and take the gold. Any gold. All the gold. She was beautiful, her blonde hair thick and luxurious, draped over one shoulder, eyes a stunning blue in an oval-shaped face. She also looked quite capable of snapping Cameron in half.
Right now, though, she looked as giddy as any child in a candy store. “That’s amazingly good news! I hope all of them can come.”
“My sister and grandmother hope to come, at least.” And Cassie would take one look at Sasha and climb her like a tree. Cameron decided to call it right now.
“They’ll be more than welcome. I’ll volunteer to guard them from the airport, bring them here.” Sasha nodded, already decided. “Maybe they’ll be here in time for game night. That would be an easy way to introduce your family to the clan.”
“That’s a good idea,” Warin approved heartily. To Cameron, he explained, “We do game night every two weeks. Sometimes we play hide and seek in the castle. Sometimes it’s board games. Ravi introduced PlayStations to us, so we’ve taken up LAN parties, too.”
“Alric plays DnD with his own group every Thursday,” Sasha threw in. “We have one other campaign going, I think. I don’t play myself, but isn’t Menno the DM?”
Cameron’s jaw dropped. “Get out. Your king plays DnD?”
Head canted, Sasha regarded him for a moment. “Is that how he strikes you? As serious? He can be, I suppose. He’s under a great deal of strain. But he does know how to have fun, too.”