Origin (Scales N' Spells #1) - A.J. Sherwood Page 0,51

And this close, there was no chance in hell Cameron could miss his reaction.

Alric was attracted alright. Cameron wished he understood why Alric wouldn’t make a move. Why he wouldn’t do more than this light, occasional flirtation that teased but promised nothing. What was holding the man back?

He didn’t know. But he’d figure it out. And if Alric was incapable of making a move, well, Cameron didn’t have a problem doing it instead. Alric was far too intriguing and sexy. Like hell would Cameron let the man slip away without even trying to date.

That would be too much of a waste.

Cameron turned slowly in place, looking around himself in a hallway that looked remarkably like the hallway he’d just left. It wasn’t that he was lost, per se. It was just that he didn’t know where he was in this insanely large castle and had a limited grasp on how to get to his destination. And while he had a good sense of direction, generally speaking, this place made a labyrinth look like a child’s playground.

“The Burkhard Castle,” he muttered to himself sourly. “Brought to you by the letters W, T, and F. No, seriously, where the hell am I? I was over there”—he was pretty sure about that—“and that led from Lisette’s workroom, so…yeah, no, I’m not even going to pretend I have a clue. I am all out of clues. Right. So, that leaves the question of who can I text that will not make fun of me for this?”

He didn’t have a lot of options, mostly because he didn’t have a lot of phone numbers for people yet. Cameron was firmly against the option of wandering the hallways like a ghost, bemoaning his fate. Texting someone who was both kind and patient was the ticket.

Alric?

Hell, no, that would be super embarrassing and NOT the impression he wanted to leave on the man.

Ravi? Cameron didn’t have his number yet.

Warin—shit, also didn’t have his number.

Hmm, who did he have? Cameron had gone through a flurry of introductions and passing his phone to people, so he wasn’t actually sure who’s number he’d gotten. He unlocked it and started scrolling through his contacts. Okay, looked like he had Lisette and Baldewin. Lisette would be a given; of course she’d come after him.

Baldewin…hmm. Cameron didn’t have a lot of experience with Baldewin yet. He’d talked to the man maybe three times, but he had a good impression of him. Baldewin struck him as a solidly good guy who could always be depended on. Also, probably not the type to laugh at a guy who was lost in a castle.

Decided, Cameron texted him. Hey, Baldewin, I could use a little help.

Instead of getting a text back, Baldewin immediately called. “Ja, hallo,” Baldewin answered, sounding distracted.

Oh, maybe not a good time to ask for help. Cameron gamely asked anyway. “Hey, Baldewin. I’m, uh, maybe a little turned around?”

Baldewin went from distracted to focused in two seconds. “Turned around how?”

“Turned around in the castle, I mean. I took a wrong turn, I think?” Several wrong turns was more like it. “I’m not sure how to get to the dining room. I was heading there for lunch.”

“Ah. Well, look around and tell me what you see.”

Bless him for being one of those people who didn’t ask where he was. It irritated Cameron when people asked that after he said he was lost. “Okay, so I’m at a four-way. There’s stairs going up at the end of the hallway, and I can see the mountains out one window. Um, a painting of a dragon in flight along one wall, it’s a rather big picture.”

“Blue carpet runner on the floor?”

Cameron looked down. “Yup.”

“Ah, I know where you are.”

“Great! So how do I get to the dining room from here?”

“Why don’t you wait a moment? I’m not far away and I can walk up with you. I’d like lunch, too.”

“Even better.” Cameron really wanted to get to know the clan better. For one thing, it would be a waste not to. How many people got to meet and befriend dragons, especially in these modern times? But too, there was so much possibility here. Cameron wanted to investigate it.

And the best way to do that would be to make friends.

“Ah, there you are.”

Cameron heard the double echo of a voice coming through both the phone and his own ears. He turned and spotted Baldewin coming through some doorway that led to some place and seriously, didn’t they have a map