Origin (Scales N' Spells #1) - A.J. Sherwood Page 0,69

the man holding him.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing,” Alric growled into his ear.

Uh-oh. Cameron got the distinct impression he was in trouble. “Um, skydiving?”

Alric turned him sharply, hitting the belts of the parachute open and pulling it off with no finesse. There was a sharp, angry tension in his jaw as he worked on them. Cameron wasn’t sure why he was so mad but meekly helped get the parachute off.

Holding it up like a dirty dishrag, Alric growled, “Did you think it was safe because you were wearing this?”

“Um, yes?” Cameron thought that was rather obvious.

Alric closed his eyes, breathing deeply and visibly reaching for patience. “Cameron. A parachute only operates at certain altitudes. Anything less than two thousand feet above ground level, it’s not safe to deploy. You’re at two thousand eight hundred while standing on this cliff. You lose altitude the minute you jump off. What altitude do you think you’re at when Ravi catches you?”

He eyed the distance he normally fell, made some guesstimates, and winced. “Yeah, probably not two thousand. And all the equipment was right here, so I thought it was safe.”

Alric sighed again, deeply, more resigned than angry now. “This is where they land. They store their gear here for convenience. They launch from the top of the Alps, not here. The top is eight thousand feet elevation.”

“Oh. Uh, oops? In my defense, I’ve never gone skydiving before.”

“So this was Ravi’s idea?”

Cameron didn’t actually want to throw his friend under the bus and winced again. “Maybe?”

“Baldewin.” Alric straightened to full height, face set, practically radiating with angry tension. “I want Ravi beheaded the second he lands.”

Cameron started panicking. Now wait, wasn’t that a bit harsh?!

Baldewin, on the other hand, snorted. “I’ll have to catch him first.” He turned and yelled in German, “Da hast du dir schön was eingebrockt!”

A whine came back from Ravi. “Ich hatte keine Ahnung!”

Cameron couldn’t follow what they were saying and pleaded with Alric, “It might have been his idea, but I agreed to it.”

Alric rubbed at his temple like he was fighting off a headache. “I won’t actually kill him for this. He says he didn’t know about the altitude requirement either. Which I believe, as he’s never worn a parachute in his life. But please, the next time Ravi suggests something that sounds like a good idea, pass it by me first? He doesn’t really understand what danger means.”

That promise potentially got them both out of trouble. Cameron nodded vigorously. “Cross my heart. But how did you know we’re out here?”

“I have a secondary guard who shadows you if you leave the castle. Just in case. They reported it to me.” Alric had a strange quirk to his mouth. If Cameron didn’t know better, he would say the man was sardonically amused. “And please, for the sake of my heart, can you find something more peaceful to do for the rest of the day?”

“I can absolutely find something,” Cameron promised faithfully. He eyed Alric, wishing he could hug the dragon king. The man looked like he needed a hug. And it would be nice, snuggling into the man and enjoying that firm body for a few seconds. Or minutes.

But since he was the reason Alric was stressed out, he probably shouldn’t ask.

The shopping was put aside for the day as they went back to the castle. It didn’t seem the right time to go into town, considering it was semi-dangerous. Cameron didn’t actually want to give Alric heart failure. It could wait another day or two.

Ravi refused to get back into the vehicles, choosing instead to fly back. He likely realized Alric hadn’t relinquished the idea of beheading quite yet.

Cameron wasn’t sure what to do for the rest of the day, but he did still want to ask Gunter those questions. So when Alric went back inside the castle, he snagged Baldewin’s arm. “Hey, Baldewin.”

Baldewin stopped, turning to look at him. “Yes?”

“Can you introduce me to Gunter?”

Baldewin’s head canted a little. “You haven’t met Gunter yet?”

“I don’t remember doing that, no,” Cameron replied with a shrug. “Ravi and I were talking about mages, and how few of them were men, and that Gunter would know more about it. I kind of want to ask some questions.”

“Gunter is very much the person to ask,” Baldewin agreed readily. “And now that I think about it, I shouldn’t be surprised you haven’t met each other yet. He’s usually holed up with his research. Right now, he’s trying to