Page 105 of Scales ’N’ Spells: Volume Two

On the night they arrived in Prague, they’d lucked into seeing Thomas pop by his favorite little grocery store. They’d followed him back to an old townhouse that had been converted into flats. It had taken some doing, but they’d managed to discover that he had a place up on the third floor.

From there, Cassie was able to locate a security camera that could catch sight of Thomas every time he left. People back at the castle were now monitoring that camera around the clock. They were watching for people entering the building who didn’t live there. They were also tracking Thomas’s movements. Any time something suspicious happened, Ravi and Sahan received a text telling them to head over to the flat.

“Balin is worried,” Sahan said one evening when they’d finished a quick meal of pot pie. They’d grabbed it from a nearby restaurant. God, Ravi missed the food at the castle. This was okay, but Ravi was ready to be home.

“About what?”

“That we’ve been here too long without relief.”

Ravi grunted. Alric’s messages and phone calls were coming more frequently, as well. His king was worried. He’d mentioned wanting to send someone to replace Ravi and Sahan only once, but Ravi had turned down the offer. He wanted to see this through. He still believed he and Sahan had the best shot of tracking the Jaeggi back to their home.

But how long was it going to take?

Was it possible Thomas Jaeggi had been kicked out of his own clan because he’d lost Cameron and they’d suffered the dragon attack? Not a single mage had visited him since they’d arrived in Prague, and Cassie hadn’t turned up any sign of a visit prior to their arrival.

This was all starting to feel like a wild goose chase, but it was the only lead they had.

“If you wish to return to the castle—” Ravi started, but Sahan jumped up from his chair, his face flushed.

“I’m not leaving you!”

Ravi smiled broadly at his cousin.

“I know. I’m just saying that we could both use a break, get some real sleep for once. I was beginning to think maybe Hoheit could send a replacement for you, and I could show that person around for a day, make sure they understand what to expect, before my replacement shows up.”

Sahan shook his head, dropping into his chair at their tiny table. “No. Not a chance. We came to Prague together, and we’re leaving together.”

He should have expected that answer. Over the past several days, Ravi had gotten to know his cousin much better. He was pleased to discover that they shared a lighthearted and easygoing temperament. Sahan was also fiercely loyal and devoted, which only made Ravi all the prouder to call him family.

Once their lives were more settled and the Jaeggi were taken care of, Ravi looked forward to taking a long trip to visit Sahan and the other wind dragons. It would also give his soon-to-be in-laws a chance to coddle him. They were pretty freaking amazing.

Ravi’s phone pinged with an incoming text, and Sahan’s echoed it a second later. Picking up his phone, he wasn’t surprised to see a message from Cassie, stating that Thomas was on the move again. He glanced at the time as he was silencing his phone to find it was already after one in the morning.

A low groan rattled up his throat. He’d lost track of time completely while eating with Sahan. One of them should have been trying to catch a few minutes of sleep.

Rubbing his burning, bleary eyes, Ravi shoved his phone into the back pocket of his jeans. “Ready?”

“Yeah. Does this guy not believe in sleep?”

“Maybe he has insomnia,” Ravi murmured. He grabbed a light jacket and led the way out of the little hotel room and down the back stairs. They were trying to avoid people as much as possible. It was better all around if no one saw them.

He was confident that Thomas had yet to notice their presence. Not only were they keeping completely out of sight, but Lisette and the other mages had loaded them up with various charms and spells to block any hint of magic from being picked up. He was more concerned about Thomas hearing them clanking from the many items knocking together as they moved.

Once out of the hotel, it didn’t take them long to pick up Thomas’s trail. At this hour, few businesses were open, and he was prone to walking to a few particular places.

And tonight, he was going back to the one that appeared to be his favorite—the Charles Bridge. He rarely walked there during the day when it was full of tourists and would have been easier for Ravi and Sahan to blend into the crowd. No, of course, the bastard preferred to go walking in the dead of night when there was usually no one else on the pedestrian bridge crossing from Old Town toward the Prague Castle.

It was one of the trickiest places to follow Thomas because they were very exposed. Each crossing, they had to choose between letting him get far ahead of them—and risk losing him—or staying closer and darting from massive statue to massive statue to hide. Not ideal in the least.

Shame the Jaeggi was mucking up Ravi’s memories of the Charles Bridge. It had been years since he’d last been to Prague, but he’d always enjoyed wandering around Old Town, eating yummy food, and marveling at the astronomical clock. He loved Prague Castle’s vastness, though he thought Burkhard Castle was prettier.

His favorite, though, was Charles Bridge with its towering statues of saints. It was a shame there were no statues of dragons or great mages on the bridge. They would have definitely helped to protect visitors.

But after the Dragon War, there seemed to be a shortage of dragon statues in the world.

All the same, he would have liked to walk this bridge with Sora, pointing out his favorite saint statues.

Ravi shook his head, trying to clear away thoughts of his mate. He needed to focus. There would be time enough to come here with his sweet honey bear.