Page 246 of Scales ’N’ Spells: Volume Two

Gunter eyed them suspiciously. That…did not sound promising.

Gunter hadn’t seen such utter destruction in many, many years. Since World War II, in fact. While it did bring up bad memories of the Dragon War, he couldn’t regret a single thing. In fact, looking about him, seeing the leveled buildings, the bodies on the streets, he only felt a grim satisfaction.

Finally, finally, his family was safe.

He sat on the back bumper of the mobile treatment van, watching as Sora finished applying a thick gel salve to Nikki’s ribs. In the short amount of time Nikki had been in Jaeggi hands, the two goons had worked them over good. No broken bones, fortunately, but many a bruise, and his ribs looked like a mottled battleground of purples and blues.

Sora had been distracted numerous times from treating Nikki as other injuries came in. The healer had deemed them a higher priority every time, pausing his treatment of Nikki and switching patients. Gunter had to bite his tongue time and again, reminding himself Nikki’s injuries weren’t life threatening. Just painful.

He still hated it, though. He’d always hate Nikki’s pain.

Nikki had shooed him out several times to go and join the battle, but it only worked the first two times because, after that, there was nothing left. Lina’s family was safe; she’d emailed them, orchestrated getting them out the second the ward was down. Ravi had helped get the other five families to safety, his speed essential in ensuring the side mission’s success. Really, all the wind dragons had helped with that. The kings had chosen to spare the children, as well, as they didn’t care for the taste of genocide in their mouth.

To those who had fought, no mercy had been shown.

And Gunter was fine with that.

Alric came limping up to the van, still in dragon form, with a worried Cameron walking with him. Gunter’s eyes swept over his king, and while it was obvious Alric had been in a fight with the soot clinging to him, it didn’t look like he’d suffered any injury. The limp was the only noticeable thing. And Gunter had a feeling he knew why Alric was limping.

“You overdid it, didn’t you?” Gunter accused him.

“Oh, he was having a ball, this one,” Cameron snarked, rolling his eyes. “Stomping around in there like he was Godzilla. I swear he was cackling at one point.”

“I didn’t cackle,” Alric defended himself mildly.

“Ha fuckity ha. I was on your back, dude. I heard the cackling.” Cameron came around the open van door and poked his head in. “Sora—oh, hey, Nikki, you doing okay?”

“Bruises merely,” Nikki said dismissively. “I’m almost good as new. Sora’s got magic goo.”

“It’s good-smelling magic goo, too,” Sora agreed blandly. There was a twinkle in his dark eyes as he slapped the rest of it onto Nikki and commanded sternly, “That has to dry. Do not put your shirt back on or lean on anything until I tell you to.”

“Sir, yes, sir.” Nikki gave him a sloppy salute.

The healer then stepped out, took one look at Alric, and sighed. “You really did overdo it, I can tell. Can you shift forms?”

“I wasn’t sure if it was safe to do so,” Alric admitted a little sheepishly. “It twinges like a bone’s trying to pop out.”

“For the love of—” Sora cut himself off and sighed. Deeply. As if the universe and stubborn dragons pained him. “Alright. Sit down, let me take a good look at this. Cameron, go find my mother; she was in the other black van, last I saw. I want a second opinion before I have him shift. Hoheit, if you’ve undone her hard work, you’ll hear about it. At length.”

“I may have gotten carried away.” Alric’s smile didn’t look as apologetic as he’d probably intended. There was a bit of a feral tooth in there. “But eradicating the danger my family’s been in for hundreds of years rather got to my head.”

“Yes, and I’m grateful for that. Ravi and I want to start a family soon.” Sora spoke his diagnostic spell, red lines growing and writing themselves along Alric’s skin. He pursed his lips as he looked them over.

Gunter tried to imagine Ravi and Sora with children. They’d be adorable, no doubt. Ravi was always adorable, especially when he was in the middle of doing something he really, really shouldn’t.

If Gunter had a dying wish, it was that the children would take after Sora. Because god knew, the world did not need more dragons with Ravi’s energy. Multiple Ravis in one castle was too much for any castle to bear.

Hear that, universe? Please and thank you.

Cameron came back quickly with Yuki in tow but apparently he had heard at least part of this comment, as he asked his dragon spouse hopefully, “Can we have a baby soon too? We’re swarming with mages and dragons, and the castle is safe as houses. Surely we can do that this year.”

Alric looked wistful himself. “I’d certainly like at least one this year.”

Yuki was quick to join Sora’s side, and she had an eerily similar look on her face, with the pursed lips and narrowed eyes. “We’ll of course help you to have a child, but for the love of god, Alric. You nearly undid all of the good healing you’ve managed in the past several months! Your poor muscles are inflamed and swollen right now. It’s so inflamed it’s trying to put your socket out of joint.”

“I didn’t know inflammation could do that,” Cameron said somewhat rhetorically. His expression was a fine balance between exasperation and worry. “Alric, I knew you should have stopped while you were ahead.”

“Apparently,” Alric said on a sigh. “I’ll heal from this, though.”