Page 247 of Scales ’N’ Spells: Volume Two

“You will,” Yuki agreed, then exchanged a long look with her son, a silent conversation between them before she tacked on, “But I think bed rest for two days will help. And no, Cameron, I don’t mean that kind of bed rest.”

Cameron wrinkled his nose at her. “Booo. Kill joy.”

“Yes, I live to be a cockblocker. Alric, I think it’s safe for you to shift. We’ll get something cool and soothing against that shoulder and let you sit the rest of this one out. Cameron?”

“I’ll handle the rest, don’t worry. We’re in cleanup mode, anyway, it’s not like anything major is going down.”

“HOHEIT!” Baldewin waved a hand overhead. “I need authorization on the Jaeggi vehicles leaving!”

“I spoke too soon.” Cameron shook his head, already resigned.

“I can handle them,” Alric offered.

“No, you can sit there and look pretty. I’ve got this.” Cameron headed for the main road, positioning himself to intercept them.

Gunter watched him go, a proud smile on his face. Cameron was so different than the young man they’d all met at the festival. He’d grown into his role as consort very well. He now thought nothing of stepping in front of cameras or speaking with figures of authority. He did it with a charming smile, disarming people into agreeing with him before they quite knew what they were doing.

Alric really had done well choosing this one.

Apparently thinking along the same lines, Alric turned his head to watch him go, a proud smile on his face. “Look at him. No hesitation. I want to be out of here sooner rather than later. It’ll be less obvious if we can leave this area before dawn’s light. Call Rodrigo for me, get a status update.” “Sure.” Gunter pulled his phone out to make the call.

Rodrigo answered on the first ring. “Hello?”

“How are things in there? Hoheit wants a status update.”

“We should be able to leave in the next hour,” Rodrigo assured him, the sound choppy with background noises. “We ice dragons have subdued most of the fire. It’s just the front section that still needs to be put out. We’ll have it done before they can get set up.”

“Good, I’ll pass that along. Everything else alright in there?”

“Seems to be. How is Alric?”

“He’s overworked his shoulder to the point that he’s on medical orders to sit the rest of this out.”

“Ah, understood. Tell Alric not to worry, we can take care of this.”

“Thanks.” Gunter hung up and relayed to Alric, “Rodrigo’s got it under control.”

“I heard him clearly enough.” Alric finally shifted back to human form, wincing as he did. It had to be painful, with his joints so inflamed.

Gunter moved out of the way, and Nikki joined him, shirt in hand while the magic goo finished drying. They removed themselves a few feet to give Alric some privacy but maintain a perimeter so no one else could just walk up and disturb the treatment in progress.

Nikki leaned their head against Gunter’s shoulder, nuzzling for a second. “How are you feeling about all of this?”

“I am…relieved.” Gunter paused, staring at the town still burning in sections, the area crawling with dragons and mages. “It’s surreal, honestly. I never knew how to picture this day. In my dreams, I saw it play out in so many ways. I thought I might feel victorious, or viciously self-righteous that it was us who won in the end. But all I really feel right now is grim relief.”

“They can’t hurt us anymore,” Nikki whispered.

“They can’t hurt us anymore,” Gunter repeated, and a weight lifted off his heart as he said the words aloud. “And in the end, that’s all I really wanted. Safety for my family. For me. Revenge didn’t matter to me as much as that.”

“Yeah. I hate what they did to my parents. How much we lost, as a world, as a magical community, because of them. They have a lot to answer for. But I feel like they did answer for it all, tonight. And with them gone, we can rebuild. You’re right, it’s just a relief at this point.”

Gunter was glad they felt the same way. He turned his head and kissed Nikki on the forehead. “How’re your ribs?”

“A lot better. Sora’s really amazing. And I think I’m dry enough to put the shirt back on, which I have to tell you, it’s cold out here. I really want the shirt back on.”

Gunter hadn’t noticed the cold. But he was also built to be warm at all times. He bent and checked Nikki’s goop by the illumination of the van lights, found it had dried, and helped Nikki put the shirt back on. Then he snuggled his mate in, sharing body heat so Nikki warmed up faster.

Nikki was happy to snuggle, wrapping both arms around his waist. “Gunter.”