Baldewin leaned down and peppered Tori’s temple and down his jaw with kisses. “I’m so proud of you. That was amazing.”
Tori couldn’t deny the rush of pleasure that came with those words. He could feel Baldewin’s pride and happiness pouring through him. He’d done that. He’d worked that spell, targeted something that none of the others had noticed. He’d brought them one step closer to finding the missing Taavi, and he’d done it with his magic.
“Baldewin, I want you and Ravi in the air and heading toward Utsjoki in five minutes. Try not to be seen, but finding those kids is the priority,” Alric directed. “Gunter will travel with us and act as additional protection for the mages.”
“Yes, Hoheit,” the three dragons agreed in unison. Tori got a final wink from his lover, and then the dragons were running out the door.
Part of him wanted to follow just to watch Baldewin shift into his amazing dragon form, but there was no time. He helped Cameron, Evora, and Gunter quickly pack up their supplies in the leather satchel while Alric called Rodrigo with the latest news. Tori wasn’t even sure if the Valerii had been able to get to Nuorgam, but there was no doubt that the ice dragons would be airborne in a matter of minutes.
As they hurried to one of the black SUVs they’d rented, Evora poked Tori with one of her long fingernails. “When we return to Burkhard Castle, you will show me exactly how you did that.”
Tori grinned broadly at her, his heart swelling. “I will. I promise. You’ll be able to see the difference in their magic when we get to Utsjoki. That’ll be your focus.”
“Do you think we can weave that distortion recognition into some of our wards on the castle? Maybe even Sonthofen?” Cameron asked. He stood next to the driver’s door, his eyes wide.
“Drive now. Talk magic after we’ve found the missing mages,” Alric commanded, but there was a lighter sparkle in his blue eyes. A hint of a hidden joy. And why not? If the Burkhard dragons had been running short on mages for five centuries, then it likely meant they were also short on new spells and magic chatter. This was a normal he hadn’t been able to experience for a very long time.
Tori jumped into the backseat with Evora and Gunter. They were still pulling on their seatbelts when Cameron tore out of the parking lot with a spray of gravel and a surprised yelp from the king in the passenger seat.
Fear and hope were warring in his chest. He was afraid of them being too late to save the mages. If they didn’t get there in time, not just a trio of young lives would be lost, but also any hope they might have had in convincing the leaders of the Taavi Clan to even listen to the dragons. He wasn’t sure they’d ever be able to change their minds completely about dragons, but he wanted to believe that at least some of them might finally come around.
The drive to Utsjoki Village was a little more than thirty minutes away. Tori knew it well, even if he didn’t often stop there. The village was a crossroads leading into Norway. It contained a beautiful bridge that spanned the Karasjohka River and a few basic stores, but most people crossing into Finland continued south to one of the larger towns.
Just outside of Utsjoki, Tori spotted something that made his stomach sink.
“Pull over!” he shouted suddenly, twisting in his seat as Cameron passed by a small, maroon car that looked familiar. He’d driven that car, he was sure of it, on a variety of runs to the south.
Cameron hit the brakes hard and pulled off to the side of the road just in front of the car. As they slowed to a stop, Tori hopped out of the vehicle and ran back to the car. As he approached, it became clear that the front and rear driver’s side tires were flat. They’d hit something in the road.
“It’s the same trick they pulled to kidnap me from Dieter,” Cameron said from behind Tori. There was a haunted quality to Cameron’s soft tone that sent a chill skidding down Tori’s spine.
He continued to walk around the car. The doors were all closed, but the backseat behind the driver was piled high with bags. The trunk was likely to be filled, as well, with valuable goods. Whoever had taken the kids wasn’t interested in the contents of the car. Just them.
“There were three of them. How could they take three of them with such ease?” Evora asked. Tori glanced over to find that her arms were wrapped tightly around her waist, as if she was feeling the same chill as Tori.
“There have to be more of them than the two that met us in Helsinki. I-I don’t know how many it would take to overpower three young mages. They’re probably in their late teens to early twenties. They would at least know how to do some basic protection spells, but if they didn’t realize they were in trouble…”