“He licked me,” Warin gasped.
“Huh. I don’t think Cameron licked Alric.” Gunter paused, and a little smirk twisted his lips. “Well, I don’t think Cameron licked Alric right away. But we’re getting off the subject we should be discussing.”
Warin straightened and rubbed his palm where North had licked him as he paced to the opposite side of the room. North struggled not to grin like an idiot at the strange look Warin continued to give him.
“Yes. Who’s after me? And why?” North asked. He really needed to think about why someone was after him and why the dragons were so intent on keeping him safe. Thinking about the sexiness of Warin would have to come later.
“This sounds like the Jaeggi,” Warin replied. His voice dipped, doing this growly thing that sent a shiver down North’s spine.
“Did they say anything to you?” Gunter asked.
North shook his head. “No. I spotted the first one at the metro station, but didn’t realize he was following me until I reached the town square. When I saw the second one, I took off. They chased me until I reached the cops, who scared them off. They showed up again tonight, and well, you scared them off.”
Warin folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the dresser. “How did they find him so quickly?”
“Likely the seeking spell tipped them off. They might have a spell in place to detect the use of magic.” Gunter pulled his phone from his pocket. “I texted both Alric and Lisette, but I’ve only heard from Lisette so far. We need to let Alric know.”
“Who’s Alric and the Yaw-key? Can someone start explaining things to me?” North demanded loudly. He didn’t mean to get pushy, but they were just talking circles around him and it was becoming annoying. From what he could tell, it was his life on the line.
“Alric Burkhard, King of the Fire Dragons,” Warin replied.
North felt himself pale, his mouth suddenly dry. “King? Like with a throne and crown and ‘off with their heads’ and all that king?”
“Yes.”
“Though he’s not much on beheadings,” Gunter added without lifting his gaze from his phone. “Hoheit, we made it safely to Brussels and have located the mage.”
“What does ‘Hoheit’ mean?” North whispered to Warin.
“German for ‘sire.’”
“Excellent. That was fast work,” a deep, authoritative voice replied. North couldn’t say he knew what a king was supposed to sound like, but this guy sounded impressive enough to be a king.
“Yes, well, he was easy to locate with the distress call spell he used. I’m sorry to report that we’re not the only ones to take notice of the mage. The Jaeggi are here as well.”
Alric’s voice became a harsh whisper of words North didn’t understand, but it was a pretty safe guess he was swearing. “Is he okay? Was he hurt?”
North quickly shook his head.
“No, he’s fine. Here, I’ll let you speak to him.”
North’s head shaking grew more violent, his eyes wide at Gunter. Had the dragon lost his freaking mind? Talk to a king? He couldn’t talk to a king, let alone the KING of the Fire Dragons. That was just crazy. He was just North. A nobody from Georgia who might have gone on this quest more to escape his family than to actually find dragons.
He jumped from the bed and started to edge across the room as Gunter headed toward him, but Warin was sweeping in from the other side, a supportive arm wrapping around his shoulders. Okay, that was nice. At least, it was enough to catch him off guard and stop his retreat.
Warin got him settled on the edge of the bed again, and Gunter handed over the phone so that North found himself looking into the face of a very handsome man with dark hair and dark eyes. Were all the dragons sexy? This was getting to be a little disconcerting.
“Hello, I’m Alric Burkhard, King of the Fire Dragons. It is an honor to make your acquaintance.”
North couldn’t stop his eyes from immediately shooting to Warin. Honor? Was Alric confused about who he was?
“Hi, umm…I’m North…er…actually, my name is Fredrick James North Aldridge, III. My family calls me Freddie,” he said with a wince.
“What would you prefer I call you? Mr. Aldridge?”
“No! North. North is just fine with me, umm…Your Majesty. Or Highness. Hoheit.”
Alric grinned at him. “Alric is fine with me, North.”
North’s head might have gotten a little foggy with that smile. That man should smile all the time. But it might not have just been from Alric’s smile. Warin still sat close enough that their thighs touched, and his arm remained wrapped around North’s shoulders as if he was preparing to pull him into his lap should the need arise.
A slender hand came to rest on Alric’s shoulder, revealing that the dragon wasn’t alone. “Here. Let me see. I want to see him.” Before North could ask who that was, a new face appeared in front of Alric’s with a wide grin. The young man was clearly of Asian descent with large glasses and dark hair with lighter brown highlights. “Oh! He’s cute.”