Not good, Cameron was now babbling to himself in his own head.
Ravi the dragon landed behind them on the road and chased the car with a sort of joyful bound, like a puppy who’d been promised a walk. The ground seemed to tremble and bounce under the wheel each time Ravi’s large feet landed. Cameron twisted to watch him, jaw still dangling. My god, but look at him move, so fluidly like that. He completely missed it when they cleared the front gates of the castle and into the inner courtyard. He only knew they had suddenly parked, and that meant getting out, and Cameron had absolutely no intention of getting out while a dragon hovered nearby.
“Cameron?” Alric’s voice was gentle, a hand on his arm with the lightest pressure. “Cameron, would you like to get out?”
Speaking around a dry mouth, he croaked, “You know, I think my knees left for a different continent, so if it’s all the same to you, how about I just sit here for a while? Say, the rest of the year.”
“If you need a minute, certainly. I’ll be back for you once I’ve dealt with a certain creature who doesn’t know how to behave.” Alric opened the door and got out, immediately commanding in a firm voice, “Ravi. Down.”
Ravi obediently plopped down in front of the car, wings tucked in. Sitting like that, he was roughly the size of a cargo van, sans the tail swishing back and forth. “Hoheit, why are you treating me like a dog?” he asked, voice a little louder than a human voice could comfortably maintain.
“You are worse than a dog. A dog, at least, would obey me. You’ve alarmed him so thoroughly he doesn’t want to leave the car right now.”
Ravi’s large head ducked low, sinking toward his massive shoulders as if he was ashamed or embarrassed. “Oh. That’s my bad. I thought show was better than tell and it would convince him faster.” Tilting his head, Ravi addressed Cameron directly. “Sorry, Cameron. Didn’t mean to scare you.”
Cameron found his knees. Or his courage, or whatever it was. When Cameron was very young, maybe five, he’d been so excited about dragons. Everything he owned was dragons. When he’d finally learned at eight they didn’t exist any longer, he’d been so disappointed, he’d cried about it for days. Watching the blue dragon move, actually seeing the proof of it with his own eyes, he felt that giddy wonder of his five-year-old self spring up with a vengeance. No way could he sit still when a living, breathing dragon stood right there in front of him. He got out, his motions on autopilot, all of his attention on Ravi.
Dragons were real.
He nearly shook with the need to touch, wanting that tactile sense. His eyes roved over Ravi’s sleek form, taking in every detail. Ravi had his head canted invitingly, encouraging Cameron closer to touch.
Ravi was very much the western style, four-legged dragon, his body covered in a sleek hide-like tough leather with the slate blue of his skin darker in places, like near the juncture of his legs and under his chin. His head was small and slim, meaning it was probably the length and width of Cameron’s torso. Keen brown eyes observed him carefully. He kept very still, as if to not spook Cameron further. Cameron couldn’t help but reach out, and Ravi put his nose squarely into Cameron’s hand. It startled him further, the texture of the leathery scales, the heat of him.
A warm hand settled at the base of Cameron’s spine, and it settled there in support. “Cameron?”
“My god,” Cameron breathed, mind whirling as he slotted what he knew against what he was seeing with his own eyes. “The illustrations we have in the history books really don’t do dragons justice.” Another fact careened through his brain, ping-ponging about and demanding attention. Had Ravi addressed Alric as ‘Hoheit?’ It sounded like a title. For that matter, hadn’t Alric said from the very beginning that this castle had always been the home of the Fire Dragon Clan? And that Ravi was part of his family?
The realization hit him like lightning. Was he actually surrounded by dragons right now?
Turning his head, he looked at Alric as he never had before. Alric watched him with perhaps a hint of nerves in his eyes, but with that calm he always seemed to possess, body oriented toward Cameron like a stalwart bastion. Who was this man, really? “I’m sorry…Hoheit? What does that mean?”
Alric smiled a little. “I believe the nearest English equivalent is ‘sire.’” His expression became solemn as he bowed his head to Cameron. “I am Alric Burkhard, King of the Fire Dragons. You, sir, are in the heart of Fire Dragon territory.”
“Well,” Cameron’s mouth irreverently spat out, “I can see why you’re so sure dragons are still alive.”