Cameron’s hand slid up Alric’s chest, coming to settle over his heart. “It’s okay. I’m right here.”
Alric caught his hand and brought it up to his lips, kissing his knuckles. “Thank you, Liebling. My father was there, helping with the evacuation. I stayed behind to make sure the last of the mages escaped with dragons. My attention…my attention was not on the Jaeggi.” Alric’s voice caught in his throat as the memories of the burning sun and the smell of the smoke permeated his mind. It was all still as fresh as that day.
His fingers tightened a little on Cameron’s hand, and he brushed that soft skin across his lips, letting it settle him. “It’s amazing the things you forget in time and the strange things you remember. Like…I can’t remember the spell they used that nearly killed me, but I can remember I had mutton that day. The first in nearly a month. A dragon had brought it in from Greece the night before when carrying in new supplies. Lisette would know the spell, but it doesn’t really matter.”
“Alric?”
“I was concentrating on the mages when the spell hit. I was in my dragon form. My father flew in from above me, took the brunt of the hit, but some of it ripped through my left wing and down the left side of my back.”
“Oh god!” Cameron said in a harsh whisper.
“There were enough of our forces remaining to hold back the Jaeggi so they could rescue my father and myself. Our remaining mages did everything they could to save my father’s life, but it was too late for him. He held on long enough in excruciating pain to tell me he loved me. To be brave. To protect our people.”
Cameron wrapped his arms around Alric’s neck, pressing so close that nothing could slip between them. “Oh, Alric. I’m so sorry.” Warm tears smeared damp streaks on Alric’s shoulder, and Alric threaded his fingers through Cameron’s hair. His sweet mage.
“Shhh, dearest one. It’s okay. My father was a brave and wonderful leader. He was happy to give his life for his people, even his headstrong son,” Alric murmured.
“But your wing? Your arm? Why couldn’t they heal you?”
A soft sigh escaped Alric. “They might have been able if I’d allowed them to try. I wouldn’t let them. I wouldn’t let a mage tend to my wounds. I commanded them all to use their powers and knowledge to save my father.” He paused and shook his head. “By the time he passed, the wounds were too deep and had started to scar. They did what they could to ease my pain and heal what they were able, but it was clear I would never fly again.”
Cameron settled his head on Alric’s shoulder, and Alric lifted his left hand toward the mage. There was a low dull ache at the movement, but that could have just as easily been thanks to their earlier exercise. Very lightly, Cameron’s fingertips followed the scars from his fingers up his arm to his elbow before dropping his hand to Alric’s stomach.
“Do you see your scars as some kind of penance because your father died instead of you?”
There was no stopping the low chuckle. “You are too smart for your own good.”
“Really?”
“I did. For a long time. I told myself I should have been paying more attention to the Jaeggi. That I should have been faster. Or stronger. The spell had been meant for me, not my father. I thought our clan would have been better off with him instead of me.”
“You don’t think that now?”
Alric shook his head, though it wasn’t entirely true. There were still a lot of days he felt that way, but they grew fewer as the years passed. “No. The spell was meant to kill. The Jaeggi were happy with it killing any dragon. It was just a horrible thing that happened. My father saved me, and by not recognizing that, I failed to appreciate my father’s sacrifice. The only way I can live up to my father’s gift is to be the best king I can be.”
Tilting his head up, Cameron pressed a sweet kiss to Alric’s chin and another on his jaw. “You are an amazing king. Your people love and respect you. Your father would be so proud of you.”
Alric closed his eyes and let Cameron’s warm reassurance wash through him. How had he lived so many centuries without this man? He prayed he never had to live another second without him in his arms.
Cameron eventually fell asleep with his head still on Alric’s chest, in his arms, and Alric followed with a very content smile lingering on his face, feeling a deep peace he’d not known in a long time.
Cameron, for probably the first time in his life, was seriously stumped. This was quite the conundrum he’d been handed.