Chapter 26

G regori still felt in need of a fainting couch. He hadn't felt this bad since the war ended. But on the other hand, Salem was decisively staying right next to him and arguing with anyone who tried to make him leave. It was incredibly heartwarming having his mate at his side. Wanting to be by his side. They'd come a long way since the first time they'd met.

He'd even acted as if they were in a true relationship earlier, which sparked joy. Gregori emotionally was ready to throw a party. A shame his body was not up for it.

Right now, though, his mate was too far away from him. Salem had been petting his scales and murmuring all kinds of sweet encouragement, but now his mate was on the other side of the roof, talking to the neighbors. He could hear his words of gratitude and reassurances as he let them know they didn't need to wait in the cold with them. It was all very nice, but he wanted his mate back at his side.

Wincing slightly, he extended his tail across the roof and carefully wrapped it around Salem's waist, so none of the sharp spines pricked him. A squawk erupted from Salem while the rest of their audience laughed as Gregori picked up Salem and placed him back down in the center of where he was curled.

With Salem snuggled against his stomach and his tail wrapped protectively around both of them, Gregori shifted his head closer to Salem and shut his eyes. There. His mate was next to him and safe, which was all that mattered.

A low, rumbling purr crawled up his throat and Salem chuckled, which only made him happier. His mate was curled up with him and he was happy. With his eyes still closed, Gregori reached out and dragged one of the many blankets close, placing it around Salem so he stayed warm. While his large body and wings might shield him from the wind, he still needed blankets to stay warm. The other option was magic, but right now, Gregori was just too tired to summon any magic up. He couldn't even keep his eyes open.

"Here I thought all dragons were giant lizards, but it turns out you're really just overgrown, scaly cats."

Gregori cracked one eye open to gaze at Salem's happy face. There was relief there, but the worry remained. Salem was worried about him. He couldn't quite remember why or bring himself to care. He just wanted to remain there with his mate forever.

Salem's hand drifted across his muzzle, stroking his scales in one gentle caress after another. "I don't know about the other dragons, but you really are amazing. I can't imagine any other dragon being as impressive as you are."

Gregori's purr grew even louder. He was starting to sound like an outboard motor on a speedboat.

He was still wallowing in the joy of having his mate with him when he sensed the approach of another dragon.

His tail tightened around them, and he tipped his nose toward the sky, sniffing the air. The dragon kindly approached from upwind, and the breeze carried the scent of home. Coconut oil, sunbaked sand, and mage magic. A Valerii dragon drew close. His muscles relaxed and he rested his head on the roof, ready to go back to sleep. No one from the Valerii Clan would dare to threaten his mate. If anything, they could help him keep Salem warm and safe.

Cries of wonder and joy filled the rooftop while Salem sighed. "Thank fucking god."

The heavy thud of the dragon landing on the roof didn't even stir Gregori. It was only with a great deal of reluctance that he allowed Salem to crawl out from where he had cuddled against his large body.

"Sam!"

"Salem? What the fuck? Are you throwing a party out here?"

"Fuck you! They came to help me. How the hell else was I going to get Gregori on the roof? He was unconscious and extremely heavy."

"Well, it looks like you not only got him on the roof but shifted. It's a great start."

Gregori's eyes flicked open at the sound of Sora's voice as he climbed down off Dimitri. It wasn't a surprise to find Dimitri here with his mate, but they brought Sora as well? Away from his mate and his twins? Gregori must have scared his clan pretty damn bad.

"But it's not enough. We need to get him in the air," Sora continued.

Long talons scraped on stone, followed by the slither of a long tail as Dimitri walked over. The other dragon sniffed him for a second and then nudged him with his nose, trying to get him to climb to his feet, but all Gregori could do was lift his wing to cover his head. His entire body ached, and he was so damned tired. It'd taken all he had just to shift into his dragon form.

"Up. Get up," Dimitri growled. "Come fly with me."

Gregori grunted and raised his wing to search for Salem again. He didn't want to leave his mate. Once again, he stretched out his tail and wrapped it around Salem's waist, pulling him in close. His beloved mate yelped in surprise, clinging to the appendage as he was hoisted into the air.

"Well, that settles it," Sora muttered. "Sam, help me get the saddle off Dimitri. We'll put it on Gregori so Salem can ride him."

"What?" Salem shrieked, his voice spiking so high it became piercing to even Gregori's ears. "Is this a good idea? I mean, he's exhausted right now."

"It's an excellent idea," Sam chimed in. "He clearly won't go anywhere without you, and flying with your mate is a wonderful bonding experience."

"But—"

"Plus, Dimitri will be there every moment to make sure you and Gregori remain safe," Sora added.

For the first time, Gregori raised his head and looked around at the people gathered on the roof. He smiled weakly at Dimitri, who lightly butted heads with him, seeming almost relieved to be there.

But he quickly turned his attention to his mate. "Fly?"

There was no missing the fear on Salem's pale face, but a spark of definite interest lit his eyes. "Are you strong enough to carry me? Because hell yeah, I'd love to go flying with you."

Gregori didn't hesitate another second. He released Salem from his tail and, with effort, pushed to his feet so Sam and Sora could more easily get the saddle on him. As soon as they were done, Sam pulled off his riding harness and gave his brother some quick instructions on how to ride on a dragon's back. It mostly amounted to hang on and trust the dragon to know what he's doing .

Maybe that wasn't the best thing right now. Gregori's head was still fuzzy and his limbs didn't want to obey him completely, but he'd push through it to keep his mate safe. Dimitri was right there to protect them both as well.

As soon as Salem was secure on his back, Gregori jumped off the apartment building, earning a shriek of fear and delight from Salem. Dimitri roared with approval. The sound was one of home, speaking deeply to his own dragon in an instinctual way. It gave Gregori a boost of energy and he felt lighter, his dragon coming more in tune with him. Dimitri was only a heartbeat behind him, but the second the wind pushed up against the bottom of his wings, Gregori's mind cleared. Strength and magic poured through his body, rejuvenating him.

Tipping his massive head up toward the heavens, he let out his own trumpeting roar that flew out across the city, and it was instantly answered by his dragon brother. His heart swelled with joy almost to the point of choking him. He wasn't alone anymore. His dragon brother who'd fought at his side in the Dragon War, who'd bemoaned their long lives spent without a mate, and who'd gotten drunk with him more times than he could count flew at his side once again.

"Woo-hoooo!" Salem cried from his back, and Gregori barked out a laugh.

And then there was his amazing mate. Salem might be incredibly stubborn, but when he chose to fight for something, nothing and no one could deter him. This time, he was choosing to fight for Gregori, and he couldn't even describe how humbling that felt. With his head clearer, he realized Salem had firmly established their relationship. He might not have said mates, but he clearly wanted Gregori with him and would fight to keep them together. Gregori had been making progress with him all along without realizing it. The relief just about bowled him over.

Flapping his wings, Gregori pushed higher and higher into the sky, soaring well above all the buildings, letting Salem see the entire city. There wasn't a single cloud in the area, giving them a perfect view of sparkling stars against a velvet black sky. The wind was cold, but it didn't bother him in the least.

"Hey! Gregori! Why am I not freezing?" Salem shouted.

"Magic!"

While his magic couldn't keep his mate seated on his back—hence the need for the saddle and a harness that attached to the saddle—it could protect Salem from the worst of the bitter cold and the fierceness of the wind. It was the only way mage dragon riders could stand to cross vast distances quickly on the backs of ice dragons. He wasn't sure how the other clans managed though, since they didn't have innate control of cold.

He didn't know how long they remained in the air. Enough time to make a couple of circles around the city before working their way back to Salem's apartment building. He longed to keep flying, to take Salem straight to Brazil now that he finally had his mate on his back, but he knew deep down he didn't have the strength yet to make the flight. The worst of the pain and fatigue were gone, but he still had a long way to go before he was fully recovered.

Not to mention, Salem would throw a fit if he was suddenly kidnapped.

Dimitri shifted as he landed on the rooftop, which was now mostly empty of people. A few lingered, talking to Sora and Sam, their eyes trained on the sky as they waited for yet another glimpse of the dragons. Their long, sparkling white scales weren't hard to miss against the black night.

Gregori's landing wasn't quite as graceful, but he tried hard not to jar Salem too badly. Dimitri stepped up immediately to unhook Salem and help him down from Gregori's back. As Salem stumbled over to his brother, Dimitri took the saddle off and Gregori shifted into his human form with minimal pain.

"Thank god," Salem groaned, throwing himself into Gregori's arms. He squeezed him tight, but the hug lasted for barely more than a second before the good doctor pushed back to look in his eyes, check his pulse, and all the other vitals doctors liked to keep track of.

"I'm better now," Gregori said, his voice a little rough.

"Better? How can you be better already? You looked like you were on death's door."

Sora stepped up and murmured a quick spell he'd seen the mage do several times before. It instantly pulled up a view of all Gregori's major organs and those same vitals Salem had been checking so the surgeon could see for himself on a quantitative basis that Gregori was, in fact, better.

"How?" Salem choked out.

"Being around his own kind, his own clan, can have a huge impact on a dragon." Sora clucked and gave Gregori a dark look. "He was warned being away from his clan for an extended period of time could be dangerous to his health, but he didn't take it as seriously as he should have."

Gregori winced and briefly thought about shifting into his dragon so he could escape, but he couldn't. It was time to face the music.

"Gregori, what were your symptoms and when did they start?" Sora inquired, turning his full attention on him.

Gregori glanced at his mate, but in the end, he couldn't meet Salem's gaze when he answered. "It started after I'd been here about a month. At first, I thought it was just homesickness, but I noticed one day when I was with the kids at the hospital that my magic was breaking down. There were times when I tried to call on it and nothing would happen. The first time, I got it working again after a few attempts. No big deal."

"But…" Sora pressed.

Gregori's gaze slid to Salem, who was looking pale and sickly, and he licked his lips before he continued. "It got worse. The ice magic was barely working, and it was becoming painful to force. It was harder to focus. My body ached…and…my dragon…it wasn't responding to me anymore."

"What?" Dimitri barked, and Gregori ducked his head down toward his shoulders.

"It was lethargic and apathetic. It seemed like it just didn't care about anything."

Dimitri stomped away, cursing in Russian. When he whirled back, he pointed a finger at him, his face twisted with pain and anger. "You were told to report in the moment you were having any kind of problems. Ha Na said you told her you were fine during your calls. No problems. You lied to her. To us!"

Sam jogged over and wrapped his arms around his mate, whispering reassurance in his ear to calm him down.

The one who had him worried right now was Sora.

The mage shut down the spell he'd been using and tucked his hands into the pockets of his puffy blue coat. "That settles it. You're coming back to Brazil."

"No!"

It was exactly what Gregori didn't want. Terror seized his heart and squeezed it tight enough to crush it.

"You have no choice. Staying here is killing you. You can't risk being away from your clan any longer. If you don't accompany us back to Brazil in the next twenty-four hours, I'll have no choice but to tell Rodrigo."

Fuck. That was the other thing he didn't want. His king could command him to return, and if he didn't instantly obey, Rodrigo could kick him out of the clan.

But he didn't want to disobey Rodrigo. He loved and respected his king. He'd follow Rodrigo to the ends of the earth and through hell itself if he commanded it.

Gregori dragged his eyes over to Salem at last to find his mate staring at him with an unreadable expression.

"Let's go inside. We have a lot to discuss."

And that sounded a hell of a lot worse than facing his pissed off king.