Chapter 32

G regori lifted his head and stared at the door in front of him, releasing a heavy sigh. He'd walked through this door hundreds of times in the past. This certainly wasn't his first time being called onto the carpet. All of it for stupid shenanigans he'd pulled with his fellow trackers. Just pranks that had gotten a little out of hand.

But this time was different.

He'd lied, kept secrets, and in the end, failed his mate, his clan, and his king.

Just as he lifted his hand to knock, the door swung open and he gasped, barely pulling his hand back in time to keep from hitting Thiago in the nose. Gregori jumped back a step and grimaced.

"Sorry."

"I take it you're done lingering outside his door and you're ready to face the music?"

Of course Thiago knew he'd been lurking outside Rodrigo's private office. The crafty aide to the king knew everything that went on in the Valerii Clan. He'd been at Rodrigo's side for as long as Gregori could remember, and he had even served Rodrigo's father.

Gregori stepped into the office, opening and closing his fists at his sides. The door closed behind him, and he glanced over his shoulder to find Thiago had left him alone.

"Drag your sorry carcass in here, Gregori. I'm not going to bite you," Rodrigo called out.

With a sigh, Gregori stepped farther into the large room. It was hard to believe this was a dragon king's office. The walls were a soft, buttery yellow, and instead of weapons on the walls, there were exquisite paintings of ocean scenes. There was the typical large desk and long conference table, but the other furniture was soft and comfortable, with bright pastel fabrics.

It was all a stark difference to the old office the Valerii kings had maintained in Russia, where the dragons had lived in a stone castle and every wall had been covered in weaponry, pelts, or animal heads. But then, when the ice dragons had lived in Russia, the castle had been a place of protection and war. Before the Great Dragon War was launched against the Jaeggi Clan, the dragons had fought the fire dragons of the west for territory. They'd also fought the wind dragons to the south.

But losing more than half of your clan of dragons and three-quarters of your mages tended to put things in perspective. The Valerii Clan had been on the brink of extinction, their morale as bleak as the Siberian tundra in the middle of winter. Rodrigo had saved them all when he'd announced they were moving to Brazil. They'd needed to shed the weight of the past if they were to have any hope for the future.

When Gregori had allowed himself to dream of a brighter future with a mate of his own, he had to admit someone like Salem had never crossed his mind.

Two walls of Rodrigo's office were covered in floor-length windows and sliding glass doors that opened out onto a courtyard overlooking the beach and ocean. Several of the doors were open now, allowing a salty breeze to sweep in and push about the long sheer white curtain.

Rodrigo poked his head into the office through a set of curtains and waved for Gregori to approach. "We'll talk out here."

Gregori gulped and shuffled out into the bright late-morning light to find a small table set up with a teapot, a couple of cups, and some small pastries. Rodrigo sat in the chair on the right and refilled his cup with a dark, rich tea that reminded Gregori of mornings in Russia. After moving to South America, he'd shifted from being a tea drinker to a coffee drinker, like most of the clan, but this was one of the few ways in which Rodrigo clung to the old ways.

"My winter rose likes to have breakfast with me here so we can watch the sun rise over the ocean waves," Rodrigo said as Gregori dropped into the only remaining seat. "It's a peaceful way to start the day." He held up the teapot, offering it to Gregori, but he shook his head. As nervous as he was, it didn't seem like a good idea to dump a bunch of caffeine on top of the roiling mess inside him.

"Velichestvo, I beg your forgiveness. I should never have lied to your mate, and by extension, you. I have broken your trust. I-I?—"

Rodrigo waved off his apologies and took a sip of his tea. He turned from where he had been facing the ocean to stare at Gregori with a sad smile. "You are forgiven. It's like you think I haven't gone through this with all the other mated dragons in our clan. Every last one of you becomes thick in the head." He poked Gregori in the center of the forehead with one finger. "You find your mate, and all the good sense I know you possess either pours out your ears or out the end of your cock."

The king sighed and slumped a little in his chair, his arm coming to rest on the table. "Not that I was any better. When I met my Ha Na, I became a foolish child again, but my silliness was on display before King Alric." He shuddered. "The ridiculous excuses I came up with to remain in Burkhard Castle just so I could be close to my love."

He made another dismissive noise and returned his attention to Gregori. "There's no point in asking why you took such a horrible risk with your life. You did it to remain close to your mate, to protect him and win him over. It is a timeless tale among the dragons. No, what I wish to know is why you did not ask for help? At the first sign of your magic failing, you should have contacted Ha Na, Evora, me, or even Sora for assistance. Is there a reason you felt you could not come to any of us for help?"

Gregori frowned at the pretty floral pattern painted on the top of the table, unable to lift his eyes to Rodrigo. "I…was afraid."

"Why were you afraid?"

"I was afraid if you or Sora discovered I couldn't properly use magic or that my dragon wasn't speaking to me any longer, you would command me to return to Brazil." He finally looked at Rodrigo and leaned forward. "Salem is a brilliant doctor, but he sees my presence as a threat to this life he has been building for himself. He still won't commit to being mates but is firm on the fact we are in a relationship. Which is a vast improvement from where we started. Even though he's here now, I'm still walking a tightrope with him. If I push too much or say the wrong thing, he could pack up and return to the United States without a single thought. Staying in the States and slowly winning him over was my only hope of finally claiming my mate. If I left…"

"All your hard work would be undone," Rodrigo finished for him. The dragon king shook his head and stared at the ocean waves for a moment. "Did it not occur to you there were other options besides ordering you home? I would have happily sent half the clan north to you. It would have been enough to soothe your dragon and preserve your magic while you won Salem's heart."

Gregori's mouth fell open, but not a peep of sound slipped out. In truth, the thought had never crossed his mind. He'd been so sure Sora or Ha Na would summon his ass back to Brazil if they caught even a whiff of trouble on his part.

Rodrigo muttered a curse under his breath and rolled his eyes. Clearly, he didn't need an answer from Gregori. "See. Brain out the end of your dick. Every last one of you. Thankfully, your brains seem to grow back after you've been bonded for a while. Dimitri is just now starting to show signs of intelligence again. God help me with Luka and Vasily."

"I'm sorry." Gregori's shoulders slumped, and for the first time in too many centuries to count, he felt like a fledgling dragon who'd disappointed his parents.

"All we wish is to see the members of the Valerii Clan happily mated. Every mage needs to be protected, whether they are a potential mate or not. The risks you took meant you could not properly protect Doctor Hunter. Even when your head is full of nothing but air, you must remember to trust your clanmates and rely on them for support."

"Yes, Velichestvo."

"I am only asking for balance, Gregori. You can't very well be a good mate to him if you kill yourself in the process."

"You are right."

Rodrigo sighed again and took a sip of his tea. "It has been known to happen on occasion."

Some of the weight on Gregori's chest lifted, and he was able to give a tiny smile. His king was taking his stupidity much better than he'd expected, but then Rodrigo had always been a very patient and compassionate leader. He had to be if he was going to survive guiding their clan of lunatics.

With the unpleasantness taken care of, Rodrigo leaned in close and smiled. "So, now that you have him here in Brazil, have you seen any signs of improvement?"

"Some." Gregori reached for the teapot and poured some of the tea into the empty cup in front of him. "I can tell he's making an effort to appreciate the little things I do for him. We even have plans for a date. I…" The words he was about to say got caught in his throat and he shook his head.

"What is it? Just say it."

"It's greedy of me."

"Say it anyway."

"I worry his only reason for coming here was to learn about how to use magic and medicine together. I'm grateful he's here, but I want him to want to be near me too. I don't know how I can reach the point where I matter to him." Gregori drained half his cup of tea. It would have been better if this was vodka. "I sound pathetic."

"You sound like a dragon completely enamored of his mate," Rodrigo corrected. "Is he still so leery of admitting to being mates? Despite moving down here for you?"

"Unfortunately, he's had a very bad dating history. Each ex-boyfriend hammered it into his head that he's not worthy of a good relationship. It's taken time for him to see I like living with him and won't be angry with him even when he screws up."

Rodrigo's nose scrunched up. "How horrible. I better understand why he's hesitant. Still, even knowing where he's coming from, it had to be hell on you."

Gregori fiddled with his cup, unsure how much to say before blurting out, "Even with all the languages I know, I don't have the words to describe how much it hurt to be continually rejected because of who I am. What I am. There were times I wanted to scream. Other times I wanted to track down every ex of his and put the fear of a dragon into them. I still might do so, actually, as the reminder pisses me off all over again. Even saying ‘it's been hell' is such an understatement."

Rodrigo reached out a hand and gripped one of Gregori's tightly, the pressure and warmth grounding him. "I know it is. But as hard as it's been, he's now very vocal about never driving you to that again. He's clearly repentant over it and striving to be a better partner to you."

"He declared we have to go see Wicked together. Just us," Gregori admitted. "It's the first date he's asked me on."

"There. That sounds like progress to me." Rodrigo squeezed his hand before letting go and sitting back in his chair. "Salem might prove me wrong, but he doesn't seem like a big gesture kind of guy. However, I think he will fight for you. Just be patient and support him as you have been, and I'm sure he'll come around eventually."

"Thank you, Velichestvo," Gregori said with a bow of his head.

A loud knock echoed through the office a second before the door opened and footsteps hurried across the tiles. "Velichestvo," Thiago called out. He stepped through the curtains, his face flushed and his normally tidy hair an unsightly mess. "Forgive the intrusion. We need your assistance."

"Is it Ravi or Ravi's twins?" Rodrigo inquired, his voice a weary tone that made Gregori think this was a common occurrence since Ravi and his family had come to Brazil.

"Both."

"I wish we could keep Sora for a bit longer but ship Ravi and his twins back to Alric." He clicked his tongue and waved a hand. "But I'm sure no father would be willingly separated from his children, and no dragon can tolerate being away from their mate. Ravi and Sora are a package deal."

"It would explain the regular gift baskets you've been receiving from King Alric recently with the thank-you notes."

Gregori jumped to his feet and bowed to Rodrigo. "I will take my leave so you can attend to this…incident. Thank you for your counsel."

He beat a hasty retreat out of the room before it occurred to Rodrigo or Thiago to pull him into whatever mess Ravi and his kids had created now.

While he'd been dreading facing Rodrigo, he had to admit he felt significantly lighter now they'd spoken. Not just because his king had been so understanding, but because he'd actually given him some words of hope when it came to Salem. They were making progress. Slow and steady progress.

After weeks of vowing to never go to Brazil, Salem was now here.

Grinning to himself, Gregori stepped inside of his apartment and crossed through the rooms until he finally located Salem half hidden behind a pile of old books, files, and even a few delicate-looking scrolls. When he'd left to meet up with Rodrigo, Salem had mentioned something about Sora sending over some "light" reading.

"Sora and I have very different ideas of what ‘light' reading looks like," Gregori said as he entered the room.

Salem's head popped up and he gave a wide grin, making Gregori's heart skip. That look made it all worthwhile. Even if he wasn't the cause of Salem's smile, he was just overjoyed to see his mate so very happy.

"All of this is so amazing! I just…I just never expected to discover so much healing magic preserved following the Great Dragon War. I thought it was all lost. When Sora and some dragons dropped this off, I couldn't help but jump in. How was your meeting with the king? He wasn't too angry with you, was he? Do you think I should go talk to him?"

Gregori held up his hand to stop Salem. If the mage kept talking, he was going to scoop him up from his chair and carry him off to bed. He was being too precious and adorable. It was odd. Since getting Salem away from the hospital and his tiny apartment, some of his hard edges had softened and he seemed more willing to laugh. Maybe he was able to finally relax away from the stress of his job, or the fact he wasn't constantly being reminded by his meager living conditions that he was drowning in debt. Either way, Gregori was happy to have his mate smiling.

"No, the king wasn't angry. Just worried about me. We talked and I reassured him I wasn't going to be a dumbass any longer. No more taking stupid risks with my life."

Salem released a heavy breath of relief and slumped deep in his chair, only the top of his head visible over the stack of books. "So even he has beat it into your head to never do it again? But in a nice way."

"Heh. Well, it's hard to say no when he did precisely that."

"I like him more every day." Salem gave him a sharp, speaking look. "You have learned your lesson, I hope, and I don't have to keep an eye on you?"

"I promise you I have. No more pushing myself to almost dying."

"Glad to hear it."

"How goes the reading?"

"It's astounding!" Salem jerked upright, his face alight with enthusiasm. "Did you know things like the flu and even the common cold can be cured with a potion? A simple potion! And treating pneumonia is nothing more than a spell and an hour of rest. It's insane. I've seen children stuck in the hospital for days, even weeks, as we tried to clear up their lungs. The list goes on and on. So many things that threaten the lives of children in the human world are regarded as barely more than a scraped knee when you can tackle it with magic." Salem flipped through some pages and hummed to himself for a second. "However, there are some neurological illnesses these old texts make assumptions about that I want to discuss with Sora and his parents. It might be one of the few areas where modern medicine has an edge."

"That's wonderful." Gregori paused and licked his lips. "I heard on my way back here that the room they prepared for you is ready."

Salem's gaze jerked up to his face. "Ready to get rid of me at last?"

"You know this isn't the case at all. If I had my way, I'd just shove you in my hoard and keep you there for all time." Gregori leaned forward and braced his hands on the table. "I just want you to have the choice of having your own space here. I trapped you with me in your own home and that wasn't fair."

"I didn't give you much choice."

Gregori shrugged. "Still wasn't fair. If you want to spend more time with me and learn more about what it means to be mates, then I want to do it at a pace you're comfortable with."

Salem's expression turned into one of thoughtful contemplation. "Yes. Yes, I think I will take you up on it. Some space would do us both some good."