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Baldewin leaned down and peppered Tori’s temple and down his jaith kisses “I’”
Tori couldn’t deny the rush of pleasure that came with those words He could feel Baldewin’s pride and happiness pouring through hi that none of the others had noticed He’d brought the Taavi, and he’d done it with his ic
“Baldewin, I want you and Ravi in the air and heading toward Utsjoki in fivethose kids is the priority,” Alric directed “Gunter will travel with us and act as additional protection for the es”
“Yes, Hoheit,” the three dragons agreed in unison Tori got a final wink fro out the door
Part of him wanted to follow just to watch Baldewin shift into his aon form, but there was no time He helped Cameron, Evora, and Gunter quickly pack up their supplies in the leather satchel while Alric called Rodrigo with the latest news Tori wasn’t even sure if the Valerii had been able to get to Nuorgaons would be airborne in a matter of minutes
As they hurried to one of the black SUVs they’d rented, Evora poked Tori with one of her long fingernails “When we return to Burkhard Castle, you will show me exactly how you did that”
Tori grinned broadly at her, his heart swelling “I will I proic e get to Utsjoki That’ll be your focus”
“Do you think we can weave that distortion recognition into some of our wards on the castle? Maybe even Sonthofen?” Cameron asked He stood next to the driver’s door, his eyes wide
“Drive now Talk es,” Alric cohter sparkle in his blue eyes A hint of a hidden joy And why not? If the Burkhard dragons had been running short on es for five centuries, then it likely ic chatter This was a nor time
Tori jumped into the backseat with Evora and Gunter They were still pulling on their seatbelts when Caravel and a surprised yelp froer seat
Fear and hope arring in his chest He was afraid of theet there in ti lives would be lost, but also any hope theythe leaders of the Taavi Clan to even listen to the dragons He wasn’t sure they’d ever be able to change their ons, but he wanted to believe that at least soht finally come around
The drive to Utsjoki Village was a little more than thirty minutes away Tori kneell, even if he didn’t often stop there The village was a crossroads leading into Norway It contained a beautiful bridge that spanned the Karasjohka River and a few basic stores, butinto Finland continued south to one of the larger towns
Just outside of Utsjoki, Tori spotted so that made his stomach sink
“Pull over!” he shouted suddenly, twisting in his seat as Cameron passed by a small, maroon car that looked familiar He’d driven that car, he was sure of it, on a variety of runs to the south
Cameron hit the brakes hard and pulled off to the side of the road just in front of the car As they slowed to a stop, Tori hopped out of the vehicle and ran back to the car As he approached, it became clear that the front and rear driver’s side tires were flat They’d hit so in the road
“It’s the same trick they pulled to kidnap me from Dieter,” Cameron said from behind Tori There was a haunted quality to Ca down Tori’s spine
He continued to walk around the car The doors were all closed, but the backseat behind the driver was piled high with bags The trunk was likely to be filled, as well, with valuable goods Whoever had taken the kids wasn’t interested in the contents of the car Just them
“There were three of them How could they take three of thelanced over to find that her arhtly around her waist, as if she was feeling the same chill as Tori
“There have to be more of them than the two that met us in Helsinki I-I don’t kno es They’re probably in their late teens to early twenties They would at least kno to do some basic protection spells, but if they didn’t realize they were in trouble…”