And therianthropes were valuable. Such glorious furnaces of magic. Innate wellsprings. And Colin had been…careless, reckless, if not outright self-destructive.
A good Arch-Mage would’ve cared. Would’ve taken care of every single one of his people. Would never have given up and collapsed under the expectations and the futility and the newfound decadence at fingertips. Would’ve never run from it all.
He breathed again, “I’ll try to find him. If he’s in trouble. I can do that.”
“Him.” Nicholas smiled, brief and wry. “I like that.”
Tom blinked, puzzled.
“You think about us as people. Not legends to revere, not power sources you can use, just…” One fingertip traced a semicircle on the table, leaving invisible lines. “People.”
“Aren’t you?” And that invited even more questions, but surely
