Page 64 of Cam's Treasure

I jumped as Raphael brushed his fingers through my hair, and Cam squeezed my shoulder. Relaxing just a little, I waited as Raphael hissed and muttered to himself.

"Okay, good news is it's just a flesh wound, so even if I can't heal it, it'll be okay."

Why couldn't he?

Before I could ask, I felt his palm brush my hair, and then warmth. The magic tingled as it brushed my scalp, warm and almost minty in feel, and I exhaled slowly as the discomfort in my head finally lessened.

"There. The pain might stick around for a bit, but painkillers should help with that. This wasn't a magic injury, was it?"

"I hit my head on a rock," I said with a shake of my head, and Raphel winced sympathetically.

I realized with a start that I wasn't afraid of him any longer. Somehow, he'd put me at ease with his gentle ministrations and cheerful way of speaking.

"Okay, I'm done," he said, taking a step back and smiling at me. "Do you feel better?"

"Much. Thank you so much."

"I was happy to help!" Then he turned to Cam.

"Tell me everything. How did you meet? And why aren't Cassybear and the others here? Or did you tell them to stay home because of the drama when Ember arrived?"

I glanced from Cam to Raphael, curious about what had happened when Ember arrived. And who was Cassybear?

"Uh, we haven't told them yet," Cam said, a sheepish note in his voice, and Raphael's eyes widened.

"What? Are you telling me I'm the first one you told?"

Cam nodded, and Raphel grinned widely. While I got the feeling he was older than Cam—both in age and in their relationship dynamic—he looked more like a kid as he did a happy little jig.

"That is awesome. See, I knew I was your favorite!"

Cam rolled his eyes, but there was a fond smile on his lips. The two of them were clearly very close, and I remembered what Cam had said about Raphael saving his life.

"Sure, sure. We need to tell the dads ourselves, though, so don't you dare tell them."

Raphael mimed zipping up his lips, then took a few steps back. "I'll leave you to it. Let me know if you need anything."

"Thanks for getting here so quickly."

"You'd do the same," Raphael said, waving Cam off. Then he turned to Micah, his brows furrowing. "Are you okay? You're unusually quiet."

Micah pursed his lips, and his eyes flicked to mine, as if asking my permission to say whatever he wanted to. I shrugged, not caring either way.

"The person who stole Kai's coat...he was a mage. From Ravenshire."

Raphael scowled, and I blinked, surprised at the change. The scowl looked wrong, as if he wasn't meant to make a face like that.

"What could they possibly want with a selkie's coat? A stolen one at that?"

I was surprised Raphael knew the distinction, and I wondered just how old he was. Very few people these days knew the difference between a selkie coat given out of free will and a stolen one.

"Who knows? I don't care about the reason. All I know is we're going to get it back."

The steel in Cam's voice surprised me and made me feel safe at the same time. It was like I could feel his dragon speaking to me, promising to protect and guard me.

Raphael gazed at him for a long moment, then nodded. "Like I said, let me know if you need anything." Cam gave an almost arrogant smile, like he was completely confident he could handle it alone, and Raphael shook his head. "Okay, I'll leave you to it. Make sure you call your dads, both of you."

"I'm surprised Raiden hasn't called or shown up yet. He must've sensed Kai," Micah piped up, and I felt a little relieved that he sounded almost relaxed. Clearly, he had some baggage with Ravenshire too, and I wished I hadn't had to dig it up.

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