The Summoner's Path (D'Vaire, Book 10)

by Jessamyn Kingley

  Dre’Kariston gave a jerky shrug as an overwhelming desire to weep crept over him. He refused to give in to the urge to cry and concentrated on pulling all the dark smoke in the room back into himself. When the honey tones of the wood floor appeared beneath his feet again, he faced his brother. “What’s to talk about? I told you what happened. He’s getting married. It’s over between us. Derwin’s absolutely right about having Lorcan break our matebond and moving on.”

  “Don’t you think that’s a bit drastic?”

  “Are you seriously trying to tell me you would be okay with Brogan getting married and having children with someone else? That you’d be willing to be his lover on the side, never getting to be his mate in truth?”

  Dra’Kaedan huffed out a breath. “Since I have to be honest…no. No, I wouldn’t be able to stomach the thought. I’d probably sneak into his bedroom and tie his dick in a knot, so he couldn’t use it with someone else.”

  “My dick just cried a little at the thought,” Brogan threw in.

  “What am I supposed to do, Dra’Kaedan? I love him, and the asshat is going to get married.”

  “Love changes a person. Maybe he won’t go through with it.”

  “So, you want me to sit here and pine away while I wait for him to come to his fucking senses?” Dre’Kariston demanded.

  “Fucking hell, I just can’t deal with the idea of you not living happily ever after,” Dra’Kaedan replied. A tear slipped down one cheek. “I know how bad you’re hurting. I can see it all over your face. I want a way to fix it, but there’s nothing I can do.”

  “I don’t want to cry,” Dre’Kariston whispered as he did just that. “He hurt me. I didn’t know I could hurt like this.”

  Brogan grabbed both twins in a hug. “Fucking Ethelin dragons,” he muttered.

  His brother’s hand ran over his back to soothe, but all Dre’Kariston could do was weep against Brogan’s broad chest. “At least I don’t have to go back to Court Ethelin.”

  “Thinking about you no longer traveling there twice a day isn’t making me feel any better right now, but I appreciate you trying,” Brogan teased.

  Dre’Kariston managed to chuckle through his tears. “I gave it a valiant effort.”

  “I’m so sorry, little brother,” Dra’Kaedan offered. “I wish we were better friends with Court Ethelin. We can’t even appeal to his king to see if he’ll intervene since he hates all of our guts.”

  “I don’t even know who his father is anyway.”

  “He owes fealty to King Boian. It’s a given that he’s an asshat,” Brogan stated.

  Dre’Kariston brushed the wetness from one cheek. “I’m glad you guys aren’t Ethelin dragons anymore.”

  “I know you’re hurting and that’s something I can understand, but can you promise not to break any more windows?” Brogan asked hopefully.

  With so much emotion roiling through him, Dre’Kariston had nearly forgotten chucking the remains of his phone through the glass. “Sorry about that.”

  “Come on, you need your family right now. Let’s go see who is still up and get some comfort food. Then we’ll get you set up in a guest room until Brogan gets your window fixed,” Dra’Kaedan said.

  “This one is too white anyway.”

  “We’ll paint it dark blue and black,” Dra’Kaedan promised. Dre’Kariston released the men he was holding close and followed them out. He was content to pretend his heart wasn’t as shattered as the window behind him. Somerly betrayed him, and it was up to Dre’Kariston to find a way to cope. He wished he had the first clue how to begin.

  Chapter 19

  Shaking the phone in his hand, panic coursed through his veins as Somerly feared that he wasn’t going to be able to get through to Dre’Kariston. The last call had gone straight to voice mail; his warlock had turned his device off. It was the only way he had to reach him. He lived a continent away and Somerly didn’t even have his address. Somerly had feared Dre’Kariston wasn’t going to take the truth well, but he hadn’t expected to have no way to discuss it with him. Without a clue as to what else to do, Somerly turned to the same person he always did when he was in trouble.

  Thankfully, Lex answered on the first ring. “Hey, I thought you’d be with Dre’Kariston. What’s up?”

  “Can you meet me in my room?”

  “You sound scared. What’s wrong?”

  Somerly bit his lip. “Please, just come, okay. I’ll tell you.”

  “Be there in two minutes.”

  Ending the call and shoving the phone into his pocket, Somerly ran toward his father’s house. Lex’s family lived close by and if he didn’t hurry, his best friend would beat him to his own bedroom. Straining his lungs, Somerly dashed home and hastily climbed the trellis while his mind whirled. Once he got to the window, he slid it up carefully and climbed inside. The door swung open at the same time and Lex sauntered in.

  “I need your help.”

  “I’m always here for you. What’s wrong? You look…well, I’m not sure what that look is about. Either you’re going to shit your pants, or someone died.”

  “I told Dre’Kariston I was getting married.”

  Lex reached up and scratched his head. “I’m going to guess things didn’t go well.”

  “He wants to break our matebond.”

  “Can’t you understand why he’d feel that way?”

  “I thought you’d be on my side. I have no choice. I have to marry Lucretia.”

  Lex fixed him with a combative look. “Nope. You don’t. You’re an adult. You have a mate. I don’t give a shit what your father says—mates come first. There’s no way in fucking hell I’d stand by while my other half married someone else. The very idea of the person Fate picked out for me fucking someone else would probably push me right over the edge.”

  An image of Dre’Kariston in bed with someone else slammed into his head and he nearly puked. It was such an abomination, he couldn’t understand how stupid he’d been in expecting Dre’Kariston to tolerate him with Lucretia. But it still didn’t give him any clue as to how he was supposed to please both his mate and his father. “What do I do?”

  “Somerly, I can’t tell you what choice to make, but you can’t have it both ways. So the question is, do you want to marry Lucretia or be with Dre’Kariston?”

  “It’s not that simple. My dad—”

  “You know what? Fuck your dad.” Lex grabbed Somerly’s shoulders and pinned him. Somerly was unable to escape his probing eyes and he squashed down the urge to squirm. “What do you want?”

  It took less than a heartbeat for the answer to resonate through his body, mind, and soul. “I want Dre’Kariston.”

  Releasing him, Lex let out a whoosh of air. “Thank Fate, you’ve come to your senses.”

  “Okay, but I still have a huge fucking mess on my hands. I have to explain this to my dad, and Dre’Kariston hates me.”

  “You sure that’s the best thing to do? Your dad’s going to lose his mind. Maybe it would be best not to tell him.”

  “What the fuck, Lex? I can’t just not show up at the wedding and let him guess my choice.”

  “When he can’t find you because you’ve left for the Council, he’ll figure out you won’t be coming to your wedding.”

  “You want me to go to the Council?”

  “Not just you. Me too. Let’s go. All we have to do is ask the humans to help us. They don’t want us around and will contact the Council on our behalf. You tell them your mate’s the Grand Summoner and we’ll go. We’ll figure out a way to talk to Dre’Kariston and explain to him that you were blinded by your duty to your dad. Tell him you’re not stupid so you’re not going to defy Fate.”

  “I’m so scared he’s never going to talk to me again,” Somerly confessed as his breath hitched. He was trying so hard to keep himself together while inside of him everything was a mess. There were so many conflicting emotions he had no idea how to sort them out. He loved his dad and couldn’t imagine just leaving withou
t at least telling him why he was letting him down, which he explained to Lex.

  “Okay. I get it. You need to tell him. I hope he doesn’t freak out as bad as I think he will. Look, we’ll still figure out a plan to leave. We can meet up to talk about it tomorrow night. It’s the big Court Ethelin dinner to honor the dukes and other security dragons. Everyone will be there.”

  “Yeah, I know. My dad loves that party. He started planning it like six months ago. I’ll talk to him in the morning and it’ll be good. He’ll be able to focus on his plans for the night. Then he can figure out a new way to ally Court Ethelin with Court Varius. Right?”

  “If it’s meant to work out that way then, yes.”

  “What about Lucretia?”

  Lex’s brows drew together. “What about her?”

  “Should I go talk to her as well? Explain that I’ve met my mate and stuff?”

  With a shake of his head, Lex lowered his gaze to the floor. “Bloody fucking hell, what is this, the Somerly tour of apologies? Forget it, you hardly know her. Your dad can make your excuses. He’s the one who signed you up for this in the first place.”

  “Thanks for listening to me.”

  “Always. That’s what best friends do. Now don’t focus on what happened with Dre’Kariston. We’ll fix it. I promise.”

  “I’ll try.”

  “Get some sleep. Call me as soon as you talk to your dad, because you know he’s going to upset you.”

  “Okay. I will.”

  “It’ll be okay, Somerly.”

  Somerly’s smile was grim as he held back his urge to cry like a baby. “I heard you.”

  “Good. Do more than that. Believe me.”

  With a nod, Somerly agreed. Lex hugged him, then left him alone with his churning emotions. At the forefront was the guilt; he should’ve realized from the start it was unfair to Dre’Kariston to even contemplate following through on a plan he never wanted any part of. And of course, he was going to be letting down his only parent. There was no escaping the further hurt he was going to inflict on someone he loved. Somerly wondered just when his life had ripped apart and why it had taken him so long to recognize it.

  * * *

  It was midmorning when Somerly walked down the hall toward his father’s office. They had breakfast together an hour before and as predicted, King Boian was jovial and excited about the party they would all be attending. Somerly hoped his good mood kept him calm and helped him understand why he was choosing to take a different path from the one his father set out for him.

  Gathering his courage, he knocked on the door and his father beckoned him inside. “Hey Dad, got a minute to talk?” he asked as soon as he was standing near his desk.

  “Is something troubling you, Somerly?”

  “As a matter of fact, there’s a great deal troubling me.”

  “I thought so—you were quiet at breakfast. Have a seat. I have some good news which will cheer you.”

  Somerly lowered himself into a wingback chair. “Good news?”

  “Yes, I spoke with King Variusdraconis, and we’ve finalized your wedding details. In fact, we’ve decided to move up the date to just two weeks from now. Now I know you’ve lived here and expected to remain, but it’s best if you and Lucretia live in Court Varius.”

  Stunned to hear that not only was the wedding moved up by a couple of months, but his father had agreed to send him to Court Varius, Somerly blinked and his mind blanked. “Court Varius?”

  “Yes, you’ll make a fine Variusdraconis.”

  “How does it help Court Ethelin if I’m a Variusdraconis?”

  “Because what Court Ethelin needs most is an infusion of cash. We’re nearly out of funds, and King Variusdraconis is willing to pay handsomely to find a husband who will overlook Lucretia’s desire to sleep with women.”

  “You knew Lucretia was a lesbian?”

  “Everyone knows, Somerly. You’re the only one who walks around clueless about the world around you. You’ve always been too stupid to understand that the more you learn about people, the more advantageous it is.”

  Used to his intelligence being in question, Somerly let the insult pass. He decided since he was already this far down the rabbit hole, he might as well see what else his father had planned. “And what of Lex? He’s my best friend but has no other real role in Court Ethelin. Would he be coming with me then, to Court Varius?”

  “No, I’ve arranged for something different entirely for Lex. I’ve been in touch with a wizard who wishes to experiment with dragon blood. He believes he can concoct a great many new potions. He’s also willing to pay for one. I think Lex will be perfect for such a role. He’ll have no other duty but to provide something he makes in plentitude.”

  “You want to sell Lex to a wizard, so he can be used for experiments?”

  “You needn’t make it sound as if he’s going to be living in a lab, for crying out loud. He’ll have a private room in the wizard’s home. I understand it’s going to be quite comfortable for him.”

  Somerly couldn’t process all that he was learning. It was like listening to a madman wearing the mask of his father. He wondered if he’d spent an entire century walking around just as his father had said, with his head in the clouds and no clue about how anything worked. Or who he could trust. “I have something to tell you.”

  “Yes, of course. You’re upset over something. What’s wrong?”

  “I’ve met my mate, and he’s quite wonderful.”

  “Somerly, we’ve been over this. Your penchant for desiring men is completely unacceptable and unnatural. We don’t even know if mates are real. I’ve cautioned you on trusting that garbage your whole life. Now, I know it must be upsetting to meet someone who insists you were meant to be together, but I’m sure if you explain to him you’re engaged, he’ll go find someone else to bother. No doubt he’s heard you’re the son of a king and is wishing for a payout.”

  “He doesn’t know I’m the son of a king, and I did explain to him about my wedding. He’s very upset with me right now and I must fix it. I have very strong feelings for him. It’s wrong to tell you I love him, for I haven’t said the words to him yet, but it’s the truth. I can’t marry Lucretia. I want to spend my life with my mate.”

  King Boian rose to his feet. “What you are is delusional. Didn’t you hear me say we’re all out of money? You can’t possibly be selfish enough to insist on destroying the livelihood of every dragon who calls Court Ethelin home, just so you can frolic with some man you’ve met. You will marry Lucretia. I won’t hear another word about it.”

  “Could you not simply appeal to the Emperor about the money? I’m told he’s very helpful toward his kings.”

  “I’m not one of his kings. Around here, I answer to only myself. I will certainly not be appealing to a dragon who would barter the freedom of his people to play nice with a bunch of magickind.”

  “Magickind isn’t so different from us. They want the same things out of life,” Somerly argued. “They wish to meet their mates and be happy.”

  “Do not say another word about mates to me. It’s a fantasy. One made up by poets and fools.”

  “That’s not true. My mate—”

  King Boian slammed a hand down onto his desk. It made such a large bang, Somerly jumped in his chair. “Not one more fucking word, Somerly. Go to your room. You’re not to leave it for the rest of the day. I warned you to shut up about it, but you continued to press me. Now I have no choice but to bar you from the party tonight.”

  “But—”

  “Damn it, Somerly, get out!” he roared. Knowing his father had been pushed as far as he could possibly be, Somerly did as he was told. As soon as he was safely ensconced in his private space, he pulled out his phone and dialed Lex. It was time to find a way to the Council of Sorcery and Shifters. Somerly wanted his father to understand that he was intent to follow his heart, but it was not to be. It hurt that his parent didn’t support him, but Somerly had to push it aside so he could find a
way back to Dre’Kariston. Maybe after he fixed one relationship, he could resolve another.

  Chapter 20

  “Lex?”

  “Yeah, what’s up?”

  “There’s been a change of plans.”

  Even through the phone, Somerly couldn’t miss the long, drawn-out sigh. “Please tell me your father didn’t convince you to abandon your plans to share your life with Dre’Kariston.”

  “Just the opposite. We need to leave as soon as possible.” Not only did Somerly have a wedding to avoid, but he needed to save his best friend from being used as some laboratory dragon for a nefarious wizard.

  “We were set to plan tonight.”

  “I know, but now we need to leave tonight. It’s as you said—everyone will be at the party. It’s the perfect opportunity to get away without raising the alarm.”

  “Okay. Okay, yeah. We can do that. Have you any money?”

  “Not a lot. Do you think we’ll be needing a great deal?”

  “I don’t know how much a human plane ticket costs. Those types of things are blocked on our Internet, but I’ve been saving up every penny I get.”

  “You know me—I barely spend. We’ll figure it out.”

  “I’m so glad you’re the one being optimistic this time around.”

  “I need Dre’Kariston. I feel like a fool for not realizing sooner that I know what’s best for me.”

  “Better late than never. Look, you’ll make an appearance at your dad’s side tonight at the party like usual, then sneak upstairs. No one ever notices if I’m around or not. I’ll meet you at the treehouse.”

  “Dad and I quarreled over Dre’Kariston. He sent me to my room for the day and forbade me to attend.”

  “For once I’m glad your dad punishes you like a kid. Okay, I’ll go to the party with my parents, then leave straightaway. I’ll run to my house, grab my car, and drive over to the treehouse. We’ll get the fuck out of here, so pack light.”