“Move on, short stuff,” Renny retorted. “Go ahead, Dre’Kariston.”
Allowing himself to be fueled by the excitement overflowing in Renny’s voice, Dre’Kariston closed his eyes and chanted the short spell that would create a life. Lifting his lashes, a body slowly formed in front of him. Before he could register much more than longish curls messily hanging around his face, he was being tugged into the familiar’s embrace.
“Thank you,” he said. “I know that wasn’t easy for you.” He pulled back, so they were staring into each other’s matching navy eyes. “I vow we’ll have the relationship you always wished to have with your familiar.”
The muscles of Dre’Kariston’s throat clenched as tears threatened. He was outdone not only by the words but by the honesty he read in the man’s eyes. A single tear escaped before he managed to utter a response. “I would like that very much.”
The familiar smiled brightly and turned to Somerly. “Hi.”
“Hello,” the dragon replied, then let out a squeak. Dre’Kariston’s new familiar had seized him in a tight hug.
“Annnnnnd, we have a new D’Vaire,” Renny exclaimed.
“A new D’Vaire?” Aleksander asked as he walked into the room with his middle brother at his side.
“Oh, oops…I guess we should’ve let our king know we were adding a new family member,” Dra’Kaedan said after he took a turn greeting Dre’Kariston’s familiar.
“Explain,” Aleksander demanded.
“I summoned my familiar. I’m sorry, Dra’Kaedan’s right. I should’ve let you know,” Dre’Kariston offered.
Aleksander’s smile was glorious. “In this case, I won’t argue the results. Congratulations. I’d love to be introduced.”
“One problem,” the familiar remarked. “I don’t have a name yet.”
“King Aleksander D’Vairedraconis, allow me as Grand Warlock to introduce you to the Grand Summoner Familiar. His name has yet to be chosen,” Dra’Kaedan stated in a very official sounding voice. “From your memories, I’m sure you know next to him is his brother Worth.”
“Nice to meet you both and you’re both handsome as sin, if you don’t mind me saying so,” the familiar commented.
“Oh, we like you already,” Worth remarked with a wink.
“For sure, but I believe you need more than a title,” Aleksander added.
“I agree,” Dre’Kariston’s familiar replied. “A title is little more than words. It’s the character of the person that matters.”
Dre’Kariston agreed with his sentiment and he wrapped an arm around Somerly who pressed close to his side. “Do you have a name you’d like to go by?”
“I don’t wish to insult you, but your mother was once the Grand Summoner. She had a sacred duty of looking out for us familiars. I’d like her suggestion if you don’t have any.”
“You definitely haven’t insulted me. I don’t have any ideas, and she’s perfect for such a duty. Mom?”
“Lucian,” Saura said with a smile.
“What does it mean?” Renny asked.
She walked up and grabbed Dre’Kariston’s hand as well as his familiar’s. “Lucian means light. Light itself glows radiantly to remind you that without it there can be no dark. Darkness is where you belong—allow none of your shared memories to second guess that truth. Apart you are both strong, but together you can realize power unimagined. And if you combined your magic? You’d be a sight to behold.”
“Thank you, Saura. I love the name Lucian.”
“Me too. Thanks, Mom.”
“I should be thanking you both for giving me the honor,” she replied, then released her hold on them.
“Okay, so we’ve got our fantastic Lucian. Our group of sorcerers has a bunch of stuff to do, including fixing our little Carvallius problem and figuring out how to give Wullem the familiar he deserves. There’s only one small task left,” Renny said.
“What’s that?” Aleksander asked.
“It’s time for T’Eirick and Saura to be resurrected permanently,” he replied.
T’Eirick wrapped an arm around Saura. “I think you can move us from the no to the maybe column. How’s that?”
“I’ll take it for now, but I plan on being a pest about it,” Renny retorted.
“You’re a pest about everything,” Dra’Kaedan told him.
“Duh, I’m your familiar.”
Dra’Kaedan grinned broadly at the man he’d summoned. “We really are the best, aren’t we?”
“Absolutely, but we’ll allow Dre’Kariston and Lucian to squeeze into second place.”
“Excuse me, but Brexton and I are in the room,” Scheredin argued.
“No worries, dude. All warlocks, as well as their familiars, are second best when it comes to Dra’Kaedan and me.”
“I think as Grand Warlock and Grand Warlock Familiar, you should be a little less biased,” Scheredin countered.
“I apologize if you didn’t realize from my memories that our family’s insane,” Dre’Kariston offered Lucian.
“I guess it’s a good thing I like crazy,” Lucian replied.
Dre’Kariston smiled and the pit in his stomach over his fears about having a familiar loosened completely. Lucian was turning out to be nothing like Derwin.
“Before this fight gets out of hand, I need to tell you all something,” Lucian announced.
“What’s up?” Renny asked.
“Nothing major, I hope. I just thought Dre’Kariston and the rest of you should know that somehow I’m lacking a magical dragon form like the three of you,” Lucian replied with a wave of his hand to include the twins and Renny.
“That’s odd,” Dra’Kaedan said. “I thought since you shared the same magic well any familiar of Dre’Kariston’s would have one.”
“Unless the magical form serves a different purpose,” T’Eirick suggested.
“What do you mean?” Dre’Kariston asked.
“You and your brother both have dragon replicas of your mate’s beasts. I believe Renny will find he’s the same way. If I had to hazard a guess I’d say that our Lucian here won’t have a dragon shifter as a mate,” T’Eirick replied.
Lucian bobbed his head in agreement. “If your theory’s correct, then I would assume it’s not a shifter at all or I’d have their beast.”
“We should all make a guess on what race Lucian will wind up with and see who’s right whenever he happens along,” Renny proposed.
“Does that mean Scheredin, Wullem, and I won’t have shifter mates either?” Brexton asked.
“I don’t think we can make that assumption. Fate gave the boys a special ability—perhaps because their power’s so strong,” T’Eirick stated.
“As long as I don’t end up with a worm shifter I’m cool,” Scheredin retorted.
“First, don’t tempt Fate. Second, worm shifter? There’s no such thing,” Dra’Kaedan countered.
“I like your familiar,” Somerly said as Dra’Kaedan and Scheredin started arguing in earnest.
“I do too,” Dre’Kariston replied, then turned so he could pull Somerly all the way into his arms. “Not as much as I like you, though.”
“Be a little strange if you started lusting after Lucian there. It’d almost be like fucking yourself, he looks so much like you.”
“He’s nonsexual until he meets his mate, Somerly. We only know his other half is male because mine happens to be.”
“I’d be happy to show you the parts that make me male,” Somerly whispered into his ear.
Dre’Kariston pulled out of the embrace and took his hand once again, then led him out of the room. He vaguely heard the quarreling voices of his family over the surging blood in his veins as he tugged Somerly toward their bedroom. There was no way he was going to pass up such a tempting offer and after they’d fucked themselves into oblivion, he’d shower him with all the words in his heart. The twisted path of his life had led him to the epitome of happiness and the pain of his past only made him love Somerly more. Burie
d inside of him were sorrow and grief, but his mother’s words were true; without them he wouldn’t be able to see the glorious light of his mate.
Their road to this day might not have been an easy one, but it made it all the sweeter for the bumps they’d had to take along the way. One thing was for certain; this thing they’d built was only going to grow as they journeyed into the future. Dre’Kariston laid a kiss on Somerly’s temple; he couldn’t wait to get started.
About the Author
Jessamyn Kingley lives in Nevada where she begs the men in her head to tell her their amazing stories which she dutifully writes it all down in what has become a small mountain of notebooks. She falls in love with each couple and swears whatever book she wrote last is her absolute favorite.
Jessamyn is married and working toward remembering to start the dishwasher without being distracted by the scent of the magical detergent. For personal enjoyment, she aids in cat rescue while slashing and gashing her way through mobs in various MMORPGs. Caffeine is her very best friend and is only cast aside briefly for the sin better known as BBQ potato chips.
Visit her website at: www.jessamynkingley.com
Follow her on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/jessamynkingley. She loves to engage with readers there.
Also by Jessamyn Kingley
The D’Vaire Series
Dra’Kaedan’s Coven
Sentinel’s Dagger
Vengeance from the Dark
Resurrection of the Fallen
Rise of the Lich Sentinel
Fall of the Arch Lich
The First Sentinel
Disregarding Fate
Irresistible Indigo
The Summoner's Path (D'Vaire, Book 10) Page 34
