“Aleksander damn well better be as fine as they keep telling us,” Noirin retorted.
“Dra’Kaedan swears he’s fine, but if it was your other half, you’d be crazy sick not knowing when he was going to wake up. We have no idea how long he’s going to continue to be in bed. So, how do we lessen the burden on Rafe?” Brogan asked.
“Well, for one there’s no reason we need to stress him out with every issue in the house Aleksander normally manages. People can filter issues through us and only if we can’t find a resolution do we bring it to Rafe’s attention,” Mac suggested.
“If he finds out, he’s going to argue,” Worth surmised.
“Which is why he wasn’t invited to this meeting. We aren’t trying to hurt him and if it’s something small, why add it to his plate?” Brogan said.
“I feel horrible for him. You can see the unease whenever he walks into a room. He was nowhere near being adjusted to living here when he and Aleksander went through with this. I know they wanted to give Mortis his mate, but I think Aleksander was so confident that he’d be asleep for a day or two that he didn’t consider the alternative. Imagine walking through that door and trying to be a High King. Even if you set aside whatever happened to him, it’s still a daunting task, especially when your other half is Aleksander. We adore him,” Noirin replied. “And let me tell you, I’ve got all kinds of love for Rafe, but I can’t say that I feel confident that he knows that.”
“Yeah, I must say, the timing for Nox was poor. The wolf himself is awesome. Ridiculously large, but no surprise given my brother’s dragon. Rafe only interacts with us during his sword classes, and can we talk about that for one minute?” Worth asked.
Brogan shook his head in amazement. “You know what I want to see? Him go against Conley. I bet his balance and ingenuity would be a match for Conley’s unnatural speed.”
“He’s so good, it’s intimidating,” Mac remarked with a laugh. “He better make me as good as him someday.”
“Did you see his face the day he thought Aleksander might die?” Worth asked. “He was like a ghost, he was so white.”
“My heart broke for him. I lost my mate once. It’s got to be ripping him apart like I said, but it hasn’t stopped him from being a good leader. He made exactly the right decision about Jeremiah,” Brogan commented.
“Can you believe my mate took him to task about that? You know, his mother told him to stay away from Rafe, but she didn’t explain why. Considering Rafe doesn’t want shit to do with Sullivan, and can I just say I never liked him anyway, I think she might’ve painted the whole family with the same brush. Kendrick certainly has no use for Charlton,” Noirin confessed.
“Does Kendrick have issues with Rafe?” Brogan asked.
“I don’t think so. How could he? Aleksander adores Rafe, and the two of them together are just beautiful. I wanted Aleksander to be happy for so long, and Fate really delivered. Rafe was even kind and eloquent when Kendrick pushed back about the Jeremiah thing,” Noirin said.
“You should’ve heard him talking to King Wellsdraconis. That asshat had nothing nice to say about our Jeremiah, but Rafe wasn’t ruffled,” Worth remarked.
“And he knew just what questions to ask without prompting, even though it was his first application. I was afraid he was going to put me on the spot, and I’d have to stumble through a conversation with His Highness, but he made my day when he handled the thing himself,” Mac confessed.
“It didn’t hit me until Rafe ended our meeting, but no one corrected Kendrick, including me, when he referred to Aleksander as ‘The High King,’ as if his mate didn’t have the same title. I spoke with Kendrick afterward, who didn’t even know he’d said it that way, but we’re his royal guards. We should’ve caught that right away,” Noirin groused.
“Shit, I missed that,” Mac complained. “I’ll pay more attention in the future. It’s just us getting used to the words. I don’t know that anyone feels Rafe’s not the exact same as Aleksander when it comes to their titles.”
“Damn right. Aleksander did the right thing by making the title equal and, to be honest, even if I didn’t like Rafe—which I definitely do—I wouldn’t undermine my cousin by not giving his mate the appropriate respect,” Noirin answered.
“Okay, so we need to divvy up the names of the household and pass the word around that issues need to be filtered through us just until Aleksander wakes up. If it can wait until then, great. If not, let’s see if we can work out at least a temporary situation. We don’t usually have too many major problems that would warrant Rafe handling them when he’s got so much on his mind, so I can’t imagine that this is going to affect our family much as a whole,” Brogan stated.
“And the important thing is that we’re lifting the burden for Rafe,” Noirin commented. They jotted names and once they were settled on who had who, Noirin hugged everyone and headed out of their room. It was heartwarming to know that she had such a caring family that they would come together and do anything they could think of to make life a bit easier for Rafe. Although she had no idea where he went for so long or who had hurt him, someday, she wanted the persons responsible to pay the price for the shadows in his pretty blue eyes.
Chapter 62
“We’re so glad you’re here,” Rafe told Jeremiah. The tall blond arrived exactly as described. His eyes sparkled more like diamonds to Rafe than glitter but either way, they were incredible, and his dragon form had to be remarkable.
“Thanks, I can’t tell you what it means to me that you guys approved my application. And I might steal your wolves.”
The supposedly intimidating animals were rolling over each other to get closer to Jeremiah’s hands while he sat on the floor, loving the pair.
“I think that’s the first time someone has arrived determined to steal something other than one of our dragon familiars,” Delaney mused.
“Oh, I’m taking them too,” Jeremiah assured him with a grin.
“I’m excited about your room,” Larissa said. “We’re going to make it so beautiful with your dragonskin and Worth’s.”
“Pink is my favorite color. I used to put streaks in my hair, but they washed out so fast I got annoyed and stopped.”
“I can put them in for you permanently,” Dra’Kaedan offered. “Just tell me where you want it and what shade.”
“Really? Awesome. A light pink and if you could do the whole underneath like Aleksander’s got his blue, I would love that.”
Dra’Kaedan got out his phone and sat next to Jeremiah to find the exact color. Seconds later, the spell was cast, and Jeremiah was handed a magical mirror. “You know I could’ve done this for you years ago. Of course, you could’ve also become a D’Vaire…”
“I’m going to hear about that for like a thousand years, aren’t I?”
“Count on it,” the Grand Warlock told him.
Rafe sat awkwardly in the living room with the D’Vaires as they chatted with Jeremiah. His nightly jog was done, and his plan was to tell Aleksander about his whole day as soon as he could conveniently sneak off to his bedroom.
“You know what I’ve always wondered about this place?” Jeremiah asked, pointing to a spot near the hallway that led to Larissa’s workshop. “What’s behind those double doors?”
“The throne room,” Delaney said. “We don’t really use it because it’s bland.”
“Kind of ugly if you ask me,” Grigori muttered.
Jeremiah laughed. “Why keep it ugly? Can I see it?”
Happy to help, Rafe stood as did the wolves and they led the young dragon to the space Rafe had only seen once. It simply didn’t have a purpose in the D’Vaire household. “Here it is,” Rafe said, pushing the doors open.
“It really is awful,” Larissa commented when she joined them.
“We were originally going to make it two stories like the workshops next to it but didn’t bother. It’s just dead space above it,” Madeline remarked.
“No one’s ever thought about fixing
it up?” Jeremiah asked. “Seems kind of sad that the only High Court has this plain, uninteresting throne room in this otherwise gorgeous house.”
“Well, perhaps if we had someone…an artist perhaps, that wanted to tackle a project like that, he might get some volunteers,” Madeline responded.
“I think that’s a great idea,” Rafe said. “It might be a nice surprise for Sander to have a decent throne room.”
Renny raced over. “It sounds to me like we’ve got another Team Rafe forming.”
“Wouldn’t it be expensive to redo it?” Kendrick asked.
“Aleksander has set a rather large household budget we never come close to spending. You’d virtually have an unlimited amount to use if you wished to start the project, Rafe,” Worth stated.
“Jeremiah, did you want to be the project leader? You can pick your team. I’ll call Harley in the morning and see if he can come back to work with you,” Rafe suggested.
“I’m intimidated as hell, but yeah. I’d love to do this. But can I ask that it be done in secret? I don’t want anyone besides our little Team Rafe to know what’s going on. We’ll reveal it to the High Kings first.”
If Sander ever wakes up, I might get to see the end result, Rafe thought. “I can live with that. Who is going to be on Team Jeremiah?”
“It’s Team Rafe,” Jeremiah insisted. “Who wants to help?”
“Madeline and I will,” Larissa enthused.
“Killian and I can add floral stuff. Maybe some D’Vaire lilies,” Dravyn volunteered.
“Okay, wonderful. You guys want to meet tomorrow to get started after Rafe talks to the griffins?”
Plans were set, and Rafe was thrilled with the idea of another project in the house. It made him feel as if he were accomplishing something in what he hoped was his short reign alone. “I hope you’ll include some of your artwork,” Rafe told Jeremiah.
“I might have some ideas, but I did have a question.”
“Fire away.”
“Is there a timetable I should be on? Do you want me to move fast, so it’s ready for when Aleksander wakes up?”
To Rafe, it was as if all the life was sucked out of the room, and he swore every conversation stopped. “We don’t know when Sander’s going to join us again, so I wouldn’t worry about trying to set a deadline. If we’re going to invest money in a project, then let’s do it the right way. Take as long as you need, and I know you guys will make it gorgeous.”
“Jeremiah, we’d love to talk to you about Rafe’s guidebook. As a new resident, you can offer us insight about your experience in adjusting to our household,” Renny enthused.
“So far, it’s been absolutely amazeballs and exciting.”
Satisfied that Jeremiah was doing well, Rafe decided he’d been away from his mate long enough. Leaving the living room with his wolves at his side, he went to their room, inside the space with the large four-poster bed, and his eyes immediately landed on Aleksander.
“I guess it was too much to hope for that you’d wake up today while I was out there. Wait until you hear what project your family suggested. I hope you don’t mind that I told them it was okay. They come up with such great ideas, I can’t help but get excited about how they want to improve things in the house and within D’Vaire. You’ve got a great bunch, Sander, you really do,” Rafe told him, shucking his shoes and crawling up next to him. Resting his head on Aleksander’s chest, he prepared to devote the next several hours talking to his other half.
∞∞∞
Saturday rolled around, and Rafe was sitting on the bench at the end of the bed where Aleksander continued to rest, putting on his boots when two big wolves pushed their way through the big doggy door Harley had installed.
Rafe grinned when they raced to him. “You guys are mated. Congratulations. That’s awesome.”
“It was the best hump.”
“For Fate’s sake, Mortis, I don’t need to know that. But I do think we need to do something special for you two. Hmm, you can’t wear rings. You don’t have any fingers.”
“Nox says he wants a shiny.”
“I have no idea what that means.”
“Me neither but Nox wants a shiny.”
Rafe kissed them both and gave them pets and cuddles. “Well, you’re wolves. What if we did collars? We could use Sander’s dragonskin, is that shiny enough?”
“Has shine but dark like our fur.”
“Okay, I want you both to be happy, but the only other person in here to offer ideas is still sleeping or whatever, so let’s go talk to his family and see if they can help.”
“Yay! Hungry!”
Rafe got up and opened the door, allowing the wolves to trot into the hallway. “Stay focused here. This is your matebond. Breakfast can wait.”
“Belly empty, Rafe. Matebond forever.”
“Not much of a romantic, are you?”
“Nox mad at me. Says you right. Matebond more special than food.”
“He’s wise,” Rafe responded. They arrived in the kitchen and came to a stop. “Um…Noir, do you think you could get everyone’s attention?”
“Sure.” She snatched a spoon from a container and yanked a pot out of the cupboard, which she hit soundly with the utensil. The lively room went dead silent. “Your High King wishes to speak to you,” Noirin told the shocked residents of D’Vaire.
“Noir goddess hurt ears.”
“Thanks, Noir,” Rafe said, ignoring his wolf. “I just wanted to announce that Nox and Mortis have completed their matebond. And well, Nox wants something shiny. I thought they could get collars in Sander’s dragonskin, but I don’t know how to make it impressive enough to please him. Any ideas?”
“That’s so wonderful,” Noirin enthused. “Congratulations, my pretty boys. I’m going to make you something extra special tonight for dinner to celebrate.” The wolves preened as she loved them.
“It’s a matebond, so what if you put a blood lock on the front of the collar?” Grigori suggested.
“Excellent idea,” Madeline responded. “It’s become a tradition of D’Vaire, and it could be designed for them. Maybe the D’Vaire crest with a paw print in the center?”
“Like it.”
“They like it,” Rafe told them. “Could we maybe add a dangling charm like some of the familiars have with their names on it?”
“Oh, cool. We could really make that fancy and shiny. Grigori, if you could handle the blood lock, I can attach it to the dragonskin and add the charms,” Madeline suggested.
Grigori pulled out his phone. “On it.”
“Should they have an athame to mix their blood on the lock?” Larissa asked.
“Want to use Rafe’s sentinel blade.”
“Mortis, I’m not a sentinel. I don’t have one of their blades. I have a dagger designed for the D’Vaires.”
“Used for sentinel training. Dagger yours and it’s sentinel.”
“They’re insisting on using one of the daggers I use to train with the D’Vaire sentinels,” Rafe explained. “I think they deserve their own athame.”
Mortis chomped on the hem of Rafe’s jeans. “Rafe not listen. Want Rafe’s sentinel dagger.”
“Would you calm the fuck down? Okay.”
“Is he going to bite you?” Kendrick asked, backing up and smacking into Noirin, who wrapped her arms around him.
“Mean dragon stupid. Mortis never hurt Rafe.”
“Be nice,” Rafe murmured to Mortis while he petted him. “No, he wouldn’t do that.”
“He is a sentinel. It would not be honorable,” Gavrael supplied.
“Gavrael the best.”
“Yeah, I agree, Gavrael is the best,” Rafe said. The sentinel in question offered him a rare smile.
“The jeweler says he can have the lock done within the hour. It’ll take him no time to use the pattern he already has and add the paw print instead of Aleksander’s dragonhead,” Grigori said.
“Good thing I’m done with breakfast,” Madeline remarked, ge
tting to her feet and taking her and Larissa’s plates to the dishwasher. “I can have the collar done by then, too.”
“Let’s go decorate the outside. Evlithar, did you want to help?” Dravyn asked.
The elf’s face lit up with a bright smile. “I would love to.”
People went back to their conversations, and Rafe guessed there was going to be a ceremony for the wolves within the hour. “Let’s eat,” he told his furry friends. “Afterward we’re going to have a kickass ceremony for you.”
“So hungry.”
Nox let out a woof, and Rafe didn’t have to ask if he was annoyed with Mortis’s statement. Rolling his eyes at his goofy wolf, he filled a plate with as much food as it could hold. Dr. Suricata hadn’t been kidding around about his weight, and he didn’t want to wind up in a situation where she was forced to do something drastic that wouldn’t please either of them.
Since people were mostly seated or heading out, Rafe did what had become his habit in the last few weeks without Aleksander and chose an empty table. Not wanting to impose on the D’Vaires, or make them angrier at him, it was the best idea he could come up with when they had to be together. As ever, his breakfast was incredible, and Rafe focused only on the delicious taste of each bite.
When he was finally done, the room was nearly empty. There were voices filtering in from outside as they worked on preparing the backyard, and the wolves had taken off somewhere as well. Unfortunately for Rafe, the only person who was still around was Kendrick. Rafe wasn’t going to be intimidated by his glare, so he walked his dishes over and set them on the rack before shutting the appliance.
“Everyone’s talking about your skills with weapons,” Kendrick said.
“I didn’t force them to start training.”
“No, but it certainly gave you the perfect opportunity to show off, just like you and your brothers did at Kestle.”
Heart of the High King (D'Vaire, Book 19) Page 45
