Resurrection Of The Fallen

by Jessamyn Kingley

  Trystan didn’t respond, and Drystan wondered what the hell was wrong with his easy-going kid. He’d have to make it a point to speak with him later.

  “At least I know how to drive using all four wheels,” Drystan remarked to Conley.

  “Anyone can do that; I take it to the next level.”

  “You’re literally terrible.”

  “I love it when you sweet talk me,” Conley said before lifting a forkful of his dinner to his mouth.

  “You’d miss the misery if I left your ass.”

  Conley all but cackled. “Is it any wonder I’m getting to be crazy about you?”

  “Honestly I don’t see how you couldn’t be.”

  From under the table, Drystan felt Conley give his thigh a quick squeeze before releasing it. “Oh, man, Fate has been so damn good to me.”

  “We’re looking forward to your ceremony in a few weeks,” Aleksander said. “Thank you for allowing us to host it.”

  “We should be thanking you,” Drystan replied. “We’ll have to go over what you guys need from us.”

  “I have some ideas for your cloaks for the ceremony,” Larissa said.

  “Drystan and I have already concluded we are design challenged. You can go with what you think looks best, and we’ll be more than grateful,” Conley suggested.

  “Great, are you guys going to exchange rings? My mate can make them for you,” Larissa offered.

  “We are,” Drystan said. “But Chand asked me if he could handle the rings as his gift to us.”

  “That was nice of him,” Aleksander remarked.

  “It was, but a little odd too,” Drystan answered.

  “The man resurrected us both; we can deal with the weirdness of his request,” Conley said.

  “Yes, dear.”

  “Besides Chander and his sentinel, who else were you planning to invite?” Brogan asked.

  “Chrys and his brothers, Vann, and Roman. The Council is going to have a ball for us to introduce Conley and celebrate our matebond. We should also put together a party for all of the fallen knights to attend.”

  “Did you want to use the throne room or have it outside in the memorial garden?” Aleksander asked.

  “I feel with Chrys here, it should be in the throne room,” Drystan said.

  Brogan nodded. “I’m glad he’s finally able to come and visit us.”

  “He’s complained about his inability to clear his schedule to get out here every time I’ve mentioned to him I’m making the trip,” Drystan revealed. “I’m sure he’s really looking forward to it.”

  “Food requests?” Aleksander asked.

  “Steak and beer,” Conley replied with a grin.

  “Fantastic, we can barbecue and have dinner outside. Does that work?” Aleksander asked. D’Vaire was generally an informal place and so Conley’s suggestion fit in perfectly.

  “What if it rains?” Conley asked.

  “He’s a warlock,” Trystan said as he pointed to Dra’Kaedan who was shoveling food in like it was his last meal. “Obviously, he can use magic so no one gets wet.”

  Drystan didn’t like it when people talked down to Conley and his own son was no exception to that rule, but he wasn’t going to rebuke him in front of everyone. They were going to have words later, though.

  “Do you want Chrys to perform the ceremony?” Aleksander asked.

  “I’d prefer you do,” Drystan said. “And you know Chrys will agree with me as this is your court.”

  “Perhaps Chander could help with the bloodbinding?” Aleksander suggested.

  “I’d like that, but I don’t know how he’ll feel about it. He’s been so strange lately. If the last couple of months are any indication, I might not even get the chance to ask him until he gets here unless I want to text him,” Drystan remarked.

  “I’ll tell you what, I’ll call him. I think it should be someone magical to do that part as it’s not something traditional to dragons. If he demurs, we can discuss other options,” Aleksander said.

  “Thanks, we appreciate that,” Conley replied.

  * * *

  With dinner over and Conley ensconced in the living room chatting with his new best friends, which appeared to include all the D’Vaires, Drystan dropped his hand down onto the shoulder of his son who was sitting next to Blodwen.

  “Let’s go outside and talk,” Drystan said.

  His son knew it was not a request and, after kissing Blodwen, stood. Drystan walked through the expansive wood and granite kitchen to the door that led to the backyard. Opening it, he ushered his only child through and then followed him out.

  Drystan sat down on a blue-black dragonskin chaise and Trystan did the same opposite him. “You all right?”

  “Of course I’m all right. Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “Drop the attitude. I don’t care if you are twenty-seven, I’ll take you over my knee until you remember to use the manners I taught you.”

  “Dad.”

  “Don’t Dad me. Tell me what’s going on.”

  “Nothing.”

  “Has something happened between you and Blodwen?”

  “Of course not, she’s the most amazing woman ever.”

  “That doesn’t mean you didn’t say something stupid and piss her off.”

  “Gee, thanks, Dad.”

  “If it’s not Blodwen, is it someone else here at Court D’Vaire?”

  “It’s not anyone here,” Trystan said. “Or at least it’s not one of the people that live here.”

  “There are two people visiting. Conley and me. Are you pissed at me or at him?”

  “I didn’t say I was pissed at anyone.”

  “Trystan, you’re trying my patience.”

  His son bolted up off his seat. “Don’t you think you are rushing into this mating ceremony?”

  “Isn’t that a bit hypocritical? You were mated within a few weeks of arriving at D’Vaire.”

  “You’re the one who talked me into moving here.”

  “Surely you aren’t complaining about it now?”

  “No. I love Blodwen and I love everyone else here. But I’m worried about you.”

  “Kid, I appreciate it but I’m an old guy,” Drystan said. “I know what I’m doing and so does Conley.”

  “He’s literally been alive for ten weeks.”

  “So, I’m rushing him into this? Is that what you are concerned about?”

  “I don’t even know him,” Trystan replied. “I’m worried about you.”

  “You’ll get to know him. He’s my mate; you’ll have ample opportunity to become friends.”

  “Just tell me why you guys are in such a rush.”

  “First, I don’t see us as rushing,” Drystan said. “But even if we were…Trystan, I’ve been alone for over six centuries. I want to be mated. I want to be with Conley.”

  “If you’re that lonely, why did you arrange for me to move out? I would have stayed home. I was happy there.”

  “Because I knew there was more life out there waiting for you.”

  “In a tiny sanctuary that rarely bothers with the outside world?”

  “Trystan, even if you had come here and made a single friend it would have been one more than you had at home.”

  “This isn’t about me, Dad. This is about you.”

  “I can’t move to a sanctuary. I have to lead the fallen knights.”

  Trystan scowled. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

  “It was you and me for a long time, but things change. You’re here with your mate and now I have mine. We’ll both get used to it.”

  “I just don’t want you to make a mistake.”

  Drystan chuckled. “I’m binding with my mate, not robbing a bank.”

  “Once you exchange blood, you can’t go back. You can file separation papers but you’ll never have a chance to be with anyone else. We aren’t shifters, we can’t have other relationships.”

  “Fate has chosen Conley for me.”

  “You
know Lorcan can use his demon to fix that if necessary.”

  Drystan closed his eyes as fury burned through his blood. He opened them and pinned Trystan with a look. “Listen to me. I am going to have a matebond ceremony with Conley in three weeks. I already care for him and I would allow no one to come between us under any circumstances. Is that understood?”

  Trystan blew out a breath that fluttered the bangs of his brown hair. “I didn’t mean to piss you off. I want you to be happy, and I want you to be sure Conley is the person who’s going to provide that.”

  “He is. I like him. I like him a lot. We’ve been together all day, every day since we met; we’ve gotten to know each other a great deal. I want to share my life with him. I would like to have your support in this.”

  “I know you’ve been together. Every time I call you, there he is.”

  “I spoiled you, didn’t I?” Drystan asked. “And now you don’t want to share my attention with anyone because it was just us before.”

  “I’m not seven.”

  “You sure?”

  “If you want to call me immature, you should be more direct.”

  “Fine,” Drystan said. “Stop being a baby. You’re my son. I love you. Nothing will ever change that. Now give me a hug and stop being snotty to Conley, or I will kick your ass.”

  Drystan stood and pulled his kid into his arms. He thumped his back so hard Trystan coughed. “Dad, knock it off.”

  “Sorry, couldn’t help myself.”

  They pulled apart. “I love you too, Dad, and I’ll do my best to be supportive.”

  Drystan nodded. “Question before we go back inside.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Is this something you’ve discussed with Blodwen? Does she feel the same as you do?”

  Trystan’s eyes went wide behind his glasses. “Are you crazy? She lectured me for like an hour after we met you and Conley for dinner that night. She said it was rude to bring up the dead emperor thing and I should go out of my way to make Conley feel welcome. If I told her I thought you guys were rushing into this, she would have probably made me sleep on the couch or something equally as dreadful.”

  “You know,” Drystan began as he slung an arm over his son’s shoulders. “I’ve always liked Blodwen. She’s really smart.”

  “Pretty too.”

  “Almost as pretty as Conley.”

  “Does he know you call him pretty?”

  “Yep,” Drystan replied. “And he hates it.”

  “Maybe he’s the one I should be talking to about not rushing so he doesn’t lose the chance to have Lorcan use his demon to break the matebond.”

  “Do it and I’ll have you arrested.”

  “I’m pretty sure that’s abusing the law.”

  Drystan’s grin was feral. “Oh goody, maybe Conley will arrest me.”

  Trystan shook his head as if to clear it and took a step away. “Dad?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Why didn’t you ever tell me you were gay?”

  “I didn’t know.”

  “You were always attracted to women before you met Conley?”

  “No, I wasn’t attracted to anyone. I barely had a sex drive to speak of, let alone any kind of sexual identity.”

  “I thought maybe you didn’t want me to know you were gay.”

  “Like I was ashamed?”

  “Yes.”

  “There’s nothing shameful about it.”

  “I know, that’s why I couldn’t understand why you would keep me in the dark.”

  “Rest assured it was as much a surprise to you as it was to me.”

  “Dad?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Is it true Conley kicked your ass last weekend?”

  “You’ve been talking to Vann, haven’t you?”

  Trystan grinned. “Not at all, I heard this rumor.”

  “You are shit at lying, kid.”

  Chapter 38

  “What do you think of the D’Vaires?” Drystan asked Conley. They were taking a stroll through the beauty of the plants and flowers as well as the memorial garden.

  “I like them,” Conley said. “This place is fantastic.”

  “It’s pretty special what they’ve put together.”

  “A lot of mystery around here.”

  “Like what?”

  “Let’s start with Aleksander,” Conley suggested. “How does he have silver and gold rings in his eyes?”

  “No one knows, not even Aleksander.”

  “He’s the only bi-color dragon too, right?”

  “He is.”

  Conley interlaced their fingers. “There are only six dragon shifters here.”

  “Yeah, apparently, all the other dragons considered Aleksander cursed and avoided him and his court like the plague.”

  “Cursed? Are you fucking kidding me?”

  “I’m afraid not.”

  “How exactly was he cursed?”

  “I’m told it’s his coloring.”

  “Unique and beautiful is proof of a curse?”

  “That’s what many kings told Chrys.”

  “A bunch of kings ostracized one of their own because he’s different?”

  “It wasn’t just a bunch of kings,” Drystan said. “It was the most powerful of them starting with King Ethelindraconis. He was apparently the most vocal opponent of Aleksander and never failed to miss an opportunity to tell Chrys why he and the other kings wanted D’Vaire as far away from them as possible.”

  “It takes some strong emotions to have that much distaste for someone.”

  “Yeah, I agree,” Drystan replied. “I think the D’Vaires must have had some sort of disagreement or altercation with the Ethelins, but not one of the dragons here is willing to discuss it.”

  “The fact that they won’t even talk about it says quite a bit, doesn’t it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Ethelindraconis, that’s not a Council court.”

  “No, they stayed in Europe,” Drystan said. “King Ethelin had the foresight to realize without Chrys in Europe he could seize power for himself, which is exactly what he did. He has banded together the few courts that stayed behind, and now they belong to the Consilium Veneficus.”

  “So how do you go from being cursed to having your own sanctuary?”

  “Dra’Kaedan. He showed up. Changed everything. It was his idea, along with Blodwen’s, to turn this place into a sanctuary.”

  “Just showed up one day?”

  “Literally rang the doorbell,” Drystan revealed. “It’s a long story, but he spent several centuries isolated in a cottage.”

  “I’m starting to feel like I need more mystery in my life,” Conley said. “What’s interesting about a guy who was resurrected a couple of months ago?”

  “I think everything about you is interesting.”

  “That’s because you want to get in my pants.”

  “I will get in your pants.”

  “I know,” Conley said. “But more importantly you’ll be out of yours.”

  “Moving on so I can still walk,” Drystan began. “Did you enjoy your sparring with the sentinels?”

  “They’re incredible. They almost kicked my ass when I fought them together.”

  “Only you would meet two sentinels and take them on in tandem.”

  “Life isn’t interesting if I don’t jump in with both feet.”

  “I wish we could bottle your courage; we’d have so much money, we could buy Kyle a thousand copiers.”

  “It’s really shitty all but four sentinels are stuck in some compound no one can get to but them.”

  “I know,” Drystan said. “But there’s not really anything I can do about it. Chand has tried reasoning with his elder council, but they have no compassion at all for the sentinels.”

  “It was their damn race who created them.”

  “Yes, but it came to be a decision they regretted,” Drystan replied. “Told everyone they were flawed and shipped them off to that comp
ound.”

  “You don’t buy the flawed business?”

  “Hell no.”

  “At least it’s fallen out of fashion to use the sentinels to maim or kill whoever pisses you off.”

  “I do hate to toot my own horn—”

  “Liar.”

  “But I introduced the law which allows us to charge the necromancer with the crime of assault or murder if they order their sentinel to see it carried out,” Drystan said. “It never seemed fair to try and punish someone who is incapable of physically refusing an order to pay for a crime they would have never committed on their own. Not to mention, I can’t exactly show up at the front door of the compound and demand they turn over anyone.”

  “I talked to Gavrael and Gedeon yesterday about the possibility of speaking to their leader about coming here and trying to join the Council,” Conley revealed. “If they could manage that and have the power to vote and suggest law changes, the sentinels could really change their lives.”

  “You’re pretty amazing, you know that?”

  “My mate tells me that all the time, thanks for noticing.”

  “He’s a lucky guy.”

  “Damn right he is.”

  “The Order of the Fallen Knights could sponsor the sentinels in their pursuit of becoming a voting entity and full society member,” Drystan said.

  “Of course we would,” Conley replied. “Can you imagine if we could get their help on tough or cold cases?”

  “I’m sure we could work out all kind of things if we had more of them around.”

  “This garden is unreal. I can’t believe there aren’t any druids here.”

  “There isn’t a single D’Vaire who is in any way ordinary.”

  Drystan and Conley made a U-turn at the end of the posies and headed back in the direction of the mansion.

  “I’m thinking about committing a crime,” Conley confessed.

  “If you want to steal Delaney’s dragon familiar, it won’t work. He can summon him at any time.”

  “Really? That sucks,” Conley replied. “I was thinking he would fit perfectly in my duffel.”

  “Sorry to disappoint you.”

  “I figured if I can’t ever be a dragon, I might as well have one.”

  “And he’s really cute.”

  “That too,” Conley said.

  Drystan looked toward the deck and saw Aleksander standing out there. “I think King D’Vaire would like a word with us. No flirting.”