Resurrection Of The Fallen

by Jessamyn Kingley

  Almost six hundred and fifty years later in a room filled with people, Conley wrapped his arms around Drystan’s head to protect him. Drystan shuddered and Conley knew he was crying. Still weeping himself, Conley’s brain finally moved past those last truly horrendous moments and like an old movie he saw all the years he had lived with Drystan at his side.

  Looking over, Conley’s watery eyes met Aleksander’s and he remembered the first time they had met in a life when they had both been dragons.

  Then he heard Trystan’s voice tear through all the chaos in his mind, “What the hell is going on? Dad, are you okay?”

  “Ladies and gentlemen, I think it’s best if we give Drystan and Conley a few minutes,” Aleksander suggested with a quaver in his voice. “Let’s all go into the living room and when they are ready, they can come and get us.”

  “Thank you,” Conley choked out as he held on to Drystan for dear life.

  Aleksander gave him a teary smile and then very quickly got everyone out of the room and shut the double doors, leaving them alone.

  The recollection of his past was still playing in his mind and he was overwhelmed by the emotions rioting through him. But he knew the most important thing at that moment was Drystan.

  “Drys,” he said though it came out so softly he doubted he heard it. He tried again. “Drys.”

  “You died,” he heard his mate say and he wondered if he’d been saying it all this time against his stomach where Drystan had his face buried.

  “I know,” Conley replied. He gently ran his hands over Drystan’s hair and then he set them on his shoulders. “Loosen your grip on me.”

  Drystan relaxed his hold slightly and then lifted his head. The devastation in his watery eyes broke Conley’s heart. And he slid down to his knees next to Drystan and pulled him close again.

  “I love you,” Conley said, his lips against his ear.

  “I love you, too.”

  “We were dragons the last time I said that to you.”

  “The last time I said that to you—”

  “Don’t think about it.”

  “I can’t stop,” Drystan whispered.

  “You must have told me a million times; focus on any one of them.”

  Drystan huffed out a choppy breath as they clung to each other. “I’m remembering other things.”

  Conley’s lips turned upward slightly through his tears. He, too, was remembering all kinds of wonderful times in their lives. “We have a lot of happy memories.”

  “You were my life, Con.”

  “I know. I always knew.”

  “Always?” Drystan asked and Conley could hear a thread of humor.

  “Well, maybe not the six months when you were pouting at the beginning.”

  “If you wouldn’t have stuck your dick in that girl’s mouth, I wouldn’t have been ignoring you.”

  Conley let out a watery laugh. “Figures you would still remember that.”

  Drystan pulled back slightly so they could see each other. “I can’t believe I ever forgot you.”

  Lifting his hands to his face, Conley wiped away the wetness on Drystan’s cheeks. “Been a long time since your eyes were blue.”

  “No matter the color, yours have always been the comeliest on the planet.”

  “Shit, can’t you forget that word?”

  Drystan gave him a tender smile. “No, I can’t.”

  Conley leaned forward and kissed him. “I love you anyway.”

  “I think I loved you the moment we met.”

  “When I knocked you on your ass?”

  “I remember thinking, ‘I’m going to beat the snot out of that jerk,’ and then there you were.”

  “You should know I didn’t do that on purpose. Some idiot knocked me into you.”

  Drystan gave him a considering look. “I’m not sure whether to believe you or not.”

  “I’m going to ignore that.”

  “I’m just glad you were there.”

  “Our feelings for each other,” Conley began. “It’s always been a miracle to me. I fell in love with you this time around too, you know.”

  “Me too, I was going to tell you this weekend.”

  “We’ve always been on the same page with the big stuff, haven’t we?”

  “You better believe it.”

  “I’m overwhelmed. I don’t even know what to think or feel right now except I love you. I always have and I always will,” Conley said.

  “For six and a half centuries I didn’t know you, but I ached for you,” Drystan replied. “I always felt like part of me was missing. That something had gone wrong in my resurrection because no matter how I tried I couldn’t be happy. It’s because I needed you.”

  “If you ever want me to stop crying, you gotta stop saying shit like that to me.”

  “Con, how the fuck did this happen?”

  “I’m guessing when our blood mixed, it helped our souls remember we belong to each other.”

  “No, I mean, we were emperors. I never thought I was Emperor Drystan because he had a mate.”

  “I know.”

  “Where were you? Why weren’t we together all this time?”

  Conley could see a mixture of emotion’s in Drystan’s damp gaze. Heartbreak, joy, and now anger. “I don’t know, Drys.”

  “I was left by myself. I was forced to live without the one person who makes me whole. How did that happen?”

  Laying his head on Drystan’s shoulder, he tightened his hold and Drystan squeezed him close. It helped stem the tide of Conley’s weeping. “I don’t know. I would have shielded you from a life alone. I would have done anything to be at your side.”

  “I know, Con. How could Fate deceive me? How could Fate have taken you away?”

  “What makes you think it was Fate?”

  This time it was Drystan who put a tiny bit of space between them so they could read each other’s eyes. Conley was glad to see Drystan’s were finally dry. “You don’t think it was?”

  “Any other fallen knights ever get their memories of their previous existence back?”

  “No.”

  “Then, why did we?” Conley asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Fate ties souls. We would have been together in this life because we were in our past life,” Conley said as the gears in his mind began to roar back to their usual sharpness. The wisps of memories he would visit and cherish later but now he wanted to know more about what had brought them to their current existence. “But there’s no reason for us to have the memories of our previous time together. That’s not supposed to be how it works. So how is this possible?”

  “I can’t answer that but I know someone here who can.”

  “For years you’ve been told you’re the former emperor.”

  “Yeah, and I thought it was a damn conspiracy theory,” Drystan retorted. “What else is true? Were our bodies really stolen?”

  “Chander knows the truth.”

  “Part of me wants to grill him, and the other wants to keep you to myself forever.”

  “Drys, this time we really do have forever. This time we are immortal, and no one is ever going to fucking take you away from me again.”

  Drystan kissed him softly. “I’d like to see someone try.”

  Giving him another smooch, Conley reluctantly let him go so he could stand up. As soon as Drystan was on his feet, they clasped hands and their lips met again. This time Conley deepened the kiss slightly.

  With a laugh, Drystan squeezed his hand and said, “And to think I was nervous about having sex with you tonight.”

  Conley snorted. “Me too. What a pair we are.”

  “There isn’t a better couple anywhere on the planet.”

  “Damn right,” Conley agreed and together they opened the wide doors to find out how they’d not only been resurrected but how they came to be separated for so long. Whatever the answers were, Conley couldn’t help but think the most important thing was they had been reunited. His
past, his present, and his future centered around the man whose palm was snug against his and as they stepped into a living room of curious and concerned stares, he knew nothing would ever change that.

  Chapter 42

  Drystan walked into the living room, still reeling from all that had happened in the last few minutes. He was doing his best to shove aside those last ugly moments of his previous life with Conley and think about all the joy they shared, but it was hard.

  “Dad, are you okay?” Trystan asked as he sprang to his feet.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” Drystan said as he sat down on a wide armchair and pulled Conley down onto his lap. The other fallen knight snuggled close and Drystan wondered if he would ever be willing to let him out of his sight again.

  “Can I get either of you anything?” Aleksander asked as Drystan slid his hand under Conley’s cloak and rested it on his firm stomach.

  “Beer,” they both replied.

  “What the hell happened in there?” Trystan demanded as he took a seat next to Blodwen.

  Drystan looked around for Chander and saw him sitting on a cushioned bench at the edge of the room. He had his crown in his lap and was staring at the floor. Standing behind him protectively was his sentinel. Aleksander returned from his short walk to the kitchen and handed Drystan and Conley their beverage of choice before he too sat.

  “Is anyone going to answer me?” Trystan all but yelled.

  “I will,” Chander replied before he lifted his head and met Drystan’s eyes for a fraction of a second. Then he turned to Trystan. “Your dad has recovered his memory of his previous life.”

  “Previous life? What are you talking about?” Trystan asked.

  “I’m guessing Chand is trying to tell us we are in the presence of two legends,” Chrysander said and turned to Drystan. “Your Majesties, please allow me to thank you for everything you did for dragons. You laid the foundation for all that we are today. I can’t express into words what it means to know you two truly are Emperor Drystan and Emperor Conley.”

  Trystan’s eyes went wide. “Dad? The rumors are true?”

  “Yeah kid, they are,” Drystan remarked. “And Chrys, it’s former emperors. Don’t think we are taking over your job so you can go lie on a beach somewhere.”

  Chrysander laughed. “You sure?”

  “Positive,” Conley insisted. “And you took the little we did and expanded it to make dragons what they are today; don’t give us credit we don’t deserve.”

  “Besides, we aren’t dragons anymore,” Drystan said. “And now I’d really like to find out how we went from shifters to fallen knights. Chand?”

  “I’m afraid it’s just as that servant told it, we stole your bodies,” Chander revealed.

  “How the hell did you get into a castle full of dragons to steal the bodies of our emperors?” Damian demanded.

  “Killian, Egidius, Jurdann, and I had a meeting that day with Drystan and Conley,” Chander began. “When we arrived at the gate, we were told they were dead. We bulldozed the guards into letting us in. We met that asshole Bernal and then snuck upstairs and stole the bodies. They were lying unguarded in their bedroom.”

  “You know I did consider Reverent Knight Drystan was really Emperor Drystan but I never thought anyone would be able to walk into Castle Draconis and steal them,” Chrysander remarked.

  “You weren’t there yet?” Conley asked.

  “No,” Chrysander replied. “It took Damian and me about a week to get there.”

  “You had both of our bodies. Then what?” Drystan asked.

  “We decided to create the Order of the Fallen Knights,” Chander said. His eyes were glued to the floor, and it was beginning to irritate Drystan.

  “But I was Reverent Knight for over six centuries by myself. How is that possible if you had both our bodies?”

  “When I was young, I was told in the beginning of necromancy, a man was summoned who became obsessed with making the men who murdered his lost love pay. He had to be killed himself because he was relentless. I didn’t want that to happen again. I suggested we resurrect you both and put Conley in stasis for one hundred years,” Chander said. “We figured after a century the bloodlust for revenge would have faded and we could safely reunite you.”

  Drystan couldn’t believe a man he called friend for so long had so willingly forced him and Conley apart. His emotions, already tangled in knots, turned harsh and angry. “What the fuck happened to the other five and a half centuries? Wasn’t I cooled off enough for you? Did you decide I needed to be alone just awhile longer until you were satisfied I wouldn’t go off killing everyone on sight?”

  “No, I put Conley in a box only I could open. Arch Wizard Egidius was concerned that when the necro elders found out what we did they would take possession of it. It was agreed Egidius would take Conley home with him until the century passed,” Chander revealed. “When it was time to collect Conley and wake him up, Egidius wouldn’t return the box.”

  “That’s why I didn’t get the same resurrection sickness as the other new fallen knights, isn’t it? Because I had been rezzed so long before?” Conley asked.

  “Yes, your senses were dulled because of the deep sleep you were in,” Chander said.

  “Conley was in a fucking box and Egidius decided to keep him, is that it?” Drystan asked. This was like falling down a rabbit hole, he thought in disgust.

  “I was powerful by then, not only magically but politically and he resented me for it. We were no longer on friendly terms,” Chander explained. “Everyone thinks after Grand Warlock T’Eirick and Grand Summoner Saura died I took over the Council, but that’s not accurate. It took years of jockeying before a new leader was voted in and it was me. Egidius was furious. He wanted it.”

  “But you wanted to keep it and that meant I had to be alone, right?” Drystan said, the words bitter in his throat.

  “No, I tried time and again to get the Council to vote in someone else. Namely him but in all honesty, I think even if someone else besides me had won it would have given me at least some leverage to get Conley back,” Chander replied. “But they kept electing me and I didn’t know what the hell to do. I tried for centuries to get him to listen to reason. So did Killian, and Jurdann before his death, but to no avail.”

  “And you never thought to tell me? You never considered I might be able to help?” Drystan asked.

  “We had no contact with shifters. You hadn’t even heard of the emperors,” Chander responded.

  “That was the point, right? You didn’t want him around shifters,” Chrysander said. “We made overtures to your Council. We were rebuffed.”

  “We were more concerned the dragons would retaliate if they found out what we had done,” Chande explained.

  “You should have been,” Damian retorted. “Although you can’t really be faulted for the idiot guards who allowed you free roam of the damn castle.”

  “If you had told me I had a mate and his body was in Egidius’s possession I would have done everything I could to get that damn box back,” Drystan said.

  “It wasn’t that simple. The Council had to stay together, and we couldn’t afford to go to war with any race. We still thought the warlocks were all dead, and none of us wished to wind up the same. So, we did a macabre dance and nothing changed. Conley was still in stasis and you were still alone,” Chander explained.

  “You decided politics were more important than two mates,” Drystan snapped; he was growing more and more furious by the moment even though Conley was rubbing circles on his arm trying to soothe him.

  “I never imagined it would take so long to reunite you,” Chander insisted. “Two hundred years ago, I couldn’t take it any longer. I was beyond desperate. I went to Egidius and told him he could have the Council. I was through being the Arch Lich. All he had to do was give me Conley’s box, and I would go to the Americas.”

  “Well, he didn’t take over, so what the fuck happened? Change your mind about giving up all th
at power?” Drystan asked.

  “No, he wrote me and asked me to join the Council. I would oversee it,” Chrysander said.

  “No, he was fucking double-crossed by the necro elder council and they wrote you. They signed Chand’s name to the letter,” Benton countered as he laid a hand on his necromancer’s shoulder.

  “Egidius was beyond furious when he found out. He swore I would never get Conley’s box. That he would destroy it. Only he couldn’t, I made it indestructible.”

  “Chand still tried to resign as the leader of the Order of the Necromancia,” Benton said.

  “The elders ignored me and then they went to Chrys.”

  “They told me you were considering stepping down. They said you were burned out from years of overseeing the Council,” Chrysander revealed. “I had no idea when I told you Fate-born leaders had no business shirking their duties I was being unfair.”

  “You could’ve fucking told him then those fucking wizards had Conley,” Drystan insisted.

  “You aren’t going to be happy with my answer. If I told him, he might have expelled the necromancers,” Chander said.

  “Drys, he couldn’t put aside the needs of his people for a box with me in it.”

  “Tell me how you got Con back,” Drystan demanded. He wasn’t interested in any excuses.

  “I kept writing to Egidius but he ignored me. Then he died,” Chander told them. “I wrote to his son. Jael had no idea about the box; it was a closely guarded secret but since I wanted it, he wasn’t going to just hand it over. He wanted to negotiate.”

  “What did you have to give up to get Con back?” Drystan asked.

  “As it turns out I found myself in Europe and decided to confront him,” Chander said.

  “That was the errand you had to run after we took care of Latarian, wasn’t it? When you disappeared for a day and wouldn’t explain where you were?” Dra’Kaedan asked. Latarian had kidnapped Dra’Kaedan’s familiar and Trystan’s sentinel. She had died after nearly killing Dra’Kaedan.