There was a commotion in the hallway, and Aleksander met Brogan’s eyes. The Grand Duke was pissed, and it was without question at him. But he had to deal with Rafe first. His mate was in his chair and had a gray pallor.
“Rafe, I wanted you to know I just filled out the form to officially make you a D’Vaire. I apologize for not doing it the moment you arrived. Did you want to look at it before I send it to the Reverent Knights?”
When he scowled, Aleksander’s reaction was the same as ever—he loved that damn expression on his face. “Is it necessary?”
His voice was strained, and Aleksander wanted to talk to him for longer, but Rafe obviously needed rest. “No, it’s not, I’ll send it. I’ve got a couple of other things we should discuss, but it can wait after you’ve had a chance to relax.”
“Okay, can you update Mortis’s too? He wants to hyphenate his last name.”
“The first Daray-D’Vaire. Consider it done.”
“Thanks,” Rafe said and rolled away with the wolf sentinel loping along at his side.
Brogan pulled off his crown. “We need to talk.”
“Come on in,” Aleksander invited, walking to his desk. “But if you’re going to yell about Rafe…it’s not necessary. Chrys already tore me a new one.”
“Give me the diet stuff so I can give it to Noir and Kendrick,” Dra’Kaedan insisted and once Brogan handed it to him, the Grand Warlock took off.
“Are you done sulking or whatever?” Brogan demanded. “I get that his condition is shocking, and I know it’s hurting you, but he fucking needs you.”
“I swear I just lost my mind a little.”
“Okay, you used past tense, so I’m feeling better,” Brogan remarked, flopping on the sofa and tossing his coronet on the coffee table.
Worth appeared in the doorway that separated his office from Aleksander’s. “Did I hear that you’ve pulled your head from your ass?”
“Yes, and I’m sending Rafe’s—or I should say, Dermot’s—identification form right now,” Aleksander responded, sending the e-file directly to Drystan and Conley. “I’ll talk to him about a crown design when he’s had a chance to rest.”
Worth’s brows lifted. “You put his title on there?”
“It’s his. I’m not going to take it from him.”
“No one knows you two are mates. It might cause a bit of an uproar.”
“Can’t be worse than the ass-chewing Chrys just gave me. Which brings me to his account. I want money it in immediately, and who the fuck told Rafe that he needed to have his own?” Aleksander asked.
“I’ll transfer it as soon as we get the notification that the fallen knights have done the change on their end,” Worth promised. “Someone told Rafe that he had to spend his own funds?”
“Yeah, who would do that?” Aleksander demanded.
“Who would do what?” Dra’Kaedan asked, waltzing in. The grandeur of his title was gone, and he was in his usual attire of jeans, sneakers, and a T-shirt.
“Some asshat in our house told Rafe that he needed his own money,” Brogan told his mate while Dra’Kaedan climbed up on the sofa next to him.
“He didn’t say who?”
“No, but you can bet I’m going to ask him,” Aleksander said.
“His Highness is done ignoring his other half,” Worth told Dra’Kaedan.
“About time, but I get it. He’s not only a fucking mess but after all these months…what happened to him?”
“And why is it still an open case?” Aleksander asked. “Whoever hurt him needs to pay.”
“No doubt. So, I did get some good news today. Rafe only gets a mild tummy ache when I teleport him versus using Dérive,” Dra’Kaedan told him. “It may be something specific to druidic that gives him such a drastic intolerance. That’s good news for moving forward with some plan to heal him. The real obstacle is knowing what we’re working with. How bad is he?”
“End-stage cancer,” Worth stated. “That’s your priority.”
“I doubt we’ll be able to start there,” Dra’Kaedan answered, his eyes narrowing. “We’re going to need something superficial because the reality is, simulations aren’t going to help us much. He’s one-of-a-kind stuck between human and dragon. With only a single living example, there won’t be enough data to compile shit. The last thing we want to do is hurt him more. I’ve got some other ideas floating around, and I’m sure the others do as well, but I want to know the entire situation before we put together a plan of attack.”
“If we were mated, wouldn’t that fix the mortality issue?” Aleksander asked.
“I would think so, but as far as eradicating the damage or fixing what has been lost to the cancer already? I can’t say…not with his unique situation. It might not even cure the disease, simply extend his lifeline.”
“An eternity of pain and suffering?” Worth asked. “That’s horrid.”
“Please, we wouldn’t ever allow that to happen. I just don’t want anyone to think all you need to do is swap blood and dragon spit to fix this especially since, technically, it wouldn’t be a complete bonding without his beast. Full healing is not a likely scenario, but mating would buy us the time we needed to come up with a viable situation to bring him to a healthy place.”
“That’s what I’m counting on, Squirt,” Aleksander replied.
“He was very close to you once. Get there again, Lankenstein. Be there for your other half,” Dra’Kaedan said. “Rafe needs you.”
“I know. I owe him another apology for my disappearing act. It wasn’t fair. I was overwhelmed, I guess.”
“The important thing is that you aren’t anymore. Which is good. I’ve had to talk to Somerly during meals. If he calls me cheap again, I’m going to punch him, whether he’s sitting with Dre’Kariston or not,” Worth vowed.
“When we put a plaque out in the memorial garden for you, I’ll put something nice on it. Like ‘He was courageous and stupid to take on a dark warlock,’ ” Brogan mused.
“Don’t forget handsome,” Worth responded.
Aleksander leaned back in his chair as life returned to normal at D’Vaire with the crazy banter that was a normal part of his day. Rafe had sought the peace of D’Vaire, and Aleksander was going to make sure he not only got that so he could deal mentally with whatever had happened to him, but he was going to bind them so the sorcerers he loved could cure his pain.
∞∞∞
Not only had Rafe slept through dinner but he didn’t budge until morning. When he lifted his lashes, he was groggy and there was a nasty film on his front teeth. His bladder was ready to burst, and he silently thanked it for surviving so many hours. Pulling himself into a seated position, he smiled as Mortis trotted to him.
“Sorry, those pills knocked me out. Give me a minute to get in my chair, and I’ll make sure you get food and go outside.”
“Tummy full. Went outside.”
Rafe dragged himself into his chair, and though he would’ve liked to use his walker instead, he was woozy enough that he figured it was a bad idea. The last thing he wanted to do was fall. “Oh, yeah, good for you. I’m glad you didn’t lay in here all night.”
“Aleksander take Mortis out two times.”
“He did? Wow.” Rafe went to the bathroom to take a piss, washed his hands, brushed his teeth, and grabbed his phone off the nightstand. There were a few messages from Conley and even a voice mail.
“Noir goddess make me food.”
“Goddess?”
“She make tummy happy.”
“She used to make mine happy too, but now I gotta eat shit again,” Rafe murmured. The texts from Conley were full of weird emojis like crowns, excited faces, and hearts, which he didn’t understand until he heard the voice mail congratulating him on being with Aleksander. Rafe had no idea how Conley had learned about his relationship with Aleksander and wheeled out of his bedroom, the possibilities boggling his mind.
“I’ve got a plate for you, and I promise it’s not going to taste awful
,” Noirin said the moment she spotted him.
“Okay,” Rafe responded. Rolling over to a table, he picked up his fork once Noirin set his food in front of him. “Thanks.”
“Good morning,” Aleksander offered quietly, placing his coffee mug next to Rafe.
Swallowing his bite of surprisingly good breakfast, Rafe was stunned as all around him Aleksander’s usual tablemates set down plates or cups, then went to the buffet laid out on the long island. “Thanks for taking care of Mortis,” Rafe remarked to Aleksander when the High King returned and chose the chair next to him.
“My pleasure. I apologize for the delay, but you and Mortis are both official D’Vaires. I don’t know if Conley mentioned anything to you, but he’s been filling up my phone with happy gifs and emojis,” Aleksander responded.
“How did he find out we were mates?”
“How do you think? I put your title on the form.”
Rafe tossed his fork to his dish and scooted his chair back as fear tightened his throat. Shoving it away, he let the anger that quickly followed flourish. “What the fuck do you mean? Why would you do something so fucking stupid? I didn’t tell you to make that information public. No one is supposed to know that shit.”
“Rafe—”
“No, I don’t have fucking time to talk to you right now.” Wheeling out of the room, he fished his phone out of his pajama pocket. Swiping the screen, he got in touch with Conley.
“RK Conley.”
“It’s Rafe, I need to talk to you.”
“Congratulations! I’m so excited for you and Aleksander. This is awesome, now you can—”
As soon as Rafe got to his room and slammed the door, he cut Conley off. “You don’t understand. Now they’ll know where to find me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Charlton and Sullivan know about Aleksander. That’s why they wanted me dead. It’s the reason they wanted to draw it out and make me suffer. They are fucking homophobes. I had to die because I’m gay,” Rafe managed, tears overwhelming him. The last thing he’d ever wanted to do was bring danger to the doorstep of D’Vaire. With his record sealed and his name fake, the plan was for him to quietly die without his family ever being made aware of where to find him.
While he knew there was a big reinforced magical bubble that protected D’Vaire, he couldn’t trust that Charlton and Sullivan wouldn’t find some way to hurt anyone in Aleksander’s family. Not everyone stuck to the land and mansion, and would his family take any opportunity to hurt the people that had unwittingly made themselves a target simply by being ruled by a gay High King?
“Okay. Don’t get upset. Drys and I will be right there. We’ll talk and figure things out,” Conly said soothingly. His calm demeanor did nothing to appease the terror flooding Rafe, and he was stupidly nodding as if somehow the Reverent Knight could see him.
“I don’t know what to do.”
“I’m going to hang up and teleport. I will literally be there in a few seconds.”
“Okay. Thank you. I don’t want to hurt anyone here.”
“I know. This could be a good thing. Nothing has worked so far. Let’s see how they react to knowing you’re very much alive. You’re safe at D’Vaire. No one can hurt you or anyone else. I’ll see you in a few.”
Rafe managed to hang up and tossed the phone onto his bed. “What the fuck are we going to do, Mortis?”
“No danger.”
“I certainly hope not.”
Chapter 34
“What the hell just happened?” Worth demanded.
Aleksander was both surprised and disappointed by Rafe’s outburst. Why Rafe had grown so upset was beyond Aleksander’s ability to comprehend. “I don’t know.”
“Eat your breakfast,” Dra’Kaedan demanded. “Give him a few minutes to calm down; then you two can talk.”
Considering the fiery temperament of the Grand Warlock, Aleksander trusted him to be correct, so he ate while his mind did cartwheels trying to figure out what to say to Rafe. Never imagining him to be distressed about their connection after his return to D’Vaire, Aleksander did wonder what had kept him from contacting him after he was attacked. Did it happen eleven months ago? Why would he prefer to maintain silence afterward? Aleksander’s mind had been numb but now it was swirling with questions. When his phone beeped for an incoming text, he was grateful for the distraction.
Con and I will be there in a second. Need to talk to Rafe.
Of course, grab some food before you leave.
“The RKs just teleported through the bubble,” Dra’Kaedan said.
“I know, Drystan just texted me. Try not to eat all the food so they can have some breakfast too.”
“Why are they here on a Saturday morning?” Brogan asked.
“They need to talk to Rafe.”
“First, he flips out, now he needs the RKs. What’s going on?” Worth demanded.
Aleksander shrugged. “I have no idea, but I’m going to ask him.”
“I think we’d all like to know,” Brogan remarked.
“Big brother is his mate. He gets first dibs,” Worth retorted.
The Grand Duke rolled his eyes in response as he got up. Moving too quickly to allow Aleksander to stop him, Brogan grabbed his dishes, as well as his own, to put them in the dishwasher. Thanking his best friend, he waited for Brogan to drop a kiss on Dra’Kaedan’s head. The warlock probably had at least another plateful to gobble up, so Aleksander and Brogan strode through the great room and into the office. Worth was only a few seconds behind them, and they were barely seated when Aleksander got another text, which turned out to be from Drystan.
Rafe would like to speak with you privately. Perhaps you could meet in your office?
Sure, I’m already there. Just need to clean out the riffraff. Tell him to take his time, I’ll be here.
There were grumbles, but Worth and Brogan both settled in the attached workspace. Aleksander went through his email as he waited with butterflies in his belly. Not only was he nervous but there was excitement. Fully prepared to resume his friendship with Rafe, he was tired of obstacles, especially the self-inflicted ones. Minutes later, a still-pajama-clad Rafe rolled in with Mortis trotting along at his side. The Reverent Knights were just behind him.
“We’re going to go eat if Dra’Kaedan left us any scraps,” Conley informed Aleksander, then shut the door to give them privacy.
“Hey, I’m sorry I upset you,” Aleksander remarked. On his feet, he went around his desk and chose a seat on the sofa only a few feet from Rafe’s wheelchair.
“No, I’m the one that’s sorry. I overreacted.”
“Tell me why you got upset.”
Rafe finally lifted his gaze to Aleksander’s and he nearly grinned like an idiot that he could read some of the emotions in those bright blue eyes. “Look, my plan was to keep our connection quiet. I’m going to die, so there’s no need to make it public. I don’t want anything that has happened to me to tarnish D’Vaire in any way. But the Reverent Knights have decided something bold needs to happen to see if we can solve my case. So, we’re going to dump the whole Dermot thing, and I get to be Rafe again. They’re going to do a press release today.”
“Who hurt you?”
Rafe’s attention went to his lap. “Telling you isn’t a good idea.”
“Afraid I might kill them?”
“Why would you do that?”
Reaching out, Aleksander used his finger to gently lift Rafe’s chin. “You’re my mate. Give me one reason why I shouldn’t.”
“In name only, you know.”
Rafe was so uncomfortable that Aleksander released his hold. “For now.”
“What do you mean? I’m dying.”
“You aren’t going to die.”
“Is this like the denial stage of grief?”
Aleksander chuckled. “No. You and I are going to be together forever. That’s what Fate intended.”
“Have you lost your fucking mind?”
T
rying not to get distracted by the scowl, Aleksander shook his head. “We have secrets at D’Vaire. As High King, I know I can trust you to keep them, right?”
“I would never tell anyone your secrets.”
“Sorcery D’Vaire was started because Idris found a scroll about a potion called Immortalis. It took a lot of work and even a sliver of the souls of each person, which is why it can’t be mass-produced, but they managed to make it. I’m immortal Rafe, and you will be too.”
Rafe’s long lashes slowly covered his shocked orbs, then lifted again at the same snail’s pace. “You’re immortal?”
“I am. And when you and I were talking all those months ago, I think we both know we were headed toward completing our matebond. We’re going to get back to that place full of trust, understanding, and caring.”
“I know for you, it’s what…eleven months ago? But, for me, it’s a lifetime ago, and I’m not the same. You can see that. I mean, look at me.”
“Why didn’t you call me? You filled out the application, and I don’t even know when you were hurt because you never texted me or anything again.”
“I wanted to. I nearly did. I had every intention of it until I found out the druids couldn’t fix me. This is my destiny, Sander. A short couple of weeks or months in a fucked-up shell that’s broken in too many ways to count.”
“Allow me to tell you about Sorcery D’Vaire’s newest project. It’s High King Rafe D’Vairedraconis.”
“High King-mate.”
Aleksander glowered. “Do you think I would make you anything but my equal?”
“I’m not going to fight about it, because it doesn’t matter. When I get rebirthed and we meet again, I’ll let the new Rafe explain to you why that’s not the right title for me. I mean, I’m assuming you want to keep our souls connected. Did you want to? I guess I can understand if you don’t want to wait around and prefer to have a demon separate our soul connection.”
Heart of the High King (D'Vaire, Book 19) Page 24