Grand Redemption (D'Vaire Book 1)

by Kingley, Jessamyn

Chapter 22

  It was three days before Brogan returned to the house, his dragon had wanted to give up, to fall from the sky and end their torment, but Brogan had made a promise to his mate. He did not want to let him down. His feet hit the ground as he returned to his human form and found Dravyn standing there armed with a T-shirt and jeans for Brogan.

  “Thanks, Dray.”

  Dravyn’s eyes dropped to the ground. “I thought I would build a gazebo. He liked to walk the gardens when he first came.”

  “I think he’d like that, thank you,” Brogan replied as he got dressed.

  “Noir’s making breakfast.”

  They went inside to eat and, although the entire family was gathered, the room was quiet. “What’s wrong?” He knew they were all sad about losing Ayden, but his hackles were immediately raised by the uncomfortable silence.

  “Latarian disappeared from her room. No one can find her. Vadimas and Chander promised to notify the fallen knights, but they needed to get back to the council,” Aleksander explained. Brogan didn’t care that she was gone. He was angry with her, but there was no punishment that would bring his mate back.

  “As long as I don’t have to deal with her, I don’t give a shit what happens to her,” Brogan informed them. He sat down and began eating the tasteless food. He didn’t see how anything in his life would ever feel the same as it had when his mate had been around.

  “I’m sorry Brogan, is there anything I can do to help you?” Blodwen asked tearfully, and Brogan hated that she was blaming herself for Ayden’s death. No, he had to start thinking of him as Dra’Kaedan. She was not to blame for Dra’Kaedan’s death.

  “Yes, stop apologizing. It was your magic that offered us a last chance of hope. It’s not your fault that it didn’t work,” Brogan told her and hoped his words helped her deal with her misplaced guilt.

  “I wish I had spoken up sooner,” Dre’Kariston said sadly.

  “It was the fault of Carvallius and Latarian, and Ayden would not have wanted any of you to blame yourselves. Dravyn wants to build a gazebo for him; we need to do that. We need to focus on positive things. He made me promise him that I wouldn’t die of heartbreak; I am going to need all of you to help me keep that promise,” he told them and felt his chin quiver. He doubted he would ever have control of his emotions again.

  “Of course. Whatever you need. We’ll all be there for you,” Aleksander vowed.

  Brogan knew he could count on his best friend and the rest of his family to keep him from going insane. “Thank you, I want to remember him in a good way and not think of the way I lost him or why I lost him.”

  “That’ll be easy. He loved everything, and he had such a big heart,” Larissa commented.

  “He did. He said to me one morning, ‘We’ll just tell the council to send their outcasts here,’ and that’s how we came up with the idea of the sanctuary,” Blodwen remembered with a small smile. That sanctuary had also almost torn them apart; his mate was so set on the idea and so angry that Brogan hadn’t agreed, that he was ready to kick them right out of their room. He was going to miss fighting with his little firebrand.

  “That sanctuary. Boy was he pissed when I wouldn’t agree. If I had it to do over again, I would have given him whatever he wanted,” Brogan spoke quietly. He would have lavished every ounce of attention and every last dollar he had if he had that time with Dra’Kaedan back. And he’d give up everything he was and everything he had to have him in his arms again.

  “I wish we’d been able to figure a plan to ensure our safety, becoming a sanctuary was so important to him,” Blodwen added.

  Dravyn’s gazebo was a beautiful memorial for his mate, but opening a sanctuary in his name would be an even bigger way to keep his memory at least alive. “Latarian thought she was powerful with his magic, how powerful are you Dre’Kariston?” Brogan asked his mate’s brother.

  “I guess she had just under half his power, and she was the most powerful magickind alive. My own magic was just beneath my brother’s, so mine is twice what she once held. I am so grateful to not have to hide it any longer. It was a painful spell to keep it contained.”

  “So, no one can come close to touching you or your familiar?” Brogan asked.

  “Nope.”

  That knowledge helped Brogan come to a decision. “Good, I want to open the sanctuary.”

  “Are you sure that’s a good idea? I certainly want to help people, and I haven’t changed my mind about that, but I’m not sure now is the best time to consider it,” Aleksander questioned.

  “Nothing will bring him back, and I need something to focus on. This is the perfect time.”

  “Dra’Kaedan’s Coven. He never got to have his,” Dre’Kariston mused.

  Brogan nodded at his mate’s brother. “Perfect, that’s what we’ll call it.”

  A week passed, and Brogan worked tirelessly with Blodwen, Dre’Kariston, and Derwin to hammer out their sanctuary proposal. Blodwen and his mate had done the bulk of the work, but they wanted some major changes made to protect them. The application Dra’Kaedan had once spoken of had been created, and they wanted the council to give them permission to select their own candidates and do their own background checks. They had no idea if it was feasible, but if they could not have it their way, then they were all content with putting the idea on the shelf permanently.

  The proposal filled his days and his nights were spent mostly staring at the ceiling of his bedroom. Sleep eluded him even though he was exhausted, he just couldn’t seem to get used to not having Dra’Kaedan lying across him at night. Everyone kept on him to eat, to focus on the positive, and he did his best, but when he was alone it was difficult to keep a brave face. It was difficult to try and go through the motions of everyday life when everything triggered memories that brought him nearly to his knees.

  He had done their laundry the day before and cried as he folded his mate’s colorful pajamas. The sheets on their bed had been washed as well, but Brogan had not been able to put Dra’Kaedan’s pillowcase in the washing machine. It smelled too much like his mate, so he had stuffed it under his pillow to smell when he needed to feel close to him. Last night he had laid all night with it draped over his face.

  Promising his mate to not allow heartsickness to take over was proving to be even more difficult than he had imagined it to be. He was beginning to seriously doubt if it was a promise he could actually keep. No longer bound to Dra’Kaedan, Brogan had lost his immortality. But even for a short-lived dragon he still had at least one or two thousand more years to survive, it would be impossible to spend that long without Dra’Kaedan and he would not allow Fate to match him with anyone else.

  So he would keep up his façade of being okay with his mate being dead, and he would keep working to make sure no one ever forgot that Dra’Kaedan had lived. Before he could get buried any further under his own thoughts, Blodwen knocked on the bedroom door where Brogan had been slowly preparing himself for another lonely day.

  “Ready to grab some breakfast and get this proposal finished?” she asked with a smile; she smiled all the time, and he knew it was because she would do anything to make up to him what she considered her failure in not saving his mate.

  “Sure,” he agreed and they headed to the kitchen, only to find everyone standing outside.

  “What’s going on?” Brogan asked Aleksander as he joined his family outside.

  “Dravyn and I finished the gazebo. Madeline made the plaque,” his king explained as Brogan took in the scene before him. The gazebo was beautiful. It was a wood tone similar to their house, and as he stepped closer he saw the inside of it had thick navy blue cushions on the bench seats that wrapped around the walls of the structure. Hanging over the entrance was Madeline’s plaque, she had used the same metal combination that their mating rings had been crafted from, and it read simply “Dra’Kaedan”.

  “Thank you, thank all of you, it’s beautiful. He would have loved it. Truly,” Brogan said, as he held back the ever-pre
sent tears. Soon he found himself in a giant D’Vaire family sized hug and he realized there was no point in holding back his tears, because everyone was shedding tears of their own as they all tried to cope with the devastating loss of their little non-familiar.

  That afternoon they put the finishing touches on the proposal that would hopefully add Dra’Kaedan’s Coven to Court D’Vaire. It was decided that they would wait for morning before they officially sent it over to the council. Tonight they were going to celebrate the life of his mate and his idea that had fueled all the hard work they had just completed. Noirin had even made a cake and while Brogan wanted to keep his family satisfied that he was holding his own, there was no way he was going to be able to eat any of it without breaking down. In fact, he refused all sweets and wouldn’t even look at popcorn, not that it really mattered since he had ceased to enjoy food when Dra’Kaedan had left him.

  He was happy that the proposal was done, and he was curious as to what the council would make of it, but he wondered how he would fill his days now that it was completed. The last seven days had passed slowly enough with him working diligently throughout the entire day; each day would be an eternity without a purpose.

  It had only taken him an hour of celebrating to decide he had had enough, and it was time to go to bed. Most likely he wouldn’t sleep much, but he just couldn’t fake the smile any longer. Brogan changed into pajamas, a blue pair aptly covered in bright pink ghosts, and then he climbed into his empty bed. Larissa had been making him the damn things forever, but he had only started wearing them in the past week; they made him somehow feel closer to Dra’Kaedan. Pulling out his mate’s pillowcase he slid it over his nose to inhale his scent and decided that his plan for tomorrow was to sleep in. He had a week’s worth of sleep to catch up and nothing to keep him occupied. Switching off the light and closing his eyes, Brogan hugged the pillow to his chest and tried to pretend that his life wasn’t over.

  Chapter 23

  “T’Eirick, it has been nearly a week since Dra’Kaedan’s mate has gotten out of bed.” Saura’s voice was tight with concern as she came to stand at her mate’s ghostly side.

  “I know, but Dra’Kaedan is still not awake,” T’Eirick replied wrapping Saura into his arms.

  “You know he will choose to return to his mate.”

  “Saura, he hovers between life and death. He is much too weak to return to his mate now.”

  “Brogan could die before Dra’Kaedan awakens on his own.”

  “What would you have me do?” T’Eirick asked of his mate.

  “Send Dra’Kaedan back to his mate,” she replied in a tone that implied that he should have already known her answer to that question.

  “It would mean giving up what magic we have left.”

  “What use do we have for it? Had Dra’Kaedan not been missing at the time of our deaths we would have given it to the twins instead of taking it with us.”

  “It is too much magic for Dra’Kaedan alone,” T’Eirick cautioned.

  “We will do as we originally planned by splitting it between him and Dre’Kariston.”

  “It will cause pain for Dre’Kariston; unlike his brother he is very much alive.”

  “It is not like he cannot use his magic to lessen any pain, besides he will be grateful to have his brother back. Not to mention he will be thrilled to increase his power,” Saura stated. She was clearly growing impatient with what she saw as T’Eirick’s stalling.

  “Dra’Kaedan may not thank us for making the choice for him.”

  “T’Eirick, would you choose death if I still lived?” T’Eirick offered his mate a dirty look which he hoped conveyed all his displeasure at her question. She knew very well he would never want to spend a moment of life, or in their case after-life, without her.

  “What if this doesn’t work?” He had never heard of a dead warlock bringing back to life another warlock who was mostly dead himself, but they had learned many new spells and skills since they had been murdered by the cwylld elven so many centuries ago.

  “Then we are not the warlocks I believed us to be. Come on, we will cast the spell and restore our son to life. It will save both him and his mate,” Saura commanded, and they began gathering all the warlocks of their former coven to do the impossible.

  Once the coven was assembled, T’Eirick began explaining their plan. “Our deaths prevented us from helping Dra’Kaedan from succumbing to Carvallius’ dark magic that linked him to his granddaughter, Latarian. Now his magic is slowly gaining power and it should restore his life. However, his mate is suffering without him. Saura and I are unsure if he will live long enough to allow Dra’Kaedan to recover on his own. We must restore him by giving him and his twin the magic that remains with Saura and I. The twins were meant to rule and with our help they can restore our race to its former glory.”

  Saura smiled at her mate before tossing her long blonde curls behind her shoulder. Looking away from T’Eirick, she allowed her smile to grow even broader as she met the eyes of the warlocks that had died honorably at her side. Raising her hand to wrap it around T’Eirick’s ghostly bicep, she gave his arm a quick squeeze before she tilted her chin up. “Carvallius robbed us of life. Now we have the opportunity to save a life. The life of Dra’Kaedan’s mate. We have the opportunity to restore the destiny meant for Dra’Kaedan and Dre’Kariston. They were meant to rule our people and with your help, we can achieve the impossible. I look around and I see men and women who fought bravely. Men and women who never gave up. I know I can count on each of you to once again cast aside the inconceivable and fight against overwhelming odds.”

  T’Eirick could not stop his grin as the men and women in front of him began talking over each other in excitement. The words that reached his ears were all ones of support. These warlocks had never wavered in their allegiance. It was no surprise to find them willing to try this crazy plan of theirs.

  Waiting calmly until the chatter died down, T’Eirick let his smile drop and yelled out to the assembled crowd, “Are you ready to give Dra’Kaedan life?”

  The roars that erupted would no doubt have hurt T’Eirick’s ears had he not been a specter. Saura turned towards him and wrapped her arms around T’Eirick’s neck in a quick hug before she ran towards the large group of warlocks and began organizing the energized crowd. It did not take long before the animated group became a focused circle of women and men united in a common goal. T’Eirick took his place to the left of Saura in the large circle of warlocks and took her hand in his. To his right stood T’Eirick’s familiar, Eldwyn. With a solemn look that was so common on Eldwyn’s face, T’Eirick clasped his hand as well.

  “Saura and I will cede our power to Dra’Kaedan and Dre’Kariston. We will also bestow upon them the titles that now rightfully belong to them. Your presence may be ethereal but I know I can count on you to serve Grand Warlock Dra’Kaedan and Grand Summoner Dre’Kariston as well in death as you served Saura and me in life.” T’Eirick spoke the words softly but he had no doubt they had been heard by everyone.

  Closing his eyes, T’Eirick began summoning up every bit of magic he could spare. The air around him crackled with energy and he knew Saura was calling upon her own magic. They would need to draw it out and with the aid of their brethren guide it into T’Eirick’s twin sons. Passing it to Dre’Kariston was the easy part. He was alive and well and easy to find in the large house he called home in Arizona.

  Dra’Kaedan was an altogether different story. His presence was little more than a wraith and there was no body that T’Eirick could look upon as his firstborn son. So T’Eirick would focus the glimmer of what was left of Dra’Kaedan’s magic. He would focus on that piece of his soul that straddled the thin line that separated a person between life and death. Hopefully, it would be enough to channel magic and that magic would be able to restore him fully to life.

  Pain, unbearable pain, traveled down the entire length of Ayden’s body. He wondered why Blodwen was still casting her spells to remove Carval
lius’ handiwork. Ayden had died. He had known the moment he was leaving Brogan. Their eyes had met and Ayden had wanted to say goodbye though he knew that any words he conveyed would be inadequate. But he had been too weak to speak and Brogan’s eyes still had hope in their dark blue depths. His mate had not understood that death was imminent.

  He was dead now, so how could Blodwen’s spells still hurt so much. Just as the pain reached a level that he surely thought he would die all over again, a soothing wash of pain relief quieted all his overcharged body. Before Ayden could relax in comfort, he began to be assaulted by memories. Memories of a life before Latarian.

  Fragments of a life that felt as if it had been his own. He had parents. Grand Warlock T’Eirick and Grand Summoner Saura. They had loved him and given him a happy life, one he had shared with a brother. A twin. Dre’Kariston. The two of them had been inseparable once. The happy memories fled as he remembered being knocked from his horse and kidnapped by Carvallius. Somehow his magic had been leeched out so they could cast the spells to split the large well of his magical source with Latarian. As his power had naturally rejuvenated, it had powered both of them. Ayden, they had called him. But that’s not who he was. He was Dra’Kaedan.

  “Dra’Kaedan. Wake up. You must wake up. Your mate needs you.” That was his mother’s voice. Dra’Kaedan was struggling with so many memories he had little grasp of what was real. However, those last four words forced him to open his eyes. Nothing was more important than Brogan.

  “Brogan. Where is he?” Dra’Kaedan demanded as his vision slowly focused and he saw the dear faces of the parents he had loved so much.

  “He believes you are dead. Brogan is struggling to survive without you.” His mother’s words were gentle and he saw nothing but love in her blue eyes. She laid her hand upon his cheek and leaned over to kiss his forehead. Her words, however, confused him.

  “I am dead.”

  “No, you are not. You existed between the planes of life and death and your magic would have eventually restored you fully to life on its own. But we could not wait for that with your mate in such need of you. We have given you and your brother our magic.” This time it was his father that spoke and Dra’Kaedan turned his head to the left to see T’Eirick standing close to where Dra’Kaedan lay. T’Eirick’s dark hair lay straight and hung to nearly his waist. His eyes, like those of his whole family, were blue but of a much lighter hue than the navy of Dra’Kaedan’s own eyes.