“Sounds good, you said you switch uniforms during the day?”
“Mornings in the assembly hall require us to be in the same dress uniform you graduated in. I prefer the comfort of my boots, utility pants, and work shirt in the afternoons,” Drystan replied.
“Not to mention, you can have your handcuffs and weapon at the ready.”
“Our weapon is slim enough to fit in the pocket of our dress pants,” Drystan said; the small instrument was always loaded with a tranquilizer that could take down the biggest shifter and most powerful sorcerer in a matter of seconds, but there was no space for extra darts.
“Good, I like the idea of being able to carry it.”
“I’ve tried to figure out how to wear the cuffs, but they can’t make them any skinnier; the magic that nullifies shifting and sorcery doesn’t work as well with less skin contact.”
Conley nodded. “This place is crawling with fallen knights anyway, so if we did have to drop someone, we could get a pair of cuffs easily enough.”
“Exactly. You have a vehicle downstairs should you need it,” Drystan told him before smiling. “Though Roman says you drive like a crazy person.”
“Oh really? I’m going to remember that one.”
Drystan laughed. “And you don’t think you’re ready for this?”
“You seem determined to whip me into shape.”
“What are mates for?” Drystan asked.
“I guess we’ll find out,” Conley replied. “Speaking of matebonds, you bought me dinner, so now I owe you one.”
“Fair enough, you can buy me a burger tonight.”
“I’ll buy you a burger, but I’m also going to take you someplace fancy,” Conley said as he propped his hip on Drystan’s desk. “I bet my new title will get me reservations just about anywhere.”
Drystan chuckled, charmed by him. “I bet it will. Burgers tonight, then it’s my turn. We’ll negotiate a fancy night later in the week.”
“Nope, I need a commitment now. Burgers tonight. Fancy dinner in a couple of days. I need time to buy a suit.”
“I’ll agree to your proposal if you allow me to take you shopping and then dinner afterward tomorrow night.”
Conley cocked his head to the side. “I get to pay for my suit.”
“I wouldn’t dream of offering to pay for it.”
“Fair deal.” The pair left the confines of their large glass-enclosed office to head out to find a few burgers. It had been a pretty good day, and Conley seemed to be able to take just about anything in stride. Drystan admired his tenacity, and he was looking forward to getting to know Conley better. The day before had started out hesitant and weird, but Drystan was feeling more and more like this was all going to be okay. He was still terrified of Conley discovering the strange lack of sex drive he’d suffered from before his arrival. It had made him a centuries-old virgin, which was horribly embarrassing.
Although Drystan couldn’t help but think it might be a better idea to wait to become intimate until after they swapped blood. It was something they would have to discuss. It did bring him some measure of comfort to know that since Conley’s body had recognized him as his mate the first morning of his resurrection, he was also lacking in experience. Drystan wasn’t at all disappointed that in this, like so much else of their lives, they were in it together.
Chapter 32
As Conley walked toward the door of Council Headquarters with Drystan at his side, he was more than a little surprised to find there was a large group of reporters waiting for them. They muscled their way past as microphones were shoved in their faces and questions were fired rapidly at them. Cameras flashed and Conley understood why the rumors surrounding their names and their supposed former lives annoyed Drystan so much. They managed to get inside and were waved through security by Roman. It was his turn to oversee the doors which allowed Council leaders to take one of the winding hallways that led them to their personal alcove inside the Main Assembly Hall.
The Order of the Fallen Knights was the sixth race to join, so they had a prime spot near the Emperor’s seat. They arrived at their door, and Drystan swiped his card to allow them entry. The alcove which sat behind their vestibule was sparsely decorated. Drystan had explained that the other races usually used it as a second office and had staff in there during the Council proceedings, but the fallen knights didn’t need either the security or the administrative support. The fallen knights had only a set of couches in there, and they didn’t look particularly inviting.
Drystan unlocked the entrance to the part of the space they did use and stepped through it. Conley followed and was immediately struck by how different it looked full of people. The day before, it looked like a dark cavern with a lot of outcropping woodwork. Today, all the lights were on, and they paid glorious tribute to the large race-specific banners behind the curved desks that seemed to hover out from the walls. Conley could see many of his fellow leaders getting settled, and he was impressed by the finery they wore. Crowns in an array of metallic colors, some jeweled and some plain, glittered while sorcerers and elves both mesmerized with ornate cloaks. Shifters looked no less striking in expensive suits unique to each type of beast.
Taking a seat in one of the comfortable chairs, Conley did not have to wait long before a set of lights came on next to the microphones on the table. Drystan had explained what it meant, so he stood up and watched as the Emperor’s door slid open and a very tall man with a gleaming gold crown over dark hair walked through. His suit was black, his shirt white, and he wore a tie of both colors with accents that matched his headwear. Across his chest and torso, he wore a wide sash in his own dragonskin with the word Draconis embroidered down it in gilded thread.
“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Please take your seats,” Emperor Chrysander said. Conley wasted no time dropping his butt in his chair and watched as the Emperor did the same. “Before we begin with today’s agenda, I would like to ask the Order of the Fallen Knights to rise.”
Conley stood back up as did Drystan.
“On behalf of the Council of Sorcery and Shifters and Court Draconis, I would like to extend a warm welcome to our newest leader: Reverent Knight Conley Gylde. Congratulations to both Reverent Knights on finding the other halves of your souls. I wish you all the best as you journey toward completing your matebond,” Emperor Chrysander said. As soon as he finished speaking, applause broke out in the giant room and before long, all the other leaders were on their feet. The ovation lasted for a minute or two before the Emperor sat and the others followed suit including Drystan and finally Conley.
“Your Majesty. Esteemed Council leaders. Thank you, my mate and I appreciate your support,” Drystan replied and for once Conley was glad he took the initiative because he had no idea what to say.
“Rest assured, you may count on all of us to help you in whatever way you need,” the Emperor offered. “Now, on to the first order of business.”
Conley listened but asked no questions as the morning progressed. He decided if he had any, he could always grill Drystan later. Right now, he was more interested in understanding the rhythm of the Emperor’s assembly and figuring out what was acceptable behavior and what was not. There was a great deal of ceremony, but there was also a lot of candor. It didn’t seem as if any question was treated as if it was offensive and arguing was all right if you didn’t talk over anyone else.
The morning’s proceedings were nearly done when Drystan leaned over and asked in a low voice, “Are you doing okay?”
Conley found he was; he had relaxed considerably as time wore on. “I am.”
“Questions?”
“Policy only,” Conley said.
“We can discuss those later. I prefer to have the Venerables in on policy questions.”
“Seems only fair.”
* * *
They were walking toward a table in the back of the cafeteria when from out of nowhere, the Emperor popped in front of them. He was flanked by two men: his twin brothe
r, Imperial Duke Damian Draconis and Duke Zane Draconis.
“Reverent Knight Gylde, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” the Emperor said as he stuck out his hand.
Conley shook it. “Your Majesty, the pleasure is mine.”
The Emperor introduced Conley to the two men he had already recognized and then addressed both Reverent Knights. “I realize your day is probably packed, but I need a few minutes of your time this afternoon. Say four o’clock?”
Drystan didn’t hesitate though Conley knew their day was indeed fully booked. “Of course, Your Majesty.”
“Thank you, I will see you later.”
Once they finally arrived at a small table, Conley asked, “Any clue what the Emperor wants?”
“It’s not unusual for him to ask me to see him for a wide array of different things. Unlike many of the races, we overlap on everyone’s landscape. There are few leaders who aren’t going to want our time. The Emperor just has the luxury of demanding it,” Drystan said with a smile. “What did you think of this morning?”
“It made quite the impression on me. I like the way people are basically free to speak their minds as long as they are respectful.”
“Chand encourages honesty and Chrysander does the same,” Drystan replied before handing him a menu with three selections. A waiter came by and they ordered their lunch.
“We seem to spend a lot of time with waiters,” Conley commented. “Do you cook at home?”
“Nope, can’t cook at all,” Drystan said. “One of the luxuries of living in our apartment building is I never need to learn. It has a full-service kitchen like a hotel.”
“Good because I don’t want to have to plan your meals.”
“I thought you were all about taking care of me.”
“Normally I would be, but you’re a big guy. I think I’d be in the kitchen all day.”
“I guess you are pretty short compared to me.”
Conley narrowed his eyes. “Keep it up, and I won’t let you buy me dinner tonight.”
“Sorry, but you already agreed,” Drystan countered. “I’d hate to think you are someone who goes back on his word.”
“Backed me neatly into a corner, didn’t you?”
“You can handle it,” Drystan stated.
“Which means I can handle you.”
Drystan chuckled. “If only you were more assertive.”
“Right, because you really want a timid mate.”
“I confess I like your confidence.”
“I’m glad, I like yours,” Conley began. “Of course, if you start getting pushy again I might have to exact some revenge.”
“You are a vicious one, aren’t you?”
“I’m a fallen knight. Mean is part of the job, didn’t you know?”
Throwing his head back, Drystan laughed long and loud. “I do. Better than anyone. I was the first fallen knight.”
“Believe it or not, they teach you that in training.”
“Vann teaches it and only so he can tell everyone he was the second.”
This time it was Conley’s turn to express his mirth. “Yeah, I can believe that.”
They wrapped up their meal and headed back to the Order of the Fallen Knight Headquarters. As they swung through the tall glass and metal doors, cheers broke out and Vann was standing there with a cake which read, “Congratulations.”
Once the swarm of people quieted down, Conley said, “If this sort of thing continues, I’m going to start expecting applause whenever I walk into the room. Thanks, everyone.” He looked over at Drystan who was smiling. “We really appreciate it.”
Vann insisted Conley make the first cut, and then pieces of cake were passed around. It turned out to be delicious, and Conley all but inhaled his despite having just eaten lunch. Drystan introduced him to the faces he didn’t yet know, and they headed back to their office. They took turns using the attached bathroom to change uniforms before they met Vann and Roman in the Reverent Knights’ conference room.
“Fix our schedule,” Drystan said to Vann. “Chrys wants to meet with Conley and me at four.”
“About?” Roman asked.
“No idea. How’s Ramona doing?” Drystan asked.
“Good, we found her an office, and Kingston is considering Seattle,” Roman answered.
“He’d do well there,” Drystan commented. “He is doing fine here, but I think he would prefer a slower pace.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Vann confided. “I’ll give him some subtle prodding this afternoon.”
“Don’t push him too hard. It should be his decision,” Drystan said.
“No worries,” Vann responded before turning to Conley. “What did you think of your morning?”
“That room is intimidating as hell,” Conley replied. “But I enjoyed the morning. The Council seems honorable.”
“It is,” Roman said. “And they’ve always given us their full support. Believe it or not, the leaders prefer not to have to police their own people. It means they don’t have to be the bad guy when ugly shit happens.”
“Makes sense.”
“I got your text this morning,” Drystan remarked to Vann. “What’s the bad news, and why couldn’t you tell me in the message?”
“It’s one of those things you have to say in person.”
“I’m sitting right here.”
“Kyle broke the copier.”
“Again?” Drystan roared out as he slapped a hand down on the table. “What the fuck does he do to it?”
“I’m not sure I want to know,” Roman retorted.
“Well, I do,” Drystan replied. “That thing is expensive to fix and the repair guys hate us.”
“That’s because they are here like once a month,” Vann informed Conley. “I don’t know what he did, but I swear to you the damn thing was actually smoking. I had my phone out and was ready to dial up the mages to come put out a fire.”
“Fuck. Did you call to get it repaired?” Drystan asked.
“Twice,” Vann said. “The first time they hung up on me. They’ll be here first thing in the morning.”
“Great, I get to explain to them why they are here again,” Roman groused.
“Sucks to be you,” Vann quipped. “Other than the copier issue, we got about a million calls from the press. They wanted to talk to our Reverent Knights. Wanna guess why?”
“I know why, and I want to choke Chand for giving us both these names,” Drystan said.
“You hear from Chand at all this weekend, or is he still avoiding you?” Roman asked.
“Why is the Arch Lich avoiding you?” Conley asked.
“He knows I’m upset about your name,” Drystan said. “But I don’t know why he is going to such lengths to avoid me. We’ve been great friends since I was resurrected. It’s not like we haven’t had differences, and it’s just a name. I can deal with the conspiracy theory nonsense; at least he gave me my mate.”
Conley went warm at Drystan’s words. The more time he spent with him the more he was beginning to like him. It had only been two days, but he was feeling grateful Fate had put them together.
“He’ll get over whatever his problem is,” Vann said. “Like you said, you guys have been friends forever.”
“How has Kyle been handling the press?” Drystan asked.
“With the same approach we’ve had since this madness began two centuries ago,” Vann replied. “ ‘Thanks so much for asking but no, the Reverent Knight is not the former dragon emperor. Have a lovely day.’ ”
“Good, tell him not to take a great deal of time dealing with their inquiries. We have shit to do around here,” Drystan stated. “Anything else Conley and I need to be brought up to speed on?”
“You’re all up on current events,” Vann confirmed.
“You each have a stack of case files on your desk Juris needs you to sign off on,” Roman added.
“I know procedures, but I could probably use some help going through the files. I want to be sure I’m looking for the
appropriate things,” Conley said.
“I put together a checklist. It’s on your desk,” Vann announced. “And you have the three of us at your disposal.”
“You’re pretty good at your job, aren’t you?” Conley asked.
“Oh, please don’t inflate his ego anymore. I have to share an office with him,” Roman remarked.
“My apologies, VK Calixtus,” Conley said.
“RK Gylde is going to be a pain in the ass, isn’t he?” Roman asked no one in particular. Conley grinned as they all stood and headed out to get their afternoons started. Of all the things Conley had learned so far in his first official day as Reverent Knight the most important was to stay the hell away from the copier.
Chapter 33
At the exact time they’d agreed upon, Drystan and Conley entered the Emperor’s office. As usual, his twin, Damian and his adopted brother, Zane were in attendance. Chrysander stood and shook Conley’s hand as soon as the door was shut behind them.
“Reverent Knight Gylde, how are you enjoying your first day?” Chrysander asked.
“It’s been great, Your Majesty,” Conley replied before he was greeted by Damian and Zane. Once Conley had been welcomed and informed about their lack of formality when out of the public eye, Chrysander waved at them to have a seat and the dragons followed suit.
“Did you drag us up here to get a close-up look at Conley?” Drystan asked.
Chrysander grinned. “He’s gorgeous, but no. I actually have an issue to discuss.”
“It’s nice to be sitting in an office full of hot men and get called gorgeous,” Conley announced to the room at large.
“Chrys is just pointing out the truth,” Drystan said.
“I guess no one needs to ask if you guys are happy with Fate’s choice,” Zane commented.
“No, we’re good. I should have Drystan whipped into shape as the perfect mate in no time,” Conley joked.
“Good luck with that; he’s old and set in his ways,” Damian responded.
Resurrection Of The Fallen Page 22