Resurrection Of The Fallen

by Jessamyn Kingley

  The first scenario would mean they would have an audience which could make it awkward. As for the second, he didn’t want Drystan thinking he was divulging it because they were either getting ready to have sex, were in the middle of it, or that it had been so good he shouted it afterward. This love business was turning out to be complicated, he thought in annoyance as he finished his drink and grabbed the last beer out of his fridge.

  Pacing, Conley decided the best thing would be to relax and let the perfect moment present itself. The most important thing about this weekend was he was permanently tying himself to the other half of his soul. Nothing could destroy that and he would not allow anyone or anything to ruin their ceremony. His mate had waited for over six centuries for him, and they both deserved to enjoy this.

  Happy with that conclusion, Conley carried his bottle down the hall and set it on the bedside table. He stripped out of his clothes and lay on the bed. For the last time in this horrid little room, he was going to close his eyes and picture Drystan touching him while he jerked off. The only thing he would be leaving behind tomorrow was going to be his vivid imaginings. After Saturday, he wouldn’t need it because he’d have the real damn thing.

  Chapter 40

  “Chander, we’re so glad you could make it,” Aleksander said. The elusive necromancer walked into the living room trailing the giant dragon shifter with his sentinel, Benton, at his side. Drystan watched as he was greeted warmly by the D’Vaires and finally he made his way over to where he was standing with Conley.

  “It’s good to see you both,” Chander replied.

  “Is it?” Drystan asked. Conley elbowed him in the ribs at the rude question and Benton frowned, but the Arch Lich himself barely met his eyes.

  “Of course it is,” he eventually replied.

  “Can I speak with you privately?” Drystan asked.

  “Uh, okay.”

  After getting permission from Aleksander to borrow his office and kissing Conley good-bye, Drystan strode down the hall while he swore Chander dragged his feet. Once inside the space, he shut the door and they both sat on the set of blue-black dragonskin couches.

  “Where the hell have you been for the last couple of months?” Drystan asked without preamble.

  “You’ve seen me nearly every day; you know where I’ve been.”

  “I’ve seen you in your booth in the assembly hall five days a week,” Drystan said. “And that’s it. We haven’t even talked. You didn’t arrive last night with Chrys and everyone else. You show up here a couple of hours before Conley and I have our matebond ceremony.”

  “I thought it was best to give you both plenty of time to get to know one another.”

  “If I needed space, I would have been perfectly willing to tell you to get lost. You should know that.”

  “We’ve known each other for centuries; I didn’t think it mattered if we had to have a little distance so you could focus on Conley alone.”

  “It’s precisely because we have been so close for so long your absence was so odd,” Drystan insisted. “And don’t you think I’d want Conley to get to know my friends?”

  “My point is, what difference does it make if we don’t talk every damn day for a couple of weeks while you are trying to build a relationship with the other half of your soul?”

  “Don’t you think you should discuss that with me before you decide to stop taking my calls?”

  “Why are you being such a hard-ass about this? I’m here now and if you still want to talk to me after today, you know where to find me.”

  “What the fuck do you mean, ‘if I still want to talk to you’?”

  “Well, for one, you are pretty fucking pissed at me just because I was busy doing other shit while you were spending time with the man you’ve waited centuries for,” Chander began. “And you know there are a wealth of things that can happen on any given day which might alter a relationship.”

  “Okay, that was pretty fucking cryptic.”

  “I raise the dead, Drystan,” Chander retorted. “Everything about me is cryptic.”

  “Look, I just want a straight answer.”

  “And I’ve given you one.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “I’m not a criminal who needs to be interrogated,” Chander said. “I’ll admit I might have made a mistake in not speaking with you about my decision about backing off regarding my friendship with you. But even if we had talked, I would’ve done it anyway.”

  “No one else in my life just up and disappeared after I met Conley.”

  “So, everyone and everything has been perfect and I fucked up royally? Is that it?”

  “No, Trystan told me a few weeks ago he thought I was rushing into things.”

  “He’s your son. He is concerned for your welfare. As your friend, so am I.”

  “The point is, he came to me and told me about his concerns.”

  “We can spend all day talking in circles if you want, but it’s not going to change anything.”

  “Can you just promise, after more than six centuries of being one of the people closest to me, you will discuss it with me before you pull away and refuse to speak with me?”

  “I’m sorry,” Chander said. “Yeah, I’ll talk to you next time.”

  “Thank you, and I don’t care if he’s my kid—he got mated within a few weeks himself, so the little shit was being a total hypocrite.”

  “I’m not disagreeing with you. How are things with you and Conley?”

  “He’s amazing,” Drystan replied. “The two of you are going to get along really well.”

  “I’m glad you’re happy.”

  “Thank you, it’s your turn next, you know.”

  “No, thank you, I don’t have time to deal with a mate.”

  “You’ll make time.”

  “I don’t want to fight with you,” Chander said. “But I really don’t want one.”

  “I’ve never bought that.”

  “It’s true, but I’m thrilled you have yours.”

  “Me too,” Drystan responded. “I can’t wait until our ceremony is over so he’s mine in truth.”

  “I bet.”

  “Thanks for the rings,” Drystan said. “Do you have them now? I’d like to see them.”

  “Too bad. You’ll see them at the ceremony.”

  “You can’t be serious.”

  “Sorry, but you’ll have to be patient.”

  “You’re going to do the bloodbinding portion of the ceremony, right?” Drystan asked. “When I spoke to Aleksander about it last night, he said you sounded reluctant.”

  “I’ll do it unless you prefer someone else to handle it.”

  “You resurrected me. You’ve been one of my best friends for centuries. And if that wasn’t enough, you resurrected the man who is the other half of my soul. There is no one else I want to do it.”

  Chander looked down at the floor and then raised his head. “Okay.”

  “Something else going on? You all right?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “You’re still acting strangely.”

  “I’ll tell you what, if after this weekend, you still believe I’m acting weird you can grill me about it then.”

  “Deal,” Drystan agreed although he didn’t feel completely comfortable with the situation. He knew Chander too well to accept that he was fine and there wasn’t something more keeping him away over the last few months. But today was about Conley and so he would gladly set this all aside until after the other fallen knight was his for eternity. After that, all bets were off, and he would find an interrogation room and not let Chander out of it until he was satisfied he had all the answers.

  * * *

  “Conley?”

  “Yeah?” Conley asked, surprised it was Trystan calling out his name. While Drystan’s son had never been rude, he had not exactly been on the friendly side either.

  “Since my dad is busy talking to Chander, would you mind joining me outside for a few minutes?”
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  “Sure,” Conley said as he stood up and followed Trystan through the kitchen. Much like his dad was wont to do, Trystan opened the back door and ushered Conley out onto the deck. Sitting down on one of the chairs, Conley waited for the other man to say whatever was on his mind.

  “How are you?” Trystan asked as he took a seat.

  “I’m great, you?”

  “Pretty good,” Trystan replied. “Did my dad talk to you about the conversation we had the last time you guys were here?”

  “He mentioned you were worried we might be rushing into things.”

  “I know it probably wasn’t fair since I mated with Blodwen so soon after we met.”

  “But you’ve only got one dad and you were worried about him?” Conley asked. He had no hard feelings toward Drystan’s son and hoped someday they could have a friendly relationship, but he knew it would take time.

  “Something like that, yeah.”

  “I can understand that.”

  “I’ve kind of figured out I was wrong,” Trystan said.

  “You were?”

  “Yeah, you know I talk to my dad every day, and I can honestly say each time we’re on the phone he sounds happier. I know that’s because of you, and I’m glad.”

  Conley blushed. “Thanks, I hope I’m making him happy.”

  “Does he make you happy?”

  “Ecstatic.”

  “Good, Blodwen does the same thing for me.”

  “You met here, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You mind me asking how you came to live at a sanctuary?” Conley asked. The truth was, Drystan wasn’t big on details about certain aspects of his only child, specifically his other parent and the path which led him to D’Vaire. Conley didn’t pry because he didn’t want to know about Drystan’s past relationships even if it was with the mother of his beloved son and because he knew sooner or later he figured he’d find out anyway.

  “Oh, my dad set it up,” Trystan said. “The Council was afraid to let the sanctuary open without a fallen knight living here. They have unique rules and no one knew much about the people that lived here. My dad thought I would be the perfect fallen knight to come because I’m not some warrior hunting down criminals and because I had no friends.”

  “You agreed right away?”

  “I could see my dad had already decided it was a good place for me to go. I care about his opinion. But it was scary too—I’d never lived anywhere but with him.”

  “He still has your room set up at the condo.”

  “I know, which is dumb since he insists on coming to visit me here and won’t hear of Blodwen and I going there,” Trystan replied. “I think it’s because he likes the home-cooked meals, so I don’t argue.”

  Conley chuckled. “You eat pretty damn good around here.”

  “Right?”

  “I know we don’t know each other well yet, but I’d like us to be friends.”

  Trystan grimaced. “Yeah, I should’ve acted like the adult I’m supposed to be and done a better job of getting to know you these past few weeks.”

  “Your lady take you to task over it?”

  “She looks really calm and nice but man, if she gets pissed I swear Blodwen can be as fiery as Dra’Kaedan.”

  “And you wouldn’t have it any other way, would you?”

  “No, but when she found out I talked with Dad and told him to wait? She convinced Gavrael to talk to me about it after she lectured me for an hour. He doesn’t say much but damn, is his stare intimidating,” Trystan complained. “I’m man enough to admit half fallen knight or not, he makes me want to wet myself when he gives me that look.”

  Conley barked out a laugh. “I can see that he takes his sentinelness seriously.”

  “That’s not an actual word.”

  “Fuck you, it is now.”

  “I guess I never have to worry about my dad bossing you around.”

  “He can try, but I can kick his ass.”

  Trystan grinned. “I know; Vann told me.”

  “You should’ve seen his face. He was so pissed.”

  “I wish I’d been there. It would’ve made up for all the times he’s gotten mad at me.”

  “He told me you were a good kid.”

  “I was a boring kid,” Trystan said. “All I did was read, but I did get caught sneaking out once.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yeah, I think I was fourteen at the time. He grounded me because I hadn’t cleaned my room but I got a call from the library telling me the book I was waiting to check out had finally come in so I tried sneaking out of the front door. He caught me.”

  “Trystan.”

  “Yeah?”

  “You tried to sneak out to go to the library? That’s like the lamest story I’ve ever heard.”

  Trystan laughed. “I know. You see why he thought I needed to come to a sanctuary?”

  “Yeah, he was afraid your penchant for books would turn into a crime spree someday.”

  “Asshole.”

  “Thanks for caring about your dad enough that you warned him away from me.”

  “Be nice to him, or I’ll get Gavrael and Gedeon to stare at you.”

  “No one told me about your cruel streak.”

  “You’ll learn,” Trystan promised and Conley snickered. It was funny how much Trystan not only looked like his dad but he also had some of the man’s humor. He was glad they could talk and he hoped it was the beginning of a great friendship.

  Chapter 41

  The silver-trimmed black cloak Conley wore trailed behind him as he walked through the wide doors of the throne room. Drystan was already standing there waiting for him; their eyes met as Conley came to a stop in front of him.

  “Hey there, handsome,” he said to Drystan. Leaning down, Drystan gave him a soft kiss.

  “You two,” Dra’Kaedan interrupted. “No kissing.” Turning to Brogan, he asked, “Is this a thing now? Kissing inappropriately at the start of mating ceremonies?”

  Pulling away, Drystan stated, “Keep it up and you don’t get any cake.”

  “He’s a cruel man,” Dra’Kaedan remarked to Brogan as he slinked off to find a chair.

  Conley looked around and couldn’t help but notice how resplendent everyone looked as they filled up the seats. Nearly everyone had a dragon sash with either “D’Vaire” or “Draconis” embroidered on it except for the Venerables, Chander, and his sentinel. Benton’s dark blond hair was combed away from his face, and he had his gray cloak over his normal sentinel attire. The two fallen knights wore the same uniforms from Conley’s graduation day, and Chander was dressed as if he was on his way to an assembly session. He was standing next to Aleksander in his smoky crown and intricate skull-encrusted cloak but his eyes were on the floor.

  “We can begin whenever you’re ready,” Aleksander invited from Conley’s right. He couldn’t believe how different the man looked in a suit and his gleaming silver crown.

  “We can start whenever Conley is done drooling over you,” Drystan said dryly.

  “I’m done,” Conley replied. “I swear.”

  “Your Majesty, Your Graces, thank you for joining us today and thank you to the rest of our special guests. Draconis Court of D’Vaire. Today, we are privileged enough to be witnessing the joining of Reverent Knight Drystan Gylde-Kempe to Reverent Knight Conley Gylde-Kempe. In the tradition of fallen knights and all magickind, they will be bonded with blood,” Aleksander said. Conley raised an eyebrow at Drystan; he couldn’t recall any discussion regarding their last names but he didn’t have any complaints.

  “Gentlemen, please raise your left palms,” Aleksander began and after they complied said, “In the year 1369 the Council of Sorcery created the Order of the Fallen Knights. Reverent Knight Drystan was the first to be resurrected and has dedicated his entire life to justice and the protection of all who make up what is today the Council of Sorcery and Shifters. A little over three months ago, another loyal soldier was summoned forth. Revere
nt Knight Conley has joined Drystan in his commitment to ensuring safety and upholding the principles we hold dear. Together they also oversee thousands of men and women who join them in their quest to advocate for peace and lawfulness.”

  Chander stepped forward and met Conley’s eyes. He looked wary before he used the magical blade that would allow a fallen knight to bleed for a few seconds on Conley’s hand. Swallowing, Chander then repeated the process on Drystan.

  “Fallen knight to fallen knight. Reverent Knight to Reverent Knight,” Aleksander said and Conley pressed his palm against Drystan’s. A dull roaring began in his ears as the room wavered slightly.

  “Their souls are now tied, and their lives now linked. May their hearts always stay united so they will never want another.” Aleksander’s words sounded as if he were in a tunnel and Conley’s breath hitched. His lashes slipped down and he heard someone say his name though he couldn’t say who it was or how far away they were. He heard voices but could no longer distinguish words.

  Pictures began to form in his mind of a castle and at first, they made little sense until he felt the pain of a sword buried in his chest and the devastation in Drystan’s eyes. Only they weren’t the blue of Reverent Knight Drystan, they were the matte black with the golden rings around the irises that belonged to Emperor Drystan.

  Ripping his eyes open, he saw Drystan fall to his knees in the throne room and then wrap his arms around Conley so tightly it was nearly painful.

  “Con. You died. Con, I saw them kill you,” he whispered against his stomach. Tears slipped down Conley’s cheeks, and he couldn’t handle the pain he heard in Drystan’s voice. But he knew what he was seeing because he was still being pummeled by the memory of their last time together. He remembered the moment he knew he was going to die. The instant he knew his time with Drystan was over and he would have to leave him.

  He had hit the cold floor and somehow Drystan had made it close to him. As he’d breathed his last, he had been comforted by the warmth of Drystan’s body and the sound of his voice as he whispered the last words they would ever share of love. He had tried to say it back but he had been unable and then the world had gone black. He had died.