Page 16 of Becoming D'Vaire
“You know, it might be nice for you two to have some alone time. Mac’s always including me in everything. I love him, but you guys need to be a couple too.”
After striding out into the hallway, Idris shook his head. “Nice try, but all three of us have to go with Vadimas tonight to the Emperor’s fundraiser.”
“No one’s going to notice if I’m not there.”
They walked down the length of the building the D’Vaires used for offices, and when the door opened to the outside, Delaney inhaled deeply to enjoy the scent of Dravyn’s flowers. Idris fell into step beside him as they crossed the deck toward the house. “You’re a High Arcanist now, and you have responsibilities.”
“The only one I hate is going out in public.”
Idris let them into the house. “People are getting used to having a dark wizard.”
Delaney scoffed. “Yeah, right.” Greggory abandoned Delaney for the kitchen once he saw that Noirin was making cookies as they passed her on the way to Aleksander’s office.
“Hey, at least we aren’t at school anymore.”
“Right? The other students sucked.”
“We have shitty attitudes for High Arcanists,” Idris observed as they arrived at their destination. He gave a cursory knock on the door, and they passed into the space. It was like stepping into mayhem—the room was full of people. Mac noticed them immediately and smiled intimately at Idris. The black dragon shifter had Idris’s familiar curled up on his shoulder, and soon the wizard was pressed against him on the couch.
It warmed Delaney’s heart to see the pair together, and he didn’t have to ask if they were happy; it was written all over their faces. He often teased Idris about the fact that he asked Fate for Mac, and he’d shown up shortly thereafter. Idris responded by returning to Fate and begging for Delaney’s other half. While Delaney appreciated the effort and told his friend he truly believed it would work, he didn’t think anyone could look at him with that much love in their eyes.
“Del, come sit next to me. There’s plenty of room,” former Grand Summoner Saura invited as she patted the couch cushion. It hadn’t taken Delaney long to adore the woman who’d paid with her life six centuries ago during the great war with the Cwylld elven. The elves were tricked into attacking the Coven of Warlocks by one of Saura’s own people: the cruel grandfather of Latarian.
Along with his granddaughter, Carvallius had recently been resurrected, but he was stupid enough to arrive at the magical dome that protected D’Vaire to demand assistance from the same people he’d once betrayed. Since the warlocks and the last of the Cwylld elves called D’Vaire home, Carvallius was now resting in a prison with a magic-stealing stone on his chest, rendering him unconscious. His granddaughter was still out in the world somewhere, which was keeping the D’Vaire family on their toes since she was capable of anything.
“Thanks, Saura.” Delaney took a seat.
She put an arm around him and squeezed. “Of course, you’re my favorite dark wizard.”
He chuckled. “I’m the only dark wizard.”
“Doesn’t make you any less my favorite.”
“Aleksander, may we speak with you?” Skeleton Lord Gavrael D’Vaire’s voice rang out over the din of several conversations happening in their king’s domain. He was accompanied by his mate, Skeleton Lord Gedeon D’Vaire. Delaney was as shocked as the rest of his family when he learned the two were chosen by Fate to be together. It was impossible to spot their connection when he’d first arrived, but now it was easy to see the love between them. The pair were always together, with Gedeon often cuddling Gavrael close.
“You guys want to shut it so Gavrael can speak?” Worth, Aleksander’s brother, shouted.
The room quieted, and Aleksander lifted a brow at his sibling. “Kind of rude.”
“I got their attention, didn’t I?”
Ignoring Worth, Aleksander turned his attention back to Gavrael. “What can I do for you? Do I need to clear the room?”
“No, I do not believe so,” Gavrael said.
“What’s up?”
“We are experiencing a problem with our Coven Lords,” Gavrael stated. With the crazy Latarian running around, the D’Vaires added a new duke, who turned out to be Idris’s other half, and two sentinels. Hadley and Bridger were tasked with protecting the Coven of Warlocks as well as the entire D’Vaire family when necessary.
The Sentinel Brotherhood had their own responsibilities, so the pair also worked directly for Gavrael and Gedeon, who were a part of a group called the Skeleton Seven that helped their leader rule. Like Delaney and Idris, it made them an essential part of the Council world.
“Hadley and Bridger?”
“Yeah, we all went out to a club months ago to celebrate when Del and Idris ascended to High Arcanist. Since then, Duff wants to go out all the time. He’s been going as many as four or five times a week. Hadley and Bridger have been giving up nearly all their free time to guard him. This morning Bridger fell asleep at his desk. Gav and I could volunteer to go on some nights, but we have to be up early to work every morning, so I’m thinking weekends maybe for us? I don’t know, could some of the dukes pitch in? Or could we come up with another solution? We don’t want to tell Duff he can’t party until Latarian’s found but seriously, this is crazy,” Gedeon explained.
Aleksander’s face grew pensive. “I don’t want to deter Duff from his choice of entertainment. He’s eighteen and just getting out in the world.”
“Everyone knows we have a beef between us, but maybe we should consider asking him to go somewhere besides D’Vaire,” Delaney suggested with a shrug. “He’s already dropped the D’Vaire name. He’s supposed to be working for us in the Dark Indigo office but honestly, he’s always late and only does the bare minimum. Idris and I just found out he dropped all his classes, so he’s not going to school anymore. Maybe we could send him to Court Draconis in Las Vegas where he goes clubbing all the time. He likes his friends there, and he’s obviously happy doing it, or he wouldn’t be out that many times in a week.”
