Page 31 of No Ordinary Drakeling
Chapter 11
For Chrysander, meeting his mate was turning out to be a disappointing experience. He hadn’t realized how intense his schedule was until he tried to make time to be with Ellery. It was nearly impossible given the obligations he had and the events he’d become accustomed to attending. He didn’t know if it was fair to suddenly cut back on appearances, but it certainly wasn’t right to never be around his other half.
When Wesley walked into his office, he got straight to the point. “I want you to call Harley Griffinis. This office needs to be enlarged, so Ellery can be in here with me.”
“Thank goodness. I was going to get on your case about that today,” Damian said.
“I know you want Ellery in here, but our staff is already so crammed into the space we have, I don’t know how we’re going to find room for everyone with this office expanded,” Wesley complained.
“I’m afraid they’re going to have to make do. Ellery’s their Emperor, and it’s ridiculous that he’s sitting in a tiny room next door.”
“I certainly understand but—and I do hate to be the harbinger of reality here—Ellery’s a hybrid. There’s a great deal of unknown in his future. Perhaps it would be best to wait to begin banging down walls until after he shifts,” Wesley commented, his voice strained with concern.
Chrysander hated the reminder that Ellery might die soon, and he scowled but before he could tell Wesley he didn’t give a shit what he thought, Damian’s phone rang. His brother’s brows drew together slightly as he answered.
“Costas, what’s up?” Damian said into his cell. When his twin closed his eyes and took a deep breath, Chrysander knew what news the other member of their family was communicating.
Damian lifted his lashes and in his gaze was grief. “I’m so sorry. Let me talk to Chrys, and we’ll be there as soon as we can.”
Before Damian could hang up, Chrysander got his attention. “Dame, tell him we’re on our way.”
His twin conveyed the message, and Chrysander packed up the things he needed from his desk. “Wesley, clear my schedule. I don’t know when we’ll be back. A few days, perhaps. I’ll call Chand and have him take over Council sessions until we return.”
Wesley swept out of the room, and Chrys got Chander on the phone as he ordered his brother to get Zane and Ellery.
“Chand, Costas’s parents have passed away,” Chrysander told the Arch Lich.
“I’m sorry, what can I do to help?”
Chrysander explained his desire to have Chander fill in for him as he snatched his crown from his desk.
“Not a problem,” Chander assured him. They said their good-byes, and Chrysander nearly barreled into his brother, who was returning with Zane and Ellery on his heels.
Ellery’s eyes were full of sympathy. “Is it possible to stop at a bead store? I’d like to make Costas a mourning necklace,” he said. It was elven tradition for members of the tribe to give the family of the deceased a token to hold on to whenever they needed to feel close to their lost loved ones.
“Zane, find one,” Chrysander ordered, touched by Ellery’s kindness. “We’ll go home and get packed.”
Damian was barking into his phone, arranging for their travel to the home of Costas’s parents in Minnesota. Chrysander followed him out of the office and they made it to the car without encountering any obstacles. The trip to their condo took little time, and Chrysander bounded up the stairs. Once he was in his room, he quickly stuffed his suitcase with clothes. He didn’t know how long Costas would need to stay before they returned home, and his parents lived in a court a good hour from the closest Dérive teleport area, so he wanted to be prepared for anything.
As soon as his bag was packed, he wheeled it out into the hall and his twin emerged from his suite of rooms with his luggage. The front door whipped open, and both Zane and Ellery sped up the stairs to their private spaces. Chrysander went down to the first floor as did his brother.
“His father died last night, and his mother was gone when he woke up this morning,” Damian revealed.
“How’s he holding up?”
“He seemed steady enough,” Damian said. “It was nice of Ellery to want beads.”
“I have a feeling he’s going to make a great emperor,” Chrysander replied as he fervently hoped Costas’s parents would be the only funeral pyre he’d be attending soon.
Damian didn’t need to say anything; the way his jaw clenched told Chrysander he was thinking the same thing. Life was a precarious thing, and Ellery was sitting on a dangerous precipice. Only Fate knew if he’d survive it.
Before Chrysander could go any further down that horrible road, the elf-drakeling appeared with his new luggage in his hand. Zane was right behind him, and the four men headed out the door. It took no time at all for them to get to a Dérive station; there was one right around the corner from their condo. Chrysander closed his eyes as he was teleported over a thousand miles away. Damian hustled them to a waiting limousine, and they settled inside the comfortable vehicle for the ride to Court Stavrosdraconis.
Ellery pulled a bag from his pocket, revealing his purchases, and carefully slid gray and brown beads onto a ribbon. He’d obviously asked Zane what color dragons Costas’s parents had been, and Chrysander found the more he learned about Ellery, the more he liked him. Damian’s phone rang as Chrysander watched Ellery. The man was enchanting, even in a moment of grief, sitting there so determined as he created his necklace.
“Chrys?” Damian said, and his voice was annoyed enough that it could not have been the first time. Ellery looked up and Chrysander didn’t care that he’d been caught staring.
“Yeah?”
