Page 68 of Heart of the High King
“I did a search,” Conley confessed, staring at his phone. “No one has reported you missing.”
“Considering the shit shape I was in, they probably think I’m lying dead in a ditch.”
“You weren’t close to Kendrick?”
“No.”
“So it wouldn’t be unusual for him not to hear from you? No one at D’Vaire is missing you?”
“I have never texted or called Kendrick in my life.” Rafferty had to be careful not to lie since he, at least, hoped at some point Aleksander had missed him. However, he told himself that by now the High King had found a way to move on and find some happiness.
“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to ask Alaric to send some sentinels to Court Kestle and snoop around. See if they can find any trace of your presence there or if there’s anything else nefarious going on still. We’re going to have move cautiously. If we let them in on the investigation too early, we’ll be forced to charge them without any evidence and it’ll get tossed out, leaving us without justice,” Drystan stated. “We’ll keep you posted on how things proceed.”
“I wasn’t expecting you to go in and arrest them on just my word.”
“I hear you’re being moved to hospice,” Conley commented quietly.
“No point in wasting a hospital bed on a dying guy,” Rafferty said.
“You know you have a relative at D’Vaire. Have you considered applying for sanctuary? There’s no reason you couldn’t be comfortable there,” Drystan suggested. “You might even be able to build a relationship with Kendrick.”
Rafferty shrugged. “What’s the point? I’ve only got weeks or months left.” But the concept of going to the one place that had brought him peace and the added benefit of seeing Aleksander one last time was tantalizing.
“The mansion there was required to accommodate people with special needs, including those that are wheelchair bound.”
“I guess I could think about it.”
“Hey, the application is right online. Just don’t use your real name until you get there. If you move forward, send me a text. We’ll talk to the High King and the Grand Warlock. That way we can tell them what we can about your situation, and then when we get you accepted, we’ll go in together and explain things. But we will have to keep secrets. At this point, the fact that titled dragons are the culprits should be kept under wraps. We’re going to talk to Their Majesties and fill them in, so they can offer what resources they can as well,” Conley said.
“You really think D’Vaire is a good option?” Rafferty asked, excitement making his heart beat erratically. Maybe he could even find the guts to give Aleksander those apologies he deserved. There was no way he would renew their friendship—it would only make things more difficult for them both, but it wasn’t like he could completely avoid him either. Was he seriously considering opening that painful can of worms of being faced with him? The answer was a resounding yes. Could he handle Aleksander looking at him with none of the warmth that had once existed between them? Rafferty hoped so but assured himself it could only hurt for a little bit. There was simply not enough time left for him to linger anywhere.
“You’ve visited before, you said. Did you like it?” Chander asked.
“Yeah. Yeah, I definitely did.” The smile came from nowhere, and Rafferty was suddenly itching to fill out the application. If he should ever get to walk through Aleksander’s doors, he would do it as Rafe, not as Duke Rafferty. With the end so near, he had to do things on his terms. A chance to see his mate was wonderful, but Rafe had to remember that their relationship could never be rekindled. Rafe owed Aleksander overdue explanations and apologies, and he hoped he had the guts to see it through.
