Page 47 of D'Vaire or Nothing
“You have two choices. Are you going to sit around chastising yourself for keeping him inside you, or are you willing to change things and summon him?”
“I can’t exactly summon him now. The Coven of Warlocks wants to be there. Our family maybe too? It’s a weekend at a fancy new resort, and everyone is relaxing.”
“You’re the only one who’d have to do any work, and it’s a simple spell, right? Takes a couple of seconds?”
Josh studied Donnell’s light brown eyes and saw nothing but love and understanding in them. “You think it’d be okay to do it this weekend?”
“If you’re ready, no one would want you to delay it,” Donnell said, brushing their lips together. “In fact, I’d bet everyone would rush to get together and celebrate the chance to welcome your familiar.”
“We built that suite connected to ours so many years ago. Did we make a mistake not choosing to decorate it for him?”
“No, he’s an individual and can make those decisions for himself. If he needs help, there are ample resources in our extended family.”
Josh wasn’t sure why he’d woken that morning and been overwhelmed by his guilt when he’d delayed the summoning of his familiar for so many years, but he was tired of waiting. Fueled by Donnell’s support, Josh wiggled and tugged his phone out of his pocket to text everyone he wanted to join them.
“Joshua, if you keep moving like that, your mouth will be wrapped around my dick before we leave this hotel room.”
Chuckling, Josh composed his text. “In front of Dylan? Be a responsible parent, we have to wait until our little bear is tucked in for the night.”
“He’s not a child; we can put him in the living room,” Donnell muttered.
With a deep exhale, Josh sent the text and wondered why he was so nervous. Donnell was right. The spell was supposed to be easy. But Josh’s life would change. Donnell’s too. There would be a new person in their family. Someone Josh was bound to and would have to supply magic for, so it was imperative that they build a tight friendship based on trust.
The phone was still in Josh’s hand when it rang. Startled, Josh nearly dropped the thing as he tried to answer it.
“Where are we doing this?” Dra’Kaedan demanded. “I’m on my way.”
“Um, our suite, I guess. There are extra rooms in here, so he’ll have somewhere to sleep. I promise I’ll make things as comfortable for him as I can,” Josh vowed.
“Of course you will,” Dra’Kaedan replied instantly. “Okay, I gotta pop over to the house to pick up the welcome basket we made for him. Be there in a second. What? Brogan. Yes, you’re coming. Are you sure you don’t want to add a dragon to your family today too? You can have mine if you want. Damn it, Brogan, I was kidding. Okay, bye.”
There was a knock on their door as Josh’s phone beeped with incoming texts.
“Josh, are you in there? It’s Lochlan.”
“Why doesn’t he think I recognize his voice?” Josh asked Donnell as he stole a kiss, then reluctantly moved away from his brawny bear. “We’ve been family for fuckity forever.”
The familiar on the bed grumbled as he sat up and rubbed one eye. Josh opened the door to reveal a group of mages and bears clustered around it, including Donnell’s parents.
“I guess no one had anything planned for this morning,” Josh muttered.
“Nothing nearly as important as adding a new D’Vaire to the family,” Artair replied with a grin. “I assume the Coven of Warlocks will arrive soon?”
“Not sure if they’re all coming, but Dra’Kaedan and Brogan should be here soon,” Josh said. “Oh, wait. I got a bunch of texts.” His phone rang again, and he glanced at the screen. “Gotta take this one, it’s Dre’Kariston.”
As the Grand Summoner, Dre’Kariston D’Vaire had historically been assigned to oversee familiars. Their coven was tiny, so Dra’Kaedan and his twin shared their various responsibilities. However, familiars remained dear toDre’Kariston. The dark warlock had lost his first one after years of trying to build a bond that had never surfaced.
Thankfully, Dre’Kariston was given a second chance, and from the moment he’d summoned Lucian, the pair had been close friends. That was the kind of relationship Josh wanted with the familiar he was about to meet.
“Josh?” Dre’Kariston asked the moment Josh said hello. “I’m so happy you’re ready. Where do you want us to meet you?”
“We’re doing it here at our hotel suite, I guess, so he can retreat to his private room if he’s overwhelmed or whatever,” Josh replied as he followed Donnell and the rest of their family into the living room of their suite. Dylan dragged his watery limbs off the bed to join them. The other elementals were nowhere to be found, so Josh assumed they were on the skin of their sorcerers so they wouldn’t be in the way as they greeted his familiar. “Your brother went to D’Vaire to get some basket?”
“Yeah, I hope you don’t mind, we’ve been stashing things aside for him for a while. But it should help. He’ll have clothes and everything else he’ll need for the weekend. I’ll be there with Lucian and Somerly in a few minutes.”
Josh ended his call with the Grand Summoner and was happy Dre’Kariston was bringing his other half and familiar. Although Josh was nervous, his excitement was brewing. There was a knock on the door of the main suite, which Donnell immediately stalked over to answer. He opened it to reveal the remaining members of the Coven of Warlocks along with Dra’Kaedan and Dre’Kariston’s resurrected parents.
Lichpriestess Saura D’Vaire rushed in past everyone to hug Josh. The former Grand Summoner was especially fond of familiars, and Josh relaxed at her bright smile.
