Page 75 of Eminently Elf
“And his dragon emperors do nothing to distinguish him amongst his kingly peers.”
Chrysander lifted back up to his elbow and smiled softly. “Tell me what’s on your mind.”
“I believe we need to consider giving him a title that separates him. Fate chose him to be different. We are ignoring that. The gold would not be there if he were only a king. Gold is for emperors.”
“You think he’s meant to be a part of the royal family.”
“A special connection to the royal family, perhaps. She did give him a separate name we must honor. He is D’Vaire, we cannot make him Draconis and rob him of that. But the D’Vaires are already entwined with us. Tiri carries his name. If we were for some reason incapacitated, it would be Aleksander I would call upon to represent us.”
“Ell, he’s the only king you’ve spent a great deal of time with.”
“This is true, but tell me what king you would put in his place.”
“None.”
Ellery grinned. “I knew it.”
“Think you’re pretty smart, don’t you?”
“No, I just know you.”
Chrysander reached out and rubbed his thumb over Ellery’s cheekbone. “Yes, you do.”
“So, he is not quite an emperor and not quite a king.”
“He’s the High King. We turn this into the High Court of D’Vaire. An extension of the Royal Court.”
“That is perfect. I did not know which title would suit, but I like it.”
“He’s going to hate it.”
“We give him no warning. When I can return home, we will plan something in our new throne room to honor him. We invite the entire D’Vaire family…perhaps we tell them it is an expression of our gratitude for these last ten months.”
“I know he hates being in public, but he deserves the adoration of the dragons. I want every king there on his feet applauding our good High King.”
“He will need a new crown. One that reflects his role.”
“Fate put both gold and silver in his eyes. We’ll show all dragons he’s a part of the royal family with the gold since we’re the only ones that can display it.”
“We will have to swear Madeleine to secrecy in creating it along with a new ring of rank.”
“Which brings us to his dukes. They’ll need the same combination.”
“Their titles stay the same?”
Chrysander laid a hand on Ellery’s hip as he thought. “No. They can’t, they support the High King. I don’t want another Costas and Zane situation where they deny a title which leaves them not singled out for their outstanding service.”
“A unique one for each duke?”
“Brogan’s easy. He’s Aleksander’s first and his mate is the Grand Warlock. We make him the Grand Duke.”
“Mac’s mate is High Arcanist Idris the Indigo, and he guards him along with High Arcanist Delaney the Dark. Their office is called Dark Indigo. Do we make that his title?”
“I’ve heard a couple of D’Vaires refer to him as the Dark Indigo Duke already. I like it.”
“We are left with Dravyn and Worthington.”
“Dravyn’s service to his family has always been in that surreal garden. When they had nothing besides their skills, it was Dravyn who grew what it took to keep them fed while his sister cooked it. We need to honor his incredible talent.”
