Page 50 of Becoming D'Vaire
“We have a few weeks to get it right, so they don’t have to die again,” Dra’Kaedan remarked. “Okay, that works.”
“My son, don’t you realize we’re talking about a new resurrection spell?” Saura asked sadly. “In order to infuse us with our new power, we have to be on the other side of the veil.”
Both twins wore expressions of resignation and misery. “That fucking sucks,” Dre’Kariston bit out.
Dra’Kaedan closed his eyes, then slowly opened them again. When he did his face was resolute. “We’ll do what we have to, but at least you’ve finally agreed to stay here where you belong.”
“Let’s move on so we aren’t miserable for the rest of the day,” Saura suggested. “What about Carvallius? What are we going to do to keep him from being resurrected again?”
“I don’t know,” Delaney responded. “I keep thinking that the Cwylld stones are the key, but I have zero clue how to get them on the other side of the veil to anchor him and Latarian there once we find her.”
“Saura and I will cross, but how do you carry something with you?” T’Eirick questioned.
“That’s my stumbling block. Unless we can figure out how to attach it to the soul, we’re screwed,” Delaney replied.
“There’s certainly no way we can shadow walk with the stones. They’d drain us too fast. It’d be dangerous and potentially deadly,” Chander stated.
“Then I guess we’ll just have to come up with a plan to glue a piece of Cwylld stone to my soul and T’Eirick’s,” Saura said.
“Anyone have a clue how we do that?” Vadimas asked. Everyone in the room shook their heads.
“I have faith in us, gentlemen. Should we meet again next week after we’ve had some time to think about it?” Saura asked.
They all agreed to the date, and Grigori was going to make sure it was something he didn’t miss. Their projects were not only intriguing, but they were completely undaunted by doing things that would literally alter the course of history and magickind. Grigori was more than a little in awe of them, and it deepened his respect for Delaney. He was endlessly fascinated by the wizard Fate gave him and hoped she answered the call of the amazing men in the room when they resurrected the former rulers of the warlocks.
Chapter 17
Grigori followed Delaney and their dinner companions for the evening into the restaurant while he tried not to get nervous. He was desperate to make a good impression on Idris and Mac. Not only was Idris Delaney’s best friend, Mac was the duke responsible for keeping both wizards safe. If they didn’t like Grigori, it would make Delaney’s life awkward or worse. He simply could not abide that idea, which made his palms and back dampen with sweat as Grigori slid into the booth after Delaney.
Once the hostess handed them their menus and took off, Delaney turned to Grigori and when their eyes met, the wizard’s smile faltered. He reached over and grabbed Grigori’s damp hand, lacing their fingers together. “Relax, we’re going to have a wonderful time.”
Embarrassed that he was such a mess, Grigori nodded and concentrated on the list of food on the table in front of him. “So, what’s good here?”
“The burgers are amazing,” Idris supplied. “Mac and I come here all the time to eat them.”
“It’s also where you had your first date,” Delaney replied as he gave his attention to Grigori again. “Mac took Idris, Duff, and me here so we could all get to know one another. The first question he asked was how we all knew we were gay.”
Mac grinned. “I figured it was a good way to let you know right off the bat we were going to be close friends and since we’re on the subject, it’s Grigori’s turn to spill the beans.”
“How did I know I was gay?” he asked, and Mac nodded. “Well, it was more like I never considered that I wasn’t. My brother’s over a thousand years older than me and growing up, I wanted to be just like him. He’s gay so I figured I would be too. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I hit puberty and found out I was wrong, but you know around the holidays they’re always showing all those cologne commercials? I was like, twelve, and one came on with this half-naked guy rising out of the water. I got hard right there in the living room with my parents sitting like five feet away. I wanted to die, but at least I knew I was into men.”
“Del told us he wasn’t one hundred percent sure he was gay until he saw Aleksander,” Mac confided.
“He has a great deal of magnetism,” Grigori agreed. “I think it hits you even harder after you speak with him, because he’s very kind.”
“You know, he already gave Harley Griffinis a call—he’s our neighbor, and he runs a construction company that D’Vaire always uses—to build a lab for you next to the building with all the offices. He told me to ask you when you could all meet to go over plans,” Mac informed him. Before Grigori got a chance to answer, the waiter showed up, introduced herself, and took their drink orders. Grigori was surprised to find out when he did a quick rundown that his sweating had tapered off and he was relaxing.
“I saw plenty of empty office spaces, I think we could convert one of those. We just have to add proper ventilation and things like that. I’m happy to work a meeting into my schedule whenever they have time,” Grigori replied.
“Cool, I’ll let him know. Aleksander’s anxious for you to have everything you might need when you’re ready to move to D’Vaire,” Mac responded.
“It’s really wonderful that you want to come live with us,” Idris enthused with a bright smile.
“I’m looking forward to it. I love my family and they’re everything to me, but I’ve been a freak my whole life. It’s nice to hang out with other people who are just as weird as me,” Grigori told them, then scrunched his nose. “Can I say that? I don’t want to insult anyone. It’s just—”
Delaney squeezed his hand. “No, we understand perfectly. Idris and I grew up as outcasts—D’Vaire was our first home. We get it. Mac had amazing grandparents who loved him, but the rest of his family life was strained.”
“You’re trying to be nice. My mom was more interested in anything but raising her kids, and her mate couldn’t stand me because I was a black dragon. Like nearly everyone under our roof, I found an environment at D’Vaire I didn’t even realize existed. I didn’t understand until I got there that it was exactly what I was searching for,” Mac said.
