Page 98 of Becoming D'Vaire
Without any words left, Delaney nodded. He was incapable of anything more.
“Did you call your mother, Grigori?” Saura asked as Delaney spied the twins the former Grand Summoner gave birth to standing across the room. Dra’Kaedan’s eyes were damp as he studied his parents. His hand was in Brogan’s large paw, and the sadness radiated from them in waves.
Dre’Kariston was not doing much better. He had Somerly in his arms with his chin resting on his shoulder, and the emotions in his gaze were tumultuous. Their familiars were close by, and the expressions on their faces were just as grim.
“I don’t have my phone,” Grigori responded.
“Scher, do you have yours? Grigori’s going to want his family. You can teleport and go get them, right?” Saura asked her nephew.
Delaney turned toward Grigori as Scheredin handed over his device. “Absolutely.”
Over the next few minutes, the room filled with D’Vaires. Everyone—besides the two who were at the center of all the grief—was wearing the crazy pajamas Larissa worked so hard to provide. When the Arch Lich and his entire family arrived, they were dressed in similar attire. The Volkovs shimmered in with Scheredin, and Saura and T’Eirick greeted them warmly. After Delaney said his hellos and was hugged by them all, he hauled Grigori over to where the twins were standing.
Dra’Kaedan gave him a smile filled with sorrow, then pulled him into his arms. The warlock held on tight and Delaney rubbed his back in some small effort to comfort him. “It’s harder to say good-bye than I thought it would be,” Dra’Kaedan whispered, his words cracking.
“I’m so sorry,” Delaney offered lamely.
Letting him go, Dra’Kaedan’s gaze met his. “Don’t apologize. Without you, they wouldn’t be coming back tomorrow. Thank you for that gift.”
Delaney didn’t know what to say. He’d only helped with the spell; it didn’t seem like much. Before he could piece together any words, Dre’Kariston pushed his brother aside and embraced Delaney.
When he let him go and shared a hug with Grigori, Dre’Kariston let out a humorless laugh. “We’re all over here wondering how the hell we’re going to make it through the next twenty-four hours, and our parents are wandering around treating this like a cocktail party.”
“They won’t be up and about much longer—you can see how tired they are. Mom and Dad are just fighting it for all their worth,” Dra’Kaedan said.
“I think they might invite the entire Council of Sorcery and Shifters before they do,” Dre’Kariston replied.
“No one seems to care that it’s one in the morning,” Brogan threw in.
A tear slipped down Dra’Kaedan’s cheek and his chest heaved. “We’ll light the pyres as the sun comes up. Okay?”
“Whatever you want, baby,” Brogan promised.
Saura and T’Eirick finally finished greeting everyone, even embracing all of the Skeleton Seven, who usually refrained from touching anyone other than their mates. Then they strode over to where their sons were standing.
Saura cupped Dra’Kaedan’s cheek in one hand and Dre’Kariston’s in the other. “My dear boys, what I wouldn’t give to take away your pain. Please remember, after tomorrow we’ll have forever.”
“All I can think of is lying in that cabin with my body torn apart and realizing you were gone,” Dre’Kariston told her.
“I didn’t even know who I was when you were robbed of life,” Dra’Kaedan sobbed out.
“Carvallius took so much from us. We won’t fail at paying him back,” T’Eirick stated.
“Give us a hug, we have to lie down now,” Saura directed. The twins embraced their parents, and Delaney’s tears fell unbidden at the raw pain on their faces.
With one last smile for her sons, Saura took T’Eirick’s hand and together they strode over to the bed. They climbed up onto the mattress and lay down.
“Chand, we can’t touch, can we?”
“No, I’m sorry,” he responded softly. “Your souls need to remain apart so we can attach the stones.”
Saura leaned over and laid a kiss on T’Eirick’s lips. “I’ll see you shortly, mate.”
“Let’s do this,” T’Eirick responded. The pair settled against the pillows as a silence fell over the room. All along the walls, there were people with somber expressions, and Delaney experienced a sense of surrealism. They were all standing there knowing that in minutes or hours T’Eirick and Saura would be gone fully from this side of the veil. Time was irrelevant, and the sounds of grief reached Delaney’s ears. He had no idea if it was his own or those of his family.
“T’Eirick’s soul is beginning to lift,” Chander announced after a while.
“Let’s get ready,” Aleksander directed. “Dra’Kaedan. Dre’Kariston. Maybe you should step out into the hall.”
