Page 60 of Becoming D'Vaire
Chapter 20
Delaney sat down next to Grigori, who winked at him. He was desperately trying to get his mind and his dick far away from the butt plug the vampire confessed to purchasing. They hadn’t had intercourse either way yet, but it didn’t matter. They were having a fantastic time in bed together—or at least Delaney hoped so. Without any experience, it was difficult to tell how much improvement he needed, something he had not fully factored in when he’d decided to wait for his other half. He wasn’t going to stress over it; Grigori was always eager and so was Delaney. He figured that was a good barometer for their sex life.
As the other sorcerers and their mates filed in and found chairs, Delaney wished the rest of his relationship was as easy to grade. His heart had plopped out of his chest and landed on Grigori’s shiny shoes the first night they met. Which was frightening and ridiculous—they were supposed to take their time and get to know one another before professing their undying affection. Delaney was not supposed to fall in love with him yet, and it was chilling to contemplate how it would destroy him if Grigori didn’t return his feelings.
He did not like the vulnerability that being this far gone for someone brought out in him. It was not something he could brush off or work his way through; he just had to wait until they were both on the same page. Grigori was everything he’d ever hoped for or secretly wished he could have in a partner, but there were no guarantees in life. He simply could not handle the pain in his chest at the idea of somehow losing him.It is too soon to be contemplating all these weighty matters, Delaney thought. Fate put them together, but they needed to figure out what that meant for them.
For Delaney, he could see a future with Grigori and no one else. If Grigori woke up one morning and insisted they break their bond with a demon spell, there would be no better match for him. He would never find a man with his quirky sense of humor, incredible kindness, and who simply just understood Delaney at a fundamental level few people touched. He already considered him as good a friend as Idris—something incredibly important and sacred to Delaney.
“Hey Aleksander, are you trading in your dragon wings for a magic wand?” Renny asked, which thankfully yanked Delaney from the miasma of his wayward thoughts.
“Interesting take from a warlock familiar with a dragon form,” Aleksander remarked as he grabbed a seat. “T’Eirick and Saura invited me.”
“We’ve been making these plans to resurrect Saura and myself. The least we should do is include Aleksander in the whole thing—it is happening under his roof,” T’Eirick explained.
“We certainly don’t have an issue with him being here, Dad,” Dre’Kariston said. “Where do we want to begin?”
“Let’s start with the D’Vaire stones,” Delaney suggested. Talking about things he could control was exactly where he wanted to be now; it gave him back the confidence he was lacking in the more personal areas of his life. “I think we’re ready to do this. We’ve tinkered with the simulator until our eyes have crossed and with the spell we have now, it’s about an eighty percent chance it’ll work. At least the two wizards, one warlock equation. It’s a bit lower with the other combos, but I feel like when we have some practice, we can improve those odds.”
“How long are the stones going to last?” Saura asked.
“They don’t last until all the magic is used?” Grigori inquired.
“Magic bleeds, but this spell is pretty airtight, and if we cast it with precision, as we did Immortalis, it should be only a minimal runoff. Conservative estimate, one stone untouched will last a thousand years,” Delaney responded.
“Well done,” T’Eirick remarked.
Delaney grinned. “Thanks. Dra’Kaedan and I can start working on a couple and see how it goes.”
“Let’s start with the fun stuff. Mom, you’ve been smiling for three days. What have you come up with?” Dra’Kaedan asked.
“I’ve been tugging on my brain cells since we came up with this idea. We wanted to honor every part of the incredible group of dark sorcerers we’re joining. We’ve built the spell from the fallen knight’s model, added in a dash of sentinel and of course, constructed a new portion for mending which, at Del’s suggestion, will come from Fate. So here’s what I think. I think our race should be called Darkfallen Court, informally known as the darkfallen. If Fate gives us the power to heal, we’ll be Lichpriest and Lichpriestess. If she doesn’t, then we’ll come up with something new, but I have incredible faith in her,” Saura said.
“Personally, I love it,” Delaney responded when the room fell silent.
“You’re so awesome, Saura,” Renny enthused.
She clapped her hands together. “Oh, good. You guys like it.”
“Lichpriest T’Eirick and Lichpriestess Saura D’Vaire sounds amazing,” Dra’Kaedan added.
“Well, that’s kind of why I wanted Aleksander here. You’re all just assuming we’ll live here, but we haven’t even discussed it, let alone filled out a sanctuary application,” Saura said.
Aleksander chuckled. “Come on, you’re family. Of course you’re welcome. In fact, I’d consider it an absolute honor if you decided to use the name Fate gave me.”
“Leolinnia was a warlock castle destroyed by the Cwylld elves and where we lost our lives. It belongs in the past. D’Vaire is our future,” T’Eirick stated. “We won’t ever forget the price we paid for our mistakes or for Carvallius’s evil in tricking the Cwylld to nearly kill all the warlocks, but we need to keep our races separate. You’ll always be our sons, but you need to remember we’re no longer the Leolinnias. They’re dead, and it’s your turn to be at the head of the coven that Fate gave you.”
Dra’Kaedan turned to his twin brother. “I can see it now. I’ll want some advice on something, and Dad will tell me I’m the Grand Warlock and he’s the Lichpriest, so I should figure it out on my fucking own.”
“In an attempt not to get into family squabbles, shall we deal with the most pressing problem as we work out the more minute details of the resurrection spell?” Vadimas asked. “We’ve come up with no idea for Carvallius and Latarian other than Del’s suggestion of using a sliver of Cwylld stone on the other side of the veil. It’s been two weeks. Does anyone have any theories about how that might be possible?”
Delaney grimaced. “I thought of one, but it’s rather barbaric.”
“It might be the only avenue we have,” T’Eirick said. “Let’s hear the idea.”
“The sad reality is that you guys have to cross the veil. Chand’s temporary resurrection will end and when it does, you’ll both crave deep sleep. What if we waited until you lost consciousness and well, kind of rammed it into your soul?”
“Push past the vessel and reach the core?” Saura asked. The room was silent as she nodded resolutely. “You know, its effectiveness may be in its simplicity. It wouldn’t be good for a sorcerer to do it. It’d be very draining.”
