Page 116 of No Ordinary Drakeling
Chapter 37
When Emperor Chrysander Draconis wanted something done, he rallied his troops and set things in motion. Ellery thought he was going to get swept into Chrysander’s arms and into their bed, so they could celebrate his decision to allow Sorcery D’Vaire try their hand at a resurrection spell for him. Instead, Chrysander kissed him until his knees were weak, then stalked out of their suite to tell their family they had exactly one hour to get packed.
To their credit, Sorcery D’Vaire dropped everything on their schedules to convene a meeting the minute Ellery and his family arrived at King Aleksander’s home. Their plan was to add a few days to their previously planned trip to Arizona, so they could set the wheels in motion. Ellery still had no clue what his destiny was, and he supposed the only way to discover it was to let events unfold on Saturday.
In the meantime, he was sitting in a large conference room with a pack of brilliant men and one woman who’d already changed the course of history through their previous endeavors.
“I just want to say for the record that I think this is total bullshit,” Dra’Kaedan remarked. “Ellery’s going to be such a gorgeous dragon, he’s going to make the rest of you look ugly.”
Chrysander’s jaw clenched. “At the risk of pissing you off further, I’d like to remind you that your mate is a dragon. If you were in my shoes, I doubt you’d be willing to be so nonchalant about the possibility of his death.”
Brogan nodded furtively. “That’s what I keep telling him. I know how you feel, Chrys. I lost Dra’Kaedan. No one should have to suffer that way.”
“I agree. I honestly don’t know what took you guys so long to contact our group,” Alaric stated.
The Grand Warlock’s eyes were contrite. “I apologize. I’m not trying to minimize your feelings. I just want Ellery to know I have faith in him. I’m more than happy to do whatever it takes to have this spell ready just in case…as a backup plan.”
“Someone write that down. Squirt just apologized,” Aleksander commented.
“Consider it noted. Now let’s discuss the purpose of our meeting,” Vadimas responded. The leader of the Spectra Wizardry was still in his crown as they were gathered in the middle of their workday.
“I brought a copy of the spell we used to unite the fallen knights with their beasts,” High Arcanist Delaney Volkov-D’Vaire said. “I’m guessing we’ll use that as our base for the new spell.”
“There goes Del wanting to write another resurrection spell. I’m convinced you were a necromancer in your past life,” T’Eirick remarked.
“You dark sorcerers can stop trying to steal my only dark wizard,” Vadimas retorted.
“I’d really prefer if no one stole Delsaurus,” Grigori responded. “I’ve got dibs.”
“Damn right you do,” Delaney told him with a grin.
“You’ve gathered the most powerful men and woman on the planet,” Duke Macardle D’Vairedraconis said. “Let’s start at the beginning. What do you want, Your Majesty?”
“You mean what do I want to be after the resurrection?” Ellery asked. It was surreal to sit in a room and think of the possibility of returning to life. He still didn’t feel like he was going to die, but he would not let Chrysander down. He needed his other half to be happy, and the penalty for being wrong was too high a price for Chrysander to pay. And Ellery didn’t want to lose him either.
“Exactly,” High Arcanist Idris D’Vaire, Duke Macardle’s mate responded. “I assume you want to be a dragon?”
“Yes, I have always dreamed of flying.”
“Let’s focus on that for a second,” Saura suggested. “We know shifters are connected at the soul with their beast. The reality is, we don’t know how to find yours. You don’t even know what color you are. Is it possible for us to do this?”
“It’s a good question,” Chander said. “Ellery is already attached to both Chrys and Chrys’s dragon. Can we resurrect his beast without knowing what it is?”
“It’s a fresh resurrection like the fallen knight spell. We simply call forth him and his beast, right?” Delaney asked.
“They aren’t fully synced. He’s never shifted,” Chander argued.
“Well, they will be on Saturday. It’s not an ideal first meeting, but it should be enough to connect their souls fully, right?” Zane inquired.
“It’s a dragon eager enough to tear him apart. I doubt you’d have trouble uniting them,” Damian said gravely.
“I think it’s important we do this right away while his dragon is still fervently wishing to fly. We must assume that’s why you’re so ready to take flight,” Saura remarked.
Ellery nodded. “It is all I can see when I think of him.”
“I just want you to be prepared for the possibility—there’s a chance that part could fail. This is new territory and not what the original spell was designed for. We couldn’t reunite Drystan and Conley with their beasts until we found them because their souls were already connected, and we were concerned with putting the wrong dragon in them,” Chander explained.
“I suppose as long as I can return, I will not be disappointed, though I would prefer to do it with my dragon.”
