Page 168 of Heart of the High King
Chapter 63
Rafe sat in an eerily silent room as he typed away, adding another old Council bill to his database. Four weeks ago, the office had been filled with lively voices but no longer. Instead, the door that connected it to Worth’s was tightly shut, and the residents of the house preferred to gather in the Duke Argent’s space. While Rafe interacted with people during his weapons classes, the weekly meetings only took minutes. No one had any issues, and Rafe found it hard to believe that normal trials and tribulations had simply ceased. The problem was him, and he was embarrassed that he’d failed as a leader.
It made him wonder why the hell Fate thought he could hold such a prestigious title or what Aleksander had been thinking when he’d given it to him instead of designating him as High King-mate. While Rafe dissected the months he’d spent with the D’Vaires to pinpoint his mistakes, he could not deny that it hurt his feelings, because he could find nothing. Rafe genuinely liked each shifter, sorcerer, and elf with perhaps the only exception being his brother, who he avoided at all costs. Nothing Kendrick said was true, but it still dinged the confidence he’d nurtured into existence since Nox had been resurrected.
“Wow, how’d you get everyone to scatter?” Conley said as he walked in.
Rafe shrugged as the wolves raced to greet both Reverent Knights. Standing, he was embraced by both men. It occurred to Rafe that he’d done better making friends with the extended D’Vaires than the immediate family but again, he could not explain it.
“Have a seat, what’s up?” Rafe asked, selecting a sofa made of Aleksander’s dragonskin. Missing him was a constant ache, and Rafe devoted every hour he could to lounging with him and talking his ear off. If Aleksander was listening, he was probably dying to tell him to shut up.
“It’s very important to me that we don’t do anything to give you a reason to be afraid or concerned, but we received a report from an anonymous source at Court Kestle,” Drystan said.
“What’s going on?” Rafe asked while Mortis smashed himself against his leg.
“Charlton and Sullivan are missing,” Conley confessed. “They vanished two days ago, and no one is talking, so we don’t know if it was a voluntary thing or if they’re in danger.”
“What about the twins? Nollan and Neil are still around?”
“Nope, they’re gone too, but they just took off this morning supposedly. We have no idea if they went to join Charlton and Sullivan wherever they went or if they decided to bail since their leader is gone,” Drystan responded. “It’s imperative that you take care, Rafe. We can’t know if they’re going to try to come after you in some way.”
“I’d feel more comfortable if Brogan knew what was going on,” Rafe decided. “He’s in charge of security here, and any D’Vaire might be in danger because of me. Sander’s the only one who knows who hurt me.”
“You can tell anyone in your family,” Conley assured him.
Rafe got up and knocked on the door to Worth’s office. Unsurprisingly, the Grand Duke answered. “Hey, can you come in here?”
“Sure.” Brogan was warmly greeted by the Reverent Knights and everyone grabbed a seat. “Is something wrong?”
“We need to update you on a situation,” Drystan said and laid out the facts for Brogan, whose gaze went straight to Rafe.
“I’m sorry,” Brogan offered quietly. “I had no idea it was your family who fucking hurt you.”
“Please don’t apologize. Coming out of the closet didn’t work out so well for me but honestly, I don’t believe they ever gave a shit about me. I just want to make sure they don’t wind up harming anyone else.”
“I don’t think you should leave the D’Vaire bubble until they’re arrested.”
Rafe shrugged. “Where would I go anyway?”
“Do you think Dr. Suricata would agree to meet you here?” Brogan asked. “The wizards have brought nurses here before to draw blood. I’m sure the Prism Wizards could do it again so we can use someone they trust.”
“I could ask her. I don’t have an appointment for a few weeks.”
“Let’s hope we’ve got these guys in custody by then,” Conley remarked.
Brogan got to his feet and turned to the Reverent Knights. “Why don’t you guys come into Worth’s office? I’ll grab the sentinels, and we can figure out how to make sure those that do need to leave are properly protected.”
“Sure,” Drystan said, he and his mate rising.
Guessing he was no longer needed, Rafe stood. “You guys can tell the others why everyone’s in danger. I don’t care if they know it was my father and Sullivan that did that shit.”
“It might help them understand the gravity of the situation,” Brogan said. “I don’t want anyone waltzing out of here and into danger because they decide some missing guys from your old court running around doesn’t mean shit, but I’m going to keep it to our security guys for now. I hope Kendrick isn’t still talking to them.”
“It’s been a few weeks since they exchanged messages,” Drystan confided. They went into Worth’s space and the door was shut, blocking Rafe from hearing anything else.
“Protect Rafe.”
“No worries. I’m not leaving D’Vaire. I mean even if I wanted to, where the fuck would I go? I wish the others didn’t have to worry about this shit, though.”
