Page 181 of Heart of the High King
Chapter 68
“Okay, I’m going to try something stronger, you ready?” Dra’Kaedan asked.
“Yeah, hit me,” Rafe instructed. For the past few days, he’d been spending time with the various sorcerers who called D’Vaire home. They shot him full of magic and were slowly lowering the number of cups of tea he needed to drink because thus far, Dravyn and Killian’s ginger root was doing the trick. Rafe had no swelling, no upset stomach or other symptoms of his intolerance. Noirin had experimented and come up with a delicious combination of ginger, hibiscus, and cranberry that Rafe loved. A stream of glowing cupcakes smashed into Rafe, and he gave Dra’Kaedan a baleful stare. “Seriously?”
“Hey, we both like to eat.”
“I’m covered in magical goop.”
“It’s my special frosting.”
“Gross.”
“No symptoms?”
“None.”
“I think we just do a single cup of tea tomorrow morning, and see if that holds you,” Dra’Kaedan said, crossing the short distance between them. “High five, this shit is really working.”
Rafe dutifully slapped the sorcerer’s palm. “Yeah, and now you can market it right, so others like me can teleport with ease as much as they want, or whatever else they want to do.”
“Yep, we’ve already talked to Grigori’s brother, Nikolai, to handle it. Plants will have to be grown in quantity, so it’ll take a little time, but it’s going to be awesome, and the proceeds are going to our sanctuaries. I think you and everyone else should continue to wear your alert bracelets—or in your case, that kickass cuff Madeline made you, just in case you miss a dose or whatever.”
“I like wearing it anyway, and that’s great. Look, since it’s just the two of us out here, I wanted to apologize for complaining to Sander that everyone at D’Vaire didn’t like me. You guys worked really hard to heal me, and it was stupid of me to not factor that into my thinking. I just figured that you’re the type of person who’d help anyone, so I wasn’t anything special.”
Dra’Kaedan sat on the stairs and laughed when the two wolves licked his face. “You’re right, I would’ve helped anyone, but you’re very special to me. I was ecstatic that we could heal you, and I didn’t expect it would happen so fast, which was a wonderful bonus. I love Aleksander. He changed my life, and without his hospitality, I might’ve been kicked out on the street, missing out on Brogan for who knows how long. He didn’t just put a roof over my head; he stepped into the fray and dealt with the bitch that was holding me in magical purgatory. I know you love him too, and besides, I’ve seen you interact with us and these wolves. You’re fantastic, and we were wrong to think you couldn’t handle our crazy. So you can keep your apology; it’s unnecessary.”
Taking the initiative as he tried to mend fences that everyone insisted weren’t broken, Rafe grabbed a seat not far from the Grand Warlock. Mortis took the opportunity to shuffle between his legs while Nox continued to get pets from Dra’Kaedan. “I should’ve trusted you. That’s all I’m saying.”
“I never thought you exaggerated anything. In fact, you downplayed it, and I must say it hurts my heart that there’s someone in our house hurting you by saying otherwise.”
For days, Rafe had dealt with both direct and implied inquiries into the behavior of his brother, but he wasn’t going to tattle. He’d done enough of that, and all he needed to do was avoid any alone time with Kendrick. “Like I told Sander, everyone’s free to like who they want, including me. There are things I did that may appear questionable, and I’m sure I haven’t handled everything in the best way. I acted like a baby when Sander was sleeping, and I should’ve shown a braver front.”
Dra’Kaedan’s navy eyes were flooded with emotion. “Listen, your life since you met Aleksander has been a fucking dumpster fire. That’s why we wanted to protect you. How could you know who to ask for help or how to cope with this whole High King shit when the person you lean on is out cold?”
“I guess I should’ve asked more questions. I’ve come to realize that not only is my family dysfunctional, but so is the way my father ran his court. I don’t really know how to do my job properly.”
“It’s a good thing you get to learn from the very best. There’s no one better than Aleksander at his job, and you have the right instincts. Look at what you did with Jeremiah. There was no hesitation in accepting him. All you need to do is trust yourself and us when we’ve earned it.”
“At least I never have to worry about anyone caring that I’m in love with a guy,” Rafe teased, trying to lighten the mood. Happy with his decision about Jeremiah, he agreed with Dra’Kaedan. The young dragon had fit in seamlessly, and Rafe was back working with him to try to coax out his beast.
“You want to hear something hilarious? Brogan’s still miffed at some level that he never got to sleep with Aleksander.”
“Aleksander did have a crush on him when they were young.”
“Yeah, so I’ve heard and vice versa, but somehow I don’t see it working out. I mean, who would even bottom for who? Brogan’s never done that in his life, and he has no desire to try. Not that I’m complaining mind you, but somehow, I don’t see Aleksander letting Brogan pop his cherry.”
Rafe couldn’t help his blush at Dra’Kaedan’s frankness. “Yeah…um…Sander’s definitely interested in doing the whole uh, top thing. And honestly, his dragon’s pretty territorial. He likes to bite. Sometimes I think if Aleksander was interested in trying to go the other way, his dragon would emerge in the middle of it and destroy the planet.”
“But you aren’t complaining, are you?” Dra’Kaedan asked with a saucy smile.
“No. Not at all. We’ve got this gay thing figured out.”
“I believe that. I’ve seen you guys kiss.”
Idly stroking Mortis’s fur, Rafe stretched out his legs a bit. “You know what’s odd to me about the whole Brogan and Sander thing? Neither one of them is close to what we look like. I mean how does Brogan go from tall and dark-haired to cute and blond?”
“Thanks for thinking I’m cute,” Dra’Kaedan quipped. “I hear you. I almost think Brogan keeps bringing it up to make me jealous or something, which is so stupid.”
