Page 185 of Heart of the High King
“That’s funny since your government doesn’t have law enforcement,” Conley retorted.
“I did not get the chance to familiarize you with all the men that traveled with me to pick you up,” Alaric stated. “I chose a larger party than I perhaps needed, but each of us belongs to the same extended family, and you’ve impacted it. I speak, of course, of your eldest son and his mate; they consider us D’Vaires. The two men standing on either side of me live there—this is Coven Lord Bridger D’Vaire and Coven Lord Hadley D’Vaire.”
Boian let out a snort. “I don’t believe in Fate or matebonds, but I must say I’m still shocked anyone would want to be with that freak Aleksander, and I no longer consider him my son.”
“I hope someday you get the chance to meet High King Rafe D’Vairedraconis,” Conley mused. “Wonderful guy and he loves your son a lot.”
“I’m not going to sit here and discuss Aleksander. I don’t know why I didn’t realize that he’d perverted his sexuality. It makes sense now why Somerly and Worthington have done the same.”
“Except that they were both gay before they met their eldest brother, and I’m surprised you’re calling Worth your kid again,” Conley remarked.
“Without a DNA test, how could I know for sure?”
“Except that we’ve had DNA tests run, and you know he and Aleksander both have the same two parents. Why don’t you tell us where to find Ismay, just in case her sons want to ever chat with her?” Drystan inquired. “For some reason, we can’t seem to find her in the fallen knights’ system.”
“Ismay has no use for children, and how the hell should I know where she is?” Boian commented. “Why do you think I was willing to have another with her? Not once did she express any interest in Aleksander.”
“Why didn’t you go back to her when you wanted your third child? Why does Somerly have a different mother?” Bridger asked.
Boian laughed. “Please, Aleksander’s a mutant, and Worth is a pink dragon. I could understand one son being a genetic disaster but after two, I came to realize a third would have the same result. Now return me to my home before things get out of hand. I have no wish to drag the Consilium into a war simply because the Council is reckless.”
“I can’t do that. You were harboring criminals, Boian. We’ve passed a law that allows us to charge you with that crime. Of course we will assign you an impartial Shadow Lord to inform you of your rights and options, but if you give us what information we want, it might go a long way toward your punishment. I will even take care of your file myself since Skeleton Lords Gavrael and Gedeon D’Vaire normally perform that task, and we wouldn’t want you to think because they live with your sons that anything about this is unfair,” Alaric said. “Or perhaps it’s best if it were finalized by a Juris Knight, given that these allegations originate from a fallen knights investigation.”
“We’ll have you work with Juris Knight Mitchell Brooks,” Drystan stated.
“Is JK Pierson Murphy available?” Alaric asked. “His extraordinary memory might prove useful since we wouldn’t want to miss a single law that Boian has broken.”
Drystan shook his head sadly. “JK Murphy has been reassigned to DC and is currently not handling cases.”
“Have you just let Aleksander take over everything?” Boian demanded. “Don’t you have emperors? Why is everyone named D’Vaire? And what the hell is a High King anyway? What utter foolishness.”
“The High Court of D’Vaire is an extension of the emperors’ royal court. Your son and his mate wield a great deal of power and prestige. But let’s stay focused here on just one High King. Why did you stand up for King Kestle and let him stay in your home?” Drystan asked.
“There are three dragon courts in the Consilium, or there were until that fool Kestle ran off. Of course I was going to welcome him back. He was accused of harming his son much as I’ve been in the past. Why any of you think you can punish someone because you disagree with their parenting techniques is beyond me.”
Drystan pushed a button, allowing a screen to fill one wall and connected his phone to it. The picture he chose to start with was one he’d taken of Rafe just before they drove him to D’Vaire. Covered in scars, he’d still smiled as he posed with Mortis. “This is High King Rafe D’Vairedraconis. And this is what he looked like after his father and brother were done. Mind you, this was after dozens of surgeries and months of recovery.”
“The scars are from an attack,” Boian refuted. “Charlton swore he didn’t know what happened to him. He left home one day and the next he heard the D’Vaires had him.”
“Except that he and his son told the D’Vaires that Rafe was at home and not missing.”
Boian shrugged. “A misunderstanding. Why were the D’Vaires bothering Charlton and his family anyway?”
“Because Aleksander’s mate was missing, and he was understandably concerned.”
“I suppose I can understand that; it is a miracle Aleksander was able to find another soul willing to be with him in the first place,” Boian stated dryly. “Did anyone consider that this Rafe was running away and didn’t want to be found by any D’Vaire?”
“Allow me,” Conley remarked, getting up and disconnecting Drystan’s device to attach his own. The image that filled the wall was of Aleksander and Rafe at their matebond ceremony. They were staring at each other with unmistakable love and pride. Conley had a couple of copies of it framed—one in their office and another in their living room in Las Vegas. “Does this look like a guy trying to run away from your eldest son?”
King Ethelin glanced at the screen briefly, and his attention went to the floor as he folded his arms over his chest. “Disgusting,” he muttered.
“For almost a second there, I forgot what a fucking homophobe you are,” Conley remarked. “That’s funny since you’re in a room full of fags.”
“What does any of this have to do with me?” Boian demanded.
“It’s that whole ‘harboring two criminals’ thing.”
“I believe you that someone hurt that man. I don’t know why you think that has anything to do with me.”
