Page 75 of Heart of the High King
Chapter 32
Rafe had a doctor’s appointment, and Dra’Kaedan had already volunteered to teleport him, but he had a few minutes to spare and as luck would have it, his brother was in the kitchen by himself.
“Hey,” he offered Kendrick, sitting carefully on a barstool.
Kendrick offered him a mutinous glare. “Hey.”
“Lunch was really delicious.”
“It’s Noir’s kitchen.”
“Well, you two work together, so I wanted to compliment you both. Everything I’ve ever eaten here is incredible,” Rafe offered. It was causing him tons of abdominal pain and was now going through him within an hour of eating, but he had no regrets.
“Do you need something?”
“Actually yeah, I need to buy stuff like soap and new balls for Mortis. How do I make purchases?” Rafe asked.
“Use your personal account. I’m sure you have plenty. You were a duke for how many centuries?”
Even when Rafe was being paid, it was practically pennies, but he was cut off from even the pittance in his old account. His current one had nothing in it. The people around him had supplied everything he needed but now that he was at D’Vaire, he certainly wasn’t going to ask Their Majesties or the Reverent Knights to give him anything—he hadn’t even liked it when they’d insisted while he was in the hospital. Recalling that Aleksander had told him that the sanctuary provided funds to those who needed it and that the Coven of Warlocks reimbursed D’Vaire, he wondered if maybe he’d misunderstood. As for the High King, he was unable to ask him. Aleksander remained a ghost. “Okay, thank you. Have a good afternoon.”
His brother said nothing, and Rafe was thrilled when Dra’Kaedan and Brogan strolled in. “Ready to go?” the Grand Warlock asked.
“Yeah.”
Getting to his feet and closing his eyes, Dra’Kaedan got them to the spot in the hospital owned by Dérive. “Thanks, I can call or text when I’m ready to be picked up.”
“Seriously? You aren’t going by yourself. You’re a D’Vaire. We take security very seriously,” Brogan argued.
“I have a wolf sentinel.”
“He doesn’t even have thumbs.”
“Can protect.”
“Mortis can take care of it, and who the hell is going to care if someone attacks a dying guy?” Rafe asked. Already worried about how he was going to buy soap, he couldn’t stand there forever arguing with the Grand Duke, or his legs would give out.
“Let’s go,” Dra’Kaedan said and tugged on Brogan’s shirt. “Text or call when you’re done. Are you okay after the spell?”
“Yeah. For whatever reason, your spell doesn’t affect me as much as when I used Dérive. Like my stomach still acts a little weird, but not for long.”
“Awesome, glad I’m not making you feel like shit. Now get going. We don’t want to keep you.”
Rafe made his way down the hall and was grateful when he got to the elevator since it opened as he arrived. The man inside was kind enough to hold the door, though he appeared apprehensive as Mortis joined them, but Rafe ignored it and got off on the correct floor. It was a short distance to Dr. Suricata’s office and when he got there, he signed in with his new name. His smile formed as he wrote D’Vairedraconis for the first time. The woman who manned the reception desk walked over and smiled at him. “Identification card, please.”
Fishing it out of his pocket, Rafe handed it to her.
“Sir, the name you signed doesn’t match your ID card.”
“I just joined High Court D’Vaire, so I haven’t gotten a new one yet.”
“If you’re truly part of that court, you need to get the High King to update you in the system. I’m going to sign you in using the name we have on record until that’s done.”
Rafe was embarrassed yet again and wished he hadn’t gotten out of bed. “Okay.”
“Your friend needs to shift; we don’t allow beasts to wander around a hospital.”
“He’s not a shifter. Mortis Daray is a wolf sentinel. Here’s his identification card.”
