Page 99 of Heart of the High King
“My pleasure.”
“Aleksander nice. Aleksander play.”
“Mortis is excited. I think he likes you better than me.”
“Rafe my person. Love Rafe.”
“I love you too, buddy,” Rafe told his wolf, petting his head.
“You know, I had a dream last night of a certain shadow walk Dre’Kariston and I had,” Chander revealed. “I distinctly remember T’Eirick’s familiar, Eldwyn, telling us we might find ourselves hunting for more Cwylld rocks someday. It would appear he was right.”
Dre’Kariston nodded. “That crossed my mind this morning, actually.”
“We will have to make do with what we have. I’m going to suggest that no magic be used in the house while Rafe’s recovering. The reality is, we don’t know what residual effects even the dome might be having upon his health. It might be so insidious that he’s not aware of how it’s making him feel,” Vadimas stated.
“Are you suggesting we remove the dome?” Brogan asked, his navy eyes wide with fear.
“No, absolutely not. All I’m suggesting is that we minimize sorcery while he’s healing. The Spectra Wizardry is open to everyone if you must cast something, or any of the homes of our extended family would work as well, I’m sure,” Vadimas promised. “Even a simple measure like teleporting groups outside since it uses magic, unlike personal teleportation for resurrected folks, which is generally added as a skill is probably something easily done to ensure we aren’t filling the air with anything unnecessary.”
“The second phase of this project, once we’ve fixed Rafe completely, is finding a way to cure or manage his intolerance. Not only will it help you, Rafe, but the other shifters who suffer from the same problem,” Renny said.
Killian bobbed his head. “It’s already in the works. I can’t do much to help with the healing other than offer advice, so Dray and I are already brainstorming that issue. It’s my druids who are the ones most shifters encounter, and if we can find a way to protect those that are intolerant, it would help me sleep a little better at night.”
“You’re terrible at sleeping,” Dravyn told his mate.
“I’m better when you’re with me, Dragon Boy.”
“For the dragons staying at the hospital, you guys get to go home to your sorcerer mates at night, right?” Rafe asked.
“Not possible,” Brogan responded. “One or two nights away isn’t going to mean anything in the long run. This is about healing you, and we can sacrifice whatever’s necessary to get to that end.”
“I don’t want to insult anyone…shifters or sorcerers, but I can’t understand why you guys are willing to do all these things. Not using magic in the house, leaving your mates, and focusing your considerable talents on trying to heal me. Why?”
“Honestly, we like to help, and if someone from the hospital had called us, we would’ve put our heads together, even if we’d never met you. But what makes us push that much harder, stretch to our limits, and to sacrifice what needs to be done, is Aleksander.” Dra’Kaedan pointed to the table. “This entire family…he built this, and he needs you at his side to be happy. And we want the chance to have you ruling at his side. You were chosen by Fate for that role, and we will allow no one to deprive you of it or your mate. The shifters honor you both by protecting you and those of us with magic offer you power. Our lives for yours, High King Rafe D’Vairedraconis.”
Thoroughly humbled and overwhelmed, Rafe managed a murmured thank-you while Aleksander cupped his head and dropped a kiss on his forehead.
“Sorcery D’Vaire, let’s get to work,” Aleksander said.
