Page 113 of Heart of the High King
“Good, you?”
“Awesome,” Noirin enthused. “Congratulations Rafe, on your matebond and your renewed health. I can’t wait until you get home so we can stuff you full of tasty yummies. Somebody else is missing you too.”
The image wavered and Rafe grinned when he heard a woof through the phone. Mortis’s face was there a second later. “Hey, buddy, glad you’re awake.”
“Happy Rafe better.”
“Me too. You having fun?”
“Noir goddess taking good care of me.”
“Be good for her and everyone else.”
“Talk to Aleksander?”
“I wish you could, but he’s sleeping.”
“Tell him Mortis say hi.”
“I will once he wakes up.”
“Go play now. Miss Rafe.”
“I miss you too, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
After Noirin appeared, and he had thanked her for letting him talk to Mortis, Rafe handed the phone back to Dravyn. When the Drindyr Duke hung up, he was smiling. “Mortis talks to you?”
“Yeah, I guess it kind of works like the mated sentinels’ mindlink. I can hear his thoughts, but I guess because I’m not a sentinel he can’t hear mine. It’s pretty cool, since I never have to figure out what he’s thinking or what he needs.”
“Why do we not all have wolf sentinels?” Worth asked.
“I guess you’d have to ask the Arch Lich about that one,” Rafe replied.
“His fur changed to match your hair, Rafe. Does that mean if you got one, Worth, yours would be pink?” Mac inquired.
“I’m sorry but if Worth had a pink wolf, I can think of a couple of sorcerers at home that would do everything they could to steal him,” Brogan said.
“You can tell your mate to keep his tiny hands off my imaginary wolf,” Worth remarked. “Now should we teach Rafe the rules of this game or simply sit around staring at our cards?”
Rafe listened attentively as the dukes explained how to play, and he tried not to think too hard about the question Worth hadn’t answered. For a year he’d known that his decision to walk away and return to Court Kestle had been a disastrous mistake. What he’d never planned for was finding himself in the role of explaining it to the rest of D’Vaire, and how it would change their perception of him.
All Rafe could hope was that somehow, they could find a way to forgive him for what he did to Aleksander. Grateful that it was Aleksander who had to continue to rule over D’Vaire, Rafe wasn’t even going to tiptoe the line into thinking he had any right to make a single decision at his new home despite being a High King.
∞∞∞
The next morning, Rafe was helped into the back seat of an SUV by Aleksander who, despite having napped during the following afternoon, had slept through the night. No one had said a word about Rafe’s insistence that they keep the television on so he could watch it until he drifted off. What he’d left out was that he was terrified of the dark and could hardly insist they leave the bathroom light on as he usually did. Although he was in track pants, the thick elastic around his waist dug in uncomfortably, and he couldn’t wait to change out of them when he got to D’Vaire.
Brogan drove them out of Las Vegas and once they left the confines of the lively city, there wasn’t much more than the expansive desert. Something about the wide openness of it called to Rafe and as the vehicle ate up the miles toward home, he spent his time enjoying the change from flat to mountains. Arizona was as beautiful as Nevada, and he marveled that he would spend longer than just a couple of months surrounded by the vivid terrain. When he glanced away from the window, he sought out Aleksander, who had his gaze fixed outside.
Rafe took in the strong planes of his face and could still hardly believe he was in exactly the place he’d yearned for while he suffered in that mine. At his side was his best friend—the first person to ever deserve his unswerving loyalty and trust—and somehow, they were mated. As he wondered how long it would take him to grasp the concept of eternity with Aleksander in a body that was no longer broken, they pulled up to the D’Vaire gate, surprising Rafe with how fast they’d made it to the mansion.
The SUV was parked in front of the house, and before Rafe could even get his seat belt off, Aleksander was already at his side with the door opened. With gentle hands, Aleksander helped him out and onto his feet.
“There’s been a few changes since we left,” Aleksander told him while they made their way to the entrance.
“We were only gone for a few days.”
Aleksander laughed. “We didn’t destroy any walls or anything, but Dre’Kariston lined our room with copper. We’re under strict instruction to stay around the Cwylld stones until the swelling goes away completely.”
