Page 156 of Heart of the High King
“Hello, Your Highness,” Kendrick taunted, flipping a dishtowel over his shoulder.
“It’s Rafe.”
“I know your name, Rafferty. You must be enjoying life without Aleksander around.”
Rafe tensed, but he wasn’t going to allow any kind of altercation to take place under Aleksander’s roof. “I have no idea what you mean.”
“You started burning through money immediately. News travels. I heard Larissa was given carte blanche to buy you an endless wardrobe. Harley Griffinis was here ready to start building shit, and let’s not even get into the weapons we’re apparently stockpiling now so you can pretend you’re some feudal lord.”
All Rafe had wanted to do was find some form of exercise he could enjoy and while he’d wanted a partner, he hadn’t expected the tremendous response. In his mind, he’d resigned himself to asking Dra’Kaedan to put together a spell that would allow him to spar something magical. His thought was to make something along the lines of the holograms the sentinels could summon to train if there was no one around. The monetary investment into the swords and shields had never factored into his mind, and it made Rafe feel small and ashamed. Without funds, everything had been provided for him. Perhaps Kendrick was right that he wasn’t respecting Aleksander’s generous nature properly.
“Nothing to say? I’m surprised. You apparently had plenty to tell the fallen knights about your family. You certainly weren’t going to share your D’Vaire connection with them. I can’t even talk to my brother without being interrogated by someone. I’ll admit I couldn’t give a shit less about having a relationship with them, but it’s pretty cold of you to simply cut them off when you get paired with one of the most powerful families on the planet. It took you no time to shake them off, so you didn’t have to share your new wealth of allies. Rather heartless, considering how the Kestles arrived here with nothing.”
The thought of Court Kestle would always make Rafe uneasy. It wasn’t terror necessarily but a deep-rooted fury and disappointment that they still walked around spreading misinformation without paying for nearly robbing him of everything. To Rafe, it was still a miracle and a rather surreal one at that to see the ring on his finger. There was a man resting just down the hall who loved him, and he wasn’t just anyone—Aleksander was his perfect match, and he would probably never be worthy of such a beautiful soul.
“Is this like the silent treatment? Grow up, Rafferty. You might fool the other D’Vaires, but I shared the same court with you, so I know your true nature. My mother warned me my whole life to stay away from you, and she wasn’t a woman who turned on people easily,” Kendrick said, chuckling. “You’re probably wishing right now that Aleksander never wakes up and withers away so you can have High Court D’Vaire to yourself.”
The thought of life without Aleksander made his chest hurt, and he simply froze in place. There was a loud woof, and the glass in the door rattled. When it was opened by Brogan and Mortis and Nox ran toward Rafe, Kendrick backed up against the counter.
“Rafe breathe. Rafe be okay. Rafe calm down. Rafe relax.”
Realizing that he was holding his breath and his heart was thundering in his chest, Rafe ran outside and didn’t stop until he found Dra’Kaedan talking to his mother and familiar who were both readying for sword class. “Could he die?” Rafe rushed out.
Dra’Kaedan’s eyes grew round and he put a hand on Rafe’s arm. “Who? What’s wrong? What happened?”
“Sander, dammit. Can he die? Could this spell kill him?” Rafe demanded.
“Rafe relax.”
“I’m not going to fucking relax, Mortis! Is there any possibility Sander could die?”
Saura reached out and rubbed the arm her son wasn’t gently squeezing. “No, honey. He’s absolutely fine. Aleksander’s not even in a true coma; it’s more like suspended animation. I believe his mind is functioning as normal—he’s just not able to connect mind with body as his soul recovers from the binding. If you want, we can check on him every day to be sure, but I promise you that your mate is going to wake up. We just don’t know when.”
“But he can’t die?”
“No fucking way,” Dra’Kaedan responded.
Rafe dropped to his knee and hugged Mortis. “Sorry for yelling at you. I was worried.”
“Mortis know. Rafe sad about Aleksander. Nox not act weird. Would if Aleksander in trouble.”
Managing to get both wolves in his arms, Rafe kissed their heads. “Thanks, guys. Dra’Kaedan and Saura, thanks to you both, too.”
