Page 159 of Heart of the High King
Chapter 60
For the second meeting in a row, Rafe was alone. Too exhausted to be nervous, he dragged his tired body into the living room and sat on the couch. Mortis and Nox took up sentry spots on either side of his legs as Rafe stared at his tablet. The last thing he wanted to do was make eye contact with the D’Vaires. Although he was often lost in his thoughts, he didn’t fail to notice how quiet it got when he walked into a room. No one spoke to him really or asked questions unless they were about swordplay during his daily classes.
While he appreciated not being put on the spot for things that Aleksander should be taking care of, Rafe was starting to feel like an interloper in his mate’s mansion, but that was his fault. It was Rafe that was lost, and he desperately wished he could figure out how to fit into the role that was expected of him. Rafe understood he was capable of plenty. Rafe had survived what many had told him was impossible, and he’d done it by focusing on his relationship with Aleksander.
Now he had to figure out a way to be the person Aleksander could rely upon and trust because he could not live with himself if he ever let him down again. It was also important that he build faith in himself to cultivate the poise and confidence he needed to gain self-respect. It was a great deal of pressure, and his brain kept circling back to the weight of his responsibilities.
The gorgeous ring on his finger was a symbol of their love, but it was also a reminder to be someone Aleksander could continue to care for and not disappoint either of them by being an evil asshole like his father and brother. Rafe was learning to love himself, and it meant making himself into a different man than he’d been for centuries. Realizing that he was once again allowing himself to fall into a whirlwind of self-imposed expectations and the trauma of his past, Rafe forced his attention to the present.
“Thanks, guys, for showing up tonight. I mean, of course you’re here. None of you would miss it. I didn’t mean it like that.Fuck. Just thanks for coming or whatever.” Living up to the example of Aleksander was daunting, and Rafe was doing a shit job. “Yeah, uh. Dra’Kaedan, you have sanctuary stuff?”
“We sure do,” Dra’Kaedan responded, handing stacks of papers to his familiar and mate. Rafe clutched a copy in his hands after passing around the pile. Although he’d read it five times before the meeting to be sure he could answer any questions, he didn’t think having a reference was a bad thing. “This application is for Jeremiah Wellsdraconis.”
“My dragon trainer, Jeremiah?” Carter asked. “He’s asking for sanctuary?”
“Yep, that Jeremiah. As you know by now, he’s shifted but didn’t ask any of us to fucking attend,” Dra’Kaedan responded. “Has anybody seen him? Rafe? I want to see these glitter scales.”
“I did talk to him a little bit. He called me this morning to check on Sander, but I didn’t see him.”
“Are we going to vote on this?” Kendrick asked.
“After you guys ask whatever questions you have, yeah,” Rafe responded.
“Is that appropriate? Aleksander’s not available. It’s hardly unanimous if he’s not able to vote. Would you allow him to come to D’Vaire while the High King is out of commission?” Kendrick asked. Although his tone was polite, his eyes were full of venom. His brother wasn’t shy about making his opinion known. Rafe already understood that Kendrick had no use for him, and it only reinforced his idea that the D’Vaires tolerated him as Aleksander’s mate. Someday Rafe hoped they would find him worthy, because he was determined to work hard.
“Aleksander has spoken highly of Jeremiah. He’s the one who suggested I work with him to get my dragon back, and I’ve been told Jeremiah has an open invitation to visit D’Vaire whenever he wants. I think we can safely assume he wouldn’t want us to delay this.”
“I’m not questioning how his vote would go. I agree, I think he would be on board. My issue is that Jeremiah’s not in any immediate danger, so what’s the rush? Surely we can wait until Aleksander’s able to participate in the process like everyone else.”
“Mean.”
Rafe scratched Mortis’s head while he gathered his wits. “I believe my mate would be more upset if we allowed Jeremiah to stay in a situation where he’s unhappy, even if it amounted to only days, than missing a vote where there’s no argument about which way he would lean. Are there any further questions?”
“Can I just say I’m pissed?” Carter shot out. “I didn’t even know those asshats at Court Wells didn’t like him, and I tried talking him into asking Aleksander if he could transfer here. I can’t believe he let this go on when he could’ve been here.”
“Elf wasn’t too happy either when I asked him to put together a letter for his file,” Mac confided. “He was frustrated that Jeremiah didn’t discuss his situation with anyone.”
“Does any fucking body have any objections to Jeremiah?” Carter demanded.
“Nope,” Dra’Kaedan said. “Rafe?”
“So uh…just raise your hand if you think Jeremiah should become a D’Vaire,” Rafe managed.
“That means you too, Nox and Mortis,” Noirin told the wolves, who each dutifully lifted a paw to make Jeremiah the first recipient to Dra’Kaedan’s Coven that Rafe got to vote on.
“Dra’Kaedan, did you want to call him in the morning? I don’t see any reason why he can’t move in as soon as he wants.”
“I’d love to, and I’ll tell him we’re ready for him.”
“Questions about other stuff?” Rafe asked.
“So, we’re working on this guidebook, and we need photos of everybody, so Evlithar and I would like to get that done this week. We’re not going to have anything ready for Jeremiah, but hopefully by the next household addition, we can have a sample. So, if you’ve got a special outfit you want to wear or something like that, tell me so we can arrange a time for you,” Renny requested.
“And we’re putting together a little paragraph about each of you, so if you have certain things you want people to know, text me or Lucian,” Kitchi added.
“Ashby and I were assigned to do information about the different offices, locations of stuff, and who to go for what so see one of us for specifics on that,” Royce tacked on.
“When Aleksander wakes up, he and I will address the portion for house rules, but you can email or text me things you can think of or even suggestions on ones you feel need to be addressed or done away with. I’ll take all that information to Aleksander,” Rafe stated.
