Page 17 of Worthy Promises
“Fate has honored you with a dragon of extraordinary color, and each day, you find a new way to give to your court,” Aleksander said, tapping Worth’s shoulders lightly with the sword. “The royal Dukes of the Draconis Court of D’Vaire wish you to join their ranks as a trusted advisor and a protector of your people. From this day forward, you will serve this court as Duke Worthington D’Vairedraconis. Will you swear fealty to your King?”
Worth swallowed and choked back tears. Once he’d believed dukedoms to be nearly evil, but everything was different now. He was overwhelmed that Aleksander believed him worthy of serving him as a Duke. “I’m honored, Aleksander, but I don’t know the words.”
“Repeat after me. I swear to protect the Draconis Court of D’Vaire and shall raise my sword to protect my King and all the inhabitants of this Court, should it be a just and true fight. I will conduct myself with honor and never stray from the values that govern our people. I vow I will uphold the laws of Emperor Chrysander Draconis and never muddy the reputation of dragons.”
Worth’s jaw flexed as he tried to keep his emotions from bubbling over as he repeated the words. Madeline handed Aleksander a coronet. That pink dragon Worth had hated for so long was featured prominently along with the blue-black of his brother’s unique beast.
“Arise, Your Grace,” Aleksander ordered and passed him a small box. “Your ring of rank.”
“Thank you, Your Highness,” Worth responded solemnly. There were few he admired as much as Aleksander, and for his brother and his Dukes to believe Worth was suited to a title flooded his heart with joy, love, and devotion. Everything about being a D’Vaire was a dream come true, and Worth promised himself he’d do nothing to tarnish his brother’s name. His dragon roared with triumph at getting the title Worth had thought in his youth he was owed. Instead, Worth had earned it, and that made it doubly wonderful.
“To my dragons, sorcerers, and elves, I give you Duke Worthington D’Vairedraconis,” Aleksander shouted.
Everyone burst into applause as Worth tried to scuttle away. He needed a moment to have a good cry and drop to his knees to thank Fate for bringing him to his brother’s side.
“I would like to ask for a few more people to join me. Carter D’Vairedraconis, Lex D’Vairedraconis—” Aleksander stopped and snagged Worth’s sleeve. “Your Grace, stand over here until I dismiss you.”
“Really into this royal thing today, aren’t you?” Worth muttered as he freed himself from Aleksander’s grasp. His brother had effectively cut off his escape, so he swallowed thickly and took a deep breath to await whatever other surprises Aleksander had for their court. His happy tears would have to wait.
“Hey, Carter, we’re going to be Dukes too,” Lex teased. Carter was Mac’s younger brother and still a drakeling.
“Oh, come on,” Carter said. “I know you aren’t making me a Duke. I haven’t even shifted yet.”
“You’re right, I’m not, drakeling, but get over here anyway and stand next to Worth. Sorry to disappoint you, Lex, but no coronet for you either,” Aleksander replied with a roll of his eyes. “I don’t know why things never go the way I plan them in my head.”
“Oh, easy—we’re all nuts,” Dra’Kaedan interjected.
“How did I forget that?” Aleksander mused. “Wullem D’Vaire and Leopold D’Vaire, will you join me as well?” Wullem was, astonishingly, a warlock who had found himself rescued by the D’Vaires. Like Worth, Wullem had called Court Ethelin home. Now, Wullem and his familiar, Leopold, were an intrinsic part of the D’Vaires.
“We have rules here, and we have traditions,” Aleksander said. “One of those is to always keep the truth between us, but there are times when that’s not possible. I don’t have to tell you how incredible you all are. You amaze me each day, and you’ve all given me gifts beyond measure. However, there was one granted to me I’d like to speak about today. An incredible group of men and one woman—now coined Sorcery D’Vaire by our Emperor—get together regularly and achieve things most people can’t even dream up. One of those was spearheaded by Idris. Together with these talented people, he created a potion called Immortalis.”
“Wait,what?” Carter demanded while Worth blinked heavily and wondered if his entire life since joining D’Vaire was a fantasy. “That was a hypothetical paper he wrote. Right?”
“For public purposes, yes,” Aleksander responded. “But outside in our backyard, they made the real thing. I need you all to know that this cannot go past D’Vaire. There’s not enough to go around, but now that Idris and Sorcery D’Vaire have approved the last few people under my roof who aren’t alreadyimmortal the privilege of drinking it, we no longer have to keep the secret between us. Idris?”
High Arcanist Idris D’Vaire was one of two talented wizards who called D’Vaire home, and somehow the magickind in the house had created the impossible. It was far too much for Worth’s brain to comprehend.
A grinning Idris walked up with an indigo-colored potion in hand. Noirin poured water into four clear glasses, and Idris put a single drop of the potion in each one.
“Will you accept our potion and make your life an eternal one?” Idris asked.
“Fuck yeah,” Carter exclaimed, grabbing a cup from Idris and knocking it back immediately.
Idris’s indigo gaze was aggrieved. “You didn’t give me a chance to tell you it’s going to burn and make you feel overly warm.”
“Small price to pay,” Worth retorted. If he was going to be immortal, he wouldn’t complain about any side effect from the potion. He and his dragon were still trying to process the idea of having eternal life, but that didn’t stop him from gulping the contents of the glass.
“Agreed,” Lex said, then drank his cup.
“Leopold, you don’t have to drink it—your life will be extended to match Wullem’s,” Idris explained and handed the last glass to Wullem.
“Idris,” Carter stated with a grimace. “Just fucking say it’s going to make you want to piss yourself. Overly warm, my ass.”
“Ugh, how long is this going to last?” Worth asked. His bevy of emotions were temporarily cast aside as fear of peeing himself in front of his family swamped him. “I’m wondering whether I should cross my legs or run for the toilet.”
“I hope that wet feeling on my thigh is all in my head,” Lex groused.
“Thisisunpleasant,” Wullem murmured.
