Page 35 of Worthy Promises
“You’ve got this,” Dra’Kaedan assured Kendrick. “We’re D’Vaires, we’ll figure this out.”
“I can’t wait until he’s old enough to have tea parties with me,” Zarasha exclaimed. As the only child in the house, Zarasha had to be tired of playing with adults constantly. Worth idly wondered if she’d get along well with Oliver’s brother, Orion. Making a mental note to call Oliver later and tell him their family’s exciting news, Worth caught the eye of Aleksander.
“Champagne is out of the question, but we need some way of celebrating,” Worth said.
“Don’t you dare say cake,” Grand Warlock Familiar Renny told his warlock, slapping a hand over Dra’Kaedan’s mouth.
“We could do smoothies,” Xakiok suggested.
“Brilliant idea,” Saura said. “With no help from Noir and Kendrick.”
Worth was willing to aid them, but he was shooed away and told to eat his breakfast. Since he would not argue with the Lichpriestess, Worth sat and attended to his cooling meal. It wasn’t the way he’d pictured his morning going, but he was thrilled and already eager to add the baby drakeling to their household.
∞∞∞
Oliver tapped his keyboard and muttered to himself as he worked. After dinner, his brother had excused himself to finish the dragon book he’d gushed about throughout their meal. The shrill sound of his phone ringing made Oliver jump, but the second he glanced at the screen, his focus shifted immediately. In such a rush to snatch the device, he nearly dropped the damn thing.
“Hello?” Oliver said once he accepted the call.
“Good evening, Owliver. How was your day?”
With a small smile, Oliver leaned back in his chair. “Not bad, Worthington. How was yours?”
“Mixed, I’d say. My family is celebrating a grand announcement. My cousin and her mate are expecting a baby boy.”
“That’s fantastic, congratulations to all of you,” Oliver said, flipping through his mental database of D’Vaire knowledge, and a lightbulb went on in his head. “Wait, your cousin. Seneschal Duchess Noirin, right?”
“Yes, our dear Noir. A passionately devoted, incredible woman I’m insanely lucky to share blood and a home with.”
“What could have possibly dimmed that good news?”
“Your reaction is making me feel better,” Worthington replied. “You see, I was planning on announcing this morning—to the other fifty-eight D’Vaires plus an assortment of baby dragon familiars and two wolf sentinels—that I’d met my mate. But then Noir and Kendrick told us about their baby, and I couldn’t bring myself to take anything from their day. I hope you don’t mind. I’ll share our fantastic news with my family tomorrow.”
“Fifty-eight plus you. That’s a lot of D’Vaires.”
“Actually, we’re tiny for a dragon court, but our number is to be kept secret; this is a sanctuary, you know.”
“Right. The Grand Warlock’s sanctuary.”
“Technically, it was started by Dra’Kaedan and our beautiful necromancer, Blodwen. But yes, Dra’Kaedan’s Coven. Do you accept my apology for delaying the announcement of our matebond?”
Oliver grinned and, probably for the first time in his life, couldn’t resist teasing someone. “I don’t remember getting an apology.”
“Ah. How remiss of me. I offer you my most sincere and deepest apology for not putting my matebond above the happiness of others.”
“Huh. Well, Worthington. I also told no one today. My plan was to break it to my brother at dinner, but he was so excited to tell me about his book that I couldn’t interrupt him. He hasn’t been enthusiastic about anything in six months.”
Worthington chuckled. “Imagine asking for an apology when you clearly didn’t deserve one. This is the book about dragons, right?”
Pleased and touched that Worthington remembered, Oliver propped his feet up on his desk to relax. “Yes.”
“Did you learn anything?”
“I did. I wasn’t aware that drakelings don’t shift into dragons before they turn a century old. Until you get your wings, you’re basically considered babies. I’ve been working since I was a teenager.”
“Modern dragons don’t always follow that tradition, but my father insisted. I was born in 1814, and trust me, I did everything in my youth to avoid responsibility.”
Since Oliver had had to take on the duty of providing for his family at nineteen, he couldn’t relate. However, he was happy that Worthington’s youth didn’t mirror his own. “Your father was King Ethelin, right?”
