Page 29 of Worthy Promises
Worth bent to take it from her and dropped a kiss on her soft head before he stood. “Darling, Asteria and I would never miss an opportunity to have tea with you.”
Trapped as Zarasha was, she could neither eat nor drink, but she loved her pretend tea parties. Worth, Xakiok, Aleksander, and Rafe were her most consistent guests.
Zarasha rocked from side to side in delight then called as she raced out, “I’m going to make an invitation for you too, Rafe and Aleksander.”
“We’ll definitely be there,” Rafe assured her.
“We’re going to be late,” Killian groused. “I’ll go get your damn crown.”
“I’ll do it,” Ashby volunteered as he dashed out.
“I would’ve gone to get it myself,” Worth complained.
“Maybe you should’ve done that instead of complaining about being the Duke Argent,” Aleksander commented.
“Rafe, my deepest condolences on having to spend eternity with my brother,” Worth said, ignoring Aleksander and giving Rafe his full attention. As usual, the High King was dressed in jeans and his hand was nestled in Aleksander’s. It was rare for them to be apart, and Worth’s heart sighed with envious joy at their obvious affection for each other. “Handsome as he may be, it’s hardly worth looking at his face if you have to deal with his dreadful personality.”
“Wait until you find your other half,” Aleksander remarked. “I have so much to tell him.”
“I already checked the door today, he didn’t show up again,” Worth replied.
Rafe had knocked on the front door to visit his brother, Seneschal Duke-mate Kendrick, and that was how he’d met Aleksander. That wasn’t the first time a mate had arrived in such a fashion, and the Grand Duke wouldn’t be mated without Dra’Kaedan having landed on the front porch.
Brogan hadn’t even been home at the time, hence Worth’s desire to stick to his beloved house. As the first member of their sanctuary, Trystan had shown up and discovered Blodwen was his other half. The D’Vaires had believed the same had happened for High Arcanist Morgan the Moonbow, but he and his mate, High Arcanist-mate Greyson D’Vairedraconis, had deceived the family and had met before their separate arrivals at the house in Arizona.
Worth would’ve loved to have a similar story, and though he taunted those around him by insisting he was waiting for his other half to pop onto their land, it was nearly impossible, and he knew it.
But that didn’t mean he was eager to spend his time wandering the earth to find him. While Worth was fine with attending events connected to his titles or court, he preferred the comfort of home.
“When is the next Fated D’Vaire event?” Aleksander asked with a cocky smile.
Lex was a friend nearly as dear to Worth as the High Kings, and he’d started a company to bring together potential mates. Every month he and his other half, Rutledge, hosted an event they insisted Worth attend. Each affair was delightfully different, and Worth was proud of Lex and Rutledge, but he didn’t expect to find the other half of his soul. He attended under duress.
“Ask Lex,” Worth retorted. “Do I look like I keep the man’s calendar?”
“Here you go,” Ashby called out as he dashed into the great room with the gorgeous silver, gold, and pink crown Madeline had crafted and designed for him with touches of D’Vaire blue/black.
Worth shook the long layers of his hair out of his face and titled his head back slightly to place his crown properly. On his shoulder, Asteria circled around in protest at the change in his position.
“Let me grab her,” Rafe said, and Worth bent slightly to accommodate their difference in height since Rafe was a full six inches shorter than him. Thankfully, Rafe was successful at plucking Asteria off Worth’s silk jacket with little fuss.
Making the mistake of glancing at Asteria as Rafe cuddled her, Worth was filled with remorse as she stared at him with large, devastated pink eyes.
Aleksander patted Worth’s shoulder affectionately as Rafe turned to leave the great room. “She’ll be fine,” he said quietly.
“Take care of her,” Worth replied.
“Have fun at the party,” Aleksander responded, following Rafe. “Look for your mate, you’ve been alone way too long already.”
Instead of arguing with a man who’d had to wait over seven hundred years to find Rafe, Worth rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right,” he muttered, tugging at his jacket to straighten it.
“You couldn’t go wrong with a druid,” Dravyn said.
“I’ve never grown a damn thing, Dray,” Worth replied to his cousin. “How would we find anything in common?”
“Stop being difficult and close your eyes so I can teleport us to the party,” Killian insisted.
Doing as he was told, Worth waited until the ground was firm beneath his feet again, then followed Killian and Dravyn through the large public garden where the event was being hosted. There were already plenty of people milling around, and they were mostly shifters and elves since neither race had the ability to teleport themselves. Their people loved that it took a single call or a couple of taps in an app to get from one stop to another in mere seconds. Worth adored taking their money, knowing how it’d benefit the druids and the Council.
