Chapter 32

His mouth still tingling from Killian's sweet and fervent kisses, Dravyn sat at the table where the D'Vaires had helped Noirin place platters of mouthwatering food. Killian joined them for the occasional meal, but he also enjoyed being with his own family, and Dravyn could not blame him for the sentiment. The leaders of The Council and their families aided each other by dealing with the shared weight of their responsibilities and the many tragedies they endured.

"Killian, while I know your heart belongs to Dravyn, we are surprised to find you suddenly dining with us tonight," Aleksander remarked. "Of course, I have no objection. On the contrary. You are always welcome. But I wondered if something specific had brought you to supper."

With a grin, Killian used the cloth on his lap to wipe his mouth. Dravyn forced himself not to get distracted by those perfect lips. Later that night, he could share his growing desire with the druid.

"Yes, you are correct. It is a delight to be here, but I did not arrive without warning with the simple intent of joining you for what is truly remarkable food," Killian replied. "Our Grand Warlock sent out letters on your behalf—"

"I do not recall consenting to that," Brogan stated firmly, his brows furrowing. "We have not met your Grand Warlock. Why would we want him as our representative?"

"Be kind, Brogan," Aleksander instructed with no bite in his tone. "He is doing us a favor."

"One we did not ask him for," Brogan argued.

"Allow Killian to speak," Dravyn said. Neither man nor dragon appreciated his mate being interrupted. Brogan was concerned about the safety of the D'Vaires, and as a Duke himself, Dravyn respected the sentiment, but the Grand Warlock had offered them a kindness.

"Brogan, I assure you, Kaedan believes strongly in Fate. He would do nothing to bring harm to the doorstep of Dravyn or anyone else in this house," Killian promised a still-scowling Brogan.

"Fine, have your say," Brogan muttered.

"As I mentioned, the Grand Warlock wrote to the few dragon Kings he has shared correspondence with in recent years. To his surprise, he received a reply almost immediately from King Mardas. Are you familiar with the name?" Killian asked.

Zane nodded. "King Mardas was one of the dragons opposed to my father's rule. King Mardas was known to be searching for allies who thought a new dragon leader should be elected by Kings chosen by Fate and not dictated to by the Imperial Duke. As you can imagine, this made him an enemy of Bernal."

"So, we can deduce that King Mardas is a wise man," Noirin said. "He was unsuccessful in convincing enough Kings to unseat Bernal, but he did not quietly allow the evil man to have his way."

"Not at all," Zane replied. "Mardas and a few others refused to speak with Bernal after my father stated he was now the rightful ruler of the dragons. They lived by their own rules and, as far as I know, were not among the dragon courts plaguing magickind."

"Trust me, Kaedan has no tolerance for any dragon who has terrified or murdered our people," Killian assured them. "While he would not call King Mardas an ally, they are on friendly enough terms to know they mean each other no harm."

"What did King Mardas have to say to the Grand Warlock?" Aleksander asked, apparently appeased that Court Mardas was no enemy of The Council.

"Well, a dragon has recently found his way to Court Mardas," Killian replied. "A black dragon by the name of Duke Macardle. He grew up in Court Stenet, is anyone familiar with that name?"

"Stenet is no ally of any noble dragon," Zane commented. "I have met King Stenet. He was loyal to the Imperial Duke and made the trip to Court Draconis several times a year. There, he made allies with other nefarious Kings like Ethelin. Although I did not hear any such words myself, it would not surprise me to learn that he was one of those willing to spread rumors of the supposed cursed D'Vaires."

"Then Duke Macardle's tale makes sense," Killian said. "His mother is mated to King Stenet, but Macardle is not the man's son. Apparently, King Stenet blames Macardle for his own birth. He has treated the man poorly, and while he is somehow a Duke, Macardle was taught no duties or how to perform his role."

"It would be an insult to draconic tradition not to make a black dragon a Duke," Marcus explained. "They are believed to be the strongest of our kind. I am open to the idea that it is the man or woman who should be considered and not necessarily the color of their scales, but no King can get away with ignoring a black dragon in their midst. Outside of Court Draconis, they are rare."

"Which is why my father couldn't strip me of the title he gave me prematurely, though he would have loved to do so," Zane commented. "By the time I shifted, he no longer believed in my loyalty. He was right to think that way, of course. Once I was finally a grown dragon, my duties were mostly denied me. It was an insult to me and my dragon. Our beasts are instinctual, and my dragon did not take things well. To have power then to lose it? Unacceptable to my dragon. A war started inside me that day. If Duke Macardle has a similar story, he may have a temperamental dragon chafing against his inability to properly embrace his title."

"Thank you for explaining," Killian replied with a grin. It fell away as he turned to face Dravyn. "You were made a Duke before Bernal had you chained in the garden. Did you suffer from a temperamental dragon all those years?"

Memories of his years at Court Draconis flooded Dravyn, and he gave Killian a grateful smile when his mate took his hand. Killian's touch instantly soothed Dravyn and his beast.

"My dragon was angrier that I had a chain around my ankle and my ability to shift was hindered," Dravyn said. "Our matebond was an issue too. I was no longer as fearful of magick, but my beast was. It was not until you healed my wounds that we were no longer at odds with each other about having a druid in our lives."

Killian cupped Dravyn's cheek and kissed him. "Thank Fate you are both fond of me now."

"Yes, yes, your love is something to rejoice," Brogan commented impatiently. "But what of this Duke Macardle? Did you invite him to arrive on our doorstep posthaste?"

"Do not be absurd," Killian responded, facing Brogan and frowning. "He seems a kind man from our brief acquaintance, and he wants a family. Sorcery is also interesting to him, which I thought was a bonus. But none of us present knew what questions you would have for the man. We explained that to him and told him we would speak to him again with those questions."

"So, we must put our thoughts to paper and allow Killian to return to Duke Macardle with them," Noirin stated.

"Where do we begin?" Madeline asked.

"With the most important ones," Larissa told her mate. "Aleksander, what question is of utmost magnitude to allowing another to join our court?"

"I suppose isolation must be considered first," Aleksander answered thoughtfully. "Unless our circumstances change profoundly, we will not move from this spot. Our ranks may grow, but only through the efforts of people like Killian and the Grand Warlock. This man is likely used to a grand court and will have to adjust to the humbleness of our home. We will invite no strangers here. We prefer the quiet. Can he live with that?"

"Excellent question," Killian said. A parchment appeared in front of the druid, and without a pen, the question flowed onto the lightly glowing page. "What else?"

"Are we not going to comment on the oddness of what Killian is doing right now?" Brogan asked.

"I was unaware you feared magick," Dravyn remarked with a smile.

"I would not call it fear," Brogan refuted, but his navy gaze remained locked on Killian's magical paper. "My dragon and I are unaccustomed to it. You have grown comfortable with it given the time you spend with Killian, but he rarely uses sorcery in our presence."

"A ruler of a government plagued by dragons terrorizing anyone with magick," Madeline commented. "It is no wonder Killian is cautious about his spells."

"We are losing the point of this conversation," Marcus said. "Our goal is to send Killian to Duke Macardle with the entire list of our questions, not comment about something given to him by Fate. What would you consider our second most important query, Aleksander?"

"I will not abide a dragon searching for mischief," Aleksander replied. "D'Vaire is peaceful. If this man is seeking a quiet, humble life, then this place may appeal to him. But if he prefers the intrigue so constant in royalty, he must find other arrangements."

"Yes, we do not condone rumors or games played with the hearts of anyone here," Noirin added.

"Perfect," Killian said, adding it to his parchment magically. "Next?"

"Wait, how can we verify Duke Macardle is speaking the truth?" Brogan asked. "He may have conjured this tale as easily as Killian is making those words move across his page."

"Rest easy," Killian replied. "Bax and Ben were there. So were Drystan and Conley. Fallen knights and sentinels, to an even greater degree, can detect lies. If anything he or his companion said was untruthful, they would have alerted us to that fact."

"An ability to unearth dishonesty," Zane said. "How I wish to have such a talent."

"Agreed, I believe we could all find it useful," Aleksander commented. "We are grateful they are using such a skill on our behalf."

"How we've grown from simple dragons to people so quick to trust magick—I have no clue," Brogan muttered.

"At this point, we will begin ignoring you whenever you insult magick," Noirin retorted. "Do not offend the mate of my brother."

Dravyn did not mind the panic in Brogan's navy gaze. Neither he nor his dragon appreciated the slight toward Killian's sorcery, but they were perfectly happy allowing Noirin to fight that battle on their behalf. No one was fiercer than his sister, and Brogan was right to be afraid.

"You deserve her ire," Aleksander told Brogan. "I believe our next point of relevance for Duke Macardle is to learn his plans. What is it he wants to do? While I am content allowing him to be a Duke with the same importance as the other titled men and woman here, in such a small family, royal duties are few and far between."

"Yes, most of you are devoted to tasks of enormous importance that ensure you thrive as a court," Killian remarked. "Does he wish to work with textiles, create delicious food, grow beautiful plants, or craft a perfect sword? Or does he wish to aid his King in matters of finance and trade? Or peruse tomes to increase his knowledge of the world? What is his fondest desire in life?"

"If the truth is told, we could use someone to better articulate the questions we have for any prospective dragons," Aleksander commented.

"Or negotiate with sorcerers over how to find outcast dragons since Brogan is terrified of magick," Madeline said with a snicker.

"I did not say I was afraid," Brogan argued.

"Though he is," Zane remarked.

Brogan pursed his lips but refused to quarrel further, much to Dravyn's relief. He was curious about Duke Macardle and wanted Killian and his friends to discover more about the man. Although the world beyond D'Vaire was plagued by various evils, Dravyn was unopposed to finding like-minded people to join his family.

"Perhaps the Grand Warlock and the rest of the group going to meet Duke Macardle could aid with learning further about the man," Aleksander suggested. "I only rest this responsibility on your shoulders, Killian, for I know not what else to ask him."

"We are happy to interrogate him as much as necessary. The last thing I want is to bring anyone close to your land without knowing in my heart that they can be trusted," Killian assured Aleksander. "Whenever Duke Macardle is available, we will move forward with the proposal to have him join your court. But the final say is in your hands."

"Thank you for meeting with him today," Dravyn told his mate and kissed his cheek. "It was kind of you and the Grand Warlock."

"Kaedan is an incredible leader, and you can trust that he will do nothing to endanger you," Killian said, pushing a lock of Dravyn's hair behind his ear.

"Yes, we are just forced to trust a stranger to decide about whether another stranger is fit to move into our house," Brogan muttered.

"I can meet Duke Macardle," Dravyn replied. "We do not use the name D'Vaire in The Council. The leaders know who we are, but no one else does. They would not share it with any stranger. He would not know from which court I hail."

"While it may seem foolish to shield such a strong man, I am," Killian said. "Give me another chance to learn about his situation before you meet him. One word in the wrong ear and everything you D'Vaires have worked for is gone. Your refusal to join The Council has the benefit of keeping your name protected. Let us keep it that way for as long as possible."

"Thank you for understanding," Aleksander responded as a wave of guilt swept through Dravyn. Joining The Council wasn't right for the D'Vaires, but that didn't mean he was pleased to have disappointed Killian. Mercifully, their sleeping arrangements were working out perfectly, and Dravyn hoped that the future would see them slowly combining even more of their lives.

"I will report back after I have gained answers. If any additional questions come to mind, let Dray know. He has magical parchment and can always contact me in an instant."

"We appreciate you," Noirin said. "Now, finish your meal. I did not cook today so everyone could talk and not fill their bellies."

Immediately picking up a piece of soft bread, Dravyn gave his attention to his platter. He planned to personally show his gratitude to Killian once they were alone. Dravyn supposed extra kisses and perhaps taking Killian's cock into his mouth would be gift enough for them both. With an internal grin, Dravyn mused he could find numerous delicious ways to touch Killian if he and his dragon were unsure they were doing enough to appreciate the remarkable druid they loved. It was absolutely no hardship.