When Mac woke, it was dark. It took only three seconds to discover what pulled him from sleep. His stomach was burning with hunger and clawing out of his belly. Thinking back, the last time he ate was donuts with his grandfather the previous morning. Not yet ready to handle all the events that came after, Mac set the memory aside. He needed food and wasn’t willing to go scrounge any alone. There was a wizard using his chest as a pillow and a tiny dragon curled in a ball on one thigh. Mac was going to have to wake his sleeping beauties up.
“Idris,” he whispered as he ran a hand through his messy curls. The man he loved didn’t budge, so he repeated his name in the same soft tone. There was a slight twitch of muscles but no sign of him waking up, so Mac raised his voice when he called out the third time.
“I can hear you, but I’m sleeping,” Idris grumbled.
“I’m starving. You want to go raid the kitchen with me?”
Idris raised his head. “Noir will kill us.”
Mac kissed him softly. “Not if we don’t make a mess.”
“You aren’t going to let me go back to sleep, are you?”
“Look, even Roger’s awake.” Mac laughed as Roger rose up on his back feet and, not quite with it, fell over onto the mattress.
“I should find him ballet lessons. He’s so graceful,” Idris said.
“Come on sleepyheads, let’s go get some food.”
Food was apparently the magic word for Roger, because he flew up to them and licked Idris on the cheek. “Gross, I don’t need your dragon spit on my face. I’m getting up.”
They got out of bed as Idris rubbed his eye with the heel of his hand. He headed toward the door as Mac strode over to his dresser and pulled open a drawer. “Sweetheart, your body’s amazing, but you should probably put some pants on.”
Idris peered down at himself as if he hadn’t realized he was naked. “Whoops.”
Mac grabbed a set of bottoms Larissa made for him and after getting them on, tugged a plain T-shirt over his head. His gaze swept over as Idris did the same. “Hey, how come you get kickass lightning bolts on your pants and I’m wearing kittens?”
“Because you can make kitten pajamas sexy and I can’t.”
Grabbing Idris’s hand, Mac gave Roger a second to swoop down and take his place resting on his shoulder as he led his little family out of their bedroom. They strode down the hallway full of sleeping D’Vaires in the eerily quiet house. When they arrived at the kitchen, he flipped on the light and was rewarded with the sight of gleaming countertops. Gesturing at the stools lined up along the island, he said, “Take a seat, Arcanist, and I’ll make you a sandwich.”
Idris smiled as he did as he was asked and folded his lanky body onto a seat. “I hope you make a good one. I’ve got pretty exacting standards.”
Mac opened the fridge and pulled out sliced meat, cheese, and condiments. Thanks to Evlithar, everything was alphabetized and easy to find. “Grandpa taught me, and I used to make them every day when I lived at Court Stenet. So, get ready for quite a treat.”
“I didn’t realize you were so handy in the kitchen.”
Popping bread into the toaster, Mac grabbed plates, then opened all the containers he’d procured. “I don’t want to brag, but I can also heat up a pretty good bowl of soup.”
“I hate soup.”
Mac gave Idris a disbelieving look. “No one hates soup.”
“I do. I hate everything about it. It’s the only thing my grandfather liked to eat, and there wasn’t money to buy it from a can. I had to learn to make it from scratch, and I had no clue what I was doing. It was always too watery because I tried to make what few vegetables we had go as far as they could. It’s disgusting. I’m never eating it again.”
The little glimpses into Idris’s youth tantalized Mac to learn more, but it was difficult to hear what a crappy life he led before he found himself at D’Vaire. “Note to self—take Idris to a restaurant that only serves soup.”
“I’d walk right out.”
Mac let out a chuckle as he plucked the bread out of the toaster and slathered it with mustard. Roger stood on Mac’s shoulder; then the little dragon bumped his body into him. “Is he hungry or trying to hump my head?”
“Roger, if you want to eat, you need to get into the sink,” Idris chided.
The familiar let out a whine. Mac picked up a piece of turkey and handed it to Roger, who scarfed it down in seconds. “I don’t think he’s going to listen.”
“You’re spoiling him.”
“Idris, he’s the only child we have.” Mac fed Roger a second piece of meat. “A little spoiling won’t hurt him.”
“Fine, but you’re going to deal with the aftermath, not me.”
Mac stacked cheese and meat, then sliced the sandwich in half before handing the plate to Idris. He worked on his own while handing off sliced treats to Roger. “There won’t be any aftermath. Roger’s very mature for his age.”
“That’s only because he doesn’t have the dexterity to throw things. This is really good. Thanks for making it.”
Mac finished making his own meal and took a big, delicious bite. “My pleasure.”
“Do you want something to drink? I can get it.”
“I got it. Juice or milk?”
Idris cocked his head to the side. “I’ll take a soda.”
“At five o’clock in the morning? Think again, young man.”
“Five o’clock is exactly why I need caffeine, Dragon.”
Mac laughed at the ire on Idris’s face. “Fair enough.” He grabbed two sodas and handed one off to his mate.
“Thanks.”
After polishing off his sandwich, Mac decided he needed another and popped more bread into the toaster. Roger was still gobbling up every piece of meat Mac handed him. “Is your familiar a bottomless pit?”
“No, that’s Dra’Kaedan.”
“For a small dude, he really does pack it away.”
“Yeah, if I were you, I wouldn’t feed him the way you’re doing Roger. Dra’Kaedan would probably gnaw off your fingers.”
Mac’s brows drew together. “Why the hell would I be hand-feeding Dra’Kaedan?”
“I don’t know. I’m tired. Stupid shit’s falling out of my mouth.”
“You’re cute all grumbly. Very un-Idris like.”
“Yeah, it’s my job to always be happy.”
Pulling the toast out, Mac built a second sandwich. “Your job?”
“Not like I get paid or anything but it’s less annoying if you stay positive in situations.”
“I don’t really see you as the type of person that can annoy anyone easily.”
“It’s something I have to work hard at.”
Mac chewed thoughtfully, then swallowed. “Who told you that you were annoying?”
Idris popped off his seat. “We don’t have to talk about this. I shouldn’t have brought it up. You’re going through something very difficult, and I didn’t mean to make it about me.”
Mac wrapped an arm around Idris before he could start grabbing things off the counter. “Hey, calm down. I’m going to be okay. It’ll take time but I’m going to get through this, and do you know why?” He kissed Idris as the wizard shook his head. His eyes were full of confusion and sadness. “Because I have you. What we’ve built together is strong enough to pull me out of my sorrow. Life isn’t going to stop because I’m grieving, and there’s still so much about you I want to learn. You don’t have to answer my question, but I hope you will.”
Idris gulped, then snaked his arms around Mac’s waist. He rested against Mac’s chest while Mac held him tight. “Latarian thought I was annoying but I have to tell you, I thought the same about her sometimes and at least I wasn’t mean like her, but it was my grandfather. I got on his nerves all the time. It wasn’t easy for him to have to deal with a rambunctious, irritating kid. I tried to be better, but I never made him happy.”
Mac ran his hands over the long muscles of Idris’s back. “Thank you for sharing that with me. I know it’s not easy for you to discuss your past. I might be extremely biased, but I’d have to say if he thought that way the fault must’ve lain with him, because you’re wonderful. I love you.”
Idris lifted his head and laid a soft kiss on Mac’s lips. “I love you too.”
“I’d like you as my mate to think I’m brilliant, but it was pointed out to me while I was in Maryland that I made a mistake.”
“A mistake?”
“One between you and me. Tell me, are you still interested in having a mating ceremony?”
Idris’s eyes were bright with emotion. “Very much.”
“Grandpa basically called me an idiot for postponing it until after you become High Arcanist. Immortal though you may be, there are no guarantees in life. I realized he’s right. I want you. I want to be with you, and I don’t want to wait anymore. What do you think?”
“I think I’m glad you changed your mind. I want to have it as soon as possible.”
“Me too. I’m sorry we didn’t have it sooner, so my grandparents could see this place.” Mac’s eyes grew misty, but he was filled with both happy and sad thoughts. “I had this picture in my head, you know. I imagined us making our promises to each other with all our family there and my grandparents right in the front row. I wanted them to meet you. I had a clear image of them spending a couple of days with us and getting the chance to sit in the garden watching the dragons fly.”
Idris pulled away and grabbed Mac’s hand. “Come outside with me.”
Confused, Mac undid the locks on the door and Idris led him outside. They crossed the deck and wandered over to the memorial garden. There were brick pavers around a glorious, multi-tiered fountain. Idris pointed down. “This is the paver we put in when this was built.” It had the word Vioric engraved in it. “Aleksander let me honor my grandfather this way.” Idris tugged him around to the other side of the cascading water. Again, he pointed to the ground. There were two bricks interlocked. One said Bretta and the other Lloyd. “These are temporary because we didn’t have time to order real pavers, so I used magic. The real ones will be here soon, but I wanted you to have a place to come and visit your grandparents here at D’Vaire.”
Mac pulled Idris into his arms. “Thank you, sweetheart. It’ll be just like they are here with us when we have our ceremony. Grandpa gave me their rings. They’re too small for us to use as they are, but I’d like to ask Madeline to work them into a design for us.”
Idris’s damp eyes met his. “It’d be an honor to wear their rings.”
Mac kissed him tenderly. He had no idea what he might have said but he never got the opportunity. Brogan’s voice boomed across the backyard. “What the hell are you two doing out here? Don’t you know these doors are alarmed? The minute you stepped out it woke me up.”
Snickering, Mac took Idris’s hand and headed for the outraged dragon. “Some duke I am.”
“Don’t tell him, but it’s funny when he gets mad.”
“Right? Because you know little Dra’Kaedan is going to bust his balls.”
They reached the deck where Brogan was frowning. “Nice pants,” Mac offered. The outraged duke had pink giraffes smiling on his pajamas.
“At least they aren’t kittens,” Brogan retorted. He turned to Idris. “How’d you get lightning? Those are almost normal.”
“I was smart enough to buy my own material.”
Brogan opened the door and ushered them ahead of him. “We can do that?”
Mac walked into the kitchen and found Noirin glowering at Dra’Kaedan. “I can’t believe you’d come in here and make this mess. It’s almost time for breakfast. I know you get hungry, but this is crazy.”
Dra’Kaedan swung his gaze to Mac and winked, then returned his attention to the fuming dragon shifter. “You know I’m ruled by my stomach. I had no choice. When it needs food, I must obey,” he said as he grabbed lids and started cleaning up.
“I’ll help you,” Mac stated as he walked over to do just that.
“Me too,” Idris threw in.
“We’re all up. What I can do to help you get started on breakfast?” Brogan asked Noirin. They managed to get Mac’s sandwich mess cleaned up, and they all volunteered to assist Noirin.
Before giving Mac his task, she offered him a hug. “How are you doing?”
He quickly assessed his feelings. Grief was there and so was sadness, but there was also happiness and joy. His losses were profound, but his grandparents had cared for him his whole life, and it was because of them that he was here relishing every moment with his wonderful new family. Not to mention the man who owned his heart. He would be forever indebted to Lloyd and Bretta for always knowing exactly what he needed to not only survive but flourish. “I’m doing okay,” he finally said.
Noirin smiled warmly and released him. He turned his head as Evlithar walked in with Cadlyr at his side. The blue elf’s face was full of surprise. “I guess we’ll have a lot of help with breakfast this morning.”
“Isn’t it great?” Noirin asked. “I’m thinking about hiring them permanently.”
“One question, if I may,” Cadlyr responded as he took stock of all the occupants of the room. “Is there some unwritten rule that anyone helping in the kitchen this morning needs to be wearing pajamas?”
“Be glad I put them on,” Mac retorted. “Because I sure as hell don’t sleep in them and could’ve wandered out here naked.”
Cadlyr turned to Idris. “I can’t tell if he’s bragging or just wants everyone picturing him without his clothes.”
Idris’s grin was pure mischief. “You should picture it. He looks really good naked.”
Evlithar tapped one sandaled foot. “Excuse me, but he happens to prefer his men blue.”
“I’ve never seen a blue guy naked,” Brogan said.
“If you ever do, I’ll tie your dick in a knot,” Dra’Kaedan replied with mock cheer.
“Aaand on that note, how about breakfast?” Noirin asked. Mac laughed and decided he wasn’t going to wait any longer than it took them to eat to plan his future. All he wanted was to make Idris his forever, and his grandparents would be pleased to see them united. The promise of his mating ceremony gave him the strength he needed to handle the well of grief that resided in his heart. It would take time, but he would find a way to heal.