Idris grinned at Mac as they waited for the entire D’Vaire family to pile into the living room. Two days before, Idris turned in both his potion and his research paper. A part of him couldn’t believe he was finally going to reach the apex of all he’d worked so hard for in the last five years. Deep inside, he was glad he’d fulfilled all the promises of his potential. The last thing he wanted was to have his family or his mate think he was a failure. He needed to continue to stay focused on his responsibilities to ensure they thought well of him. Lucky for him, he also loved everything about being a wizard, and it was amazing that Fate made him such a powerful one.
While finishing up what was left of his projects had taken a lot of his time over the past week, he hadn’t ignored Mac’s brother. He spent time with him whenever he could, and Delaney did all he could to bring him into the D’Vaire fold. Duff was around too, but there was still a weirdness between Idris’s friends, and he had no idea how to mend it. Carter appeared to be an intelligent and fun-loving guy, and Idris was pleased he was now a part of their family. Mac was very friendly toward him as well, and Idris hoped it was yet another thing to focus on while he healed from the loss of his grandparents.
“Ladies and gentlemen, thanks for coming tonight.” Aleksander’s voice cut through Idris’s thoughts, and he gave his king his full attention. It was time for their weekly meeting. “Dra’Kaedan, you want to update us on the sanctuary?”
“Sure,” the warlock responded. “As we’ve been over the last few months, we’re pretty much in idle mode. I know it’s disappointing to many of you, but not only are there outside dangers—there’s a lot going on around here too. The most recent change being our latest addition, Carter. We’re thrilled to have a new dragon here, and it’s doubly awesome since he’s Mac’s brother.”
“Can I say something?” Carter asked.
“Absolutely,” Aleksander replied.
“I just want to thank you again, Aleksander, for letting me transfer to Court D’Vaire, and I want to express my gratitude to everyone else as well. I’ve been overwhelmed by the friendliness and helpfulness from all of you. I’m not exactly sure what I expected when I arrived, but it certainly wasn’t to be fully embraced like family. I appreciate all of it and I want to say a special thank-you to my brother Mac, and to Idris for helping make all this possible. D’Vaire is the most incredible place, and it’s an honor to share a name with all of you.”
“We’re glad you’re here,” Mac responded. “I have to say, I’m impressed not only with your sincerity but your eloquence.”
“I’ll second that. You’re an asset to D’Vaire and only raise the quality of our name,” Aleksander stated. “Speaking of assets, let’s move to the first item on our agenda. Saturday’s a very important day. Del and Idris will be ascending to High Arcanist. We’re so incredibly proud of both of you, and we’re excited to attend your ceremony but you all know Brogan.…He’s going to give you a security speech.”
Brogan offered Aleksander a bland stare. “Security’s important. I’m not concerned about our day at the Spectra Wizardry. All our close friends will be there to see Del and Idris ascend. That means we’ll have sentinels, fallen knights, dragons, and several others in attendance. Just stay together, and we should be fine. My issues lay with what comes after. We’ll be celebrating at Fate’s Realm, a club within the Council Headquarters complex. Mac, do you want to give them some details?”
“I know most of you are unfamiliar with how clubs work within the Council, so Brogan and I thought it’d be a good idea to give you some insight. The one we’ve selected is a traditional place set up for both magickind and shifters. We’re all adults, and so we know casual sex is a way of life in our society. Clubs wish for it to happen in a safe manner, therefore there are rooms available for that purpose. On the top floor, there are spaces leased by frequent patrons and can only be accessed by people with programmed ID cards to give them access. The ones on the bottom floor are open to everyone. Inside each one is everything you need to practice safe sex. You swipe your card for entry if it’s unoccupied. You’re given twenty minutes unless you wish to pay to extend it. Any questions?” Mac asked.
“Is that sanitary?” Noirin wanted to know.
“Yes, it is. Thanks to the Spectra Wizardry, all the private rooms are equipped with a potion that’s activated each time the door is opened. It scours every inch of the room and adds a fresh scent, which I’m told at Fate’s Realm is a mix of lavender and vanilla. This setup began decades ago to keep people from risking their personal safety to hook up. Cameras are not allowed inside, so you don’t have to worry about anything coming back to haunt you. Clubs like this are routinely inspected by officials to make sure they are complying with the laws the Council ratified decades ago,” Brogan assured them.
“Who picked the club?” Duff asked. “There’s a ton of places to go in Vegas.”
“The club was selected by Mac and myself. We contacted the Reverent Knights for a safe place for us to go that also had a vibrant crowd. This is a popular place, and there should be plenty of people for you to enjoy your evening with. There will also be extra fallen knights and sentinels in attendance at our request. I don’t care what any of you do while you’re there. I’m not going to be policing you. If you want to get your freak on, be my guest. The only thing I ask is that you stay inside the club itself. There’s no reason for you to leave with anyone,” Brogan replied.
“You just said we were all adults, but you’re also expecting us to follow rules other people would find ridiculous. Why aren’t we free to do whatever we want?”
“Duff, we’ve spoken at length with all of you about the threat of danger hanging over D’Vaire. I know you have no firsthand experience with either Carvallius or Latarian, but they’re not the kind of people to be trifled with. When they’re found and are no longer an issue, you’ll get to enjoy the freedom other dragon courts do,” Brogan responded.
“Yeah, but they don’t even know who I am. Why should I live my life in fear of them?” Duff demanded.
“No one’s asking you to live in fear of them. That’s our job as dukes. What we’re asking from you is to not put yourself into a position where you can fall into their clutches. Your identification card says D’Vaire. That’s all either one of them needs to grab you,” Mac stated.
“I don’t give a shit how powerful you believe you are, you can and will be hurt if they get near you,” Brogan added.
“They’ve nearly killed my brother twice. I won’t have you or anyone else in this room put into harm’s way,” Dre’Kariston said. “Should you disregard these rules and get yourself kidnapped or worse, I won’t stand for Aleksander or anyone else to barter with Carvallius or Latarian. They’re not only dangerous, they’re evil. Trust me when I tell you, that’s no exaggeration.”
“He’s not kidding, Duff,” Idris commented. “I knew Latarian. Once she has a plan in her head, she’ll stop at nothing to see it done, and the only person she loves is herself.”
“And maybe Carvallius,” Dra’Kaedan added.
“I don’t believe asking you not to leave the club is over the top, considering the circumstances. Carvallius and Latarian are rats. They’ll eventually burrow out from wherever they’re hiding. When they do, it’ll be with the very worst of intentions, and they have vendettas against more than one person sitting in this room. Once they’ve been taken care of, you can do what you wish, Duff,” Aleksander stated.
Duff shrugged. “I guess as long as no one is going to be following me around all night, I can live with it.”
“No one is going to be following anyone. We’ll all arrive together, and we’ll all leave at the same time. You may do whatever you wish in the hours in between,” Aleksander said. “Okay, let’s move on. Anybody have any questions regarding other issues around the house?”
“I had a question about Carter,” Dravyn commented. “What are we going to do about dragon training? There’s normally a duke in each court that handles it, but none of us are experienced trainers. I know you’re only eighteen, Carter, but you may have already begun to feel your beast stirring, or you will in the next few years. You have eight decades or so before your shift, but it’s never too early to start recognizing the changes and learning to grow comfortable with becoming your dragon.”
“Shit, I’m not sure I can make it through another round of duke interviews,” Brogan complained. “You’re right though, Carter needs dragon training.”
“I read an article about how some smaller courts are turning to finding dragon trainers willing to video chat with drakelings. It’s becoming more popular with young people since they’ve all grown up with technology, which would’ve seemed like witchcraft several hundred years ago,” Mac said.
“Why does it have to be witchcraft?” Dra’Kaedan demanded. “Why is everybody always trying to blame everything on warlocks and witches?”
“Probably because our leader’s unhinged,” Scheredin, Dra’Kaedan’s cousin, snarked.
Aleksander smirked. “Mystery solved. Carter, what do you think of Mac’s idea of finding a trainer who’d video chat rather than physically be here?”
“I think I’d actually prefer the video chat thing. I mean, it’s not like I need much instruction at this point anyway. I’d feel bad making you guys go through all the trouble of bringing another duke here solely for me,” Carter responded.
“If I wasn’t sitting next to an unhinged warlock, I’d kiss you, Carter,” Brogan said. Dra’Kaedan glared but offered no argument. “Mac, did you want to hunt down someone willing to train your brother?”
“I’ll get started in the morning.”
“Any other issues?” Aleksander asked.
Larissa raised a hand, then let it drop. “As long as we’re discussing Carter, I’d like to file an official complaint. He hasn’t gotten back to me with any ideas regarding his room.”
“I’m sorry,” Carter replied. “I don’t have my dragon yet. I’m not drawn to a color.”
She pursed her lips. “You like things, don’t you? I mean, no one’s asking you to guess what color your beast is.”
“Be wary, Carter,” Gavrael stated. “I struggled to find a color and wound up sleeping in a gray monstrosity.”
Brogan let out a bark of laughter. “I love it when Gavrael’s cracking jokes but hey, instead of gray, maybe Larissa can decorate your room in the same little kittens your brother wears on his pajamas.”
“Fuck you, Grand Warlock-mate,” Mac retorted.
“Back at you, High Arcanist-mate.”
“Uh…not sure what’s happening between Brogan and Mac, but what if I did D’Vaire colors?” Carter suggested.
“Black and blue. Two of the very best colors,” Delaney said.
“I can work with that,” Larissa replied. “I could do blue kittens with a black background.”
“Maybe we’ll skip the kittens. I’d prefer dragons.”
“Who else has a problem with Carter?” Aleksander asked.
“I like how this meeting has become a Carter intervention,” the drakeling at the center of it all remarked.
“It means we like you,” Idris assured him.
“Idris is correct,” Aleksander said. “I’m guessing from the silence in the room, we’re out of issues with you, though. Does anyone have a question not related to our newest D’Vaire?” When no one raised a hand or offered an inquiry, Aleksander spoke again. “Great, I have one final thing I’d like to say before we adjourn. Del and Idris, I just wanted to say again how proud we are of you both. Yes, Fate gave you power, but it’s your perseverance and dedication that has brought you to the cusp of reaching the very epitome of what it means to be a wizard. It’s incredibly humbling for me to be able to call you family. Good luck on Saturday, and we’re all here for you this week to help however we can—even if it’s just to talk away some pre-ceremony jitters. We have faith in you, and we can’t wait to see you wearing your fancy new crowns.”
Idris and Delaney both rose to embrace their leader. “We couldn’t have done this without all of you,” Delaney stated.
“Exactly. We would’ve reached High Arcanist eventually, but it wouldn’t have been possible to do it so fast if we didn’t have our family,” Idris added.
There were plenty of hugs to go around, and Idris got the bonus of a kiss from his mate. “You’re awesome,” Mac said.
“So are you,” Idris assured him, and then Aleksander called the meeting to a close. Like his king, he wanted that crown on his head, and he was going to make damn sure he got it.