Mac pressed a kiss to Idris’s welcoming mouth. His entire body was languid and loose after what could only be described as incredible sex. “You were amazing.”
“I’m going to have to wake up early more often.”
“Getting a head start on your day is a wise choice.”
Idris offered him a charming smile. “I’ll say.”
“So, Idris the Indigo…you’ve accomplished a spell most would call pure fantasy, and you’ve completed your studies. You’re now a member of the Spectra Wizardry leadership. What’s your plan for that future?”
After a half shrug, Idris wiggled a little closer. “I have no idea.”
Though it was a subject that made Idris uncomfortable, there was one thing still left unfinished. “What about your parents?”
His smile disappeared, and Idris’s eyes went flat. “What about them?”
“They’ve contacted Vadimas more than once to meet with you. Any thoughts on if you’d like to do so?”
Throwing back the covers, Idris scrambled off the mattress. “I don’t know.”
Mac watched his long, lean form in appreciation as he walked toward the bathroom. Rising to follow him, Mac wondered if he was doing the right thing by pressing him on the issue. “It’s okay to tell them to fuck off, you know. You don’t owe them anything.”
When Mac got to the bathroom, Idris opened the shower door and turned on the water. “Nice people don’t do that,” he said.
Climbing into the stall once his mate was standing under the spray, Mac’s hands went to Idris’s hips. “Nice people don’t abandon their kid either.”
Idris’s mouth fell into a mutinous line. “They took me to my grandfather’s house, so he could care for me.”
“What kind of job did he do?”
Pushing Mac’s hands off him, Idris ducked his head under the shower head. Mac grabbed the shampoo and worked it into Idris’s abundant curls. “He raised me,” Idris finally responded.
“Were you happy?”
“Of course, I was happy. Nice people smile all the time, and they don’t complain.”
“Idris, no one is happy all the time. Sometimes life sucks.”
“You just want me to say terrible things about my grandfather.”
“I want you to be honest with me.”
Mac grabbed the soap with the intent of washing Idris, but the wizard snatched it out of his hand and took the task on himself. “I don’t know what you want me to say,” he bit out.
“It’s okay to say you had a rough time growing up.”
Idris’s furious gaze met his. “Fine. You want me to tell you what it was like caring for an angry old man who didn’t like me? He yelled all the time. I was expected to do everything, including wiping his ass. He wasn’t always that sick. He just thought it would teach me responsibility. I wasn’t supposed to complain because I was lucky to have a roof over my head, but I hated it. I wanted to play like other kids. Instead of going to school, he taught me only the most basic shit. He didn’t want the Consilium to help us, but I did. I wrote them on more than one occasion, but they ignored me before they finally told me I was on my own. When he died, I decided I wasn’t going to let anyone else’s negativity hurt me, but I wanted people to like me, and that’s how I wound up with fucking Latarian. And now you’re going to think I’m an awful person for saying all this shit.”
“Absolutely not. I know you’re not awful.” Mac wrestled the soap away from Idris and pulled him close. “I’m sorry.”
“I don’t want you to feel sorry for me,” Idris said as he hugged Mac. “It could’ve been a lot worse. He didn’t hit me, and I was hungry but not starving. We did the best we could.”
“You did the best you could, but you shouldn’t have had to, because you were a kid.”
Idris took a step back and grabbed a bottle of conditioner. Mac focused on finishing his own shower as his mate worked it into his hair. “Why did they leave me there, Mac?”
“I wish I knew. You could always ask them.”
“I always wondered what my parents were like. I pictured the three of us as this loving family struck down by tragedy when they died. I would think if they’d only lived, I would’ve had this wonderful life—but the whole time, they were alive. I can’t think of any reason why it’d be okay to leave me at that house. They had to know what he was like.”
Mac switched off the water and opened the door. He grabbed a towel and handed it to Idris, then pulled a second one off the rack for himself. “You don’t need to have a relationship with them but if it were me, I’d want an answer to that question.”
“Will you come with me to meet them?”
“Do you honestly think I’d let you go alone?”
With his skin still damp, Idris pressed close to Mac and wound his arms around his neck. “I guess not.”
“You guess?”
Idris chuckled. “Yeah.”
“I should take you over my knee, young man.”
“It’s funny when you get all grumbly.”
“It’s supposed to be intimidating.”
Idris kissed him, then sauntered away. “I guess I’m just not that easily intimidated.”
Mac let out a dramatic sigh. “Oh Fate, why did you pair me with some hot-shit sorcerer?”
“Because my childhood sucked, and she made it up to me by giving me you.”
The sweet words wound around Mac’s heart, and he was relieved to have finally cracked through the wall Idris kept regarding his early life, but he wanted to keep the mood light. “Want to climb into bed and celebrate it?”
“Nope, my turn to use food as an excuse. I need breakfast. I’m starving.”
* * *
Idris could hardly believe he was sitting in a small conference room, waiting for his parents to show up. It’d taken over a week to finalize the arrangements and get approval from the Council to allow them to travel to Las Vegas. The choice of venue was ultimately decided by the Reverent Knights. If High Arcanist Idris Vioric-D’Vaire was going to meet with two strangers from the Consilium, it would be in the Order of the Fallen Knights Headquarters. They weren’t taking any chances with his safety, and Idris was thankful for their intervention. At his side, Mac was gorgeous in his dark suit and favorite tie with a perfect rendition of Roger on it. The familiar had to stay home, and he was getting better at understanding that he couldn’t always be on Mac’s shoulder.
“Nervous?”
Idris adjusted the thick cloak over his suit. “Yeah, I want to get it over with.”
As if some unseen force heard him, there was a rap on the door; then it swung open. Reverent Knight Drystan ushered in a man and a woman. The man was dressed in a suit and had blond hair. His eyes were blue with a hint of purple but lacked the intensity in Idris’s reflection. Next to him was his mate, and her hair was identical in color and curl to Idris’s. Her green gaze lacked any warmth.
“Allow me to present Mr. Theirry Vioric and Ms. Zahra Vioric. Mr. and Ms. Vioric, this is High Arcanist Idris Vioric-D’Vaire and his mate, Duke Macardle D’Vairedraconis,” Drystan said. “I’ll be just outside if any of you need anything.”
The fallen knight left them alone, and Mac outstretched his hand. “Thank you for agreeing to come to Council Headquarters.”
Idris shook hands with the pair next. “I appreciate you contacting the Council to meet with me.”
“I’d like to sit down,” Zahra said.
Mac pulled out a chair for Idris, then took a seat next to him. Across from them, Thierry and Zahra also sat. For Idris, it was odd to think these two people gave him life. The resemblance was there, but he didn’t feel any connection to either of them.
“It took you some time to agree to our request,” Theirry stated. His tone was accusatory, and it irritated Idris.
“You contacted me at a particularly busy time in my life.”
“The Consilium contacted the Council on our behalf five years ago when we learned of Addis’s death. We were fully prepared to take you in at that time,” Zahra said. “Didn’t Addis explain to you how influential the Vioric name is within the Consilium? It’s been rather embarrassing to have one of our own living among the Council. Surely you know the most powerful wizards belong in the Consilium. We’re much more formidable than the Spectra Wizardry.”
“Grandfather did explain about the Vioric family name, but considering I was raised in a crumbling house with no money, I believed he was speaking of past glory,” Idris replied. He didn’t particularly like her snobby attitude, and he wasn’t going to listen to her bad-mouth the Spectra Wizardry. “The Council embraced me with open arms, and the Spectra Wizardry changed my life.”
“The Vioric name is one of the most prevailing names within the Consilium. Father wasn’t one for the trappings of money or influence. He chose to live ‘off the land,’ as he put it. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. When you return home with us, there will be plenty of money at your disposal,” Theirry responded.
“Where the hell were you when he was growing up? All but starving to death and taking care of an old man?” Mac demanded.
“Idris, an arranged marriage with a strong wizard would’ve been more advantageous than mating with a dragon. There are few shifters within the Consilium, and I’ve found them to be rather power-hungry,” Zahra remarked.
“Please don’t insult my mate, and I’d like one of you to answer his question. If you have money and power, why did you dump me at Addis’s house?” Idris asked.
The pair glanced at one another, then turned to face Idris again. “It’s important for every young person to learn responsibility,” Thierry said. Idris noticed a meanness in his eyes. “I’m sure you can understand how difficult it would’ve been to achieve further success within the Consilium with a baby or small boy underfoot.”
“You dumped your kid so you could further your own influence, and now you want him to pack up his things and go home with you,” Mac stated.
“Would you even be interested in meeting with me if I weren’t a High Arcanist? If I turned out to be a mediocre wizard, would we even be talking right now?” Idris asked. He was furious. He meant so little to them that they hadn’t considered what his life was like with Addis Vioric. “I can see only four lines on your arm, Zahra. I don’t know if you have more, Thierry, but I don’t sense much more power than that inside you. I’m sure being related to someone like me would be good for you inside the Consilium. Maybe one step closer to being within the Arch Wizard’s inner circle.”
Zahra lifted her chin. “What makes you think we aren’t already in the Arch Wizard’s inner circle?”
“We’re your parents, Idris. All that power you have is because of us. You owe it to us to return home at our side. We’re being nice enough to allow you to bring your dragon with you. Though it’s not as if you left us with much choice—you can’t be matched with anyone now that you’ve completed your matebond,” Theirry added.
“It was over the moment he met me. He can’t have a relationship with someone once he’s met his mate,” Mac retorted.
“A sexual relationship pales in comparison to the benefits of a political match,” Zahra refuted.
Idris got to his feet. “Thanks for meeting with me today. You’ve finally solved the mystery of how I wound up at Addis Vioric’s house. I won’t be going to the Consilium with you. Fate gave me this power, not you, and I’m the one who worked my ass off to earn High Arcanist because my childhood didn’t come with any kind of education. I didn’t even know the most basic of spells, which could’ve put food in my stomach instead of lying at night listening to it grumble while my bones ached from all the work I did to please Grandfather. I don’t owe you a damn thing, and I don’t ever want to hear from you again.”
Theirry’s furious eyes met his as he too got out of his chair. “You may be a High Arcanist, but you’re stupid if you think you’ll have a better life within the Council of Sorcery and Shifters. If you refuse to return with us, then you’ve lost the right to call yourself a Vioric.”
Idris lifted one shoulder in a negligent shrug. “It’s rather embarrassing to use it now that I know what it stands for after meeting the two of you. The truth is, I prefer the name D’Vaire anyway.” He turned to Mac and smiled. “Ready to go?”
“You bet.”
Without another word, Idris and Mac left the conference room. Thierry and Zahra’s glares followed him as they passed them, but Idris couldn’t find it in his heart to care. They gave him life, but they followed up that gift by dumping him with a man who’d made him miserable. He wouldn’t spare them a thought in the future, just as they’d scrubbed him from their minds. There was no question. His future was about the Council, the Spectra Wizardry, his wonderful home at D’Vaire—and most importantly, about the dragon he loved.