Idris took a seat on the floor of the living room. He was so excited that it was finally time for their weekly meeting. Since the day he met Duke Macardle Stenetdraconis, he’d waited for Aleksander to ask them to vote on potential candidates. Crossing his fingers for good luck, he buried his hand under his thigh, so no one could see it.
“Relax,” Delaney whispered. “Everything’s going to be fine. Your Mac’s going to get the job. I just know it.”
“I hope so,” Idris whispered back. Duff’s smile was encouraging, and he bumped their shoulders together. This is the best thing about having friends who love you, Idris thought. He didn’t know what he would’ve done without their support. He was driving himself insane over what to do about Mac. While he wanted to speak to him, he hadn’t wanted to bother him. When Mac asked him to call, Idris declined to do so, but he’d texted to ensure that it would be okay to tell his family about them. The deceit of keeping his matebond to himself over the past several days troubled him, and as soon as he knew whether Mac was going to be a D’Vaire duke, he was prepared to reveal his secret.
Idris blew out a breath as Aleksander finally walked into the living room. He sat in his favorite cushy chair and smiled at everyone. “Thanks for being here tonight, everybody. Dra’Kaedan, would you like to start with any news about the sanctuary?”
“Sure,” the warlock replied. “We had no viable candidates this week.”
“But the asshat who bombarded us with phony applications was caught and forced to pay a fine to both the Order of the Fallen Knights as well as Dra’Kaedan’s Coven,” Renny confided. “I decided to donate our portion back to the fallen knights.”
“Good idea. They’re always short of funds, and they work very hard to serve the Council,” Aleksander responded.
“My thoughts exactly,” Renny replied.
“Okay, so let’s move on to the applicants we had for both the position of Coven Lord and Duke,” Aleksander said. “We’re going to begin with the sentinels. Alaric pre-interviewed the men who volunteered to come here to D’Vaire. He narrowed the group down to two candidates to lessen the burden on us. The first man for your consideration is Shadow Lord Hadley Sicarius. He’s a young sentinel. Before Chand freed the sentinels, he’d only served his necromancer for about fifty years. He may have been assigned to previous sorcerers, but he won’t ever regain that portion of his memory. Sentinels were essentially rebirthed each time they were reassigned.
“Shadow Lord Sicarius only met his necromancer once at the traditional bonding between sentinel and sorcerer. Until the compound was destroyed, he lived there exclusively. Now, he makes his home with most of his brethren at the Daray Sentinel Complex. He’s been trained through the Ascension Center and serves as a Shadow Lord. As I’m sure you guys all know, that means he’s responsible for determining guilt and punishment when crimes are committed which fall under the jurisdiction of the Sentinel Brotherhood. He reports directly to Gavrael and Gedeon, so he has plenty of familiarity with them. Did either of you wish to enlighten us further on his personality?”
“Sure,” Gedeon said. “I’d describe Hadley as quiet, helpful, and kind. He’s easygoing, and I’ve gotten along well with him from the first time I met him at the compound. Gav and I both believe he’d be a good asset to D’Vaire.”
“Are there any questions regarding Shadow Lord Sicarius?” Aleksander asked. No one said a word, so Aleksander called for a vote. Seconds later, Hadley became the first ever Coven Lord. His job would not only include the duties he performed daily for the Sentinel Brotherhood, but he’d protect the Coven of Warlocks as well as the rest of the D’Vaire family.
“Okay, let’s move on to our second sentinel. Also a Shadow Lord, Bridger Graves is an ancient sentinel. He served only a single necromancer, the now incarcerated and former member of the necro elder council, Hubert. Shadow Lord Graves was resurrected at the dawn of his race, so he doesn’t have his memory fully restored yet. What he does remember is that he was asked to commit acts which no one should be expected to do without any choice. I’m going to allow Dra’Kaedan to fill you in on that portion of the interview,” Aleksander said.
“Shadow Lord Graves was involved in my abduction by Carvallius and Latarian over six centuries ago. He’s apparently the one who knocked me out and carried me to Castle Mallent where the dark magic was engraved into my back. While he admitted he carries guilt over his actions, he assured us that wasn’t his main desire in volunteering for D’Vaire. I just want to make it clear to all of you—I hold nothing against him for the things he did. Hubert ordered him to commit crimes, and Shadow Lord Graves is as much a victim as I am. I think he sincerely wants to be a part of this family, and I think it’d be a good place for him to heal from his past,” Dra’Kaedan stated.
“I’d describe Bridger as quiet like Hadley but not as free-spirited. Like many of the ancient sentinels, I believe he’s struggling to reconcile his past. Unlike Gav and myself, he was ordered to do heinous things. D’Vaire’s a wondrous place for damaged souls, and I agree with Dra’Kaedan. Our family could go a long way toward giving him the support he requires to live with the things he was forced to do,” Gedeon added.
“Any questions regarding Shadow Lord Graves?” Aleksander inquired. Once again, the room was quiet. Seconds later, a vote was called for, and Bridger became the second Coven Lord.
Idris was unsurprised that adding the sentinels was so straightforward. All the elite assassins would be an asset anywhere, and the Lich Sentinel wouldn’t have sent over anyone not suited for D’Vaire. Alaric spent plenty of time at their home and was well-acquainted with the people and how things worked.
“Thanks, everyone. I think both men will make excellent Coven Lords. Gavrael, did you want to let them know they’re more than welcome to arrive at D’Vaire at their earliest convenience?” Aleksander asked.
“It would be my pleasure.”
“Our Coven Lords are set, so let’s move on to the dragons we interviewed. As you know, we invited the men to come here in conjunction with Court Bera. We received plenty of interest for both courts, but we didn’t get a great deal of quality applicants. Aeron and Helen decided none of the men would be a good fit for them. It’s my understanding that they’ve already notified the men in question, and Aeron still hopes to find the right man to oversee his young dukes. As for D’Vaire, our group agreed there was only one person who was qualified enough to be brought forth for your consideration,” Aleksander stated. Idris closed his eyes and hoped it was his duke who Aleksander was about to discuss. “His name is Duke Macardle Stenetdraconis, and his court is in Western Maryland.”
Delaney grinned wildly at Idris, and Duff bumped his shoulder again. Idris curled his lips upward in a broad smile; he was so relieved Aleksander liked his mate.
“As you guys know, all the dukes were required to fill out our sanctuary application in addition to questions regularly asked of someone looking for a new job. Duke Macardle serves a king who’s mated to his mother. Only, King Alfred was not thrilled to find out his mate had a child. He’s never embraced Duke Macardle as family. In fact, Duke Macardle revealed he isn’t even allowed to function in the normal capacity of a duke. He’s two hundred and seven years old and does have eighty years of experience as a duke that he acquired before King Alfred’s reign began. I think it makes him uniquely qualified for our home. He knows his role, but he also knows what it feels like to be an outcast,” Aleksander said. Idris was glad to learn more about the man intended to be his other half. He hoped Aleksander and the others who took part in his interview could divulge more about him.
“I met him,” Renny commented. “He seemed cool. While we all know there’s often a divide in the Council world between shifters and magickind, Mac—he told us only his grandparents call him Macardle—used Dérive to travel here instead of flying, so he’s obviously comfortable with sorcerers. As a shifter, he says he gets into dragon form every couple of days just like our guys here. His favorite parts about being a dragon are breathing fire and flying.”
“When Renny asked him what his favorite part of D’Vaire was, he said ‘The people,’ which impressed me,” Brogan chimed in. “Our value’s in every one of you. Idris, Delaney, and Duff. I know you three met him, did you have anything to add regarding Duke Macardle?”
“Yeah, we went in there because someone let Roger in the Duke’s Den,” Delaney commented. “He managed to get a hold of Roger and return him to Idris. We made a little small talk and learned that it was his grandfather who talked him into applying. I took that to mean family was important to him and since that’s such an integral part of D’Vaire, I think that’s a definite positive.” Idris was thrilled his friend spoke up, because he’d frozen at Brogan’s words, so scared he would let his relationship with Mac slip.
“Roger’s been acting strange for days,” Noirin observed.
“Yeah, I don’t know what’s gotten into him,” Idris replied quickly.
“Probably just weirded out because we had strangers in the house,” Delaney added.
“Duke Macardle revealed the same information in his interview about his grandfather, and he did say his own attraction to D’Vaire was a desire to help as well as the family aspect,” Dre’Kariston said. “Even though his king leaves a great deal to be desired, he didn’t speak poorly of him in our presence, so we can add loyalty to his attributes.”
“He told us there were two experienced dukes who taught him all he needed to know about how to do his job and that he still holds them in high regard, although he’s not allowed to interact with them the way he did in the past,” Dravyn remarked.
“One final note, Duke Macardle’s a black dragon, which is the most prized of colors. Often, because of that, men with beasts of that color are arrogant, but he didn’t seem that way to me at all,” Aleksander shared with them. “Any questions about Duke Macardle?”
“Were there any red flags about him to anyone who participated in his interview?” Noirin asked.
“No, we were unanimous in our decision to bring him forth for a vote,” Aleksander replied. “Ready to vote?” When the room became a chorus of affirmative answers, Aleksander nodded. “Okay, all those in favor of adding Duke Macardle?” Idris raised his hand as high as it would go. He scanned the room and arms were going up all around the room. When the D’Vaires were united in their decision to add Mac to their home, Idris finally uncrossed his fingers and sent a quick thank-you to Fate.
“Fantastic, I’ll call Duke Macardle in the morning and let him know he’s now Duke D’Vairedraconis,” Aleksander said with a smile.
Idris got to his feet. “Is it okay if I tell everyone something now?”
“Of course, Idris. Go ahead.”
“I just wanted to thank everyone for voting to add Duke Macardle to D’Vaire. As Brogan mentioned, I got the chance to meet him when he was here, and I found out something incredible when I did.” Idris sucked in a breath and grinned. “Mac’s my mate.”
Aleksander’s eyebrows rose; then he jumped to his feet and strode across the room to grab Idris into a crushing hug. “Congratulations, I’m thrilled for you,” Aleksander exclaimed as Noirin pushed her cousin out of the way to embrace Idris. For several minutes, Idris was squeezed by every single person who called D’Vaire home.
When Idris could finally breathe again, Brogan asked, “Why didn’t you tell us before?”
“Mac requested that I keep it to myself until after the interview process. He wanted to be sure he was hired based on his own merit rather than his connection to me.”
“A man of integrity. I knew he was right for D’Vaire,” Dra’Kaedan crowed. “And you should’ve heard Brogan being all overprotective. At first he didn’t want us to hire your Mac because he saw him smiling at you.”
“I appreciate you wanting to take care of me, Brogan, but I’m not a kid anymore.”
Brogan hugged him a second time. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a million years old. It’s in my nature to be overprotective, but that doesn’t mean I think you’re not capable of making intelligent decisions on your own.”
“I’m guessing from your smile you liked Mac?” Dre’Kariston asked.
“I’m very excited to get to know him better. I hope he wants to come to D’Vaire soon.”
“I’m so damn glad Fate gave you a mate who wants to be here at D’Vaire. None of us would be the same without you, Idris,” Aleksander said.
“Thank you, I’m happy she granted me my wish to have a mate who’d want to live here at D’Vaire. I never want to leave. I hope Delaney and Duff get mates who want to be here as well.”
“Me too, kiddo. All right, let’s get out some champagne and celebrate Idris’s big news. I can’t wait to call Mac and make it official in the morning,” Aleksander commented. Idris was delighted things had worked out so wonderfully, and he was ecstatic to think it wouldn’t be long before Mac returned to D’Vaire.