“Chand, this room is a disgrace.”
If his facial expression was anything to go by, the Arch Lich was unimpressed by his mate’s statement. “Thanks, Alaric. I appreciate your input.”
“It might be a mess, but there’s a great deal of quality information in here,” Vadimas said.
There were boxes stacked a few feet deep all the way up to the vaulted ceilings. Idris was anxious to find a project so he could be High Arcanist, which made him more than ready to start organizing Chander’s treasures.
“Exactly,” Chander agreed. “The last time Vadimas was in here, he found information that helped solve a murder.”
The Prism Wizard had learned details that helped the Order of the Fallen Knights unravel the mystery of who’d served the former Arch Lich a fatal cup of tea.
“Which just goes to show the stalwart and brave character of the Prism Wizard,” Alaric said.
“Don’t you have sentinels to whip into shape or criminals to track down? Perhaps a dagger to play with?” Chander asked.
“It’s Saturday. I’m spending my weekend with my mate. Even if I do need to defend us all against dust bunnies,” Alaric replied.
Chander walked forward and opened a box. “Well, I hope you’re prepared for bunnies who might know all kinds of crazy magic tricks. I know there’s a ton of exciting stuff in here.”
“If they know anything fancy, I’ll wait for you to unleash your demon wings, and I’ll hide behind you,” Alaric teased.
“Sentinels don’t ever hide behind people,” Idris told Mac who was standing next to him with Roger curled on his shoulder. Since Mac arrived, the only time Idris got to see his familiar was when his mate was around. The private dragon house made for Roger in Idris’s room had stood eerily empty for days.
“Especially not the leader of them. Well, I might not know anything about magic, but I can carry boxes or books as necessary. So, put me to work however you want.”
Idris liked Mac’s flirty smile, and he was tempted to tell the dragon shifter he wanted to learn how to kiss. They were here for a task, so he tried to remember what it was. “Okay.”
“How do you want everything organized as we empty these boxes?” Delaney asked Chander.
“That’s why Victor is here—he’s the king of organization,” Chander told them. Victor Antonov, a Russian Blue cat shifter whose family had led Duff to D’Vaire, was the housekeeper for the Arch Lich and his family. The diminutive blond man pulled a dark apron out of a bag, dropped it over his head, and tied the strings at the small of his back.
“We’re going to use the same method we do at home,” Victor explained. “Organize books by general subject. I try to keep each subject alphabetized, but Chand never puts them back right. Since I have no intention of spending the rest of my life in here, I wouldn’t bother doing that.”
“I’d offer to have one of the young wizards who works on these library rooms keep it organized, but I’m guessing you want to keep this place private,” Vadimas said.
“I do. There’s information in here I believe shouldn’t be available to the public. All of you are more than welcome to use it at your will. Vadimas, you can give them keys. You don’t have to keep it organized though,” Chander replied.
Everyone waded into the mess that was Chander’s extensive private library, and the room was mostly silent as books and scrolls were unearthed from boxes. The sorcerers were carefully surveying each thing they found while the sentinels and dragon shifters obeyed Victor’s orders in getting everything on shelves.
Idris was glad Mac was staying close to him and hoped it wasn’t only because he was tasked with keeping the D’Vaire wizards plus the Kellas cat shifter safe. Thus far, Idris had emptied out a ton of necromancer literature. None of it was in any way related to the indigo magic he used, but it was dark, so he handed it off to Delaney. Since he was familiar with most of what was available to wizards, Idris wanted to locate the stuff Chander had from the Coven of Warlocks.
He wanted to do a research paper that related to warlocks because it was Dra’Kaedan and the rest of the Coven who’d worked tirelessly to help him achieve such scholarly success. It was the only way he could think of that would be giving back to the men who loved him.
“I just found a box of warlock stuff,” Renny announced.
“Take it home,” Chander replied.
“I told you, I’m not taking your books and scrolls,” Dra’Kaedan argued.
“Whether you keep it is your choice but at the very least, take all the warlock stuff and read it cover to cover,” Chander retorted. “I know you want to.”
“I definitely want to read it, but my brother’s right. We’re not keeping it,” Dre’Kariston said.
“I want to read it too,” Idris added.
“Me too,” Delaney threw in.
“Okay, let’s stick all the warlock stuff near the door. We can go through it at home. Then when we’ve all had the chance to read it, we’ll return it to Chand. If you ever change your mind about making this room public, I’ll take the warlock stuff and put it in our room, which is private,” Dra’Kaedan replied.
“No worries about going public. Most of this stuff is irreplaceable. I’ve cast the spell to make everything indestructible, but things can get lost or stolen, even with the best of security,” Chander said.
“We’re strict about stealing and the fallen knights have prosecuted thieves for us, but the reality is, there’s no way to stop it from happening. Every sorcerer can come to the Spectra Wizardry library. That’s a great deal of traffic in this building each day,” Vadimas commented.
Mac walked over and grabbed the box Renny discovered. The small warlock familiar shook his head. “I can’t even take you seriously, Mac.”
After carrying the box to where Dra’Kaedan decided it would rest until they returned to D’Vaire, Mac lifted a brow at Renny. “Why not?”
“It looks like you have an indigo dragon growing out of your neck and shoulder.”
“I know. I feel like a pirate but instead of a parrot, I’ve got Roger.”
Dra’Kaedan pinned Renny with a fierce glare. “Don’t you say one word about butt pirates.”
“No one in my life has normal conversations,” Alaric intoned.
“You’re telling me,” Victor responded. “You sentinels could write the book on topics inappropriate for the dinner table.”
“Maybe we should go have dinner at their house,” Mac suggested to Idris when he returned to his side.
“It sounds like we’re missing a lot of fun.”
“Have you found anything exciting in your box?”
“No. I’ve emptied it, but it was all necromancer stuff.”
“Guess you’re ready to start a new box,” Mac observed as he tugged open the flaps of the one closest to Idris.
“Yeah, I hope I get a more interesting one. I mean…I guess it’s interesting to necros, but I can’t even read half these languages.”
“How many languages can you read?”
“I’ve learned fifteen since I started school.”
Mac’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You’ve learned fifteen languages in five years?”
“Yeah, it wasn’t as hard as it sounds. Many of them were variants of the same ancient language. Delaney knows tons more,” Idris replied. Then it dawned on him that Mac knew his age. “Did Aleksander tell you how old I was?”
“Don’t worry, he didn’t give me your biography. They needed to tell me about Latarian and her grandfather because of the threat they pose to D’Vaire.”
“Ugh every time I hear her name, I want to slap somebody,” Renny growled out.
“Don’t look at me when you say that,” Victor retorted with a hand on his hip.
Idris ducked his head in shame. “So, Aleksander told you about the crimes I committed before I got to D’Vaire?”
“Aleksander told me an evil woman manipulated you when you were still a teenager,” Mac corrected.
“I thought she liked me. I really thought she was my friend.…But in the end, she hurt the people I now love. The irony is, I wouldn’t have met them if I hadn’t bumped into her.”
“Aleksander told me you saved Dra’Kaedan’s life.”
“No, I didn’t do that,” Idris insisted. “I helped Chand and Dre’Kariston. They saved his life.”
Chander lifted his head from the book he was reading. “That’s a bunch of bullshit. We had seconds to get the dust from the Cwylld rocks out of his chest. You’d already figured out how to use your magic to do so, despite not knowing even the most basic of spells. If it weren’t for you, we might’ve lost him.”
“You saved me too,” Renny said. “You got the dust out of my arm. I would’ve died without you.”
“Sounds to me like you’re a hero, Idris,” Mac remarked.
“That’s exactly what he is,” Dra’Kaedan responded.
“He’s terrible at taking credit for the good stuff he does,” Delaney told Mac.
“Don’t tell my mate I’m terrible at stuff,” Idris said crossly. “I’m trying to get him to like me.”
“All they’ve told me is that at your core, you’re a modest person. There’s nothing wrong with that,” Mac told him.
“Don’t worry Idris, it’s impossible not to like you,” Delaney assured him. “Though I’m your best friend, so I’d probably lie and say you were cool even if you were a shithead since he’s your mate.”
Idris patted Delaney’s back. “You’re a good friend.”
“I think I should take you and your best friends out for burgers and beer,” Mac announced.
Duff’s brows drew together in confusion. “I can’t drink.”
“You get root beer,” Mac responded.
“But I hate root beer. It tastes like ass.”
“So does juice,” Chander threw in.
“What kind of juice?” Idris asked. “I like orange. It’s pretty good.”
“All juice,” Chander retorted.
“Bunch of picky-ass people,” Mac said. “Duff gets a sippy cup of milk since he doesn’t like root beer.”
“If I’m drinking out of a sippy cup, you better make sure I get crayons and shit like they give to little kids.”
“I’ll buy you a damn coloring book,” Mac replied.
“I don’t want a lame one.”
“Get one with unicorns,” Dra’Kaedan suggested. “And dragons.”
“Dragons are a given,” Mac said.
“Should Duff and I really be going on a date with you and Idris?” Delaney asked.
“No worries, Del. Idris and I will go out alone as well, but it’s important we all get to know one another since I’m the one in charge of protecting your ass,” Mac replied.
“I think your mate likes me. He called me Del, and he’s talking about my ass,” Delaney teased Idris.
“I want him to like you guys,” Idris assured his friend.
“Del does have a nice ass,” Dra’Kaedan remarked.
“If I said that, I’d be set on fire,” Brogan grumbled as he took an empty box from Dra’Kaedan.
“All right, sweetheart. Give me some books, so Victor will stop glaring at me like I’m not doing anything,” Mac told Idris.
Idris handed him a stack from the box he’d opened. “These are more necro ones.” He grew a little warm at the term of endearment and Mac’s handsome smile.
“Hey, Chand. This scroll mentions demons,” Dre’Kariston called out. Chander dropped the book in his hand and raced over to the warlock’s side. There was little information in their world to be found on the demonic blood in Chander’s veins, so he had to be excited about the prospect of learning something new.
“I can only read portions of this,” Chander said.
“A language you don’t know? It must be something very obscure,” Vadimas observed as he joined the men reading the scroll.
“Do you think it could be a demonic language?” Chander asked.
“I suppose it’s a possibility, but I don’t know for sure,” Vadimas remarked.
“I don’t suppose you can read demonic,” Mac teased Idris.
“No, Del’s the world’s only dark wizard,” Idris responded and hoped his friend didn’t mind the nickname Mac coined for him.
One black brow rose in amazement. “The only dark wizard. Are you serious?”
“Yes,” Vadimas answered from across the room. “We’re quite proud to have the first wizard interested in a new vein of magic. He’s had to blaze his own path and invent an entirely unique way of using his power. Between him and the extraordinary speed Idris has reached Arcanist, the Spectra Wizardry has a great deal to be proud of.”
“It’s because the leader of the wizards is amazing,” Delaney said to Mac.
“That’s an opinion, not a fact,” Vadimas retorted. “Most importantly, I will soon have two remarkably accomplished wizards helping me lead our people.”
“Honestly, I’m still astonished one of those incredible men is my mate,” Mac replied. Idris grinned at him. He wanted a reason to be close to him, so he walked over and petted Roger, who didn’t budge from Mac’s shoulder. He wished he could be as close to Mac as his familiar.