Page 30 of D’Vaire or Nothing (D’Vaire #44)
“T hanks for doing this with me,” Heathcliff said to Brinley.
They were standing out in the Arizona sunshine, and although the entire family was noisily finding their seats for their matebond ceremony, there was an elven custom Heathcliff wanted to honor.
Although it was important to him, he was feeling a little foolish.
Maybe it was the cloak. It was the first time Heathcliff had worn one.
Larissa and the talented members of the company Elven D’Vaire who lived under their roof had designed outrageously gorgeous cloaks for Heathcliff and Brinley’s big day.
They were purple dragonskin with silver embroidery, replica phoenix feathers, and a magical fiery glow at the hem.
Heathcliff had never had anything so fine, but it was also long, and he feared stepping on it.
Because that would inevitably lead to him tripping and landing on his face.
“Anything you want,” Brinley vowed, his blue gaze sincere. “Anytime you want.”
They’d ducked behind the gazebo—which had been built for the Grand Warlock—to find some privacy.
Heathcliff figured they should’ve dragged themselves outside earlier, but he hadn’t been able to resist taking Brinley out on a phoenix ride.
Then they’d been swept up into lunch with their family.
Hours had flown by, and they’d had to hurry to their room to get changed.
But Heathcliff refused to rush now. He’d made a mourning necklace from the finest Valzadari beads in the many colors of fire, and he tugged it from his pocket and carefully placed it over Brinley’s head.
The mage smiled and kissed him softly. Brinley produced a creation of his own, crafted in the vibrant blue of Heathcliff’s beast. Heathcliff bent his knees to allow Brinley to put it on.
“Traditionally, elves think about the ancestors lost to them. They remember them with joy and use the beads to reflect upon their memories,” Heathcliff explained.
Raised a phoenix, Heathcliff hadn’t learned anything about elves until he arrived at D’Vaire.
It was a shame; their culture was beautiful.
But Heathcliff wasn’t comfortable adopting all of the traditions of the ancestors the Tarinthfenixes had abandoned.
“For us, I think we should recall the people and places we chose to leave behind. Our beads will symbolize our strength in embracing what was best for us, and that was leaving people unwilling to love us.”
Brinley smiled and took Heathcliff’s hand. “That’s perfect. Let’s take our moment to say goodbye to the past.”
“And hope everyone is done finding their fucking seats so I can bind my life to yours. We’ve waited long enough.”
True to his word, Brinley had quit his job and had already taken his placement tests for school.
His first class started in a couple of weeks, and the fire mage was excited about learning everything he could.
They’d been spending every available minute together at D’Vaire, which was wonderful.
But Heathcliff and his phoenix were ready to sleep at Brinley’s side instead of being woken up in the wee hours of the morning by a tired mage worn out by the extremely popular Hearts bar.
“Okay, shutting up to be serene,” Brinley said.
Heathcliff stood under a cloudless sky and closed his eyes.
His senses sharpened, and he squeezed Brinley’s hand.
With the mage at his side, Heathcliff was invincible.
It was a far cry from the terrifying months he’d spent rebuilding his life after drinking poisonous tea.
Heathcliff wanted to say goodbye to that past and the old him who’d been too frightened to find a fresh start.
It wasn’t until Kieran’s memories were nearly torn apart that Heathcliff had found the power to give himself permission to walk away.
Heathcliff hated that his brother had lost his best friend thanks to the awful practices of the Tarinthfenixes, but they were close now.
Everything had come full circle, and Fate had granted Heathcliff a bright future with his mate.
Pleased the Tarinthfenixes could no longer cause him pain, Heathcliff touched his beads as if he could place the past inside them.
“You’re smiling, good,” Brinley commented.
Heathcliff hadn’t realized he was grinning, but he wasn’t surprised. He’d been happy since he arrived at D’Vaire. However, nothing had ever changed him like the past three weeks with Brinley.
“Are you ready to stand awkwardly in front of a bunch of people while armed family members cut us?” Heathcliff asked.
“Nice way of taking a beautiful ceremony and making it sound awful,” Brinley accused with a chuckle. “Let’s go do this.”
They made their way around the gazebo, and Heathcliff was thrilled to find the chairs occupied. Heathcliff led Brinley around the enormous fountain, and they stood in front of the High Kings.
“I don’t even have to ask my usual start question,” Aleksander said. “I can tell by your smiles that you’re ready to go.”
“They’re probably excited about that phoenix cake inside,” Dra’Kaedan remarked. “They let us do coconut for Rafe. It’s going to be so yummy.”
“Can it, Squirt,” Aleksander retorted.
“No cake if we don’t finish this ceremony,” Heathcliff drawled.
Dra’Kaedan slapped a magical cake sticker over his mouth, hiding it from view, and bowed gracefully.
Humor danced in Aleksander’s dark gaze, but he lifted his chin, and the sunlight gleamed off his silver-and-gold crown with his and Rafe’s dragons in flight around it.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the unrivaled D’Vaire family, today Rafe and I have the absolute pleasure of aiding Brynewielm Duke Heathcliff D’Vairefenix and Brynewielm Duke-mate Brinley D’Vaire in binding their souls.
It takes a stalwart soul to call a dark warlock to inform them that their mate has had poison forced down his throat, and Heath’s courage is immense.
He rode to the rescue of his brother and was desperate not to return to his former tribe.
If we reflect on history correctly, we must admit that as D’Vaires we decided we were keeping Heath and refused to help him find another sanctuary.
But who could blame us? Heath is straightforward, kind, honest, and we firmly believe he was born to be part of our family.
It was our honor to add him to our unparalleled group of Dukes and Duchess, and he adds esteem to D’Vaire daily. ”
Rafe smiled. “It doesn’t feel like we met Brinley a couple of weeks ago.
He fits in so seamlessly with our family that we can no longer imagine the D’Vaires without him.
Like his other half, Brinley is truthful, forthright, and caring.
He is a self-taught student of magic, and we stand ready to assist him however we can as he begins a journey through the Spectra Wizardry to strengthen his knowledge of sorcery.
Fire is an element that requires a true master to have patience, control, and a lack of fear.
Brinley has already conquered the art of wielding his power, and I eagerly await the day he adds his elemental to our family.
To no surprise to me, given his love for Heath, Brinley intends to create a blue phoenix who will go by the name Spark. ”
To Heathcliff’s surprise, Brogan stepped forward with a large box that he opened. Inside was a stunning crown of gold and silver. Blue flames danced around it, but Heathcliff’s phoenix was the focal point.
“On behalf of the nobility of the High Draconis Court of D’Vaire, please accept this crown and matching ring as acknowledgement of your title of Brynewielm Duke-mate,” Brogan stated.
“His doesn’t match mine,” Heathcliff blurted. Every D’Vaire couple had matching coronets, and he admitted to himself that Madeline D’Vairedraconis had outdone herself with Brinley’s crown—he liked it better than his own.
“No worries,” Madeline called out. “I made one for you too. You can give me your old one later so I can melt it down for future projects.”
“Thanks, Madeline,” Heathcliff replied.
“Do I wear this now or…?” Brinley asked.
Brogan handed him the ring. “Put this on. I’ll hold on to the crown. Madeline will put a glass box in your room so it can be displayed, and if you ever talk Heathcliff into going to anything fancy, you’ll get a chance to actually wear it.”
With a chuckle, Brinley shoved the band on. “Thanks everybody, and especially Madeline, for making this beautiful shit.”
“Ready for more presents?” Aleksander asked.
“Heath and Brinley have requested the inclusion of every D’Vaire tradition, and no culture is older or revered as much as the one that was nearly lost to us all.
The ancient and beloved Fae don’t use the word mate.
In their language, v’airsell nioll translates to eternal soul , a poetic and meaningful way to properly honor the person chosen for them.
Today, the leaders of the Fae, Noble Protector Drekkoril and Valiant Defender Daravius, will present Heath and Brinley with a statue they created with pure sorcery. ”
Brinley gasped, and Heathcliff nearly did the same as the rulers of the Fae approached them with a gorgeous statue. It was Heathcliff’s phoenix. Brinley was on his back, wearing his crown and casting flames.
“On behalf of the Fae, we offer you joy and happiness,” Drekkoril said.
“Thanks so much, this is outrageously beautiful,” Brinley responded. The pair took the present with them as they took their seats in the front row.
“For elves, no matebond ceremony is complete without a wreath worn by both ready to commit themselves to each other and honor Fate. This is a custom close to Heath’s heart, given the elven ancestors who gave him his pointed ears,” Rafe commented.
“Emperor Ellery Draconis of the tribe D’Vaire and Magus Superus Lochlan Arturus will present Heath and Brinley with unique blooms created by Killian the Dwyer and Drindyr Duke Dravyn D’Vairedraconis. ”