Page 4 of D’Vaire or Nothing (D’Vaire #44)

“I sn’t this fancy?” Queen Helen Beradraconis asked. Reverent Knight Conley Gylde-Kempe grinned as the mother he’d gained in his late teens raised her hand and waved to the High Kings. They were dining in a booth fancy enough to boast a giant doggy bed for their unique wolves.

“Mom, stop waving at people and sit so our host can give us the menus,” insisted Conley’s other half, Drystan, as he slid onto the curved booth bench after Conley.

With a purse of her lips, Helen tucked her skirt under her and joined them in the booth. She scooted close enough that she bumped elbows with Conley.

“You don’t need to order me around, Drystan,” Helen warned. “No one in here minds if I fuss over our family. Aleksander and Rafe rarely leave their estate; I want to let them know I’m here if they need anything without intruding on their date.”

Once Helen’s mate, King Aeron Beradraconis, was seated, the host gave them their menus. Conley nearly chuckled at the way Drystan couldn’t disguise his smile as he ducked his head and quietly apologized to their mother.

“Pretty fancy place for a King,” Aeron remarked as he gave his attention to the black-and-silver décor.

“I love that they chose the most traditional color for dragon Kings and added the silver of their coronets to decorate it,” Conley said.

“Not every King is black,” Helen responded. “You weren’t.”

It was rare for Conley to think about the centuries he spent as a dragon King, despite it being an idyllic part of his former life.

But he couldn’t forget the magnificent golden scales he’d been given on the day he shifted.

Or what a fool he’d been to think the color would keep him from being a Duke and away from Drystan’s side.

Beneath the table, Conley’s hand was taken by Drystan, and he leaned over to kiss his cheek.

“I still remember how pissed I was that Fate made us Kings,” Drystan said wryly. “The last thing I wanted was to leave our home. But Court Besant was a great place.”

“And not so far away that we couldn’t visit,” Helen commented.

“You didn’t visit often enough,” Conley accused.

“The last thing you needed was a neighboring King underfoot,” Aeron replied, his dark eyes growing serious.

“You were young and new to rule. If I was there constantly, people might wonder if you were the ones making the decisions or if you lacked the strength to lead. The two of you needed to figure out how to handle your court. Which you did admirably.”

“Okay, I get that, but Con and I missed you,” Drystan said.

Helen shook her head. “Drystan, look at your menu and decide what you want to eat. We aren’t going to spend tonight with you pouting about events that were literally a lifetime and centuries ago.”

“Yeah, Drys, figure out what you want to eat and stop being a baby,” Conley teased the man he’d loved since he was nineteen.

Predictably, Drystan rolled his black eyes with their twisted ring of silver around the iris and let go of Conley so he could grab his menu to leaf through it.

“Everything looks so delicious,” Helen murmured.

Conley was an undead fallen knight, but he’d been born a dragon and still loved meat. He decided to have the best of both worlds by ordering a meal with both lobster and steak.

“I’m thinking surf and turf,” Drystan remarked, making Conley grin.

He’d often admired couples ordering different entrees and sharing, but that almost never happened at his own table.

From the time they were young, Drystan and Conley had shared the same taste in food and almost always craved identical stuff.

“Me too,” Conley said.

“Did you know that the teeth of a lobster are found in their stomach?” Aeron asked.

“No, and thanks for putting that horrifying image in my brain,” Drystan told his father.

Their server arrived, and they ordered their drinks and meals.

“Drystan, I thought you were going to invite the kids and their sentinels tonight,” Helen said.

The “kids” were Drystan’s biological son, Trystan D’Vaire, and his mate, Blodwen.

Both had necromancer blood and had once had their souls tied to a sentinel.

Thanks to the efforts of Lich Sentinel Alaric Daray and Chander, the man who’d resurrected Conley, the sentinels no longer answered to anyone but the Council and their souls belonged to themselves alone.

But the sentinels formerly tied to Blodwen and Trystan were considered immediate family to Helen and Aeron.

It was much the same way they’d adopted Conley the minute they’d learned Fate had paired him with Drystan.

They had so much love in their hearts that they shared it with anyone willing to accept it.

It was one of the many things Conley loved about his parents, and it was a stark contrast to the distant indifferent people who’d raised him.

“I asked them to come with us, but they refused,” Drystan replied. “But they suggested the eight of us eat together tomorrow night. I told them I’d check with you two to see if that was doable.”

“Of course, that’s a wonderful idea,” Aeron said. “Text them and let them know we’d love to join them.”

“I’ll text them after dinner,” Drystan promised.

“Do you know what their plans were for tonight?” Helen asked.

“They wouldn’t tell us,” Conley replied.

“But I ran into Gavrael yesterday, and he told me Blodwen has been making him and Gedeon watch videos on gambling. Many, many hours of videos. I’m pretty sure I caught Gavrael’s eye twitching.

So, I’m assuming they’re using that knowledge tonight in the casino. ”

Aeron chuckled. “Of course they wouldn’t go blindly into gambling and would need to do their research. The pair are far too logical to throw caution to the wind. Thank goodness they have Gavrael and Gedeon with them. Our Skeleton Lords won’t allow the kids to spend too much money.”

The two Skeleton Lords were tasked with aiding Alaric in ruling the sentinels and, like every man in their race, were incredibly pragmatic and responsible.

Conley never worried about Trystan or Blodwen when they were with Gedeon and Gavrael, which was remarkable given that the Reverent Knight dealt with the worst of the Council daily.

“Let’s hope we don’t get a call from the resort telling us that our children were kicked out because they learned some illegal tactics from online videos about gambling,” Drystan grumbled.

“We’ll blame you for not raising your son better and corrupting poor Blodwen,” Aeron teased.

Conley chuckled and winked at Drystan as their server arrived with their drinks and salads.

“If two Skeleton Lords can’t keep them from breaking laws, no one can,” Drystan pointed out.

Picking up his fork to stab a chunk of lettuce smothered in dressing, Conley rested his palm on Drystan’s muscled thigh.

“We should’ve broken more laws when we were alive,” Conley remarked.

“If I’d known we were going to die and would be resurrected into fallen knights with no ability to break rules, I would’ve definitely suggested a crime spree,” Drystan said.

“Are you serious?” Helen asked.

Drystan’s black brows drew together. “Of course not. Con’s the one at this table willing to sidestep laws.”

“And now my mate will complain for the next fifteen minutes about what he considers my poor driving,” Conley said with a knowing glance for Drystan.

“Dear, I love you. You know I do, but your driving gets scary sometimes,” Helen commented.

“It’s nothing bad; you drive the way you do everything, son,” Aeron added. “You’re gutsy and never hold back.”

“That has to be the nicest way anyone has ever told Con his driving sucks,” Drystan guffawed.

“Maybe I’m a terrific driver and everyone else is terrible,” Conley suggested, unperturbed by their words. If he were inclined to change anything about himself, his desire to dive into every situation with his full energy wasn’t what he’d choose.

“Keep telling yourself that, love,” Drystan said, leaning close to brush their lips together. He tasted of salad dressing and the wine Helen had ordered for the table.

“Anyway, how is work?” Aeron asked.

“Busy. There are always too many cases, and I have no complaints,” Conley replied.

“I continue to have the occasional fantasy of kidnapping Con and taking him to some deserted spot on the planet where I don’t have to share him with anyone,” Drystan said.

“Then it’s a very good thing kidnapping is illegal,” Helen remarked. “Our Conley thrives on helping others and making a difference in this world.”

“Tell me about it. I blame him that Fate once made us Emperors,” Drystan commented dryly.

“The fact that Fate gave him a gold dragon should’ve warned us,” Aeron mused. “Still the lone golden dragon ever born. Why didn’t we realize what destiny awaited you both?”

“Aeron, are you suggesting we should’ve known that our sons would be murdered in Castle Draconis?” Helen asked, a frown on her pretty face.

“No, of course not. Emperors should be safe…especially in their own damn castle.”

“It worked out how it was supposed to,” Conley said, patting his mouth with his napkin after taking his last bite of salad.

Drystan blew out a breath, and Conley grabbed his hand to offer him some comfort.

Years had passed since their memories returned—which had happened on the day they’d combined their souls for the second time—but reliving their deaths hadn’t grown any easier.

Conley didn’t think about it often, but it randomly crept into his thoughts.

It was the same for Drystan. Conley had succumbed to his injuries first, which meant Drystan was able to recall the moment when they were separated and Conley slipped past the veil separating life from death. The memory flooded his mind right there in the restaurant.

“Intellectually, I’m happy with the results of our lives,” Drystan stated softly. “But I wish it’d been possible to become Reverent Knights, immortal, and part of the D’Vaires differently. If we could’ve spared the hardships…”

“Dear, without the hardships, the joy would have less bloom in your heart,” Helen offered, her words as wise as ever.

“I agree. We’re lucky. Yes, we suffered. But we have so many gifts. Ones unimaginable to us as we stood in Castle Draconis wondering how to create enough money to enrich the lives of thousands of dragons,” Conley said.

Aeron smiled. “And none of us would be sitting in a resort designed by our current Emperors. Two men who’ve also tasted pain and come out the other side with nothing but a positive attitude and a renewed dedication to aiding their people.”

“Chrys and Elf have done an incredible job as Emperors,” Drystan immediately agreed.

“Yes, and Chrys ensured that those responsible for your deaths paid for their crimes,” Helen remarked.

“For a century, Chrys and his brothers worked to find every person with a dark heart and sentenced them appropriately. Like Emperors Conley and Drystan, Chrys and Elf are honorable men deserving of their titles.”

“Don’t worry that I’m after their jobs,” Drystan mused. “The last thing I ever wanted to do was lead the dragons. That was Con’s fault, and he was far better at it than me. He loved it too, which is weird.”

“While you’ve spent centuries downplaying your contributions to both dragonkind and the fallen knights,” Conley retorted with his eyes narrowed at the man he adored above everyone and everything else.

No one could disparage Drystan in Conley’s presence, not even the original Reverent Knight himself.

“Appreciate his moments of humility,” Aeron suggested, the smile on his face reminiscent of the one his son often wore. “They are too few and far apart.”

“You’re the one who raised me to be headstrong and confident,” Drystan replied.

“We may have taken things a step too far,” Helen teased.

Conley cupped Drystan’s cheek and brought their lips together for a brief but tender kiss. “I like him exactly the way he is. So, thanks for raising him to be my perfect mate.”

“You’re welcome, and we’re sorry we didn’t break him of his pouting habit,” Aeron said, his dark eyes twinkling with humor.

“Thank goodness our dinner is here,” Drystan muttered as the server arrived with a large tray full of entrees.

“Yes, I’m hungry,” Helen commented once the server had placed their meals in front of them and whisked off to attend to her next task.

“Me too,” Aeron replied. “Plus, I’m curious about how the kids are doing in the casino. We should head there after we finish eating.”

Helen raised her hand and waved eagerly at someone.

Conley grinned as he caught sight of Venerable Knight Arvandus Ruarc-Daray and his other half, Skeleton Lord Albrecht, walking into the distinguished restaurant.

It was rare for Albrecht to go anywhere without a cloak, but his spiky reddish-blond hair shined in the low light of the restaurant.

“Mom, please stop,” Drystan begged.

“Oh, get over it,” Helen said. “Arvandus and Albie both waved back. No one is embarrassed but you.”

Drystan turned to Conley and shook his head. His cheeks were pink, which made Conley laugh.

“You’re silly, but I love you anyway,” Conley told his mate.

“You can’t drive, but I love you too,” Drystan retorted with a smacking kiss.

“Say nice things to Conley,” Helen demanded.

“I know, Mom. He’s happy, I swear,” Drystan insisted.

“I can vouch for Drys,” Conley assured his mother. “No one else could make me happy but him.”

“Really, son, raise your standards,” Aeron teased, and Conley laughed. His life was a rich one, and that had everything to do with the incredible people in it. And the most important of them was the man he’d died—and now lived—alongside.