Chapter 16

Royce entered the side suite to find Duran had already beaten him there and was in discussion with Leodinn and Ulcieh. Not too surprising since his own quarters were in another wing of the keep. A roaring fire kept the seasonal chill in the air from taking over the room, warming his flesh as he neared the group. The abrupt change from the late summer season to the mid-ish snow and cold, was going to take some mental gymnastics as his body readjusted.

Drinks were flowing and platters of sliced fruit, cheeses, and meat waited on the tables to the side, a pre-dinner nibble. The room had changed some since they’d been gone. More chairs and seating had been brought in and there was now a tapestry on the wall along with a thick woven rug on the floor before the fireplace, giving the room a welcoming, inviting tone.

With all the mages present and Bankor standing in his usual spot of protection behind Jayce, this gathering was far livelier than the morning when they’d initially left. Royce sank down beside Cedri on a long couch, receiving a strong one arm embrace around his shoulders. “Welcome home.”

Royce grinned. “Missed you too.”

Cedri snorted but didn’t deny him.

“Where is Zahari?”

“There’s a lot to catch you up on, but she has been placed on a permanent guard with Jayce’s rearing parents.”

“Really? And she’s happy?” Zahari was such a wild cat. Literally. Lynx by nature she wasn’t known for being clingy to family.

He snickered knowingly. They both knew Zahari’s temperament well. “They’ve kind of adopted her, as well.”

Royce was shocked, but knew she wouldn’t do anything if she didn’t want to. Which told him all he needed to know about the Morrows. “They’re good people.”

Jayce cleared his throat, cutting through the lighthearted chatter. “A toast!” He raised his mug. “To a successful journey and much awaited return!”

A call of “Ayes!” was boisterous as everyone joined with raised mugs and cups.

“Tonight, we celebrate and share our accomplishments. Tomorrow we will go over the finer details, such as our new guest, Kierei, and how best to prepare for the coming weeks and snows of winter. I will share that our plans of going abroad and building goodwill, was for the most part, successful. We have expanded the keep and have had many come to us for work and protection, so don’t be surprised by the growth. Alliances have been made and allies have vowed themselves to the future of Kielbos and Rinattoah. Our vision has been spread and joined.”

“That’s great!” Duran called out.

“Hear, hear!” Cedri’s cheer joined in, then they all echoed him.

Duran straightened. “I’m sure Rune has already gone into greater detail.” He flicked his gaze around the room with warning. There was no spell at the moment, so words still had to be guarded. “We were successful.” That was all he was going to say until morning when they would surround the room with spells and protect their discussion.

Relief was clear though it appeared everyone had already assumed their success from the buoyant atmosphere of the room.

Jayce gripped Rune’s hand and raised it to kiss the back of it. “No one is more grateful to have you return than me. You were all missed,” he offered. “Tomorrow is early enough to plan.” Relaxing with Rune leaning into his shoulder, he smiled. “I can’t wait to hear of your adventures.”

Grayson straightened on his chair. “There were pegasi!”

“You’re kidding?” Jayce leaned forward grinning with wonder. “Really? Pegasi?”

“Many, beautifully coated with bright colors,” Royce added with an exuberant hand sweep. “The land was colored like nothing I’ve ever seen.”

“Nor I,” Duran agreed. “Rune, we owe this journey to you.” He dipped his head. “Thank you.”

“No, my friends. We all played a part.” He flipped damp, loose shimmery hair behind his shoulder before tugging Jayce close again. It appeared Royce and Duran weren’t the first to lose themselves in a pool of hot water. “It still feels like my magic has been re-centered and energized. Do you feel it?” He pointedly looked at Duran and Grayson. Though Royce’s attention was solely on Duran.

“I hadn’t thought about it but yes, it does,” Grayson offered, awed.

Duran closed his eyes, stilling on his seat. “I feel… I feel stronger. How?” He shifted to peer at Rune, looking for answers.

“Trials, my friends. This is a time of tests and trials,” Rune murmured, cryptically.

“What does that mean?” Cedri asked.

Ulcieh picked up the explanation. “A mage’s power increases by age and trials. One is not limited by the other. We learn the same as any through lessons. Magic, however, grows and expands through the trials we experience, ensuring we are capable of controlling the responsibility of greater power.”

“Does that mean the power you gain can grow to be limitless?” Cedri wondered.

Ulcieh motioned with a hand to take in all of the mages in the room. “Nearly. But the ability to cast magic isn’t.”

“Like Duran explained at the river,” Royce added. “Overextending your abilities can drain you to the point of death.”

Ulcieh nodded once. “For as long as I’ve been studying, that has been the belief. Our magic is a physical embodiment of ourselves. Strength and health are needed. And constant practice to ensure your ability doesn’t grow stagnant is necessary. We are long lived, but not immortal. As we age and become frailer, our magic weakens in the same ways.”

Royce chewed on his lip. Another part of the puzzle. There was no doubt there were other mages working against them. He didn’t have to ask to know they would be powerful. Not after what he’d already witnessed. There were so many things they didn’t know, and couldn’t see. But for tonight, all his friends were together. Tomorrow was soon enough to start unraveling and comparing what they’d learned and the clues they’d uncovered during their days away.

A knock at the door prompted Jayce to call out. When it opened, Javi, the keep steward, stood at the threshold. He dipped a low bow at the waist, a wide sash of deep blue draped from his shoulder nearly dusting the floor. Royce supposed it was a sign of his station. There really weren’t many status symbols he’d paid that much attention to a few days ago. For him, everything that had transpired from the reappearance of Jayce’s rearing mam and pap to the battle that had put them on the journey to the dragon’s world had been less than a week of time. It was going to take him a while to get used to the nuances in place now. “My lord, the dining hall is ready for you.”

“Great! I’m starving.” He stood to his feet, the others doing the same.

Leaving the room, Jayce was encircled by his friends until they reached the entry to the hall where guards were standing post. “Evening, Alro, Elroc.”

“My lord,” they replied in unison with respectful head dips, a fist firmly placed against their breast in tribute. It appeared aside from the implementation of guards throughout, uniforms for the specific levels of guards had also been designed, decided, and created while they were gone.

Blue cloth was the base with leather gauntlets, belts, and a leather chest plate with a lion insignia on the shoulder. Royce guessed Jayce was officially not hiding anything about who he was any longer. The pressed lion face was detailed with considerable thought. He wondered if it paid any homage to the prior line of kings like his father, King Bail. He’d never seen a depiction of King Bail’s lion.

“Are they brothers?” Royce heard Rune whisper, distracting him from his musing.

“Twins. They were very evenly matched when tested by the arms men.” He chuckled. “You’re going to see a lot of new faces and yes, I finally listened to Ulcieh and accepted I need guards all over. But it’s a pain in my ass.”

Rune harrumphed at his playfully distressed tone. “I’m fine with that.”

Jayce grumbled halfheartedly even as he kissed Rune’s temple.

Doors opened before their group approached the dining hall. With the opening of those doors everyone already in the hall reached their feet respectfully.

“Welcome!” Jayce said warmly when he stopped at his chair. It was pulled out for him, then he sat in his chair at the head of the long table. “Please be seated.” And the rest followed his example. Rune was directly to his right side, where he should be. And Royce was right next to Duran. Exactly where he wanted to be. Heat from their proximity flowed over Royce’s skin in waves. He wanted to arch into that heat and roll against him, like his leopard had before in the grass field, reminding him of where they’d been right before Javi’s call to come to the table. So close, yet so far. But not for much longer.

Their shared time in the bath had been torture. He’d had to restrain himself with a strength he’d never known he possessed to not take what the mage had offered then. Duran may hate him for denying them both earlier. There had been no doubt in his mind that if they’d succumbed to the passion burning with the strength of an inferno between them, neither would have been seen for the rest of the night. The elf was temptation wrapped in sexy layers that he was nearly desperate to peel away.

Duran might think it had been a dare to make him wait, but the three days he’d spent with the mage to get to know him, the more he’d accepted what his leopard had been aware of since his first sighting.

Duran was his mate. At least, he was assuming that was his leopard’s intent, while he himself had been drawn to near distraction with the handsome elf. Until the truth had time to sink into his bones, he’d never envisioned meeting his mate. He’d never been pushed like this toward another, and no one else had called to Royce in the ways this mage did.

The sweet scents of lavender and spices that were all male, alluring and inescapable since that first afternoon. Once Cedri announced he would be staying, Royce had been powerless to fight fate. Though he’d tried. Tried to stay away from the temptation, going so far as to stay with his clanmates in the woods often, or on the other side of the keep. To stay away from the sight of burning brown eyes filled with a heat that made them glisten with flames from the inside. Tried to keep walls between them. To not crave the elf’s touch whenever he found his lingering scents in the keep.

Fighting the scorpions had changed those thoughts and quickly. He couldn’t lose the elf so soon after finding him, after admitting who he was to Royce. The need to explore what could be had overtaken his need to be independent with blinding clarity.

Coming dangerously close to being skewered by the venomous prick of a tail could change a man’s outlook swiftly. He’d believed he was joining the four to search for the crown out of guilt and duty for leaving Duran in the woods. Fool him.

He couldn’t be separated from his mate. Not knowing when he would return held more sway than any believed duty. He simply hadn’t acknowledged the need then for the truth that it was.

“You’re oddly quiet, kitten,” Duran murmured at his shoulder. “Does the food not appeal?”

Royce focused and peered at him a tad owlishly. He’d barely touched the roasted meat and fresh out of the oven, yeasty breads piled high on his plate with his mind running through all these tumultuous thoughts. “It’s delicious. I’m getting lost in my own head.” Which was saying something considering the wealth and volume of discussion circling the table with the group’s return buoying everyone’s excitement.

The warmth of Duran’s palm rested on his thigh. It wasn’t even in dangerous territory yet his blood heated like he’d been sitting under a thousand suns. Goddess, was he ever in trouble with this one.

Unable to resist the offered contact, he dropped his own hand beneath the table and grasped Duran’s lightly.

“You need to eat, kitten,” Duran growled against Royce’s neck, spurring shivers to travel down his spine in a playful turnabout. “You will need your energy tonight.”

Royce smirked, finding a telling promise in Duran’s eyes. It seemed Duran had reached his limit of patience and he was giving Royce due warning for what was to come.

He was perfectly all right with that. He was ready to stake his claim. Royce also liked the way Duran’s passions came to the fore. While his leopard was typically reserved and solitary, when it came to his mate, his cat was adamant about claiming the beautiful male sitting beside him.

When the gathered meal was coming to its conclusion, Grayson spoke. “My lord, with your leave, I will go check on Kierei and relieve Mikkon.”

Jayce nodded. “Make sure the dragon has everything needed to make him comfortable.”

Grayson stepped away from the table and bowed, then left the dining hall.

A little later, Jayce stood and those remaining mimicked him, standing next to their chairs. “My friends. Thank you for your company tonight. Good night to all.”

Replies from those at the table called the same as Jayce and Rune departed the table, a group of guards surrounding them to vanish with fading steps down the hall. Those remaining gradually filed from the room, leaving it eerily quiet after the boisterous evening discussions.

“And you?” Duran quietly demanded.

Standing with Duran, Royce cupped his elf’s jaw, the sensation of smooth skin warming beneath his palm, drawing him closer to the elf. “Now that I know we will not be interrupted and our duty has been seen to, join me?”

“You tempt me then deny me,” Duran accused. The flickering flames from the closest sconces brought out the glittery red shimmer in his eyes that marked him as mage, and was so uniquely beautiful.

“Not now. But I won’t collect on my wish if you have any doubts about what else may happen.” No matter how much he ached, with his shaft filling in his trousers, standing face to face with Duran and the possibility of no interruptions, their next move was entirely up to Duran.

“I didn’t have doubts earlier,” he pointed out, crossing his arms over his chest.

Royce grudgingly acknowledged the fact but wouldn’t apologize for what had been out of his control. “We lacked time. Now, we’re only wasting time.”

Duran smirked. “I’m not sure I’ll ever understand your mind, but… Your wish will be fulfilled.”

And those words were all he needed, all he’d been waiting for since leaving the bath. Royce winked and grasped fingers lightly to lead him out of the dining hall.