“We asked him that, and he does, but the sorcerers are reluctant to give him anything. His body chemistry is so unique, they don’t want to inadvertently do anything to make it worse for him. One thing the last two months has taught us, is that Elf is one of kind in every way possible. He’s just going to have to let his digestive system go to work.” Aleksander glanced at the still-retreating dragon. “He’s got to stop backing up each time he farts though, or he’s going to run out of space and slam into the D’Vaire bubble.”
“I’m not sure if I should chase after him or let him scurry off,” Chrysander said to no one in particular.
“I hate to say it, but you should probably leave him be. As his mate, the embarrassment factor would be multiplied. Elves are regal and don’t like to be put at a disadvantage,” Costas remarked.
Chrysander didn’t like Costas’s advice, but it was true. As much as he wanted to be close to Ellery, it would only cause him more grief to stalk after him. He hoped Ellery would feel better quickly so they could spend time together. With a sigh, he turned to Damian. “We might as well sit out on the deck and work on Council bills until Ell is ready to return.”
“Has there been any progress on the antidote?” Tiri asked Aleksander as Chrysander walked over and grabbed a seat on one of the lounge chairs. It wasn’t a question Chrysander asked any longer. He was too weary of hearing the word “no.”
“They’ve managed to slow down the cell conversion, but it hasn’t stopped,” Aleksander said. “But now we’re at least on the right track. They can make the potion they have more intense and go from there.”
There were still thunderous sounds ripping through the air, and Chrysander could only barely make out a white dragon in the distance. He shook his head at the bizarre situation and didn’t bother hiding his smile. “Do we know how many cells have been affected?”
“At the start, it was only converting a few cells every couple of days. It sped up a bit for a while as the potion grew more concentrated in his bloodstream, so they stopped counting individual ones. We know that about five to ten percent of his DNA has shifted from elf to dragon. In the last week, since they started using this new concoction, there were only three cells converted. That’s a big difference, and there was a lot of excitement in the room today when Grigori gave us the results. I know it’s not any consolation to you guys, but it is one baby step closer to an antidote.”
“Aleksander, don’t think I’m not impressed. I am. You’re right, we’re going in the right direction and that’s the most important thing. I still have all the faith in the world in Sorcery D’Vaire.” Chrysander meant every word. No one else on the planet could even attempt to reverse the tangle of what was happening inside of Ellery, and he trusted them. He just wished Fate would give them a damn break and speed this up.
“I think it’s wonderful progress. I can’t wait to have Elf back,” Tiri stated emphatically.
“Me neither,” Chrysander murmured. His soul screamed out for his mate each and every day. His return would be a welcome salve to his broken heart.
Chapter 24
Zane settled down onto a chair on the deck next to Costas. “Hey, what’s going on?”
“Not much, Elf finally calmed down and is letting Chrys near him.”
“He’s got to be relieved. Elf was hiding for hours.”
“Yeah, only Elf would be that embarrassed about farting.”
“I’m just glad he’s allowing Chrys close. Our emperor was getting frustrated.”
“Yeah,” Costas replied.
Pulling his phone from his pocket, he checked the account he set up for Tiri and noticed new deposits from the Grand Warlock and his familiar. “Poor Renny and Dra’Kaedan have been sending a steady stream of money into Tiri’s account.”
Costas laughed. “Despite their best efforts, they don’t seem to be able to handle not cursing in front of Tiri. It’s nice they’re willing to play along with Tiri’s cursing fund.”
Tapping on the screen, Zane deftly moved money from his own account to cover the cost of Dra’Kaedan and Renny’s payments. “Yeah, Tiri will have plenty of money to buy more material. I know he has his eye on new fabrics.”
“Are all our dukes still sending Tiri money?”
“Yeah, I’ve refunded quite a few of them this week.”
“Why?” Tiri asked from behind Zane, startling him.
Warily he looked up at the sprite that had somehow managed to sneak up on him. “Why what?” he inquired stupidly.
“Why are you refunding people putting money into my account?”
Sneaking a glance at Costas, Zane noticed his dark eyes were widened with alarm, but he wasn’t saying a word. Obviously, there would be no help from that quarter. “Uh…”
“Zane, Elf came up with the idea to have people put money into my account when they curse so I could help them remember to stop. You weren’t supposed to have anything to do with it. I told you in the beginning I didn’t want you paying for everything,” Tiri stated calmly. His teal eyes were full of hurt, and Zane knew he was in deep shit.
“I just thought it would be better if I refunded them.”
“That wasn’t our agreement.”
