He wasn’t sure what he might have said to the irksome sorcerer, but Wesley never got the opportunity. Oklin disconnected the call and seconds later, a box popped up right next to Wesley. Though he wasn’t pleased with the idea, he had to fill the giant vial he found inside with his blood. When all was said and done, Wesley hoped Chrysander appreciated the effort he was going through to improve the Emperor’s life. As soon as Ellery was taken care of, they could go back to the schedule and staff they’d used for centuries, and Wesley would be in control again, where he belonged.
* * *
Jael Giles wasn’t in a good mood. Oklin Mivorn had just called him, complaining about the stupid dragon he’d put him in touch with.The old fool should just be pleased he could finally get his hands on some dragon blood, Jael thought with disgust. For months on end, he’d listened to Mivorn complain about how he was swindled by King Ethelindraconis. Which, as far as Jael could see, was his own damn fault anyway. No one should ever trust a shifter.
When Wesley Draconis called Jael, inquiring about help to get rid of a dragon, it just proved to Jael how dishonorable the beasts truly were. Six hundred years before, Imperial Duke Bernal had arranged for the murders of the former emperors in the dead of night, while they were in their own bedroom. According to all reports, Drystan and Conley had been fair rulers and focused solely on bettering their people. They’d likely not deserved it, though Jael could understand at times how it was necessary to correct Fate’s mistakes.
He hadn’t known the dragons as emperors, but he was certainly familiar with at least one of the two now-resurrected men who’d assumed new lives as leaders of the Order of the Fallen Knights. Drystan was honorable and dedicated, leaving Jael without issue with the fallen knights; he just didn’t want to answer to anyone but himself. The wizards were certainly intelligent enough to handle their own crime, so having entire races dedicated to justice and order was over the top. It was one of the things Jael’s father, Egidius, had often complained about when he’d ruled as Arch Wizard.
Egidius had been a fool. He’d grown jealous of the Arch Lich who oversaw the Council. It had blinded him to anything else, and the wizards suffered due to his negligence. He’d also punished wizards with any real power by forcing them to deny the hue of the rainbow Fate bestowed upon them to guide their magic. Jael wasn’t averse to selecting which wizards should prosper, but Egidius’s programs after the Order of the Fallen Knights left grew truly ghastly. Although he’d taken control of Giles Council, despite it being the seat of government for the Consilium, he’d never bothered going through the old boxes his father had left behind in the bowels of the castle.
Jael was horrified when Egidius ripped the wizards from the Council of Sorcery. He was no fan of shifters, but he understood how much more powerful all races could be if they were united. It should’ve pleased Egidius that with the shifters joining, the Arch Lich would no longer be in control, but he was too far gone at that point. His only focus was on himself and his desire for political power. Jael wasn’t fond of Arch Lich Chander Daray—even before the audacious man had sauntered into his home and threatened him—but the leader of the Order of Necromancia had grown a small council into a strong government, and it was prosperous.
Desperate times called for desperate measures, and though it might seem hypocritical to some given his attitude about Wesley, Jael had finally done something about dear old dad. He’d conspired with others to poison his father, ending his life so the wizards could find a new path, though he certainly wasn’t going to abolish all ofDear Old Dad’s legacy. Jael had been sure he would be given the thick lightning bolt on his wrist symbolizing that he was the Arch Wizard. Instead the title went to a nobody named Severin Dewitt.
Severin was a mystery to everyone, as were most wizards with power who’d grown up in the Consilium Veneficus. Egidius had hidden them away and they’d suffered unduly—most were still too afraid to make themselves known after his death. Jael didn’t give a damn who Severin was and luckily, he had many allies in the Consilium. They put so much pressure on the powerful Severin that he wasn’t free to make decisions. He’d assigned a plethora of sorcerers to “guard” Severin, whom he’d convinced to keep his anomalies to himself, but truly the wizards were there to report his every move back to Jael. As a result, the man barely made public appearances, leaving them all clueless about where he stood on issues—not that Jael cared about Severin’s thinking. It wasn’t Severin who should be running things; that honor belonged to Jael. He’d already made several failed attempts on the life of the resourceful Arch Wizard, but one day they would end him. The wizards needed to prosper, and to do that they needed Jael. It was time to build the Consilium into something that rivaled the Council, but he couldn’t unite anyone without the title that was stolen from him.
This was why he was sympathetic to Wesley Draconis’s plight. Personally, Jael wasn’t bothered by certain hybrids, but if Wesley believed the dragons were better off without him, then let him and Oklin Mivorn figure something out. Jael hoped it was his last phone call from the morons over at the Council. This was the second time he was dragged into their problems. The last situation was inexcusable. Jael had been saddled with two idiot resurrected warlocks and luckily, they were stupid enough to be tricked into getting caught by the Council at his urging.
Jael’s cousin Verly was still complaining because her mate’s brother was in a fallen knight prison, but Duff Cominsky wasn’t intelligent enough not to be arrested and how that was his problem, he didn’t know. There was nothing Jael could do to help the kid, and he wouldn’t bother to try. The shifter was a simpleton, and Jael doubted Verly’s other half was any smarter.
No doubt Wesley would face the same fate. The Order of the Fallen Knights and the Sentinel Brotherhood weren’t going to handle the fucking emperor being attacked. Jael’s eyes narrowed as even now, he had no idea if one of those damn sentinels were in the shadows spying on him. He didn’t admit fear easily, but those dagger-toting assassins were freakishly dedicated to their work. All Jael had to do was keep his nose out of this mess and worry about how to take care of his own issues so that someday he was the one addressed as Arch Wizard.
Chapter 4
Emperor Ellery Draconis smoothed a hand over the white surface of his new desk. Their entire office suite was finally complete, and Ellery marveled over what a fantastic job the griffins had done. The black-and-white motif was not only beautiful but striking, and Ellery didn’t have any complaints. The staff was smaller, which Wesley was still protesting, but it was nice that both Ellery and Chrysander knew everyone’s names, though at this point not much else about them except that they were adjusting to having everything streamlined. It was quite a difference from the bloated roster of employees Wesley had accumulated, and Ellery was confident that once everyone got used to it, things would improve.
The most important part of the celebration over their space was that it allowed Ellery and Chrysander to spend their entire working day together. He’d hated retreating to the tiny box Wesley had assigned him.
“Are you going to do some actual work today or just keep rubbing that desk like a genie lamp?” Chrysander teased from his side of the room.
“It is not a crime to admire the hard work of Harley and the rest of the griffins, but I was getting ready to go through my messages.”
“Makes me curious about how the throne room has turned out,” Damian threw in as Ellery lifted the list of people who’d called that Wesley had handed him on his way through the door. Around him, the men of his family chattered on about the upcoming ceremony to honor Zane and Costas with their new titles.
Ellery recognized most of the names, but he couldn’t say that about the final one on the page. Her name was Debra Starndraconis, and her message said only that she had something personal to discuss with Ellery.
“Elf, what’s wrong?” Zane asked. Ellery wasn’t sure what to make of everyone calling him Elf instead of his name. They were proud of his accomplishment and made sure no one forgot he was a hybrid, but he wanted more than anything to be a dragon. It was while he was living amongst his elven tribe that he’d felt so isolated and misunderstood. Those were days he didn’t want to remember.
“Does anyone recognize the name Starndraconis?” Ellery asked as he lifted his head to meet the dark, serious eyes of the man who guarded him.
“King George Starn is out of Washington state,” Imperial Duke Damian Draconis, Chrysander’s twin, provided. “He’s always at the annual dragon gathering. George is a nice guy. Why, what’s up?”
Ellery handed the piece of paper to Chrysander, who slid his chair close to him. “I am not sure. A woman named Debra said she needs to speak to me about a personal matter.”
“Washington state is close to Montana—are you thinking this has something to do with your father?” Costas asked.
“It did occur to me.”
Chrysander picked up his phone and asked Wesley to join them. As soon as their office manager walked through the door, Chrysander stood and laid a hand on Ellery’s shoulder. He quickly caught Wesley up with their conversation. “Was she any more specific about what personal matter she needed to speak to Ell about?”
“No, she told me she could only speak with His Majesty. I did explain to her that his schedule is quite complicated, but she insisted you’d want to hear from her. If she’s a family member, that’s something you should’ve explained to me, Ellery.”
As always, Ellery felt the censure of Wesley, who he was sure secretly detested his presence. “I do not know who she is.”
Wesley shrugged. “Then don’t call her back. I’ll tell her she needs to be more specific as to the nature of her issue if she bothers the office again.”
“Thanks, Wesley, but I will take care of it.”
