“I can’t wait,” Renny responded, and he meant every word.
Chapter 5
“Ido not understand why you must do this,” Rorie insisted, standing on the deck in more clothes borrowed from Renny. Several days had passed since his arrival at the D’Vaire household, and he was doing his best to learn and enjoy his time, but his mind refused to stop trying to visit the Fae realm. Not only did he miss his life there, but too many questions plagued him, and if he pushed himself to remember anything, headaches formed. Thanks to finding his v’airsell nioll, Rorie’s magic was refilling quickly, while Drekkoril’s wasn’t moving as fast.
“Because it’s a matter of honor,” Renny said, stomping into the yard with his warlock across from him. Since meeting Renny, Rorie had marveled and secretly envied the close relationship he shared with his summoner. Drekkoril was at his side, but they’d gone back to the silence that suited them both. As lonely as Rorie had been always been, even with his parents giving him a pleasant existence, granting life to his bemollo hadn’t been an affable experience from the start. It was a regret, but not one he was willing to voice.
“They should speak of their issues instead of this madness,” Drekkoril grumbled.
Rorie agreed as he feared for Renny’s safety too, but it went against the nature of their relationship to agree with Drekkoril. “You have witnessed much in the past week. As usual, your mind is open to nothing. They have a firm love of family and are bonded tightly,” Rorie snapped.
“Then explain this foolishness,” Drekkoril demanded.
Glad that Renny was already several feet away so he could not hear his conversation, Rorie glared. “I do not know what a ‘ninja kitten’ is, so how can I explain it?”
All Rorie knew was that Dra’Kaedan and Renny had disagreed, not that the warlock familiar was willing to discuss the import of it. None of those details did he divulge to Drekkoril. Instead, he sucked in a breath when, a second later, his other half was replaced by a tiny creature covered in fur. There was a black sash tied around his head and a long sword in his hand. Across from him, Dra’Kaedan turned into a similar creature. In fact, if it were not for the gold medallion around his neck or the small dragon inked onto the skin of his arm, they would’ve been twins. Rorie clapped his hands enthusiastically as their weapons clashed together. It was only minutes ago that he was confused, but now he was planning on enjoying the spectacle of their fight. The lighthearted way the warlock and his familiar dealt with issues was enviable.
“This is the height of foolishness,” Drekkoril murmured, but Rorie cast a glance over to find his bemollo smiling and Dra’Kaedan’s mother, Lichpriestess Saura D’Vaire, shouting encouragement to both ninja kittens.
After several minutes, Rorie was so engrossed in watching the spectacle that he barely registered the strange feeling that slithered down his spine. But within moments he could not ignore it. “Orlami,” he said on a sigh, nearly brushing the stone on his ring that contained him without thought but barely resisted his impulse.
“Ask permission before you summon him,” Drekkoril demanded.
“Renny,” Rorie yelled.
“It can wait, use patience,” Drekkoril insisted.
“I do not ignore the call of my Faedrekan,” Rorie snapped. Renny raced to him with Dra’Kaedan on his heels, and they had returned to their normal form. While he was sorry to interrupt their fun, it pained him to think of confining Orlami any longer.
“What’s wrong?”
“I have enough magic to summon my Faedrekan; who shall I ask for permission?”
“He is welcome here,” a voice said from behind them. High King Rafe joined them with the two wolves who shadowed him on his heels.
“Thank you, Your Highness. I am most eager to introduce him,” Rorie answered. Although he’d been calling him Rafe for days, his Faedrekan had to understand who ruled the land. To Rorie’s delight, Renny rubbed a hand over his back. Rorie offered him a grateful smile, and they walked together into the yard. Closing his eyes, Rorie reached for Orlami and rubbed the stone that bound them together.
Seconds later, Orlami emerged. His pink tongue swiped Rorie’s cheek, and he pushed the friendly pest away. The Faedrekan did the same thing to Renny, allowing Rorie to understand that Orlami was already aware of their bond. As the first Fae to connect with a Faedrekan, their relationship was always a learning experience.
“You’re beautiful, Orlami,” Renny told the Faedrekan, who lifted his head, making his tiny scales shimmer in the bright sunlight. Lifting his wings, he soared into the sky with his long tail swinging happily through the air. “He’s awesome. Now I know why you almost passed out when you saw our dragons. The Faedrekan are much smaller, about the size of a large bear.”
“You said yourself it is not unusual for people to be amazed at Aleksander’s size at least,” Rorie mentioned, trying to not recall his wooziness at seeing the stunning beasts. Awed by their magnificence, he had also been frightened. If the Faedrekan were that huge, he would never have found the courage to tame one enough to tie it to his soul. There were no animals of that immense size on his realm, so it was no wonder Rorie had nearly passed out.
“Your Faedrekan is unique compared to our dragons, too. His wings are nearly translucent at the bottom, and he has your scrollwork embedded in his skin,” Rafe said, joining them.
“Yes, he was blessed with it as our blood mixed and he gave me the piece of his soul, which is this stone,” Rorie explained. “His scales are nearly the same shade of blue, so it takes an astute gaze to find them.”
Orlami zoomed toward them but bypassed their little group to swoop over to stand in front of Drekkoril. Letting out a small growl, he tried to ram his head into the bemollo, who said nothing. “Leave him be,” Rorie ordered.
The Faedrekan ignored him completely and continued to annoy Drekkoril by bumping him and licking him. Drekkoril offered no censure, but there was discomfort in his gaze.
“Why is he doing that to Drekkoril?” Rafe asked.
“I do not know; he does it every time he is with him. I do not know Orlami’s thoughts. There is a way for us to dream together, but we still do not communicate in a straightforward fashion. He sees the truth while as a Fae, my biases color events.”
“Roriethiel, I am going inside,” Drekkoril stated, then sauntered off, causing Orlami to drop to the ground with a forlorn aura around him.
“So, he annoys Drekkoril because he likes him?” Renny asked.
