Page 13

K eegan walked down a long hallway from where he’d taken his last class toward the gym. Instead of their usual sparring, the fallen knights had an upcoming meeting with a Skeleton Lord who’d work with them to improve their dagger skills. It wasn’t something they were tested on, but their leaders believed it aided in their ability to defend themselves.

Keegan had used the training as an excuse to put on his holster and carry his daggers around that morning. He privately admitted it made him feel closer to Phillip to wear the blades. He wasn’t sure why. It logically made no sense and didn’t bring Phillip out of his dorm or anywhere in Keegan’s orbit, but he hadn’t fought the temptation.

Temptation.

That was an excellent word for Phillip and for Victor. The previous night, Keegan had barely made it out of the Daray condo with his dignity intact. Once he’d teleported to his dorm, he’d yanked his pants and underwear to his boots. Keegan had wrapped his fingers around his cock and immediately come. It’d been glorious but not nearly as nice as being devoured by Victor and Phillip.

Keegan’s dick thickened at the memory of their kisses, and he pulled himself together as he entered the gymnasium to find Brynnius already in the room. The last thing Keegan wanted to do was embarrass himself in front of the Skeleton Lord or his classmates who’d be joining him any minute. Unlike Keegan, they’d had to rush back to their dorms to grab their daggers, but it wasn’t that long of a trip.

“Good morning, SkeL Brynn,” Keegan said. The shortening of Brynnius’s title was a traditional way for fallen knights to address the men who made up the Skeleton Seven—a revered, special set of sentinels who helped the Lich Sentinel rule his people. They were easy to pick out among their brethren thanks to the unique green-and-black poison floating around their blades. Every other sentinel—bar Phillip with his chartreuse and charcoal gray—had just the verdant shade at the top of Brynnius and Phillip’s daggers.

“You can call me Brynn,” the Skeleton Lord insisted.

“I’m not sure I’m supposed to do that.”

“You are family,” Brynn replied. “Plus, fallen knights and sentinels work together.”

Thankfully, Keegan was saved from having to argue with the sentinel about what he’d been taught was proper protocol as his classmates arrived in a flurry of chatter and excitement. They quieted once they spotted Brynnius, which Keegan easily understood. It was hard not to be intimidated by an ancient sentinel. Keegan knew he would soon amaze them with his incomparable talent with the blades that were essentially extensions of his own limbs. And Keegan had dined at the man’s house, which reminded him that Brynnius was far more than a title. He was a person, and Keegan was eager to grow closer to him and every Daray.

A phone rang, and Keegan watched with shock as Brynnius dug his cell out of his pocket in less than a heartbeat.

“Sammy?” Brynnius asked, his voice full of alarm. It was a far cry from the stoicism usually displayed by every sentinel save Phillip, who’d deliciously let his guard down the night before as he’d kissed Keegan and Victor with enthusiasm and desire.

Keegan didn’t want to have his dick getting hard again, so he forced himself to stay focused on the present by keeping his gaze trained on Brynnius’s face. Whatever Samson said to the Skeleton Lord had Brynnius lifting his chin and staring at Keegan’s poor self. Had he done something wrong?

“Good, see you soon,” Brynnius remarked. “Love you too, Sammy.”

“Is everything okay, SkeL Brynn?” Keegan asked, concerned.

“It’s Brynn, and yes, everything is fine.”

“I guess because Keegan has a sentinel mate, he gets to drop titles,” teased Tania, a black-haired fallen knight with a dark gaze.

“Bit of a gamble since we don’t know if Keegan is going to keep having a sentinel mate,” muttered Merrick, the recruit who had been so eager to share statistics with Keegan.

“What?” Brynnius and Tania asked together.

Merrick shrank into himself at the abrupt question. “It’s just triple matebonds only have a fifty percent success rate.”

“I know Keegan would be successful no matter what, but he also has a sentinel mate,” Brynnius stated firmly. “Sentinels do not fail.”

“That’s not true,” said a voice from the doorway. Keegan quickly realized it belonged to Samson. “SkeL Eduard still sucks at the saxophone.”

Keegan never heard Brynnius’s reply because he caught sight of a second man, and he immediately ran toward the sentinel. “Phillip!”

To Keegan’s delight, Phillip stalked close and planted a soft kiss on his lips. “Hello, Keegan.”

“I’m so glad you’re here; are you going to spar with us?”

“Sam thought it was a good idea,” Phillip said. He leaned closer. “He also suggested we have lunch together and invite Victor. It was fun to tell Sam he was slow and we’d already thought of that.”

Grinning, Keegan gave in to the temptation to brush their mouths together a second time. “We’re doing incredible at this matebond thing. Have you had a good morning with your dragon?”

“So far, so good. Hopefully, I can get through the day without the extra potions I required yesterday. Will you introduce me to your fellow fallen knights?” Phillip asked.

Tania crossed her arms as Keegan turned to his classmates. “You should start by introducing Phillip to Merrick. For some stupid reason, he seems to think statistics have any damn thing to do with your matebond.”

“Ah yes, Keegan mentioned him. I believe his friend agrees. I do not know his name, but I assume he is the fellow standing at his side.”

Absurdly pleased by Phillip’s directness, Keegan opened his mouth to start the introductions but was once again stopped by the sound of Samson’s voice.

“Since when is Keegan’s matebond anyone’s business but his, Phillip’s, and Victor’s?” Samson demanded. “The Order of the Fallen Knights is an honorable race that does not question Fate’s choices. I trust I’ve made myself clear?”

“Yes, Venerable Knight,” responded each fallen knight, including Keegan.

“Good,” Samson replied, still wearing a scowl. As quickly as he could, Samson rattled off the names of the fallen knights in the room. “Now, B will try to make you look less like fools with daggers in your hands. Get your blades out of your holsters and pair up. Keegan, you’ll square off with Phillip.”

“It is my class, Sammy,” Brynnius warned his other half, who finally cracked a smile as he nodded and stepped back to allow the Skeleton Lord to resume control of his students. “Begin sparring and I will work with each pair to improve your attacks.”

Phillip removed the poisons from his blades before grabbing them, which Keegan had seen other sentinels do. Keegan tugged out his daggers and grinned a little at his mate.

“Don’t take it easy on me, but maybe don’t flatten me on my ass in two seconds,” Keegan teased.

“If you are unprepared for my attack, I cannot help it if your lovely ass hits the floor.”

“Right,” Keegan said. It didn’t matter that Phillip had yet to start his training. Unlike Keegan, Phillip had been resurrected with crazy sentinel skills. From the start of his classes, Keegan was told that he’d never compare to any sentinel. So, it was intimidating to square off against the steely-eyed man who’d kissed him so thoroughly the previous night.

But Keegan was competitive and eager to learn. He whipped his right hand forward and tried not to wince at the ugly sound of his blade smashing into Phillip’s. Instead, he braced himself as the force of the hit vibrated up to his shoulder. Phillip flashed him a quick smile, balanced his weight on the toe of one boot, and used his other leg to kick the dagger right out of Keegan’s left hand.

“I see how it is, Spicy,” Keegan muttered as he plucked his blade off the mat beneath their feet and surged forward to slam their weapons together again.

Phillip disarmed him again with another lightning-quick smack of his boot.

“Don’t charge,” Phillip instructed quietly, the scent of cinnamon surging through Keegan as the sentinel leaned closer to be heard. “It is like a game. One better played with well- thought-out plans. How will you move? What do you expect my reaction to be? Where can you best position yourself for your next action? Think first. Attack second.”

“Okay,” Keegan replied. Taking a deep breath, he copied Phillip’s toe spin and nearly succeeded in surprising his mate. But his blade landed with a dull thud on the mat again.

“Better,” Phillip said. “Try again. Punch your second arm through and try to hit both my blades before I disarm you.”

With a nod, Keegan went to work and, though he still had to grab his weapon from the floor, he was grateful he and Phillip were both devoted to law and order. The last thing Keegan wanted was to be a criminal coming up against someone of Phillip’s ilk. Like every sentinel, he was ruthless.

But he was also kind, thoughtful, and damn sexy, especially when his mouth was fused with either Keegan’s or Victor’s. He bent to grab his dagger yet again and straightened. Phillip took a step forward and caressed the underside of Keegan’s chin with the back of his fingers.

“Stop thinking about kisses,” Phillip murmured. “I can’t concentrate if you keep looking at me like that.”

Hoping to take advantage of unintentionally distracting Phillip, Keegan stepped forward and elbowed the sentinel in the chest. It worked. Phillip took a giant step backward and narrowed his dark gray eyes.

“Excellent move, Keegan,” Brynnius said as he came over to where he was facing off with Phillip.

“Thank you, SkeL Brynn,” Keegan replied, flashing a winning smile at Phillip.

“Brynn,” the sentinel corrected again.

“Sorry. What should I do next?”

“Use your feet more,” Brynnius suggested. “Phillip has demonstrated how you can use your feet to disarm your opponent, but that is not the lone option. Kick him to put space between you. Legs are longer than arms. He’ll have to regroup to attack.”

“Or he could smile at me so I lose my train of thought,” Phillip muttered as Brynnius left them to aid another pair.

“Should I stop smiling at you, Spicy?” Keegan teased.

“Kick me so Brynn will know you are listening to his advice,” Phillip said. “And no, never stop smiling at me.”

It took two tries to complete a kick that sent Phillip back, but Keegan loved knowing even that was an improvement.

“Will you spar with me again?” Keegan asked. “After classes are done sometime? I know the Darays go to the gyms at the sentinel complex regularly. Maybe we can convince Victor to join us.”

“I asked Sam on the way over here if Victor ever trains,” Phillip replied. “While he doesn’t wield daggers himself, he told me that Victor routinely travels to the complex to watch the Darays. I’d be happy to spar with you on those nights.”

“Thanks, I want to get better. It’s fun, and I like sharing this with you.”

Keegan held in his sigh as his blade slid along the mat and past it to twirl in a wonky circle on the hardwood floor. This time it was Phillip who flashed a triumphant smile.

“It is definitely fun.”

“Maybe you’ll enjoy it less when you can’t kick my ass as easily,” Keegan grumbled as he plucked his dagger from the ground.

“If anything, the challenge of a worthier opponent will only increase my excitement,” Phillip teased.

“Why is your spell written to make you so damn competitive?”

Phillip shrugged. “I do not know, but it is wonderful.”

“Does any sentinel suffer from low self-esteem?”

To Keegan’s horror, Phillip’s shoulders slumped. He bent his head so Keegan couldn’t read the emotion in his eyes. “If you have a dragon keeping you from being as proficient as your brethren, yes.”

Keegan didn’t care where he was or who else was in the room. He slipped his daggers into the holster at his waist and tugged his still-armed mate into his embrace.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings or make you feel less than any other sentinel.”

The weapons in Phillip’s hands must’ve disappeared, because suddenly there were two warm palms rubbing Keegan’s back. “Sunshine, I will not accept your apology. It is not your fault I have struggled. You have made it better. Every day you and Victor make it better.”

“Good, I know I speak for both me and Victor when I say that’s what we want for you. I long for you to have a wonderful relationship with your dragon. And I want you to make it through a day without a potion and for you to have the final say on the goals you set for yourself. No more being locked up or relying on stasis. You and your dragon deserve that.”

“He and I are both very fond of you at this moment.”

“Is everything okay?” Samson asked quietly from next to them.

Phillip pulled slightly away, smiled at Keegan, and brushed their mouths together. “We are well.”

“Great, why don’t you two head to the cafeteria? I’ll call a cat shifter I know and tell him to get over there to meet you.”

“Victor’s bringing Evergreen and Dudley; we have to wait for them,” Keegan said.

“What, and they can’t sneak out a few minutes early? Please. Alaric’s in the Main Assembly Hall with all the other leaders,” Samson said.

“And it’s not as if Alaric can fire them,” Brynnius added. “We would be lost without them.”

Keegan grabbed Phillip’s hand. “Let’s go, Phillip, before they change their minds.”

“Why would we do that?” Brynnius asked as Keegan led Phillip toward the door.

“I have no clue, B.”

“I can’t wait to watch you greet Victor with a kiss,” Phillip said once they were in the hallway.

“I know the feeling,” Keegan replied with a grin as he tugged Phillip to encourage him to pick up speed.