Page 19
L ich Sentinel Alaric Daray stood and walked around his desk to greet his two guests with hugs.
“What in the world is going on?” Reverent Knight Drystan Gylde-Kempe asked, his scaly black gaze trained on the small table nearby where two mated goblins chirped at each other.
Every time Alaric looked at the pair, his heart melted. Not only were Pizza and Rogue adorable and affectionate, but they were also gifts summoned with the magic of Alaric’s mate. No other present would ever compare. One of his favorite memories was the short ceremony when Rogue and Pizza had celebrated their matebond in the Daray condo.
Chander had used sorcery to decorate their home appropriately in massive slices of pizza and giant replicas of their daggers. Alaric had shed a few tears, but so had everyone else in his family. Alaric had wanted a grand affair at D’Vaire befitting two goblins chosen by Fate, but the little guys had had no patience for it.
Focusing on the present, it took Alaric no more than a single glance to ascertain what the goblins were up to.
“They are arguing over a crayon,” Alaric explained. “They have recently taken up coloring as an activity and often wish to use the same color.”
To keep the goblins entertained and out of mischief, Alaric frequently introduced them to new outlets for their energy. Some things—like the skateboarding they’d learned how to do thanks to a goblin summoned by the ruler of the imps—stuck. But other ideas fizzled within a day or two.
“I guess as long as they don’t start hacking at each other with their daggers they’ll be okay,” remarked Drystan’s mate, Conley, with a grin for the two animated goblins.
“They love each other too much for that,” Alaric stated. “I can never be sure if they will use the same restraint when it comes to others though.”
“Since I’m sure you didn’t invite us here to let us pick something your goblins colored for our fridge, should we get started?” Drystan asked.
“Not yet; we are waiting for Chand,” Alaric said. “Have a seat.”
Drystan dropped into a chair, and Conley perched himself next to his other half.
“I think we have a pretty good idea why you wanted to have this meeting,” Drystan remarked.
There were two entrances to Alaric’s office thanks to it being split between the Sentinel Brotherhood and the Order of Necromancia, and the one the Lich Sentinel rarely used opened. In a smoky black-and-chartreuse crown and matching cloak, Chander stalked in. The power flowed around the ruler of the necromancers, and it had nothing to do with the two pools of strong magic Chander had access to. No, Alaric’s mate was a living force of energy with a spine of steel. And Alaric loved every sexy inch of him.
Chander’s wingtips didn’t stop moving until he stood in front of Alaric. Then he slipped his hands in the small gap between Alaric’s hips and his poisoned daggers. Chander lifted to his toes, and their lips met in a soft kiss.
“How was your meeting?” Alaric asked.
“Tedious,” Chander replied. “Are you planning on adding to my exasperation?”
“I never strive to do that, Arch Lich,” Alaric drawled.
“Right,” Chander muttered as he walked over to hug the two men he’d resurrected at seventeen. He lifted a brow at Pizza as the goblin threw a black crayon at Rogue, but said nothing to the pair. Instead, he tugged off his crown and cloak and rested a hip on Alaric’s desk. Watching the unique way the pair colored was nothing new to Chander. “Okay, Lich Sentinel, what do you want to discuss?”
“I assume it has to do with the graduation ceremony in a few days at the Ascension Center,” Drystan said.
Alaric dropped into his desk chair and bobbed his head in agreement. “Yes, we need to discuss the plan for Keegan and Phillip.”
“How’s Phillip doing?” Conley asked.
Alaric grinned. “Since he moved into our condo, he has not needed a single potion. Although he wished to fly, Jeremiah has convinced him to shift a few times now without taking to the sky, but it wasn’t because he was struggling. Jeremiah is consumed with safety, and as sentinels, we understand his caution. Phillip is aiding us in the office, but he needs a permanent position where he can be challenged.”
“That’s great news, but what does that have to do with us? You already know we’ll allow Keegan’s schedule to be flexible so he can be available if Phillip needs him,” Drystan said.
“I have given things a great deal of thought since we discovered Keegan was Phillip’s mate,” Alaric confided. “Phillip has a strong dragon. One that is protective of both his mates. We don’t want him to use potions, which means he will need to be with Keegan and Victor often. I think there is only one solution.”
“Going to clue us in?” Chander asked.
“Of course,” Alaric replied. “I want you to sign Keegan over to the Sentinel Brotherhood.”
“You want us to do what now?” Drystan asked, his gaze wide.
“We have never given up a fallen knight. Why the hell would we do that?” Conley demanded.
“Because it makes the most sense,” Alaric calmly responded. “I believe we should create an office for Keegan and Phillip at our condo. The two can work there in the morning so they are close to Victor. In the afternoons following lunch, they will be here. In deference to Phillip’s dragon, his unique poison, and Keegan’s extraordinary test scores, they deserve a special title. Keegan is unlike other fallen knights. He is not quite at the level of a Venerable Knight, yet he is no Juris Knight—he is too gifted physically. He mirrors sentinels more than his brethren. I want them on the special task force, and I want Keegan to oversee technology for the Sentinel Brotherhood. The reapers aid us, but they have their own workload and tasks.”
“Keegan is unique,” Conley said, standing up to pace.
“Fine, I agree. Keegan is unique. But to give up a fallen knight? Alaric, I can’t do that. I can’t sign over a fallen knight. Imagine what the Council would think. You want him working here to give him complete access to Phillip and Victor, we can negotiate that, but he deserves to know the fallen knights are still his people and that we value him and his accomplishments,” Drystan insisted.
Alaric shrugged. “Then we officially make him a part of the Sentinel Brotherhood and we share him.”
“You didn’t really think you’d win getting your hands on Keegan fully, did you?” Chander asked, cracking a smile.
“Of course not, but I had to give it a shot,” Alaric replied. “I already have Larissa crafting special uniforms for them. They will be called Cinder Lords.”
Larissa D’Vairedraconis had designed the uniforms for every sentinel, and Alaric would trust no one else with the task.
“You’re annoying,” Drystan told Alaric. “You want to announce all this at the graduation ceremony?”
“Yes. We can design rings of rank together if you wish,” Alaric replied.
“I’m surprised you’re letting us have any say in shit,” Drystan retorted. “I’m assuming that’s your only issue with the Order of the Fallen Knights today?”
“No,” Alaric responded. “I want the spell for fallen knights and sentinels changed permanently.”
“How so?” Chander asked.
“No more shifters,” Alaric said. “We put both Sam and Phillip through an ordeal. I fear no matter how many times it happens, the result will be the same. Our new recruits deserve better, and so do you, Chand. It is impossible for you not to take on their pain, and it adds to your guilt. I will not allow the Sentinel Brotherhood to hurt you, and I would prefer if the Order of the Fallen Knights consented to the same vow.”
“The last thing I want is another situation like Samson’s,” Conley responded. “Thanks to him, Phillip’s road was perhaps a smidgen easier, at least in the sense that he didn’t suffer through unplanned shifts or have to live at the dragon facility. However, it was unnecessarily grueling. Fallen knights are impressive enough without needing to be shifters. However, I want to keep the spell altered to allow added diversity for fallen knights in the entire variety of skin colors available to elves, along with the possibility of pretty pointed ears.”
Chander closed his eyes and sighed heavily. “Thank you for making this easier on me because I wasn’t going to use the spell again, with or without your permission.”
Alaric stood and dropped his hands onto Chander’s shoulders. His mate leaned into him as he began to knead. “Anything for you.”
“They’re so cute,” Conley enthused. “I’d rush out so you guys could have some afternoon delight, but your goblins are still throwing crayons at each other, so that’s not happening.”
“But you can get out of our office anyway,” Alaric told the grinning fallen knight. “I assume you have other tasks to accomplish today.”
“Probably more tasks than you actually,” Drystan said, rising.
“You should squeeze in an hour to dagger train; your skills remain shitty,” Alaric drawled.
“Thanks, Lich Sentinel,” Drystan retorted with an annoyed glare.
“Anytime, Reverent Knight.”
The Gylde-Kemps demanded another round of hugs, then left Alaric and Chander alone.
“Would you two use those damn crayons for your coloring books and not as projectiles?” Chander demanded of the two goblins, who were glaring at each other. They both dropped the crayons in their hands to the table and bowed their little heads as they offered small chirps of apology to Chander and each other.
“I am sure you will both create beautiful drawings if you take turns with the colors you need,” Alaric told the pair.
“You always make me be the one to yell at them,” Chander complained.
“Of course, you are far better at it than me.”
Chander’s pretty mouth flattened into a thin line, and his pewter gaze was annoyed. It didn’t stop Alaric from brushing their lips together. He tugged Chander into his arms and held the man he loved close. It never failed to soothe him.
“I like your plan for Phillip and Keegan,” Chander remarked as he lay his head on the chest of Alaric’s intricately embroidered uniform.
“It was the best I could do to give them as much time with Victor as possible.”
“I still can’t believe he has two mates. Despite Phillip’s issues with his dragon, the three of them have managed it so seamlessly. If I wasn’t living with them, I’d doubt it was possible to click that fast.”
“That is because you are not an optimist,” Alaric drawled.
Chander chuckled. “Yeah, well, as weird as it is for the leader of the most elite assassins on the planet to be the sunshine in this relationship, that’s how it works. I’ve told you from the beginning that you’re too damn nice.”
“Few accuse you of that.”
“And for some reason, you like that about me.”
“I love every damn thing about you,” Alaric corrected, pressing his lips to Chander’s dark curls.
“Do you have ulterior motives for insisting that Phillip and Keegan work from home in the mornings?” Chander asked, his eyes narrowing. “It’d be just as easy for them to head over here between breakfast and lunch.”
“It can’t hurt to have someone in the condo who knows how to use a weapon for a few more hours of the day.”
“You’re lucky that Victor will be so excited about being near his mates that he won’t immediately figure out that it’s partly to protect him too,” Chander said.
“Now there will be only four hours a day I must worry about him.”
Chander shook his head. “Right. Sure.”
“You sound skeptical of me, but I’m unsure why.”
“Alaric, I know you,” Chander replied.
“No one knows me like you.”
“I’m one of the most powerful people alive, but you insist on two sentinels following me wherever I go,” Chander said. “That’s why there are two Daemon Lords gossiping with my office staff downstairs as we speak.”
“You prefer not to learn how to use weapons, so I wish to give you one less thing to worry about, which is why you have guards.”
“Yeah, and it took me far too long to figure out why you’ve so quietly allowed Victor to get away with going wherever he wants for many years without anyone tagging along.”
“He is usually at home or hanging out with Evergreen and Dudley,” Alaric replied.
“And what happens when Victor goes somewhere alone, like the grocery store?”
“He shops?”
Chander pushed away and headed toward his own desk. “I’d bet my entire fortune that you’ve spent years having sentinels follow him. If they’re using invisibility, Victor wouldn’t be the wiser, and neither would anyone else.”
Since Alaric could not lie and he had no intention of getting into an argument about being overprotective or doing things behind people’s backs, he ignored the man he loved and headed for the office door. He was sure there was something that he needed to accomplish far from Chander until the Arch Lich’s inquisitive brain landed on a different topic to discuss. Without a word, he walked out and waited in the hallway for a moment for his goblins to catch up.
Chander was intelligent, and Alaric loved that about him, but sometimes he wished he were slightly less perceptive.