Page 2

E yes closed, the fallen knight recruit lay on the bed and fought a wave of nausea. Information flowed into his brain, and he smiled as he embraced each detail. Thanks to the Arch Lich, he was alive and would be for eternity. He was a soldier. A man bound to aid everyone within the Council of Sorcery and Shifters.

His new race was led by two remarkable men, and he was eager to empress the Reverent Knights. A door opened, and he didn’t have to lift his lashes to know it was two of the four Venerable Knights who aided their rulers. Since he could also feel the soulbinding between the pair, he deduced it was Venerable Knight Roman Calixtus and his other half, Venerable Knight Grant Valerius.

Matebonds were fascinating, and although Keegan wanted to be matched by Fate, he was far from ready for such a milestone in his new life.

“I hope I wore a smile like that a year ago when I was resurrected,” one of the men said. The most recent addition to the team of Venerable Knights was Grant, so the ailing man identified him as the speaker.

His instincts told him to stand to honor the two newcomers, but his temporarily weakened body wouldn’t allow it. He could no longer lay there daydreaming either.

He opened his eyes to find a blond approaching him.

“Good morning, can I get you a drink of water or a cracker?” a sentinel asked. The Arch Lich was guarded by two men with flaxen hair, so the fallen knight wasn’t sure which Daemon Lord was addressing him, but he refused to inconvenience anyone.

“No thank you, Daemon Lord,” he replied as his stomach rumbled loudly in the quiet room.

“Bravery is innate to fallen knights, but you don’t have to suffer,” Roman drawled. “You have three days to rest, then you’ll have plenty of chances to prove yourself to everyone. Right now, focus on what you need.”

“The crackers are pretty good too,” Grant added. “Buttery and tasty.”

“My belly is churning, VK,” the fallen knight confessed quietly.

The Arch Lich walked over with a tall glass of water. “Start with this. Bax will get you some crackers.”

“Need some help sitting up?” Grant asked.

Although it was embarrassing, the recruit nodded and was quickly aided by his superiors.

“Arch Lich, what name am I called?”

“Welcome to life, Fallen Knight Rank One Keegan Hayes,” the Arch Lich responded as his lips curved.

“Thank you so much for this opportunity, Arch Lich. I won’t disappoint anyone. I like the name Keegan.”

Once again, the door swung open, and a third blond sauntered in. Like the mated pair of fallen knights, this man was a Venerable Knight.

“Come and meet FK1 Keegan Hayes,” Roman said.

“Great to meet you, FK1 Hayes,” Venerable Knight Arvandus Ruarc-Daray remarked with a bright grin that lit up his blue eyes. “Apple is going to be so excited to see someone with red hair and freckles.”

Without a mirror, Keegan had no clue what he looked like, but it was nice to know he’d already pleased someone, even if he wasn’t sure who Apple was yet.

“FK1 Hayes has different hair than Albie,” Baxter argued as he carefully handed a shaky Keegan a little plate heaped with crackers. “Albie’s is much lighter and has blond mixed in it.”

“I didn’t say they were identical,” Arvandus replied. “How are your crackers, Keegan?”

Keegan chewed faster and swallowed.

“Delicious,” he answered. It wasn’t a lie. Either his poor body was desperate for anything or the crackers were as good as advertised because he’d thoroughly enjoyed the first bite.

“Good, take your time eating them,” the Arch Lich commented. “There is no rush.”

It was mildly terrifying to be sitting in a room full of men with grand titles while Keegan gingerly ate his snack, but he had little choice. His limbs were vibrating gently with weakness, but at least the worst wave of nausea had passed. Keegan considered that a significant milestone. He was conquering this whole resurrection thing already.

“Where is Sam?” asked Baxter’s mate, Daemon Lord Benton.

“No clue,” Arvandus answered. “Probably somewhere flirting with Brynn.”

Keegan listened politely as he crunched and easily deduced that they were speaking of the final Venerable Knight, Samson Osdraconis-Daray. Samson was the lone person who’d started his resurrected life as a fire-breathing dragon as well as a fallen knight. His other half, Skeleton Lord Brynnius Darayvipera, was also a shifter, and Keegan couldn’t wait to meet both men.

“We don’t need to fill this room up with people,” the Arch Lich stated. “Let Sam and Brynn do whatever they want.”

“Honestly, there are three too many fallen knights in here already,” Baxter remarked.

“Someone has to help Keegan,” Arvandus replied.

“You’ve done nothing but comment on his freckles and hair, which is unlike Albie’s. I’ll have to ask Victor, but I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to point out things on people’s faces if you aren’t friends or family,” Baxter retorted.

“To be fair, I don’t know what I look like yet,” Keegan said between crackers. “I enjoyed learning that my hair is red and I have freckles.”

“Fallen knights are annoying,” Baxter muttered.

Benton elbowed his mate. “That is definitely rude.”

“Everyone shut up and let Keegan eat his fucking crackers,” the Arch Lich ordered. “Do you need additional snacks, Keegan?”

Keegan plucked the last cracker off his plate, and Baxter rushed over to take the dish from him. “No thank you, Arch Lich.”

“Don’t worry if you’re still hungry. Breakfast is soon,” Arvandus commented with another amiable smile. “We won’t let you starve. Help yourself to more of that water.”

Unable to refute what Keegan considered an order, he grabbed the tall glass from the small table next to the cot where he sat and drank heavily.

“Bax can refill it if you like,” Roman offered. “Then we’ll see if you’re ready to stand.”

Not caring how much effort it’d take or whether he yet had the strength, Keegan set the now-empty glass aside and gingerly swung his sneakered feet toward the floor. The room spun for a second but quickly righted itself. It was yet another milestone to celebrate. Keegan was eager for the future and was determined to conquer every second.

∞∞∞

A bit self-conscious thanks to the bright pink flowy pants he’d splurged on, Victor swung open the door to the headquarters of the Sentinel Brotherhood.

“Look at you,” his best friend, Evergreen Tenebri, said the moment he spotted him. In a crisp suit of deep gray, a soft green shirt, and a floral embroidered tie, the druid-necromancer hybrid looked chic. “Give us a twirl.”

With a laugh, Victor grabbed the sides of his voluminous trousers and swung around on the toes of platform boots. “You like?”

“Yes, of course. You’d like them too if you’d let yourself,” Evergreen remarked sagely as he lifted a black brow and studied Victor’s face.

“Stop reading my mind. I do like them.”

“But you’re worried they’re too loud.” Evergreen waved toward the sentinel who’d once been tied to his soul. “Dudley, tell Victor his pants are fabulous. So are those highlights. You didn’t tell me you added them when we talked last night.”

“Your pants are a pleasing shade of pink,” Dudley Tenebri intoned formally. The sentinel rose, and Victor shook his head. Sentinels almost exclusively stuck to wearing uniforms and rarely concerned themselves with fashion. But Dudley was kind and would do anything to put someone else at ease.

“Thank you both. Now, stop complimenting me and let’s grab some lunch.”

“We should refrain from leaving the building,” Dudley cautioned.

“Uh oh, what’s wrong?” Victor asked as Evergreen walked from behind the large desk he and Dudley manned as office managers of the Sentinel Brotherhood and looped their arms together.

Evergreen sighed as Dudley stalked over and opened the door. The minute they were in the hallway and headed for one of the nearby cafeterias, the hybrid grimaced. “I’m afraid this morning didn’t go smoothly.”

“Something went wrong with the resurrections?” Victor asked, his eyes widening. Chander was the most gifted necromancer in the world. It was impossible for Victor to imagine anything going awry with his spell.

“I do not think it is a permanent issue,” Dudley stated matter-of-factly. “We learned from Samson’s resurrection that complications should be anticipated, and he is on hand to aid our new sentinel.”

“Oh, wow, Chand resurrected a shifting sentinel?” Victor asked.

Evergreen confirmed his hunch with a nod. More questions burned in Victor’s mind, but they’d arrived at the cafeteria. It was buffet style, so Victor rushed through grabbing salad, chicken, and some delicious-looking pasta. He filled a tall glass of iced tea on his tray, then rushed after Dudley, who’d somehow loaded up his tray faster than Victor.

Thankfully, the sentinel chose a table in a quieter spot in the bustling space.

“Did you just get a single shifting sentinel?” Victor asked his best pal.

“Chand and Alaric decided to stop adding to our population following the first sentinel resurrection,” Dudley responded. “Before they could even put him in stasis, his skin rippled as if he wanted to shift.”

“Shit,” Victor said. “Sam didn’t start having issues until he met Brynn. Was he in pain? Was he aware of why his beast was having issues?”

“Phillip had not opened his eyes yet,” Dudley replied.

Evergreen bustled to the small round table and frowned at them both as he sat. “Thanks for waiting for me, you jerks. I almost sat down at the wrong table.”

“Is your eyesight suddenly deficient?” Dudley asked, a teasing light in his gaze. “Why would you sit next to anyone but me or Victor?”

“He’s like this at home, you know,” Evergreen remarked as he scooted his chair closer and picked up his utensils. “Literally the worst roommate on the planet.”

“You’re such a liar. You love living with Dudley, and I visit your place constantly. I know what you’re both like,” Victor retorted. “He was telling me about your recruit.”

Evergreen gasped and fixed an outraged stare at Dudley, who continued to eat as if nothing was amiss. “You gossiped without me?”

“It is not gossip. I was filling Victor in on what happened this morning.”

“That poor sentinel,” Evergreen said. “Can you imagine? You don’t even get to open your eyes or reassure yourself that the Arch Lich pulled you across the veil with your stick and berries intact, and you’re in stasis.”

“I was unaware Chand was in the habit of casting incomplete spells,” Dudley commented between bites of a thick sandwich.

“I can’t deal with the sentinel desire to take everything literal today,” Evergreen replied. “Chand had that fucking line between his eyes and barely left his office all morning when he got back from the Ascension Center.”

Although Chander ran the Order of the Necromancia, he shared his office with Alaric, so Evergreen and Dudley were often privy to the Arch Lich’s whereabouts. Plus, Evergreen had spent a century as Chander’s assistant before he switched to the Sentinel Brotherhood, so he knew Chander’s patterns. Evergreen’s job change had happened while Alaric and Chander were separated, and a group of power-hungry necromancers had forced the Arch Lich into resigning.

Desperate to ensure Evergreen stayed employed, Chander had suggested the hybrid speak to Alaric about a position. It was an arrangement that had suited everyone now for many years, even though Chander had long ago resumed his title. Victor hated thinking about that period of Alaric and Chander’s lives—especially since it’d upturned everything for Victor in the worst possible ways.

“He’s going to need everyone to coax him into dealing with the guilt I’m sure he’s already heaped on his own head,” Victor said, his heart aching for Chander.

“I’m all for pushing sorcery, but if this is going to keep winding up with Chand berating himself, I don’t think it’s fucking worth it,” Evergreen added.

“Sentinels are already a race without flaw,” Dudley stated. “I do not think we need to have the ability to shift on top of our already-lengthy list of attributes.”

“Like their humbleness,” Evergreen muttered.

“Do we know what his beast is?” Victor asked.

“Dragon,” Dudley responded. “The oddest thing is the poison on Phillip’s blades swirls from green to sentinel gray.”

“Wow, what does Alaric think that means?” Victor asked.

“Without the ability to question Phillip yet, Alaric has done little more than cast his spell to inscribe the man’s name on his daggers,” Dudley explained. Alaric had been resurrected with the ability to engrave the blades of his men, and it was a protection spell to prevent any sentinel from being killed by their own blades—as Arvandus had been in front of Albrecht by his necromancer and her mate two thousand years ago.

“I’ll run to the store and grab a few things to spice up the dinner I’d planned for tonight,” Victor said, thinking aloud. “The least I can do is give everyone a nice meal.”

Evergreen smiled. “Your Darays will love that, and you guys can help Chand deal with his guilt. No one makes him feel better than his family.”

“I will call your mother after lunch,” Dudley told Evergreen. “You’re worried too; we should go visit your parents tonight, and she will want to cook for us.”

With a chuckle, Evergreen nodded. “You could use some yummy dinner too, and you can’t hold anything back from my mom.”

“She can pry feelings out with a spoon,” Dudley muttered.

Pleased to know that his best friends wouldn’t be alone following such a tumultuous day for the Sentinel Brotherhood, Victor dug into his salad and knew that it could take some time, but eventually Phillip the recruit would be fine. No sentinel would rest until Phillip’s life was purposeful, and there was no race as devoted to each other as Alaric’s people.

They were honorable, remarkable, and wonderful. Victor was proud to know each of them and hoped Phillip would soon be out of stasis so he could enjoy his role as the first sentinel resurrected with a dragon.