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K eegan wasn’t sure why, but he was surprised by the party atmosphere at the D’Vaire mansion. Many of the most powerful people in the Council were at the house, but titles meant nothing to them—they were a family. If Keegan hadn’t been embraced as a Daray, he supposed he’d find it difficult to understand their kinship, but thankfully he had many people close to him.

The other thing Keegan was grateful for was his resurrection spell. Without the knowledge Chander had granted him, it’d be impossible for Keegan to remember everyone’s names. But with so many leaders and their high-ranking relatives present, it was relatively easy to pair names with faces.

They’d learned shortly after arriving that it was a special D’Vaire weekend and a theme was involved. Victor had explained that the D’Vaires enriched some of the visits by arranging for events and meals geared toward something specific. In the past, they’d honored individual races or time periods.

Although the theme had yet to be announced, Keegan was excited.

“Is there anyone else arriving?” Phillip asked.

Victor shook his head. “Nope, everyone is here.”

“I can’t wait to find out what the theme of the weekend is,” Keegan enthused.

The cat shifter holding his hand gave his palm an affectionate squeeze. “Considering past themes and their correlation to new family members, I have a pretty good guess about what it is.”

“Really? What?” Keegan asked.

“Nope, I’m not spoiling it,” Victor replied. “You’ll have to wait a few more minutes.”

Keegan was unperturbed by Victor’s desire to keep his thoughts to himself, so his smile didn’t falter. But he was relieved when a sharp whistle ripped through the great room. Many people took exception to the noise created by Duke Argent Worthington D’Vairedraconis, but Aleksander’s dark-haired brother grinned devilishly as people cursed and glared.

“Their Highnesses wish to speak with you,” Worth drawled, his scaly blue gaze bemused. At Worth’s side, his other half—an owl shifter named Oliver—grinned proudly with love shining in his yellow eyes as he glanced at his mate. Oliver was clearly unconcerned by Worth’s choice to irritate everyone.

“Thanks, Worth,” Rafe said. “We’re incredibly pleased to have everyone together again. As I’m sure everyone has heard by now, this weekend is themed.”

“I’m not even sure we announced it, but rumors flew through here so fast I seriously wonder how secrets survive in the Council,” Aleksander added. “This weekend’s theme was chosen by the Lich Sentinel. Alaric?”

“I knew it,” Victor murmured next to Keegan.

“As Darays, we have wished for the day Fate would bring Victor his mate,” Alaric said. “Fate answered our plea by giving him not one, but two men, and we thank her for ensuring Victor will always be safe since one of them is a sentinel.”

“And the other one is a fallen knight. Keegan is no less capable of protecting Victor,” Chander interrupted. “Not that Victor needs anyone to fight his damn battles.”

“He is a small cat with no weapon skills,” Alaric responded.

“Excuse me, but my claws are sharp, and I’m not stupid enough to confront mortal danger,” Victor retorted. “These little kitty legs can run fast, and I’m an expert at hiding.”

“We can debate the merits of a cat protecting itself versus having a sentinel at its side later,” Alaric insisted. “Unless you prefer not to hear about our weekend plans?”

Victor smirked. “Go on, Lich Sentinel.”

“Thank you,” Alaric replied. “This weekend, we are celebrating a unique title added to the Sentinel Brotherhood. Our Cinder Lords are already impacting our work, and though it pains me to say it, we are grateful to have a fallen knight who can aid us in functioning better with technology.”

“So, we’re celebrating fallen knights and sentinels?” Conley asked.

“Correct,” Alaric said. “Victor, you had a sentinel uniform made some years ago for a previous themed weekend, but we have updated it. You are a Cinder Lord-mate now and should have an appropriate suit. Therefore, we have provided you with a new sash matching your mates’ and the option to switch it out for a sparkly fallen knight belt, if you wish. For you and your mates, we’ve provided new graphic T-shirts for your casual uniform, complete with your title.”

“Thank you, Alaric, I’m so excited to wear all of it,” Victor enthused.

“The rest of us get to wear either fallen knight or sentinel stuff?” Chander asked.

“Yes, and everyone has a couple of T-shirts designed with a combination of both,” Alaric replied. “If you are new to the family since our last sentinel weekend, you have uniforms appropriate to both races in your bedroom. Please thank Larissa for her hard work in making this possible. The artwork on the T-shirts was drawn by Jeremiah, so please show him your gratitude as well.”

“This is officially the coolest weekend,” Keegan said. “Well, so far anyway. We have another one coming up that will beat it.”

Alaric lifted a brow. “And what does that mean?”

“Whoops,” Keegan muttered.

“Sunshine, it is fine,” Phillip stated. “While we have everyone gathered, we have an announcement to make, and I believe it works perfectly with the theme chosen for this weekend. Victor and Keegan have both agreed to become my bonded mates. We are hoping to have our ceremony soon, and with your permission, Rafe and Aleksander, we would welcome the opportunity to have it here at your home.”

Rafe grinned. “It would be our pleasure for you to have your ceremony here.”

“Good thing I made sure there was plenty of champagne in the house,” Seneschal Duchess Noirin D’Vairedraconis enthused, her dark violet eyes dancing with happiness. “We had a feeling it wouldn’t be long before we had your matebond to celebrate.”

“Congratulations,” Alaric said. “I am proud I chose to celebrate Cinder Lords so we can congratulate you on this momentous upcoming occasion throughout the weekend.”

“And thanks for making Alaric completely insufferable for the next couple of days since he’s going to pretend he’s clairvoyant and his decision to make this a Cinder Lord weekend is now one divinely chosen by Fate,” Chander drawled.

Victor laughed. “Have fun hanging out with your mate, Chand.”

“I’d glare at you, but I need hugs so I can congratulate you properly,” Chander replied.

“Do not forget to change into your formal uniforms for dinner,” Alaric ordered as Darays headed toward where Keegan was standing with his mates to congratulate them.

“I literally can’t wait,” Victor enthused.

Phillip’s dark gaze met Keegan’s. “I can grab ours from home if you would like.”

“Thanks,” Keegan said, brushing his lips with Phillip’s. He wanted to do the same with Victor, but the cat shifter had already dropped his hand to embrace Chander. Keegan mentally shrugged. Happiness bubbled through him. He had to share Victor and Phillip for now, but later he’d have his mates to himself. Then they could celebrate and break in the new bed Victor had ordered for their permanent guest room at the mansion.

Keegan grinned with anticipation; he was already counting down the hours until nightfall.

∞∞∞

Since the weekend was planned by Alaric, an integral component of the festivities was related to weapons. Sentinels in the extended D’Vaire family didn’t stick to daggers alone, so men and women were spread across the vast backyard with swords, bows, and spears too. Keegan had a keen interest in learning as much as he could, but he was determined to improve his dagger skills at every opportunity.

His goal was to become a worthwhile sparring partner for Phillip and not require constant coaching. So, Keegan was wearing one of his new T-shirts with a cute caricature of himself, Phillip, and Victor on the front as he searched for someone willing to practice with him. The fact that Jeremiah had opted to put a tiara on Victor was probably Keegan’s favorite detail. As for the cat shifter, Victor had no interest in weapons, so he was inside hanging out with Evergreen and other D’Vaires.

Keegan wasn’t sure what their plan was, but he had no doubt that Victor would enjoy himself. The other man Keegan loved was currently charging toward Coven Lord Bridger D’Vaire with the same fierce expression of concentration Phillip wore when they were making love. It made Keegan wish he could drag Phillip and Victor back to bed and be put in another Spicy-Sparkle sandwich, but there would be time for that later.

A tall man with dark purple skin and black hair that flashed with hints of navy in the sun walked up to where Keegan stood on the deck.

“Need someone to spar with?” Brynewielm Duke Heathcliff D’Vairefenix asked.

“As long as you don’t mind pairing up with someone who’s only had a few months of practice,” Keegan replied to the phoenix shifter with a self-deprecating smile.

“You’re a fallen knight mated to a sentinel; you’ve probably had tons of experience already," Heath said.

Keegan chuckled. “Yeah, that’s true, but I live with a lot of sentinels, and I train at the sentinel complex. I start every training session wanting to apologize for being a beginner.”

“I’ve had years of practice now, and I still feel like apologizing to the sentinels. Should we do this?”

“I’d love to,” Keegan answered and unsheathed his weapons from his dragonskin holster.

At his side, Heath did the same as they searched for a spot to battle that wouldn’t interfere with anyone else. Like Keegan, Heath had blades made by Madeline. But their creator and shape were all the weapons had in common.

Keegan’s were mostly black with a splash of charcoal gray and sparkles for his mates. Heath’s daggers were the same iridescent dark blue flashing in his silver eyes and black hair. The blade itself was marked like a feather, and it glowed faintly.

“Your weapons are so cool,” Keegan said.

Glancing at his hands, Heath smiled. “Yeah, sometimes I forget how remarkable they are. Madeline creates so many beautiful weapons, I’ve started to think everyone has gorgeous ones like yours and mine.”

“What’s it like living here at D’Vaire?” Keegan asked, curious about both the Brynewielm Duke and the D’Vaire household.

“In a word: Mayhem. But I love it. This isn’t where I intended to live. After I came here to help my brother, I wanted to find a sanctuary so I could learn about the Council and find some purpose. I was told in no uncertain terms that this is a sanctuary and I belonged here. Turns out everyone was right. Now, I can’t imagine living anywhere else. What’s it like sharing a home with the Darays?”

“I’m not sure what the levels of mayhem are, but there’s definitely a wild component. Like you, I’ve found my place. Fate wanted me there, and I don’t know why she gave me my mates so close to my resurrection, but I’m nothing but grateful.”

“Should we pretend we know what we’re doing with these blades and square off?” Heath asked.

Keegan chuckled and nodded. “Just try not to squash me like a bug. Phillip’s dragon is overprotective and might murder you.”

“Thanks for the warning,” Heath muttered. “Something you could’ve mentioned before you accepted my invitation to spar.”

With another laugh, Keegan surged forward, and his right weapon clanged with Heath’s. So much for the element of surprise , Keegan mused to himself . Heath pivoted on his left foot and twirled back toward Keegan. His right arm swung out, but Keegan was ready, and he sidestepped the would-be attack.

“At least you’re fast,” Heath said. “I didn’t even have that going for me at the start. I’d been considered a warrior my entire life and didn’t know I couldn’t survive any genuine attack.”

The phoenix tribe Heath had grown up in was led by a leader Keegan could only describe as evil. It’d been a customary and brutal practice within that tribe to make the phoenixes drink a vile tea that forced them to prove their immortality. The concoction literally destroyed the man or woman, leaving the phoenix behind. Within a couple of days to weeks, the person was restored but rarely intact.

Heath had survived twice, but it had robbed him of his memories. When the tea was forced down his younger brother Kieran’s throat, it was Heath who’d called the D’Vaires to rescue him. Thanks to Sorcery D’Vaire, a cure was figured out before Kieran’s memories of his matebond with warlock Scheredin D’Vaire were lost. The tribe had been hunted by the sentinels, and the leader was punished with death.

As for the remaining phoenixes, they were now led by Emperor Ellery Draconis and called themselves Alderfenixes in the dragon shifter’s honor. Keegan was glad Heath had found a place where he no longer had to live in fear and his status as a warrior was not forgotten. The D’Vaires had made him a Duke, and if his determination to defeat Keegan was any sign, it was a well-deserved title.

As if he’d read Keegan’s mind, Heath spun in a tight circle and shot out his arms in quick succession. Keegan did his best to fend off the attack but was caught flat-footed. Sensing that he was off balance, Heath kicked out and landed a blow on the back of Keegan’s knee. The air whooshed out of his lungs as he hit the dirt.

“Smile so your mate doesn’t come over here and murder me,” Heath rushed out as he held out a hand to help Keegan up.

Keegan burst into laughter. “I like you, Heath.”

“Thanks for the chuckles. I’d like to live long enough to meet my mate.”

“Since you’re being so nice to me, I’ll ask Fate to move you closer to the top of the list later,” Keegan teased as he stood.

“I’m not necessarily in the biggest rush, but I have a single condition. He must love D’Vaire.”

“Oh, of course. Hopefully that’s a given.”

Heath’s gaze traveled across the many people enjoying themselves in the backyard, and his expression was impossible to read. “I didn’t know I could be truly, honestly happy until I was given a room here. This place has become a part of who I am. My brother is here. He’s my best friend. I love him. I love everyone else here like they, too, are my brothers and sisters. If I ever had to leave, it would be like losing an essential part of my soul.”

Keegan’s eyes went directly to Phillip, and he thought of Victor in the mansion. “I understand exactly how you feel. Don't worry. I’ll tell Fate you can’t leave.”

“Thanks, now should I try to kill you again?”

“Go for it.”