Page 12 of D’Vaire or Nothing (D’Vaire #44)

A s the leader of the Order of Necromancia, Chander was required to dress in a suit, cloak, and crown daily, but he was a man who enjoyed comfort.

So, he’d wiggled into a pair of old jeans, a winged skull T-shirt, and sneakers for a casual dinner out with Alaric.

The two Daemon Lords who’d guarded Chander since he was a teenager had volunteered to keep Alaric’s goblins out of trouble while they ate, which was sweet of them.

But Chander couldn’t say he was surprised that Baxter and Benton Daray had rushed to Alaric the moment the pair set foot in the casino.

“Oh, there you are,” Baxter said, not bothering to feign nonchalance as he plucked Pizza from the floor and handed him to Alaric.

Pizza chirped a protest. Rogue tugged a tiny poisoned dagger from his hip and promptly stabbed through one of Baxter’s thick boots.

“Hey, you barely missed my toe,” Baxter yelled.

“Damn, we were so close to finally understanding how their poison works and its strength,” Chander remarked.

“Your sense of humor sucks,” Benton grumbled as he patted Baxter in an attempt to soothe the outraged Daemon Lord.

“Who said I was kidding?”

“Take your damn dagger out of my boot,” Baxter demanded of the glowering goblin, who had grabbed his other weapon. Chander feared he wouldn’t miss on his second attempt. Thankfully, Baxter was a sentinel, and with the exception of two black poisons, nothing could penetrate his skin.

Even though the goblins refused to allow their blades to be tested, their glow was a pale orange. Chander’s personal theory was that it lacked any real strength and was more for show than anything, but he’d been wrong before.

“Stop shouting,” Chander instructed the sentinels as Alaric offered both the goblins hugs.

“I was nearly stabbed,” Baxter protested.

“Keep it up and I’ll use Ben’s dagger to stab you myself,” Chander retorted.

Benton narrowed his light blue gaze. “I’d never let you use one of my weapons to harm my mate.”

“Fine,” Chander replied with a nonchalant shrug. “There are plenty of other people in this room with weapons. Want me to go borrow something, or are you two going to act with some level of maturity?”

“Hey, we weren’t the ones who had to be peeled off the wall,” Baxter exclaimed. “I kid you not, Rogue climbed about three feet up the wall. He used his daggers as makeshift handholds and stabbed them into the wall. Ben had to stand in front of the fucked-up paint when security walked by.”

“There are cameras everywhere in here; someone saw it anyway. I’m sure they’ll fix it.”

“So, you think that kind of behavior is fine?” Benton asked.

“No, but have you ever tried to stop a goblin? Clearly not or we wouldn’t be discussing this right now. You’re the one who volunteered to watch Rogue and Pizza while Alaric and I had dinner.”

“I can’t believe you’re blaming us for this,” Baxter said.

The lone two people on the planet who could get the goblins to behave were Alaric and the Imperian, but Chander couldn’t resist the temptation of teasing the frazzled sentinels.

“You’re adults; you should be able to handle watching two little goblins,” Chander replied in a flat monotone voice that gave away no clue about what he was thinking. It was too bad the Daemon Lords had known him for centuries.

Benton crossed his arms over his charcoal T-shirt. “No, you know they’re both hellions. We love them, but they don’t honor rules unless they’ve made them up.”

“I know,” Chander replied. It was shocking, but somehow Chander hadn’t noticed that at some point during his squabble with the Daemon Lords, Alaric had disappeared with his goblins. “Where is the Lich Sentinel?”

“Behind you,” Baxter responded.

Chander turned on his heel and saw his sexy dark-haired man with glowing green eyes stalking toward them.

There was no caution in his stride, and something about his confident strut had always heated Chander’s blood.

He licked his lips as Alaric grew closer.

Then his brain slowly ground back into action.

“Where are Rogue and Pizza?” Chander asked.

“With the Imperian.”

“Please tell me you didn’t dump your goblins on Paszra,” Chander replied. “He may have wanted to enjoy his evening without two extra goblins climbing the walls.”

Baxter snickered, finally finding the humor in the situation now that he was no longer responsible for Pizza and Rogue. “Literally.”

“I am sure Paszra does not mind watching them,” Alaric stated.

“Didn’t you ask?” Chander demanded.

“No need. Pizza and Rogue rushed to find Paszra, so I left them in his care. Paszra loves being with imps and goblins. They are his people.”

Since he was half imp, Chander already knew firsthand how devoted Paszra was to his people.

The Imperian’s magic was also unparalleled, giving him abilities other leaders could only dream of, including the ability to connect emotionally to the imps.

Although Paszra had tried to keep Chander out of that loop in deference to his job as leader of the necromancers, the Arch Lich had insisted that he remain constantly linked to the imps.

It was a battle Chander had lost. Which, frankly, pissed him off. If Paszra wasn’t so stubborn, Chander could’ve used their connection to find out immediately whether the Imperian was happy to care for the goblins or was annoyed that Alaric had passed off responsibility for the night.

“But you didn’t ask him, so you don’t know that for sure,” Chander retorted, well aware of every sentinel’s preference to believe themselves infallible.

“You know what, Bax? We should go,” Benton suggested.

Baxter snagged Benton’s arm. “Yeah, I’m sure someone needs us. Hey, Gavrael? Should we help you?”

At a nearby craps table, Skeleton Lord Gavrael D’Vaire pivoted to face the two Daemon Lords, now heading in his direction.

“No, why would I require your assistance?” Chander distinctly heard Gavrael ask.

“Do Ben and Bax know how to play craps?” Alaric asked.

“Absolutely not. Now, come on, we need to find Paszra and rescue your goblins.”

“They were eager to play with Scout and Owl.”

Chander snatched Alaric’s hand more to keep the Lich Sentinel from disappearing than from any immediate desire to be affectionate with his mate.

Normally, Chander adored being close to Alaric, but he was annoyed as hell and envisioning Paszra being climbed like a tower by four goblins.

To be fair, only two of them had weapons, and Owl was probably hanging out in Paszra’s hood reading a book.

However, that didn’t mean it was fair that Paszra was saddled with Alaric’s responsibility on a rare weekend off.

Thanks to Chander’s mock disagreement with Benton and Baxter, he hadn’t paid attention to which direction Alaric had snuck off toward earlier. So, he did the best he could in the situation and chose one at random. Alaric fell into step alongside him.

“Chand?”

“Yeah?”

“Where are we going?”

Since Chander refused to admit that he had no clue, he shrugged. “Around.”

“Around what?”

“The damn casino.”

“I thought you wanted to check on Paszra.”

“I’m getting to it.”

“At some point tonight?” Alaric drawled. “Because we are walking in the opposite direction from where the goblins and I found him and Sasha.”

Irritated that he wasn’t infallible and hadn’t known that, Chander abruptly shifted course with such speed that he took great pride in the way Alaric nearly stumbled.

“That was annoying,” Alaric decided. “I almost lost my balance.”

“But Alaric, you’re a sentinel. How is that possible? I thought you were prepared for anything.”

“In battle, yes, but not walking with an unhinged necromancer with no clue where he is headed.”

“For your information, I’m an imp-necro hybrid and I’m far from unhinged.”

“I’m very acquainted with the things that make you an imp—including the gorgeous sensitive wings I hope you will unfurl later while I make love to you—but I cannot agree with the second half of your statement. You are acting unhinged.”

“Call me that again and you won’t be having sex or sleeping in my bed tonight.”

“We are at a hotel; it is not your bed,” Alaric argued. As usual, his resurrection as a sentinel made it impossible for him to be anything but direct and honest to a fault.

“Just help me find Paszra.”

Alaric stopped and, to Chander’s surprise, bent to kiss him gently. “Deranged though you are at times, I still love you. As for Paszra, he and Sasha were right on the other side of that bank of machines. They are gone now.”

“Probably tied up by a quartet of wacky goblins,” Chander muttered.

“I lack the ability to track demonic forms besides you, but perhaps if we make a circle through the casino, we can spot them or someone else that was nearby, so we can inquire if they know where Paszra and Sasha have gone.”

“Fine, lead on, Lich Sentinel.”

“Should have allowed me to lead from the beginning,” Alaric drawled.

Chander mimicked his words behind Alaric, but the sentinel turned before he finished mouthing the sentence and grinned at him.

“Are you mocking me, Chand?”

“Why ask me a question when you already know the answer?”

“I am sure you told me once that it is common courtesy not to assume I already know the answer.”

Highly amused, Chander was the one who nearly stumbled as he bent over with the force of his laughter. “Right, because you never do that.”

“Please do not fall on the floor. I have no wish to find you a healer tonight.”

“I think I’d be okay if I fell.”

“Do you think I would ever be content with you having a single scratch or bruise anywhere on your beautiful body? Absolutely not. If you are hurt in any way, you will be healed. Immediately.”

The conviction in Alaric’s voice had a shiver run down Chander’s spine. While Chander was perfectly capable of taking care of himself, he didn’t doubt that if he did somehow get a wound, Alaric would ensure a sorcerer was found to remedy the situation.

“Relax, I’m fine. Plus, I’m covered in a magical shield that I painstakingly built around myself with both halves of my magical well.”

“I see Paszra.”

Chander took a second to stop in front of Alaric, who glanced at him with confusion on his handsome face.

Needing a moment to appreciate Alaric, Chander slipped his hands in the small gap between the Lich Sentinel’s hips and the glowing daggers he took with him everywhere.

Chander raised to the toes of his sneakered feet to seal their mouths together.

Alaric took control of the kiss and darted his tongue through Chander’s lips.

Nothing and no one else existed as Alaric held him close and ravaged him.

Chander’s heart thudded, and his limbs grew heavy as he clung to Alaric.

The entire world ceased to exist as Chander was exquisitely devoured.

Far before Chander was ready, Alaric lifted his head, and they stared at one another.

“We should make it an early night,” Alaric whispered.

Chander didn’t have a clue what time it was, but he nodded. “One hour, then we go upstairs and you play with my wings.”

“I will agree to that if you promise to bite me.”

“As many times as you want.”

“Good, now let’s talk with Paszra and Sasha.”

“And hope no one notices the hard cock in my jeans.”

Alaric smiled wryly. “My pants are roomy enough to disguise my erection.”

“Hooray for you.”

With a sweet kiss, Alaric chuckled and released Chander. His head swimming, Chander wanted to lean into Alaric forever, but he offered no objection as they laced their fingers and nearly ran smack into Paszra and Sashati. The four goblins were nowhere in sight.

Paszra immediately handed Chander a bag of cookies. “I promised these to Rogue and Pizza for right before bed. Will you be sure they get them?”

“Of course. Did you put them in stasis or something?”

“Sasha gained permission from Zane and used magic to create a skatepark for them. It will be available all weekend. In the center, he created a spot for Owl to recline comfortably with his books. If we are lucky, they will stay so busy they will not find any mischief,” Paszra said.

“I told you they had everything in hand,” Alaric stated calmly.

Chander rolled his eyes and handed the cookies to Alaric, who slipped them into a pocket. “Whatever.”

“We are on our way to lose Sasha’s money in the gaming machines that neither of us know how to play; do you wish to join us?” Paszra asked.

Alaric nodded. “We are free for the next hour; it sounds delightful to learn the rules of the machines while spending Sasha’s money.”

“Hey, you have your own money,” Sashati protested.

“Yes, but Paszra already volunteered yours,” Alaric replied.

“Thank goodness Fate put me with an imp instead of a sentinel,” Sashati grumbled.

Sentinels could try the patience of the most stalwart souls, but Chander took no issue with Fate.

Being paired with Alaric was easily the best thing that had ever happened to him, and each year that passed made their love grow stronger.

There were plenty of twists and turns in Chander’s life—and not all of them good—but he wouldn’t have written his story any other way.

Not as long as he was at Alaric’s side and held his heart.