Page 108 of Mystique of the Fallen
“Cheater,” Grant grumbled.
They greeted the concierge, and Roman handed over his identification card so they could check in.
“What did I cheat at?” Roman asked Grant.
“I could’ve checked us in.”
“Too bad, I got to the desk first.”
“You literally ran,” Grant accused, his gaze narrowed.
Delighted with him, Roman brushed their lips together. Ignoring Grant’s complaint, Roman took his identification card back from the concierge.
“Give the nice man your card so you can get in our room and the meeting rooms,” Roman told Grant.
Adoring the way Grant glared, Roman grinned winningly at him. Once their check-in was completed, Roman bypassed going upstairs to drop their stuff off. Instead, he headed directly to the large meeting space the leaders of the fallen knights, sentinels, and reapers were using as their command center for the week.
They weren’t the first to arrive. In fact, the room was buzzing with activity. Roman set his luggage down and gave an internal sigh of happiness as Grant slipped his hand into his. They walked to the middle table where the Reverent Knights were conversing with the Lich Sentinel.
To Roman’s surprise, the Arch Lich was at his mate’s side. Given Chander’s hectic schedule as a well-respected and in-demand Council leader, Roman usually didn’t see him until the retreat began in the morning.
“Fancy meeting you here,” Roman said to Chander.
Chander tucked his hands into his jeans, and his mouth thinned. “Yeah. Did you know that at my birth, I was chosen as the first Fate-born leader of the necromancers?”
“Uh, yeah. Doesn’t everyone know that?”
“Probably. At least those that are into history. You know who doesn’t care that I’m the Arch Lich?”
Alaric glanced at his mate, and though he was an expert at hiding his emotions, Roman saw exasperation and even some guilt in his glowing gaze. “This is necessary.”
“Hey!” Evergreen screeched.
Everyone at the table turned to watch a harassed-looking Evergreen chase a chortling goblin. Behind the druid-necromancer hybrid was a second goblin in a T-shirt with a slice of pizza on it.
“Fuck,” Chander said, charging after Evergreen.
“Maybe you should’ve picked a different babysitter,” Conley observed as Chander hauled Pizza into his arms. The goblin flailed in his embrace and let out a string of angry chirps as Chander focused his attention on Pizza’s mate, who was still evading Evergreen.
“My options are limited,” Alaric confided. “For reasons I cannot understand, few will take on the task of minding them, and I have a full list of things to complete today so the sentinels are ready for check-in tomorrow.”
“Get back here!” Chander roared as Rogue teleported across the room several times to successfully evade Evergreen.
Evergreen stopped, bent at the waist, and panted heavily.
“Why does anyone want to purposely sweat? I feel gross,” he huffed out.
Although Roman would never admit it aloud, the spectacle the goblins were providing was hysterical. Unlike Evergreen, Chander refused to keep chasing the little miscreants. The Arch Lich got a firmer hold on the goblin stoically trying to get out of his arms and used magic to enclose Rogue in a nearly transparent black box.
With Rogue still, Roman could finally see the rolled-up papers in the goblin’s tiny hand.
“Slide the fucking papers through the box if you want out,” Chander demanded. “Or I’m shoving nothing but fruit and vegetables in it. I’m sure Victor has piles of that shit waiting in the fridge at home. You won’t get a fucking cookie or anything else you like until you give Evergreen his stuff back. And if you take anything else, you’re spending the entire week in a box just like this one.”
With his velvety head bowed and a pout on his face, Rogue pushed the papers through the box. Chander took them and handed them to a grateful Evergreen. The box disappeared, and Chander set Pizza on the ground. Pizza hauled Rogue into his arms. Both goblins glared at Chander.
The Arch Lich stalked over to the table and fixed an intimidating stare on his mate. “I hate babysitting.”
“Still, you probably got them to behave,” Conley said quietly.
