Page 50 of Mystique of the Fallen
“Yes, always happy to officially add more fallen knights to the family,” Alaric commented in a flat voice.
“Oh man, you’re going to absolutely love this weekend,” Dra’Kaedan predicted with a smirk.
“Don’t spoil it until Conley and Drystan get here,” Aleksander warned.
“We’re here,” Conley called out from behind the Darays.
“Good, I do not wish for suspense,” Albrecht remarked. “What is the theme of our weekend?”
“You’ll enjoy this, Albie,” Dra’Kaedan insisted. “Go ahead, Conley.”
Conley stuck out his tongue as he winked at Alaric. “This weekend we’re celebrating our newest Venerable Knight with an entire weekend honoring fallen knights. Larissa has worked her ass off to create uniforms and other fun stuff for everyone to wear.”
Chander laughed so hard he bent over.
“No complaining, Lich Sentinel,” Victor warned. “Everyone happily wore sentinel uniforms for a weekend.”
Alaric’s expression was dour and—Grant couldn’t lie—slightly intimidating. “Of course I will wear it. I am an honorable man. So, what events do we have to participate in? Standing out in the backyard shooting each other with stun guns?”
A pretty brunette with vivid orange, scaly eyes appeared at Grant’s side and handed him a box. “I made you a special uniform patch and a couple of cool shirts with limes since we aren’t going strictly regulation this weekend. I’m Larissa, by the way.”
“Thank you so much. Nice to meet you.”
“Roman, yours have popcorn on them,” Larissa announced as she passed Grant’s mate a second box.
“I might have to break the rules and wear a popcorn patch on my dress uniform to work on Monday,” Roman teased as he hugged Larissa.
“What kind of snack appears on mine?” Alaric asked blandly.
“Actually, I put a winged skull with glasses on yours,” Larissa explained. “I know Chand doesn’t wear glasses anymore, but you said you missed him in them, so I made the executive decision to include them. I gave you a set of small wings that match your real ones, Chand. They’re sewn on the back of your jacket.”
Conley’s gilded gaze grew wide. “Does that mean I have gold ones on mine?”
“Yep, I wasn’t sure what to do about yours, Drystan, since I didn’t want them to blend in with the black material of your jacket. Eventually, I went with a sparkly thread even though your wings are matte.”
“I can’t wait to see your bony wings, Sammy,” Brynnius enthused.
It warmed Grant’s heart the way Samson kissed Brynnius’s little smile. Not until that moment did it occur to Grant that he’d be spending an entire weekend surrounded by loving couples. He promised himself he’d pay attention and try to pick up any tips or tricks that could aid his relationship.
“Oh, and Alaric, we thought we’d include plenty of dagger training since that has been incorporated into the regime of fallen knights,” Drystan told the Lich Sentinel.
“I am, of course, amenable to sparring with anyone interested,” Alaric replied, appearing at least somewhat mollified.
Chander rolled his eyes. “Ignore him. He’ll be outside waving his daggers around the entire weekend and won’t notice he’s dressed in black instead of gray.”
“My plan is to remind myself that black is also the color of necromancers and imps,” Alaric replied. “Therefore, I am representing both sides of my mate…not just the Order of the Fallen Knights.”
“But my mate is a sentinel,” Baxter complained.
“You’re a Daray. You have fallen knights in your family. Honor them,” Chander retorted. “Plus, this is about Grant and the feat he accomplished becoming the fourth Venerable Knight.”
“Wear black for every fallen knight that works hard each day to protect and defend the Council and has since 1369,” Grant suggested. “How long have the sentinels been working for the Council again?”
“And this is why I don’t like many fallen knights,” Alaric said, smartly pivoting on one gray boot and snagging the box Larissa held out to him. He stalked off, presumably to change into black for the weekend.
“Ignore him,” Chander stated. “He loves every Daray and D’Vaire, regardless of whether they are a sentinel or not. And despite his attitude, he respects the fallen knights. He’s just a drama king.”
“I’m telling him you said that,” Baxter retorted.
