Page 10 of Distinctly Daray
“Should have brought him pizza,” Chander said.
“I don’t want to torture the man,” Baxter retorted, his brown eyes annoyed as they landed on the Arch Lich.
“I find it delicious,” Alaric replied as Chander scowled at Baxter. “Bring pizza for Phillip to try tomorrow.”
“Fine,” Baxter responded, but there was no joy on his face.
“As long as we don’t have to eat it,” Benton muttered.
“Let Phillip enjoy his damn meal without listening to your complaints about the tastiest food on the planet,” Chander barked.
Once again, the door whipped open, and Samson and Brynnius arrived as they did daily.
“Hey, Phillip,” Samson said. “Are you feeling any more comfortable with your dragon today?”
Phillip swallowed the last bite of his burger as his dragon screeched in outrage in his head. “I am not.”
“We’ll practice our breathing exercises again today with a renowned dragon trainer,” Samson promised. “Don’t get discouraged. If he’s anything like my dragon, it’ll take him a while to adjust to being alive again.”
“You explained your dragon grew anxious and angry because he needed to know Brynn was safe,” Phillip remarked. “I do not have a mate. It is impossible for me to understand his wildness. I want to build a relationship with him, but I do not know how to calm him.”
Samson’s smile was kind. “Like me, you’re a pioneer. You’re the first sentinel resurrected with your beast and the second undead one. Our experiences may have parallels, but each person and every beast is unique. We’ll figure this out. I wish I could offer you a timetable for how long it’ll take, but I don’t know. Thankfully, you’re sharing your feelings with us. The worst thing I did for myself was to internalize everything.”
“My inability to lie prevents me from hiding my difficulties,” Phillip responded dryly.
“That’s why we’re superior to fallen knights—we don’t lie,” Baxter boasted.
“Fallen knights and sentinels are equal,” Brynnius insisted with a bite in his voice.
“You’re only saying that because you have sex with Sam,” Baxter taunted.
“If you aren’t going to act like adults, go wait in the hall,” Chander ordered. “We’re here to aid Phillip, not squabble like children. We’re working on better potions for you, Phillip. The last thing we want to do is keep you in stasis twenty-three hours a day forever. Tomorrow we’ll have new prototypes. You started with ones like those we created for Sam, but we’ve strengthened and twisted them a bit for you. Are you okay with staying awake until your dragon gets feisty?”
Phillip nodded. “I am eager to experiment.”
“Don’t forget your fries,” Benton encouraged.
Obligingly, Phillip grabbed a few fries and stuffed them in his mouth. Like the burger, they were delicious, and he especially liked the bite of salt someone had added to them. The sentinel side of him relished the chance to eat. It was the lone act of normalcy he was allowed in his short stints between stasis spells.
But his dragon was not so easily appeased. The beast roared and growled as he fought Phillip every second for control. Some attempts to free himself were easily ignored by Phillip, but it would not be long until his skin rippled in warning of an imminent shift.
“Is there anything else we can do for you before you work on your breathing exercises?” Alaric asked as Phillip finished up his fries and helped himself to the refreshing soda.
“I wish to discuss the fallen knight recruits who have not yet begun their training,” Phillip replied. “They are waiting for me. They should not be. It is unknown how long it will take for me to attend classes. It is foolish to keep them from their futures. I am a sentinel. I can train while I am on the job once I am ready. All the required books I can study on my own. The fallen knights will grow restless and bored because of a sentinel they have never met. I find it unfair.”
“Are you sure you would not prefer to train with the fallen knights?” Alaric asked.
“I am positive.”
“Then I agree. The Skeleton Seven and I can train you, and you are intelligent. If you encounter any confusion with the textbooks, you can ask us. We will set you up in an office at our headquarters,” Alaric replied. “Your poison is unique in color. With your permission, Chander can test it. I suspect that the swirling of charcoal and green is stronger than the standard one. If I am correct, it is because Fate intended for you to havea unique role among our people. Your job and title will reflect that.”
“Don’t worry, Sammie and Arvandus are the only fallen knights who know about the black poison,” Brynnius commented. “Chand will make sure no one beyond them and our people learns about yours either.”
“I am most curious about how I differ,” Phillip said. Since he spent most of his time sleeping in stasis, the daggers engraved with his name were stacked on his nightstand. He grabbed one of them and handed it hilt first to Chander.
“I’ll return this as soon as I’m done,” Chander promised as he took the weapon.
Phillip nodded and sighed heavily as the roaring in his head grew louder.
