Page 22 of Distinctly Daray
“Yes, they are gorgeous,” Chander said. “And to answer your question, Sam, I suppose that is possible. The problem is we have to shadow walk and hope we’re lucky enough to run into someone like Morcant to answer that question.”
Archduke Morcant Darayvipera nodded. In his first life, he and Brynnius had been brothers. It was Morcant who’d guided Brynnius’s wyvern back into his body as he’d stepped over the veil during his own resurrection. “I hope you are fortunate enough to encounter a relative willing to aid you.” He cracked a grin that lit up his brown scaly gaze. “I also hope he or she is kinder to everyone than I was upon meeting you.”
“You had plenty of reason to be upset,” Samson insisted. “And none of that matters now. What’s important is that by locating B’s beast, it helped settle mine down.”
“Keegan and Phillip, would you be willing to shadow walk with me to see if my spell was fucked up?” Chander asked.
Alaric lifted a hand. “Before you answer, allow me to tell my mate that he didn’t fuck up. As you pointed out, the spell was an experiment. You did the best you could, and you don’t know if it didn’t work as intended yet. There is no reason to beat yourself up about it.”
The muscles in Chander’s jaw flexed as his nostrils flared. “Well, guess what? I’m the necro who cast the damn spell. If it failed, it was my fault. People shouldn’t be experiments. Look at what Phillip has endured since his resurrection. Even now, he spends more time asleep than awake.”
“The stronger potion you gave me today has allowed me to stay up since breakfast,” Phillip quickly pointed out. If thatexperience was repeated the next day, Phillip would be confident enough to shoo everyone out so they could attend to their jobs. “My resurrection as a sentinel shifter was not a bad thing. I refuse to grow frustrated. While my dragon is not adjusting swiftly to life, Fate has granted me not one but two mates. I do not believe that reality has settled in yet. How have I gotten so lucky? My emotions are subdued thanks to the potions, but I can assure you I am happy to be here with both Keegan and Victor.”
Keegan and Victor aimed smiles at him, and a rush of euphoria flowed through Phillip and his dragon. His words were completely truthful. The weeks since his resurrection had not been perfect, but Fate had not forsaken him. Quite the contrary. Phillip was luckier than most, and his future promised to be remarkable. How could it be anything less with two mates?
“Are we shadow walking tonight?” Baxter asked.
“Okay, first, you aren’t going,” Chander retorted. “Secondly, no. Keegan has class in the morning. If he and Phillip are willing, we should do it on the weekend to keep it from unduly impacting Keegan’s training.”
“I’m willing to do it,” Keegan said.
“Me too. Can Victor not join us?” Phillip asked. “It does not feel right to exclude Victor from anything. Fate intended us as a triple matebond to do everything together.”
“Thank you for saying that,” Victor replied. “My cat and I are feeling the same way. I’d love for us to do everything together. However, this time you guys will have to tell me about it afterwards. Only dark sorcerers or undead guys like you and Keegan can cross the veil.”
“In that case, I hope you’re ready for us to give you every tiny detail,” Keegan responded.
“I look forward to it,” Victor assured him.
“This weekend words for me,” Keegan told Chander. “I can’t wait to find out if I was a shifter. Hopefully, I’m something cool, like a dragon or Russian Blue.”
“Great,” Chander said. “And for the record, if the spell didn’t work properly, I’m never using it again. I’m not going to listen to any arguments trying to persuade me either. We can’t keep hurting people and forcing unsuspecting sentinels and fallen knights with beasts to endure potions and stasis to begin their lives. I doubt either Keegan or Victor would be any less impressed by their mate if he was a regular sentinel instead of a dragony one.”
Although Phillip was proud to be a sentinel, he had yet to impress anyone with his shifting ability, so he agreed wholeheartedly with the Arch Lich. What he wanted most was to be normal and train alongside his fellow recruits. But because of Phillip, no other sentinels had been added that year. The Arch Lich had opted not to resurrect any others thanks to Phillip’s struggles.
It wasn’t fair to the Sentinel Brotherhood, and Phillip hoped he could talk Alaric into rectifying the situation next year by doubling the number of recruits. Hopefully, by then, Phillip would be happily bonded to the two beautiful men gifted to him by Fate. He also hoped to be off his potions and no longer require stasis to get through his days.
To do so, Phillip needed a tight bond with his dragon. He was determined to do whatever it took to build the type of friendship with his beast required of all shifters, and he’d bust his ass to be the best damn sentinel too.
Chapter 9
“Are you comfortable, Victor?” Keegan asked.
Victor smiled at the fallen knight. “Yes, thank you.”
In the past twenty-four hours, Victor had tried to accept that he was now part of a triple matebond, but he remained in stunned disbelief. He’d longed for his mate for many years. It was wonderful that Fate had finally granted his wish to meet the other parts of his soul. But it was difficult to fathom that both gorgeous men staring at him belonged with him.
“How’s your dragon today?” Victor asked. It was imperative that he did nothing to cause Phillip’s struggles with his beast to grow more precarious.
“He is well,” Phillip answered. “Today has been my calmest yet.”
“Are you feeling awkward?” Keegan asked, his lovely brown gaze trained on Phillip’s handsome face.
Phillip shook his head, and the messy strands of his black hair shifted slightly on his forehead. “No, that is history. I am feeling grateful today. How do you feel?”
“I’m relieved your awkwardness is gone. Mine is too. Like you, I’m thankful to be with you both,” Keegan responded with a flash of the grin that Victor had replayed in his mind for hoursthe night before as he’d lain staring at the ceiling, waiting for sleep that never came. There had been too much excitement and disbelief coursing through him for him to relax. “Apparently, we needed to find Victor to make it go away.”
Unexpected heat rushed to Victor’s face. “Maybe it wasn’t me so much as spending enough time together that you grew comfortable with each other.”
