Page 67 of Distinctly Daray
“You do not have to tell them about Keegan and me if you prefer,” Phillip offered.
“No, you’re my mates, and I hate hiding you from anyone,” Victor said. “I’m sorry we didn’t discuss this before, but I’ve been focused on building our relationship. The Antonovs haven’t been a priority because they don’t matter as much as everyone else in my life. Not anymore. I know what it feels like to be loved unconditionally, and they can’t or won’t offer me that. But I’ve maintained a relationship with them because they gave me life. I’ve latched onto that duty for years.”
“You know how I feel about it,” Evergreen replied. “You deserve better. But I respect that you honor your relationship with them. They haven’t earned your kindness, and if they can’t accept you as you are, then they sure as fuck don’t merit a damn minute of your time.”
“It is good that you kept your feelings about it to yourself,” Dudley teased.
“I tried,” Evergreen said. “I tried so hard. Most of it stayed in my head, but some of it fell out of my mouth. I can’t help it. Victor, I love you. I hate that they hurt you.”
“Everyone here is an incredible friend to me, and I appreciate that you want the best for me,” Victor responded. “But I need to call them and arrange to go over there to tell them about the incredible gifts Fate gave me.”
“I hope you see Sunshine and I as more than friends,” Phillip joked with a small smile. Keegan leaned close to kiss him.
“He’s really feeling spicy today,” Keegan said.
“I’m loving it,” Victor remarked. “And you are both absolutely a whole lot more to me than friends.”
Evergreen propped his elbows on the table and stacked his chin on his hands. “And what do you do with these more than friends? Give me every explicit detail.”
“Go watch porn, Evergreen,” Keegan replied.
“You suck, Keegan,” Evergreen retorted.
“Yes, he does, and very well, thank you,” Phillip stated succinctly.
“Phillip is my new bestest friend,” Evergreen enthused. “Tell me everything.”
Keegan rolled his eyes. “When do you think Alaric is going to grade Phillip’s test so we can officially accept our titles?”
“The Skelly Seven already did,” Evergreen replied with an absent wave of his hand. “He got one wrong. He passed. Title earned. Blah blah blah. We already knew he’d crush it. He’s a sentinel.”
Phillip frowned. “I wonder which one I answered incorrectly.”
“It was the one Alaric snuck in regarding the map system Keegan is now in charge of,” Dudley explained.
“Oh, that makes sense. The entire system is confounding,” Phillip responded.
Whatever expression Keegan made had Evergreen hooting with laughter. “Oh, I think our new Cinder Lord is figuring out that he accepted a job that will eventually drive him mad.”
“Keegan will aid us,” Dudley stated. “He is mated to a sentinel. None of the reapers are. He understands how we think because he spends so much time with Phillip. With his help, we will learn how to use the system properly.”
“Good luck with that,” Evergreen scoffed. “He’s fucking a sentinel; he didn’t learn how to read minds.”
His trepidation growing, Keegan dearly hoped he wouldn’t embarrass himself by letting the sentinels down. Thelast thing he wanted to do was fail at one of the tasks he was assigned, but Keegan wasn’t sure if he could manage a task that the reapers hadn’t already conquered. Thankfully, he’d have Phillip at his side, and hopefully together they could create a manual to aid the sentinels in mastering their own system.
In the meantime, he was worried about Victor. Keegan didn’t want to think about Victor being rejected or treated in any way unkindly. If the Antonovs objected to Victor’s matebond, then their issue was with Fate—not their son.
Chapter 23
It took some juggling, but Victor arranged his schedule to give himself an opportunity to visit his parents’ house on a weekday afternoon. He hated allowing anything to affect his work. Although Victor was a Daray, he was also employed to complete a variety of tasks for the entire family. The last thing Victor would do was accept a paycheck if he failed to give his job his best effort.
However, it was imperative that he visit the Antonovs when Phillip and Keegan were at the Sentinel Brotherhood. It was sneaky, but Victor preferred to tell them about the visit afterward rather than reject their offers to tag along. Keegan and Phillip were his heart, and the last thing he’d tolerate was anyone speaking unkindly about the two of them.
Victor had spent many years journeying to his parents’ house and listening to their criticisms. For so long, he’d stuck fast to the belief that he owed them because they’d given him life. But they’d never approved of him. So, he had to be careful about the future. If they were unwilling to accept that Phillip and Keegan were an integral part of his life, then Victor was prepared to change to either low or no contact with the Antonovs.
To keep any hurt far from Keegan and Phillip, Victor was confronting the Antonovs with the news of his matebond on hisown. Victor swallowed heavily as he took the final turn toward the neighborhood the Antonovs had called home since before he’d ever met the Daemon Lords, Arch Lich, and Lich Sentinel, and they’d invited him to be their housekeeper.
Victor mused that his eighteen-year-old self had had no clue how his life would change after responding to that little ad for the job he took such great pride in. He supposed that if someone had told him he’d be accepted, loved, and embraced as part of a wonderful family, he wouldn’t have believed it. The best part of it for Victor was that now Keegan and Phillip were part of the Darays. It meant everything to Victor to know that his mates were in a nurturing, wonderful environment that would support them no matter what choices they made.
