Page 85 of Distinctly Daray
Victor shook his head. “Nope, everyone is here.”
“I can’t wait to find out what the theme of the weekend is,” Keegan enthused.
The cat shifter holding his hand gave his palm an affectionate squeeze. “Considering past themes and their correlation to new family members, I have a pretty good guess about what it is.”
“Really? What?” Keegan asked.
“Nope, I’m not spoiling it,” Victor replied. “You’ll have to wait a few more minutes.”
Keegan was unperturbed by Victor’s desire to keep his thoughts to himself, so his smile didn’t falter. But he was relieved when a sharp whistle ripped through the great room. Many people took exception to the noise created by Duke Argent Worthington D’Vairedraconis, but Aleksander’s dark-haired brother grinned devilishly as people cursed and glared.
“Their Highnesses wish to speak with you,” Worth drawled, his scaly blue gaze bemused. At Worth’s side, his other half—an owl shifter named Oliver—grinned proudly with love shining in his yellow eyes as he glanced at his mate. Oliver was clearly unconcerned by Worth’s choice to irritate everyone.
“Thanks, Worth,” Rafe said. “We’re incredibly pleased to have everyone together again. As I’m sure everyone has heard by now, this weekend is themed.”
“I’m not even sure we announced it, but rumors flew through here so fast I seriously wonder how secrets survive in the Council,” Aleksander added. “This weekend’s theme was chosen by the Lich Sentinel. Alaric?”
“I knew it,” Victor murmured next to Keegan.
“As Darays, we have wished for the day Fate would bring Victor his mate,” Alaric said. “Fate answered our plea by giving him not one, but two men, and we thank her for ensuring Victor will always be safe since one of them is a sentinel.”
“And the other one is a fallen knight. Keegan is no less capable of protecting Victor,” Chander interrupted. “Not that Victor needs anyone to fight his damn battles.”
“He is a small cat with no weapon skills,” Alaric responded.
“Excuse me, but my claws are sharp, and I’m not stupid enough to confront mortal danger,” Victor retorted. “These little kitty legs can run fast, and I’m an expert at hiding.”
“We can debate the merits of a cat protecting itself versus having a sentinel at its side later,” Alaric insisted. “Unless you prefer not to hear about our weekend plans?”
Victor smirked. “Go on, Lich Sentinel.”
“Thank you,” Alaric replied. “This weekend, we are celebrating a unique title added to the Sentinel Brotherhood. Our Cinder Lords are already impacting our work, and though it pains me to say it, we are grateful to have a fallen knight who can aid us in functioning better with technology.”
“So, we’re celebrating fallen knights and sentinels?” Conley asked.
“Correct,” Alaric said. “Victor, you had a sentinel uniform made some years ago for a previous themed weekend, but we have updated it. You are a Cinder Lord-mate now and should have an appropriate suit. Therefore, we have provided you with a new sash matching your mates’ and the option to switch it out for a sparkly fallen knight belt, if you wish. For you and your mates, we’ve provided new graphic T-shirts for your casual uniform, complete with your title.”
“Thank you, Alaric, I’m so excited to wear all of it,” Victor enthused.
“The rest of us get to wear either fallen knight or sentinel stuff?” Chander asked.
“Yes, and everyone has a couple of T-shirts designed with a combination of both,” Alaric replied. “If you are new tothe family since our last sentinel weekend, you have uniforms appropriate to both races in your bedroom. Please thank Larissa for her hard work in making this possible. The artwork on the T-shirts was drawn by Jeremiah, so please show him your gratitude as well.”
“This is officially the coolest weekend,” Keegan said. “Well, so far anyway. We have another one coming up that will beat it.”
Alaric lifted a brow. “And what does that mean?”
“Whoops,” Keegan muttered.
“Sunshine, it is fine,” Phillip stated. “While we have everyone gathered, we have an announcement to make, and I believe it works perfectly with the theme chosen for this weekend. Victor and Keegan have both agreed to become my bonded mates. We are hoping to have our ceremony soon, and with your permission, Rafe and Aleksander, we would welcome the opportunity to have it here at your home.”
Rafe grinned. “It would be our pleasure for you to have your ceremony here.”
“Good thing I made sure there was plenty of champagne in the house,” Seneschal Duchess Noirin D’Vairedraconis enthused, her dark violet eyes dancing with happiness. “We had a feeling it wouldn’t be long before we had your matebond to celebrate.”
“Congratulations,” Alaric said. “I am proud I chose to celebrate Cinder Lords so we can congratulate you on this momentous upcoming occasion throughout the weekend.”
“And thanks for making Alaric completely insufferable for the next couple of days since he’s going to pretend he’s clairvoyant and his decision to make this a Cinder Lord weekend is now one divinely chosen by Fate,” Chander drawled.
