Page 34 of D'Vaire or Nothing
“Didn’t you ask?” Chander demanded.
“No need. Pizza and Rogue rushed to find Paszra, so I left them in his care. Paszra loves being with imps and goblins. They are his people.”
Since he was half imp, Chander already knew firsthand how devoted Paszra was to his people. The Imperian’s magic was also unparalleled, giving him abilities other leaders could only dream of, including the ability to connect emotionally to the imps. Although Paszra had tried to keep Chander out of that loop in deference to his job as leader of the necromancers, the Arch Lich had insisted that he remain constantly linked to the imps.
It was a battle Chander had lost. Which, frankly, pissed him off. If Paszra wasn’t so stubborn, Chander could’ve used their connection to find out immediately whether the Imperian was happy to care for the goblins or was annoyed that Alaric had passed off responsibility for the night.
“But you didn’t ask him, so you don’t know that for sure,” Chander retorted, well aware of every sentinel’s preference to believe themselves infallible.
“You know what, Bax? We should go,” Benton suggested.
Baxter snagged Benton’s arm. “Yeah, I’m sure someone needs us. Hey, Gavrael? Should we help you?”
At a nearby craps table, Skeleton Lord Gavrael D’Vaire pivoted to face the two Daemon Lords, now heading in his direction.
“No, why would I require your assistance?” Chander distinctly heard Gavrael ask.
“Do Ben and Bax know how to play craps?” Alaric asked.
“Absolutely not. Now, come on, we need to find Paszra and rescue your goblins.”
“They were eager to play with Scout and Owl.”
Chander snatched Alaric’s hand more to keep the Lich Sentinel from disappearing than from any immediate desire to be affectionate with his mate. Normally, Chander adored being close to Alaric, but he was annoyed as hell and envisioning Paszra being climbed like a tower by four goblins. To be fair, only two of them had weapons, and Owl was probably hanging out in Paszra’s hood reading a book. However, that didn’t mean it was fair that Paszra was saddled with Alaric’s responsibility on a rare weekend off.
Thanks to Chander’s mock disagreement with Benton and Baxter, he hadn’t paid attention to which direction Alaric had snuck off toward earlier. So, he did the best he could in the situation and chose one at random. Alaric fell into step alongside him.
“Chand?”
“Yeah?”
“Where are we going?”
Since Chander refused to admit that he had no clue, he shrugged. “Around.”
“Around what?”
“The damn casino.”
“I thought you wanted to check on Paszra.”
“I’m getting to it.”
“At some point tonight?” Alaric drawled. “Because we are walking in the opposite direction from where the goblins and I found him and Sasha.”
Irritated that he wasn’t infallible and hadn’t known that, Chander abruptly shifted course with such speed that he took great pride in the way Alaric nearly stumbled.
“That was annoying,” Alaric decided. “I almost lost my balance.”
“But Alaric, you’re a sentinel. How is that possible? I thought you were prepared for anything.”
“In battle, yes, but not walking with an unhinged necromancer with no clue where he is headed.”
“For your information, I’m an imp-necro hybrid and I’m far from unhinged.”
“I’m very acquainted with the things that make you an imp—including the gorgeous sensitive wings I hope you will unfurl later while I make love to you—but I cannot agree with the second half of your statement. You are acting unhinged.”
“Call me that again and you won’t be having sex or sleeping in my bed tonight.”
