He was not content to be in a relationship without a foundation of trust, and he could only hope Chander would make smarter choices in the future. Chander needed to believe in not just Alaric but in them. Alaric was aware the true problem lay with Chander’s own lack of faith in himself. After the loss of what they had, and the emergence of his demon, Alaric was willing to be optimistic that Chander was viewing life with a more realistic outlook.
His role was to be confident and not hold it against Chander that he indeed had made a terrible mistake and had used poor judgment. Time would tell if he was right or if they would implode again. The stakes were enormous, but Alaric was delighted to think that with work, their matebond could be strong and loving. The previous day had put him in high spirits after Chander’s meeting with the Skeleton Seven. He didn’t know his men were going to invite Chander to meet with their architect. Things had been tense as they tried to get this project off the ground, and he was glad Chander was willing to see what he could do to help.
Alaric had woken up pleased with the world in general. He’d gone off to his Council session with a smile on his face. The Order of Necromancia hadn’t drawn up any new petitions or absurd requests, so it had been a smooth few hours. He’d headed back to the compound and had his daily meeting with the Skeleton Seven before ensconcing himself in his office. Alaric checked for new parchment before he headed out to check on his men. He’d barely sat down when Gavrael materialized in front of him.
“Problem?” he asked.
“Dra’Kaedan says you need to call Chander.”
“Is everything okay?” Alaric asked as alarm bells began ringing in his head.
“I believe so. He did not mention any emergency, and Dra’Kaedan did not seem upset.”
“Thanks, Gavrael,” he replied. The Skeleton Lord shimmered out and Alaric teleported to D’Vaire where he kept his phone. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary; he was greeted warmly but he needed to know Chander was all right. With quick fingers, he brought up Chander’s contact information and hit connect. It rang three times before there was an answer.
“Alaric.” Chander’s voice was flat.
“Are you okay?”
“I didn’t mean to make you worry. I’m fine,” Chander said. “But we need to alter our plans for this evening.”
His voice still sounded somewhat annoyed to Alaric. “Okay, do we need to postpone?”
“Oh no, we’re definitely meeting tonight. In fact, I need to meet with you and all of the Skeleton Seven.”
Now Alaric was growing confused. “You need to meet with all of us? I thought we were having dinner. They can’t eat.”
“Yeah, I’m thinking we eat and then meet with your guys. You think Victor will kill us if we add Bax and Ben to the dinner count?”
“I’ll speak with him. I’m sure he’ll be fine with it.”
“Good, he’s welcome to join, and then I want to have a word with you and the other sentinels.”
“Chand, are you angry about something?”
“Did you forget that I met with your architect today?”
“Not at all. Has something happened to piss you off?”
“I’m not pissed but we’ve got a lot to talk about tonight.”
“I will assemble my men.”
“Great, see you later.”
Chander hung up before Alaric could respond. He might not be angry, but he was definitely irritated. Perhaps he’d gotten swept up into one of his magical books and been upset that he had to go off and meet with the architect. Then again, it made no sense he’d wish to assemble all of them just so he could complain about an interruption Chander had agreed to the previous day. Alaric guessed he would have to be patient and find out his issue when they were together again. He told Gavrael and Gedeon about Chander’s request, and they were willing to head over to the condo to meet him. Victor was next on the agenda, and he was more than happy to accommodate the wrinkle in his schedule. Teleporting back to the compound, Alaric alerted the rest of his men and set out to get things done before he figured out his newest little mystery.
* * *
The doorbell rang minutes after Alaric arrived at his condo. His sneaker-clad mate was on the other side with Baxter and Benton flanking him.
“Hey.” Alaric wanted to kiss Chander, but he couldn’t read his expression.
The foursome stood there awkwardly for several minutes before Chander asked, “Are you going to let us in?”
“My apologies,” Alaric said. “I wasn’t sure if you were too annoyed for me to offer you a kiss.”
Chander slid his fingers into the small gap between Alaric’s daggers and his hips and then tilted his head up. Recognizing the offer for what it was, Alaric wrapped his arms around his man and fused their mouths together. He had no patience for a simple peck and so he brought their tongues in contact. Chander went up on his toes so he could deepen the connection, and he heard chuckles from the other two men in the hallway. With a great deal of reluctance, Alaric pulled away and smiled down at the demonic necromancer.
“You two should probably get a room if you want to take that further,” Baxter suggested.
“You can come in,” Alaric told Chander. “These two sentinels you brought with you cannot.”
“Awesome, what’s for dinner?” Chander asked as he released his hold. Alaric grabbed his hand and led him inside. Baxter and Benton followed and shut the door behind them.
“They really are mean,” he heard Benton grumble to Baxter.
Alaric knew dinner was nearly ready; Victor didn’t want to keep them all waiting since the Skeleton Seven were set to arrive before long to meet with Chander. His housekeeper greeted them and told them all to take a seat. They did as the cat shifter requested, and Alaric stole another brief kiss.
“I forgot how they used to always suck face,” Baxter observed.
“Oh, be nice. It’s cute,” Victor retorted. “When I meet my mate, I’m going to smother him with kisses. I don’t care who’s around or who doesn’t like it.”
“That’s as it should be,” Chander replied. “Don’t worry about what the world thinks about it.”
“I wonder how long I’ll have to wait for him,” Victor mused.
“If you’re lucky, he’ll show up soon,” Benton responded.
Victor crinkled his nose a little. “Evergreen says he gets to meet his first since he’s older. Dudley said the same. I want them to meet their other halves, but I don’t have any control over who goes first.”
“Did you enjoy living with them?” Baxter asked.
“I did. My mom wanted me to move back home but even though space was tight at Evergreen and Dudley’s place, I had fun. I’m glad to have two new friends. We’re going to stay close.”
“That’s great. Evergreen keeps to himself a lot,” Chander said. “Things haven’t always been easy for him as a hybrid.”
“Something you have to get used to now, right?” Victor asked.
“I suppose so,” Chander responded. “I’m still getting used to the concept of being a hybrid I guess.”
“You really pissed me off that day, but your demon is very impressive,” Victor replied.
“Thanks, I’m sorry. I’m pretty impressed with him myself.”
“Is there a rule on the number of apologies he can give?” Victor asked Alaric.
“There should be. He’s expressed his regret. He doesn’t need to continue to do so.”
“I think when you make a small boo-boo you apologize once for it,” Chander said. “But when you make a colossal mistake that upends people’s lives, you show remorse for that when appropriate.”
“Who gets to decide when it’s appropriate?” Benton wanted to know.
“The person who fucked up,” Chander asserted.
“But what if that person is prone to excessive guilt and self-defeating behavior?”
“Character flaws don’t factor in when you’re discussing a mistake that amounted to the dissolution of a matebon
d and, in Victor’s case, a termination of his employment and expulsion from his home,” the former Arch Lich replied with a stern look.
“I think it’s the person who was wronged that gets to decide when enough is enough,” Victor answered.
Alaric nodded. “I agree with Victor.”
Chander scowled but offered no further comment. Silence reigned over dinner for several minutes before Victor let out a small chuckle. “This feels so familiar. Eating together.”
“It does,” Benton agreed. “We might not have had a long time to do that, but they were mostly good times.”
“Except I had to take way too many pills, and Victor kept making me drink juice,” Chander said.
“I bought some tomato juice for you today at the store,” Victor replied with a grin.
“I’m not drinking that shit.”
Alaric chuckled. “We wouldn’t want it to go to waste.”
“Then you drink it. I have no food restrictions any longer. I start my day with coffee like any sane person.”
“Some of us sleep regularly and don’t need caffeine to pry open our eyelids,” Benton retorted.
“Thrilled for you,” Chander responded. “Now shut up so I can eat my dinner without another lecture on how I don’t worship my body as a temple.”
Alaric gave him a sidelong glance. “Don’t worry, I’ll devote myself to worshiping your body instead.”
“Guess it’s back to the internet to find a chastity belt for Chand,” Baxter said.
“Fuck right off,” Chander snapped. “I’ll have sex when I want to.”
“The best part is that you’re not sick this time so you can,” Victor added.
“I couldn’t agree more,” Alaric stated. “The last time we all enjoyed a meal together, there was an undercurrent of fear. We didn’t know if Chand would ever be whole again or how much time we’d have left with him. The only good thing about the photo some asshole sent you is that it allowed your demon to emerge.”
“Yeah, I think we can all agree we wish it had been under drastically different circumstances, but I’m glad to be healthy and I am proud to be a demonic hybrid. My only complaint is, there are only two other known people with demonic blood and they aren’t even the same type I am. I wish there were more of us and that we knew more about how our magic works and what it’s capable of,” Chander replied.
“Like can demons melt elders?” Benton suggested.
“It was them, wasn’t it?” Victor asked. “They fed me shitty cookies and distracted me while you were lying in a hospital bed dying so they could set up cameras to send you that picture.”
“We can’t prove it yet, but I think so,” Chander answered.
“That’s so horrid,” Victor said. “I wonder if they didn’t really care about separating you two. They were probably hoping it would kill you. Not everyone knew how sick you really were, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out that such a strong sorcerer must have something truly wrong with them to be taking so long to recover. Especially at your age.”
Alaric’s blood heated and went ice cold at the same time. He was that furious. “I never looked at it like that. I never thought about it from that perspective. You’re probably right. They didn’t want us separated.” He looked at Chander’s lovely pewter eyes. “They wanted you dead.”
Chander’s head bobbed. “Victor, you’re a genius.”
“It makes perfect sense.” Benton’s voice was tight. “It would solve their problems. Sigimund would have your title, and there’d be no one fighting them on anything. You’d simply be gone.”
“He got it anyway. I wanted to slap you when I heard you resigned,” Victor told him.
“It wouldn’t have gone away. They were going to unseat me one way or another. I chose to go out before it truly got ugly. If it had just been the elders, I would have continued to fight—but the necromancers signed up to remove my title.”
“I understand but I can’t even watch the news anymore. That jerk is always talking to reporters,” the cat shifter lamented as he got up to clear his dishes.
“Eventually the press will tire of dancing to his tune,” Chander said.
Alaric stood. “One could hope.” They were finished with the delicious meal Victor had put together. Now it was time to find out why Chander had summoned the Skeleton Seven.
Chapter 24
Life was full of twists and turns. Unexpected events that altered the course of everything a person thought they knew. Chander was beginning to see his had hinged on a few simple moments. He’d grown up as a boy who was starving for love and caring. The elders had given him attention only for their own political gain. It had taught him to rely solely on himself, and he’d become a teenager with a lack of empathy for the world around him.
He might have bumbled along like that forever but one day, he’d found himself in a castle with two dead dragons. Chander had stolen those bodies and made a good decision. He’d turned those men into the Reverent Knights. Magickind and then shifters had benefited greatly from the addition of the Order of the Fallen Knights. On that day, he’d also made the choice to separate a pair of mates. As jaded as he was, it might have had an insignificant impact on him. But Drystan had become his friend, and each day he’d lived a lie.
Drystan’s other half had lain in a box because Chander had been a cruel kid who’d given no thought to pulling them apart or what the consequences of that action would be. Over time it had worn Chander down. He’d begun to question his judgment on all matters. It had turned a cocky, confident boy into an insecure and neurotic man. His ability to lead the necromancers had become compromised by not only the elders but his own incompetence. Then he’d met Alaric.
That should have been the next flashpoint in his life, but it hadn’t been. So convinced of his own feebleness, he’d welcomed a relationship in name only with Alaric. Then his heart had ripped apart. A near death experience and the loss of immortality had rocked him enough to reevaluate the choice he’d made to ignore his gift from Fate. He’d decided to dedicate himself to building a true matebond with Alaric. But he knew now, he’d never thrown all his chips in. Chander had been waiting for something bad to happen. He’d thought it would come from him and in the end, it had.
Yes, someone had sent him a picture of Alaric in bed with Victor, but there was no reason he should have ever believed it. As Victor had so casually pointed out at dinner, it likely hadn’t even been for the purpose he’d thought. The elders had reasons to want him gone and they’d managed it. Chander had been stupid not to figure out from the moment he opened that email who it had been from and why they sent it. He wanted to build a time machine and go back. Only this time, he was different. Victor’s words had been another one of those unexpected, life-changing moments.
Chander was sick and damn tired of not trusting himself. He’d not only given up his relationship, he had given up believing in his own ability to handle anything. That was over. He was done. This time he was going to do the things he should have from the start. There was nothing more sacred than a matebond, and Chander needed to start practicing what he’d preached as the Council leader for so long. He’d honored the foundation the creators of the Council had built but in his own choices, he’d shit all over that tenet.
Alaric deserved better and so did he. Chander wasn’t going to play into silly fears or focus on past mistakes. His matebond was his new pursuit. He would allow nothing and no one to do anything at all to harm it, and he understood he’d been his own worst enemy. There would be no more underestimating his own character or failing to appreciate the gift he’d been given. Fate had decided Alaric was his, and Chander was going to hold on to that with two tight fists and not ever fucking let go.
“You okay?” Alaric asked quietly. Chander realized he’d been standing in the living room staring at a plant while the assorted sentinels in the room had been visiting.
He smiled up at the man who was his and his alone. “I’m good.”
�
��What are you thinking about so intently?”
“How glad I am that you’re mine.”
Alaric’s grin was gorgeous and lit up his glowing eyes. “I’m sorry I interrupted you then.”
“So you should be,” Chander replied as he took his hand and led him over to one of the large sofas. They got settled and Chander looked around. He knew the names of the Skeleton Seven, but he was going to have some trouble telling who was who. They were in their casual gray everyday gear, so all ten men in the room matched. Gavrael and Gedeon were easy—he’d known them for years now. Albrecht was easy too. He was several inches shorter than the rest; he may have had only three or four on Chander who was six inches over five feet. Briefly he wondered if Albrecht was the only sentinel under six feet. Something to ask Alaric when they were alone.
The other four skeletons were more difficult to decipher. Their heights were nearly the same, and all he could see was the tips of their bony fingers. He’d have to hope he could quickly distinguish them by voice. Deciding to ask the Lich Sentinel to give him any pointers as the guys chatted and got seated, he turned to Alaric. “Any pointers on how to tell the four white skellies apart?”
“I forgot you weren’t a sentinel and couldn’t sense the differences between them. Brynn has the gentle voice, Cass has the loudest, and Duc speaks in a stiffer manner like Gavrael.”
“And Eduard?”
“He’s our well-balanced one. Both in temperament and in fighting.”
“Thanks.”
Alaric leaned down and kissed him. “My pleasure.”
“Pretty sure it was mine,” Chander replied just before Alaric pressed their mouths together for a second time.
Fall of the Arch Lich (D'Vaire, Book 6) Page 16