Page 52 of The Missing Sentinel
Ducarius had to figure out how to cook and fast. It put him in a foul mood. Alaric worked hard to ensure a wide array of classes were available to any sentinel who wished to learn. But Ducarius had taken few of them. He’d had a myriad of excusesfor why he wasn’t interested in each topic, and now he wanted to kick himself for being so stubborn. Would it have hurt him to carve a few hours out of his week to learn some basic skills?
Ducarius had assured himself that he already knew what he needed and kept his ass planted at home. What a damn fool he had been. Now, he was paying the price by being unprepared. Ducarius bit back a curse once he sensed another sentinel nearing the kitchen. Despite his foul mood, he smiled. That was the effect Drexley had on him, no matter his mood.
Ducarius turned to watch Drexley stalk into the kitchen with a tray of nearly full dishes, and drank in the delicious sight of him. It was always a pleasure to be in his company, but Ducarius hated the deep growing shadows of grief and heartbreak in his soft brown eyes. Drexley was panicking. Opening his arms to his mate, Ducarius sighed as he folded Drexley into his embrace.
“How is Adney?”
“He barely stayed awake long enough to eat anything,” Drexley confided. “I woke this morning wondering how many days we have left together. I should be counting hours instead.”
Words were incapable of bringing Drexley comfort, but Ducarius wished he could find something to say to ease his pain. They had awoken to find chunks of Adney’s beloved library gone. The future Drexley refused to face was racing to find him, and Ducarius was worried about nearly everything awaiting his other half.
“I wish I knew better how to soothe you,” Ducarius said, annoyed with himself for his inadequacy. Drexley was his gift from Fate, and it was his responsibility to take care of him. He feared he was failing.
“Stop thinking poorly of yourself. You are the one thing in my life that offers me solace.”
“I apologize, you have enough burdening your heart, the last thing you need is a cantankerous mate worried that he is doing a poor job of loving you.”
Drexley smiled and brushed their lips together. “Is this your clumsy way of telling me I have conquered your heart?”
“Yes, and it is now so awkward I hope it is the next memory to disappear from your mind.”
With a laugh, Drexley kissed him again. “No, this one I insist on holding on to for eternity.”
“While you refuse to speak your own words of affection?”
“Of course. We are standing in a kitchen with dirty dishes awaiting a good scrub. This is hardly the time or place to express what is in my heart.”
“I wish sentinels were capable of lies so I could look in your gorgeous eyes and tell you I wish Fate had offered me a better mate.”
Drexley rested his forehead against Ducarius’s, and their noses bumped. His fingers dug into Ducarius’s back.
“I love you, Ducarius.”
Tilting his head to press his mouth to Drexley’s, Ducarius took a moment to savor the joy bubbling through him. He was a lucky man in many respects, but Drexley was the best damn thing in his life.
“I love you too. But no more mushy words until we retire for the night. I want to hear your words of love as I slide into your welcoming body. That is a memory I plan to hold on to and pull out whenever my day grows tiresome. It will give me the strength to persevere and the power to keep from stabbing someone.”
As Ducarius intended, Drexley chuckled. “What do you propose we do now?”
“Is that a joke? These dishes will not wash themselves. And we are out of prepared food. We must figure out how to tackle these recipes Adney has left in here for his skeletons.”
After one last quick buss to the corner of Ducarius’s mouth, Drexley pulled away with a smile. “I was taught to educate myself, and although Adney is insistent that a gentleman has no place in a kitchen, I spent many hours observing the skeletons as they cooked. I have no practical experience, but we are both intelligent men.”
“Never again will I refuse to attend a class at the Daray Sentinel Complex,” Ducarius muttered. “My idiocy has left me unqualified for life outside my family home.”
“What is the Daray Sentinel Complex?”
“It is an extensive structure of buildings where most sentinels live,” Ducarius explained as he went to work scrubbing dishes. “One of the features of the complex is the wide variety of classes Alaric organizes. My family has taken advantage of many of them. But I was content to stay mired in what I knew. What use did I have of cooking when Victor or Brynn were in the kitchen? Why would I wish to learn photography if I did not want photos of myself? Dancing was useless as I lacked a mate. If I was invited to attend with a family member, it took me seconds to find an excuse not to go. I allowed my fear of failing at something to chart my path.”
“And the future scares me because I do not know how I will fare, so I pretend it is so far off that I need not worry about it yet. What a pair we are.”
“We are a well-matched one,” Ducarius corrected firmly. “You will be okay, Drexley. Whatever the future brings, you will adapt and survive. Plus, I will be at your side for everything.”
“Good, because I will need your help to prepare something for us to eat later. There was always stew being made as it is Adney’s favored meal. We should try to cook that. Heprefers it with a hunk of bread. I do not know the steps for that from start to finish. It may be quite involved. Do you think we should try it?”
Ducarius was fond of bread, and Brynnius was excellent at baking it, but he had never watched the other Skeleton Lord go through every aspect of his recipes. The one thing he recalled was that it had to sit for hours for some inexplicable reason.
“I believe we should try one thing at a time,” Ducarius decided. “Stew is hearty and full of vegetables. Those are good for you.”
