Page 86 of The Missing Sentinel
“Yep, heard it,” Baxter added. “We were there. Heard it crystal clear. Didn’t know how you could say it because that’s a total fucking lie, but I heard it.”
“Duc believed it, which is why he said it,” Alaric stated. “He learned it from Drexley, who also believed it. But nowhere in my fucking soul did I ever buy it. Because I know how each of my men has suffered. Five hundred years with a necromancer and he never let Drexley return once. Bax. Ben. Do you remember how I had to ban you from visiting the compound? You had a home here with Chand. But still you visited.”
“Yeah, we were friends with you,” Benton replied.
“Pretty vain to think Drexley wanted to come back just to chat with you, Alaric,” Baxter said. “I mean, we love you, but seriously, maybe he had a good life and couldn’t be bothered.”
Alaric glared. “Gavrael and Gedeon also had a great life. One in a mansion. With endless money at their disposal. But the second they understood from Conley that they could help their fellow sentinels, they were at the compound trying to convince me to come talk to Chand. Why? Because we are individuals, but we are also a brotherhood. We care about each other. We traipsed around this planet for decades searching for Drexley. None of you had met him. But you worried about him. Now, try to convince me that Drexley was somewhere by himself anddid not once think about us. I will not believe your piddling attempts, but I dare you to try.”
“Boom,” Arvandus shouted. “The Lich Sentinel just dropped the microphone on every damn sentinel in here.”
“Seriously, Chand, something must have corrupted your spell as you resurrected him,” Alaric groused.
“Alaric, even when I was convinced it was near impossible for the sentinels to have a leader, I brought you up on a regular basis to Adney,” Drexley confided. “I knew his opinion. I understood how much he hated to discuss you. At the same time, I loved him and considered him family. But I talked about you despite how much it annoyed him. You are right. I could not forget. His spell was not strong enough to erase everything like the one at the compound.”
Exhilaration rushed through Drexley as he held the freshly made daggers Alaric had handed him. With a grin, he poisoned them, and they glowed the same bright green Fate had used to mark the Lich Sentinel’s eyes—probably to keep necromancers like Adney from doubting his role. Drexley whispered a word, and the blades floated at his sides. He was whole again.
“I still love my clothes,” Drexley said.
“I told you the other day you could wear whatever you want,” Alaric replied, exasperated. “You know I did not lie.”
“Sorry if he thought you were going to haul out a box of uniforms,” Baxter retorted with his mouth full of cookies. Benton slapped the back of Baxter’s head.
“Swallow first,” Benton complained.
“Shit, a terrible joke just popped into my head,” Arvandus said, squeezing his eyes shut. “Bax is corrupting me.”
Drexley chuckled. “Fallen knights are as incorruptible as sentinels. But I am curious whether they fight as well as we do.”
“They don’t,” Alaric retorted. “Arvandus is marginally better than his peers, but only because he was once a sentinel.”
“They’re probably going to run off and train now despite the fact that it’s the middle of the night,” Chander remarked.
“If they do, I’m going back to bed,” Teverild said. “I can watch that shit anytime.”
It was tempting to find the nearest gym to drag out his rusty skills, but Drexley wanted a little time for his emotions to settle. To allow his memories of the truth and what he had believed to merge fully so he could start mending.
Drexley would never forget Adney, and part of him remained mired in grief. They had been family. Knowing Adney’s choices did not change that. It did not mean Drexley understood or approved of Adney’s decisions. Drexley excused none of it. Nor did the happy moments outweigh the manipulation. It did not.
But even in families, a bit of evil sometimes rested.
Thankfully, the Darays were not one of those families, and Drexley needed not fear for tomorrow.
Mindful of the weapons at his sides, Drexley stood and walked straight into Ducarius’s arms. The scars would mend, and the past would lose its ability to inflict new wounds. That much Drexley already knew. Because he was resilient. He was a sentinel, after all. A race of men renowned for their weapon skills. And the brotherhood that bound them together.
“I love you,” Drexley said, grateful that the greatest of his abilities was the telepathy and emotion sharing Fate had granted him and his mate.
“I love you too. Want to sneak upstairs?”
Since the Darays were arguing about the merits of staying up all night or getting sleep, Drexley did not think anyone would notice if he and Ducarius opted to snuggle in their sheets.
“Absolutely. I will put my weapons away if you will grab the lube.”
“As always, love, you read my mind.”
With a smile, Drexley grabbed Ducarius’s hand and rushed upstairs so he could have the gorgeous Skeleton Lord to himself.
Chapter 35
