Victor simply cocked his head to the side and pursed his lips. “That’s because you act like it sometimes.”
“Except when he speaks of his dick or his ass, which he does constantly,” Ducarius grumbled.
“Don’t hate because I have a mate,” Baxter responded.
“How about behaving yourself and not shaming Duc because he hasn’t been chosen by Fate to meet his other half yet?” Benton retorted.
Arvandus was pleased to see Baxter’s expression turn contrite. “Sorry, Duc, that was mean. I know if you had your choice, you’d be mated already.”
“No offense was taken,” Ducarius stated. “I have not yet decided if I understand the impact my other half will have upon my life. I am content to have a family and friends and do not feel as if I am missing out on anything. I know you always remind me that I have not yet experienced sex, but frankly I find the idea rather appalling.”
“I believe strongly that until Fate pairs you up, you can’t grasp the significance of how it will alter your perception of things. It is not a failing on your part that you do not find yourself missing out on anything,” Alaric answered.
Arvandus wasn’t like Ducarius. He’d longed from the moment of his resurrection to find his mate, but perhaps that was because his soul had been aching for Albrecht, who had been waiting for him. When they met, there was a pile of obstacles but together they’d overcome them, and Arvandus was now complete in a way he hadn’t imagined was possible, so in that respect, he could understand Ducarius’s point of view. The Skeleton Lord, however, also refused to act like his brethren. Ducarius didn’t attend classes on new abilities or skills the way the rest of the Sentinel Brotherhood flocked toward any novel idea.
In fact, even when personally invited by members of their family, Ducarius declined. Although the bedroom doors in the house were kept closed, it was no secret that Ducarius had opted for a charcoal-gray theme just as he’d lived in while at the magical compound that had once imprisoned his entire race. If Arvandus had to take a guess, he’d gamble all the money to his name that whoever Ducarius was paired with would shake up more than his point of view. He looked forward to watching their relationship grow and hoped—as he did for everyone who was either Daray or D’Vaire—that they were able to find their mate soon.
For Arvandus, Albrecht was the center of his everything, and he was incredibly grateful to share every aspect of himself with the first sentinel ever resurrected. The man in question shifted impatiently next to him, and Arvandus squeezed him a little closer simply to revel in his orchardlike scent. Although they’d always enjoyed their excursions to the East Coast without company, Arvandus was looking forward to sharing this with his family, which reminded him of something he wanted to add to the party.
“Not that I want to disrupt your agenda, Alaric, but I was wondering what you guys thought about adding apple bobbing to our party? Apple and I can pick some of them up the day before, so they’re fresh.”
“What is apple bobbing?” Ducarius asked.
“It sounds like a sex game Albrecht and Arvandus play, and I’m not bobbing anyone’s apple but Ben’s,” Baxter remarked.
“I knew we would not make it through a conversation without a comment like that from you,” Ducarius muttered.
“Okay, so we’re going to have a big group, we’d get like a big tub…maybe something metal or whatever, and you fill it with water. You have to try to grab an apple using only your mouth,” Arvandus explained. “It’s actually pretty hilarious.”
“Only if you don’t think about it before you do it,” Chander argued. “The tub is usually shallow, so you just use your mouth to push it to the bottom, then sink in your teeth.”
“That’s certainly too easy for our party,” Alaric stated.
Grymington shrugged. “We already talked about making a forest around our hollow. Let’s fill it with water. Using magic, can’t you make it virtually depthless?”
Chander laughed almost maniacally. “Yep. Shit, that’d be funny, watching people have to basically lean into the pool and grab an apple. Of course, they’re going to require the help of a sorcerer to dry out their costume or fix whatever makeup they might be wearing.”
“Can’t you simply make them waterproof?” Eduard asked.
“We can try—the warlocks would have the best chance of it holding up. Only a water mage can make a person capable of completely repelling water. I can make objects indestructible, so perhaps that spell would work on the costumes, but they’d still get wet. It just won’t penetrate the fibers.”
“I can’t believe we don’t have any mages in our family,” Arvandus answered.
“They’re kind of a hot mess right now anyway. There’s always infighting over which discipline is best, and don’t get me started on the modern way of creating large-ass elementals which have to languish in some specially built facility since they won’t fit in someone’s house or yard,” Chander griped. “Magus Superus Jurdann was a complete ass-kisser who followed everything Egidius told him, and his death is unexplained. His successor, Egann, doesn’t court allies and has quietly moved fire mages into every position of power, which is stupid. He’s supposed to represent all four elements, and together they’re capable of more complex spells. I don’t have a very high opinion of the guy.”
“He’s also kind of a dick,” Baxter supplied.
“Do you know he’s the only Council leader to vote against the law the Order of the Fallen Knights put together to allow communities to make driving illegal on All Hallow’s Eve? His argument was that no racial leader or combination of rulers would use it to keep cars out for one night. Come on, people across the country have so that children can wander from house to house without having to worry about getting hit,” Arvandus added.
“I’m proud to tell you that we’ve had even more sentinels volunteer this year to help keep neighborhoods safe for the children,” Alaric stated.
“The best part is, your guys show up in their cloaks and the kids love it. So many more of the fallen knights who volunteer are wearing costumes so that the children will be excited to see them too,” Arvandus enthused.
“Which reminds me, do we need to keep this party kid-friendly?” Victor asked. “How risqué can we get with costumes?”
“There will be teenagers at the party but no children,” Alaric said. “Pyxlevir will be trick-or-treating in the Verdanyth and Valzadari neighborhoods with his best friend, Gramlithyn, and his parents. I believe Pyxlevir’s parents will be trading places with Semira and Laconifel so they can attend wherever the party is next year.”
The elementary-school-aged Pyxlevir was a Valzadari elf and probably the cutest kid Arvandus had ever seen. His folks, Chieftain Kalthekor and Chieftain-mate Aristos, were pleased that Pyxlevir had become such close friends with Gramlithyn. The pair did everything together, and Arvandus was happy All Hallow’s Eve was no exception.
