There was a private theatre, two dining rooms, an arcade, a pool, an office, and the main lounge, which was the main room, as the landing perch was connected to it via a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows. The lounge itself had just about everything he could need, including its own bar, kitchen, and sunken sitting area.
Most of his guests lingered around the bar or on the couches when he stepped inside. Half his Wing were busy fixing themselves drinks, and the other half were talking quietly by the windows. His aunt and uncle, Hele, Vael, and a few of his other relatives were scattered around the sitting area. Paloma and little Emilia were missing, as were Artem and Alex. His personal healers and two of his assistants were perched on bar stools, each one of them with a tablet or phone in hand.
Someone had acquired a ridiculous amount of takeout and scattered the boxes across the low table in the sunken sitting area and across the bar, but no one appeared to be eating. The low buzz of conversation came to an abrupt halt as everyone turned to look at him.
Trying not to show just how exhausted he was, Taevas drewhis shoulders back. He offered the room a crooked smile. “I know I’m handsome, but it’s impolite to stare.”
There were more watery eyes than he wanted, but his weak joke had done the job of breaking some of the thick tension in the air, so he couldn’t complain too much. Clapping his hands together, he announced, “All right! I know there’s a lot of shit to do and even more questions that need answering, so I’m going to cover the basics first and then work my way around to each of you.”
A murmur of agreement went around the room. Taevas swept his gaze over everyone assembled, meeting their eyes for a beat before moving on to the next person. “Some, if not all of you, already know this, but to make everything clear — I was kidnapped by a man named Sergei, one of Isand Jaak Fersen’s sons. I was held somewhere unknown for weeks. When they tried to move me, I was able to escape. That led me to Birchdale, where I was sheltered and nursed until Sergei found me again.”
Ignoring the strong reactions that went around the room, he continued, “Now, most importantly… The reason I’m standing in front of you right now is because of the woman who took me in. Her name is Alashiya Ardz. She didn’t know who I was and didn’t expect a reward. She’s a nymph who, at great risk to herself, put a roof over my head, fed me, tended my wounds, and saved my life.”
He paused, letting that sink in. There could be no more confusion going forward. Alashiya would not,could not,be treated with anything less than the respect she’d earned. He didn’t want that to hinge on the fact that he’d Chosen her, either.
He needed them to see her as she was — a remarkable woman deserving admiration all on her own.
Sucking in a deep, fortifying breath, he prepared to say the thing he never thought he would. Pride and no small amount of fear burned in his chest. “I’ve Chosen her. She’s now a member of clan Aždaja and, as of today, your Emand. Unless otherwise specified by her, you will addressher as such.”
Half the room already knew who she was to him, but shock still washed over them all. The faces of his Wing were studiously blank, his assistants both looked ready to explode with questions, and his family shared a series of looks that ranged from disbelief to glee.
Feeling the questions about to bubble out of the group, Taevas cleared his throat. “Alashiya has lived a very, very sheltered life, and she’s been through a lot in the past few days. She doesn’t know much about dragons, so I ask you to be gentle with her while she gets used to things.”
He turned to find the hulking dragon hovering by the glass-walled exit to the perch. “Radek, I’m assigning you as her personal guard until we can assemble her own Wing. Hele, your job is to help her acclimate.” Turning to his head assistant, he ordered, “Katya, whatever you wrote for the statement announcing I’d been found, I want you to add that I was rescued by Alashiya.”
Katya, a keen, normally unflappable dragon with dark blue skin and a willowy frame, gave him a wide-eyed look. “Ah… Should…” She cleared her throat and tried again. “Should I include that you’ve Chosen her, sir? Or would you prefer to wait?—”
Taevas waved a hand. “I’ve waited for her my whole life. I’m not waiting a moment longer. Put it in.”
Katya let out a slow breath. Her eyes were wide and her brows raised, but she nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“Andrejs, while I catch up on everything I’ve missed, I need you to make a dossier on the state of nymphs in the UTA. I want population statistics, voting habits, territories, clan names — everything. When you’re done, you’ll deliver it directly to my Chosen.”
His other assistant, Andrejs, was already making notes on his tablet, his claws flying over the screen. Without looking up, he asked, “Would you like me to contact their congressional representative, sir?”
Taevas rubbed the base of his horns. He knew that wouldhave to happen if Alashiya wanted to take any sort of active role in her people’s future, but he wasn’t about to spring that on her. Not now, anyway, when there was already so much to adjust to.
“Wait on that. She’ll be overwhelmed as it is.” Finally, he turned to Vael, who visibly braced himself. “What’s the status on the hunt for Sergei?”
“An all-territory alert has gone out and a collaborative search between the Shifter Alliance and the ’Riik is happening as we speak. If he’s injured and still dealing with the effects of the suppressant you gave him, then we’re optimistic he’ll be found.”
“And what about the others? Did you sweep Shiya’s land?”
Vael’s lips quirked with an impressed smile. “We checked it as soon as we apprehended her —afterwe managed to get through her wards to see the place properly. Two men were found unconscious and injured in the woods not far from her home, and there’s evidence of another who left the scene.”
Taevas suppressed a growl. “That’ll be Monty. I’m sorry to hear he might still be alive. He’s the hunter Sergei hired to search the woods for me. I don’t know who the others were. Are they in custody?”
It unsettled him, the way nearly everyone in the room shared long, knowing glances.
“What?” he asked, patience wearing thin. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Constantin spoke up. “The other men who were working with Sergei… they’re not speaking. They can’t. That’s actually how we know who they work for.”
“What are you talking about?”
“According to the information the leaders have been able to put together since the attacks, it appears that whoever is behind this new version of the Ardeo has assembled a force built on mind control.”
Constantin looked a little queasy as he said it. Even his rich skin tone, dark with its nighttime coloring, became chalky as he continued, “Whatever magic is responsible, it goes deep, makingquestioning them almost impossible. And there’s failsafes. When others have tried to break through it, an aneurysm is triggered, killing them instantly. That’s part of why we couldn’t use them to confirm or deny what the Emand told us. The men can’t answer questions one way or another.”
