He presses a button on the desk and within a couple of minutes, a minion leads two strangers into the room.”
“Good afternoon, gentlemen.” Tyrus Drakeward does not get to his feet so I follow suit. He tilts his head at two silent men. “Son, meet Ambassador Raskolov, of the Eur-Asia Conclave, and his second, Ivan Soltin. Gentlemen, this is my son, Cosmo Drakeward.”
“Zdravstvuyte,” Ivan Soltin replies, giving me a brief nod.
The Ambassador says nothing.
“Zdravstvuyte,” I reply.
“Cosmo, you may leave us now, but you will see Ambassador Raskolov tonight. He is here to witness and then partake in our ascension process. A car will pick you up from Validus Vale at six,” he tells me. Then his gaze travels over my worn attire. “And for Gods’ sake, clean yourself up.”
I get to my feet. “Until tonight, then. Gentlemen.”
As I walk out, I hear a heavy Russian accent say, “You have plenty child for me?”
I slow my pace.
“Naturally. You won’t be disappointed. And we’ll be holding your ascension at the source, Ambassador, so you can see thefacilities. I think you’ll be very interested in the new fail-safe we’re developing as well. An ascended kill-switch, as it were.”
An ascended kill-switch? Fuck.
I can’t delay leaving the room any longer. As I walk through the door I feel five pairs of eyes on my retreating back.
As soon as I’m out of the library, a shiver runs down my spine.
Fuck.
Aurora.
Theodora.
A buzz of adrenaline fires up my muscles. My dragon stirs.
Fire and destruction.
Theodora Wilson.
Still the bane of my existence; but now it’s because I’m obsessed with the idea of protecting her.
Should I have brought her whereabouts up with Father?
No.
Obviously, it’s best to act disinterested.
And anyway, we don’t know if the Conclave has her. I’m not putting her on their radar if she’s not already there.
I take out my phone and notice that twat Maximus has named the text group ‘Team Sparkles’.
ME:Just met with Tyrus. No mention of Theo…
FENIKS:I’ve nothing
DONOVAN:yeah zip
MAX:…
MAX:found faint scent, but it’s old
