Page 83 of Mad Dragon of Chaos

THIRTY

ADRIAN WESTERGREN

Adrian didn’t ever want to move another muscle again.

After a shower that mostly consisted of him leaning on the wall while standing in the spray and eating a sandwich that he couldn’t recall tasting, Adrian fell into bed and was unconscious before his head was on the pillow.

Hours later, someone claimed it was time for a meeting. How the hell was he supposed to get up when his body was still so tired? Plus, there happened to be a sexy, half-naked dragon wrapped around him, holding him as though he never meant for them to be parted. Why the fuck would he ever willingly get up?

Oh, that’s right.

Evil man trying to kill gods. Someone had to save the world. Blah blah blah.

He just wanted five more minutes.

Maybe ten now that Haru was kissing along his shoulder.

More knocking on the door. This time it was Shey, and he didn’t sound happy.

After another shower and another sandwich he couldn’t taste, Adrian was up and cradling a cup of coffee as if it were his lifeline back to the living. He glanced through the living room crowded with people he didn’t know. He vaguely recalled some quick introductions on his way to his first shower, but it was all a blur.

He found a familiar face at last. Tyche sat on the sofa with his legs folded in front of him, holding his mug of coffee the same way as Adrian. Shey was beside him, perched on the sofa arm and scowling like an angry rain cloud ready to burst all over the meeting. Neither of them looked as if they’d gotten nearly enough sleep even though it was late afternoon.

Haru stood beside Adrian’s chair, his arms crossed and a rare frown on his lips.

Jules perched on the edge of the sofa cushion beside Tyche, all of his attention on the map spread out on the coffee table. Both he and his companions appeared as if they’d gotten some sleep. The unfamiliar faces all had an air of discomfort or awkwardness, as if they weren’t sure how to handle Adrian and his friends.

“Nigel, why don’t you start with what you’ve learned?” Quill coaxed.

The young man with the thin hair and narrow face swallowed hard and nodded as he stepped forward. “They moved up the flag ceremony.”

“What?” That single word exploded from several people, and Haru even took a menacing step toward Nigel as if the change in the timing of their attack was all his fault.

“My sources say that the situation within Bellcairn has grown too volatile and if they wait longer, it will only get worse. To get ahead of it and to keep the chancellor safe, they’ve moved up the timeline by nearly a week. It’s happening in two days.”

“This is bullshit,” Hayden muttered. “I was planning on using that time to continue recruiting protestors. People aren’t scheduled to grab trains into Bellcairn for several days.”

Nigel frowned at the older woman. “That’s exactly what they are trying to get ahead of. It’s also why they aren’t bothering to announce the change in the scheduling until the day before the ceremony. They want to reduce the number of people attempting to enter Bellcairn. They don’t have enough police and military in town to handle the crowd that’s here.”

“It will work for us,” Shey announced, and the low grumbling throughout the room stopped. “They are trying to keep protestors out of Bellcairn by moving up the event, but it means that New Rosanthe doesn’t have time to move in more soldiers to control the crowds.”

Adrian nodded. If the local authorities were struggling to handle the people in Bellcairn now, it wouldn’t get any better come the time of the ceremony. They would have to find a way to use that to their advantage.

“What do we know about the event itself?” Shey continued.

Nigel sucked in a deep breath and shifted the tablet he was gripping. He tapped the screen a few times. “Originally, Chancellor Feng was supposed to arrive at least two days prior to the event and stay at The Iron Bridge Hotel—one of the city’s most exclusive and highly protected hotels.”

Haru touched Adrian’s shoulder, drawing his gaze up. “Why does that name sound familiar?”

“It was on the same block as the hotel in which we stayed. The Lotus.”

Haru hummed. “Yes, The Lotus was a better hotel.”

Tyche snorted. “You only liked that one because you had half the hotel staff trained to jump to your every whim.”

Haru shrugged. “Why else would they be the better hotel?”

The three of them grinned, but Shey refused to join in the happy memory. His scowl seemed permanently etched into his face, and Adrian had a good guess as to why.