Page 57 of Temple of Magic and Bone

"Shitting myself, and you should be too."

Elektra only tossed her red curls with a scoffing sound and got out of the van. Vanth followed her because he wasn't about to let her out of his sight. His heart hurt over Cecelia, and there was something about Elektra that stopped him from losing his shit. He couldn't feel a single ghost in Inferno. They were all gone. It had to be Lazarus. No one else in the city would be stupid enough to try it.

The doors to the building slid silently open, and Elektra's magic washed over Vanth like a wave of darkness and starlight.Her leather suit melted and changed to an elegant gown of indigo velvet and silk, sprays of stars in its train. A matching crown perched on her head.

"Close your mouth before something flies into it," she whispered to him. "It's just a glamor, so as long as no one touches me, it will be fine."

"You are so beautiful," he replied and tried to get his game face on.

The foyer of the building was mostly purple porphyry and bronze. It had expensive lounges for people to wait with plants in large, expensive pots. Everything about it was beautiful and designed to make anyone who went into it feel intimidated.

A woman sat behind an ornate counter of ebony wood inlaid with mother-of-pearl designs. There were guards standing watch at the elevators. Everyone that was waiting seemed to pause in hushed awe as Elektra strode past them, every inch an annoyed, entitled princess.

"Good afternoon, Miss—" the receptionist began.

Vanth instantly recognized her voice as the same unhelpful one he had been speaking to all day.

"It is not a good afternoon," Elektra said, staring down her nose at the shocked receptionist. "I am Princess Elektra Nova of the Celestial Court, Lady of the Twilight, and I demand to speak with Lord Azhdaha immediately. It is of the utmost importance and emergency. My counselor here has been trying to inform you all day, and you have disrespected my people. Now, you will take me to Lord Azhdaha, or there will be consequences."

Vanth watched in awe as Elektra tore shreds of the receptionist, her gray eyes flashing with indignation and fury. He tried to keep his expression calm and entitled as she forced the receptionist to do exactly as she wished. She was every bit a princess, and it took less than five minutes before she wasescorted into an elevator before she started to make even more of a scene. By the gods, she was magnificent.

The elevator doors opened, and they were led through a long hallway filled with beautiful art and murals of dragons fighting legendary battles. Elektra ignored all of it. The double doors at the end of the hall opened, and a balding, small man in an expensive suit hurried out of the room. He carried a pile of files and was looking sweaty and agitated.

The guard that was escorting them knocked politely on the doors.

"Enter," a deep bass voice echoed through the door, and the guard opened it for Elektra and Vanth. They stepped inside the office, and Vanth wished he had told Galen to fuck himself and had never followed his ridiculous advice.

Azhdaha stood looking out over the city. He wore a white shirt and black pants, everything tailored to fit his seven-foot frame. His hair was long and black except for one wide streak of gold. It matched the golden hoops in his ears and torc around his neck.

Elektra and Vanth bowed deeply because neither one of them was stupid.

"Ah, Princess Elektra, it has been many centuries since I last heard from the Celestial Court. What is so urgent that you have upset my day?" he asked, voice like hot silk.

Elektra's glamor melted until she was in her reaper uniform once more. "Forgive the theatrics, my lord. I'm not here to represent the Celestial Court but the Temple of Magic and Bone. There is a great threat to the city, and it is urgent that you are made aware of it."

Azhdaha's expression didn't change. "What could scare the keepers of the dead so much? And what does it have to do with Inferno's most notorious necromancer?"

"I'm flattered you have heard of me," Vanth said and tried to pretend he wasn't intimidated. "I'm not the problem, but I'm hoping to be the solution."

Vanth and Elektra told the dragon everything Lazarus had done, including taking lesser magical creatures and ghosts to fuel his magic and ambitions. They told him everything with the exception of Vanth being the son of Orcus.

"We will leave the city after this meeting to do our best to stop Lazarus from damaging the Veil further. We only thought you should be advised of the threat," Elektra said finally.

"And why should you think I need to concern myself with any of this?" Azhdaha asked.

"Because you don't want anyone else ruling Inferno but you," Vanth said, his impatience and already agitated magic flaring. "Let's cut the shit, shall we? I know for a fact that there are certain buildings designed around the city to take the weight of a full-size dragon in case of attack. You won't let some asshole take the city from you, so don't pretend you don't care."

Azhdaha smiled, but there was no humor in it. "I care, but I will not cause a panic in the city with unsubstantiated claims. I wish you luck on your mission. Thank you for the warning."

And with that, they were dismissed. Vanth fought the urge to call the dragon various unsavory names and strode out before he did so.

In the elevator, Elektra's warm hand found his, and the roaring in his head calmed.

"They can't say they were never warned, Tarael," she whispered softly, the use of his name drawing him out of his anger.

Vanth lifted their clasped hands and kissed her knuckles. He could only hope that the dragons wouldn't remain so apathetic if they failed because it would be Inferno that suffered and never their powerful overlords.

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