Page 25 of No Ordinary Drakeling
Chapter 9
After pulling a sash of Chrysander’s dragonskin over his head, Ellery tugged it into place over his suit, then grabbed the plain black cloak and shrugged it on. The gold ring of rank on his right hand flashed as he reached down to open a wooden box. Inside was a gleaming crown that somehow belonged to him. For the last several days, he’d done little more than speak on the phone with Jeremiah when his nose wasn’t buried in books absorbing all he could of the Council, and yet his grasp of the subject was rudimentary at best.
With a heavy sigh, he picked up the circlet and placed it on top of his shorn locks. Peering into the mirror in front of him, Ellery barely recognized himself. Somehow Ellery of the tribe Fen-Lynthi was now Emperor Ellery Draconis. He did not feel like the leader of the dragons or the overseer of the Council. Inside he was a mass of confusion, but he would not let Fate or the people he was now supposed to rule down.
After Ellery got one last glimpse of himself, he flipped off the light and left the room while thinking about his other half. Chrysander surprised him by not giving him the title Emperor-mate, but he appreciated his desire to see them as equals. Though he wasn’t yet up to the task by anyone’s definition, Ellery was going to make sure Chrysander did not regret his decision. Their ceremony was also set, though it was still nearly six weeks away.
It wasn’t ideal, but Ellery was glad Chrysander was following through on his word. There would be no repeat in his life of Harry and Aynleth. He tried to ignore the shaking in his knees as he walked down the stairs and concentrated on not tumbling down them.
“Looking good, Your Majesty,” Damian called out from near the front door.
“Thank you,” Ellery responded as he wondered how long it would take him to get accustomed to being addressed that way.
He peeked over at Chrysander and found him smiling. “Ready?”
Ellery wasn’t anywhere near such a state, but he serenely nodded his head. “Yes.”
The four Draconis men made their way silently down to a waiting limousine. Then Damian handed Ellery a stack of large index cards. “Here are your notes for the bills today.”
“Thank you,” Ellery repeated automatically. Overwhelmed by the circumstances, he dutifully gave his attention to them. He’d barely gotten past the second one when the car came to a stop and he was shepherded out.
Damian led them to a special door off to the side of the main entrance, and Ellery fished out his identification card as he was instructed to do. The fallen knights at the security stop greeted him kindly, and Ellery was glad no one offered a hand to shake. He was determined to act like a dragon, but he admitted it would take him some time to get used to being touched.
After they were scanned by magical devices, they took a short walk to another security stop. This one they were waved through, and it was then that Ellery noticed the dragons along the hallway as they wound their way upward. They each gave him a short nod as they peered at him curiously. He offered each one the same gesture as well; it was important to him to make a good impression on them.
When they got to a door with the word Draconis above it in gold, Damian slid his card into the door and Ellery found himself in a large alcove with four desks as well as two couches. A small table was laden with breakfast foods including fruit. Zane and Damian both grabbed a treat before unloading their computers from their bags. They got set up at two of the desks opposite each other.
“Help yourself,” Chrysander invited, then bit into a frosted donut.
After Ellery took a little plate and piled it high with fruit, he sat down on one of the dragonskin sofas to eat.
“Arvandus is on duty this morning downstairs. He got seventy percent of the leaders through the door,” Damian stated.
“Pretty good for a Monday,” Chrysander remarked.
Zane stared at his brothers and then, with a shake of his head, turned to Ellery. “Arvandus is Venerable Knight Arvandus Ruarc-Daray. Each morning, one of the two Venerables oversee the security we came through. They text Damian to let him know when about seventy to seventy-five percent of the Council leaders have arrived. Chrys will only start Council session when we have a majority here.”
“The other Venerable Knight is Roman Calixtus,” Ellery said. He’d been particularly interested in the Order of the Fallen Knights after learning that their leaders were once the dragon emperors. The Venerables were the rank just below the Reverents.
“Exactly. You must have a good memory. I’m sorry, I keep forgetting how new this is to you,” Chrysander commented.
Ellery didn’t know how to respond to that, so he just continued to eat his breakfast while trying to read over the cards Damian had handed him. The second his plate was cleared, Chrysander grabbed it from his lap.
“Ready?”
The butterflies in his stomach gave a resounding no, but Ellery rose from the couch. Damian maneuvered around his desk and flipped a switch, then slid open a pocket door. Through it, Ellery could see the Main Assembly Hall. He’d seen it in pictures and had known what to expect—the outcropping of desks from the wall and the colorful banners of each race—but the reality was much more intimidating. Damian walked out into the vestibule and stood there scanning the audience.
When Damian returned, Chrysander waved Ellery though the entrance, and his vision was filled with a room full of beautiful people who were eerily silent. They were standing, and it felt like every eye was on him. Ellery did not know what to do so he simply mirrored Chrysander, who pulled out a chair and motioned for him to sit. Once he was settled, Chrysander sat next to him.
“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Please allow me to introduce you to my mate, Emperor Ellery Draconis,” Chrysander said into a microphone as the leaders took their seats.
There was a loud round of applause, which Ellery thought was nice of them since they didn’t know anything about him, and he was now in charge of everything. As Chrysander introduced the first bill of the day, Ellery fumbled with the cards in his hand but managed to find the appropriate one. Though he had no intention of doing any of the talking, he wanted to be sure he could follow along with the discussion while memorizing the faces of the other leaders. It was his job to know who they were, and he’d already promised himself he would not fail.
* * *
That afternoon after a delicious lunch in the cafeteria for Council leaders, Ellery followed Chrysander into his office. Chrysander took one look around the room and called for his office manager, whose desk was in the main reception area.
Wesley hustled past Ellery. “What’s wrong?” he asked Chrysander, who was frowning.
