Page 81 of No Ordinary Drakeling
With a chuckle, Chrysander leaned back farther into his chair. “Relax, everybody. Ellery deserves the chance to be Emperor, but if he decides it’s not for him, I won’t hesitate to hand it off to someone else.”
“He hasn’t spoken yet in Council session. How’s he adjusting to everything?” Chander asked.
“Ellery has a huge learning curve. Not only is he Emperor, but he’s had to learn everything about the Council,” Zane shot out before Chrysander could say anything.
“It’s not a criticism, Zane. I’m just curious. I know what his workload looks like,” Chander said.
“As someone who had to adjust to the Council of Sorcery and Shifters without knowing shit, I can assure everyone Ellery has a long way to go before everything makes sense to him,” Alaric stated. The Sentinel Brotherhood was once kept on a magical realm, and it was only after Alaric met Chander that they joined the Council.
“I should’ve insisted Ellery contact you. You understand exactly where he’s coming from,” Chrysander responded softly. “Every damn time I turn around, I find another fucking thing I’ve done wrong where he’s concerned.”
“Meeting your mate is overwhelming,” Dra’Kaedan commented. “It takes time to get to know them and to fucking get your brain in gear.”
“Seriously, this mating shit is hard,” Brogan added.
Aleksander chuckled. “I seem to remember you thought it would be easy after you met Dra’Kaedan. You were shocked you had to actually work at it.”
“Honestly, I can’t believe how quickly things can escalate. One minute you’re in heaven thinking there’s no way it can get better and the next, you’re chasing after an angry sprite who you’ve pissed off without meaning to,” Zane lamented.
“That was actually all kinds of hilarious,” Damian said.
“Oh, fuck you,” Zane snapped.
“Is anyone tallying the number of swear words we’re tossing around, so we can add money to Tiri’s account?” Costas asked.
“I got Tiri to agree that everyone gets a free pass this weekend since this is as close as we get to a vacation, but it’d be nice if we could refrain tomorrow since it’s our mating ceremony,” Zane responded.
“Did I tell you yet how beautiful Tiri is? I don’t know that I’ve ever seen someone with such stunning hair. And his ears are simply perfect,” Saura commented.
“Thank you. I can’t imagine anyone more gorgeous than Tiri,” Zane replied. “It breaks my heart to think of all the sprites being killed by their fuckhead of a chieftain. My fear is that someday Tiri will be the last of his kind.”
“The robberies have ceased. I don’t know if it’s because Chesvarin fears we know who is responsible or they simply don’t need as many goods with a dwindling population,” Alaric stated.
“I know we can’t help them, but would anyone mind explaining exactly why?” Saura asked.
“When we came to North America, we had to sign a treaty with the humans. They didn’t really want us here, but they knew there was nothing they could do to stop us. However, we were willing to negotiate with the hope that we’d come up with a compromise that would suit both sides,” Chrysander explained. “Part of that treaty states that the land automatically belongs to the humans, even if a race other than themselves is living on it. We must purchase land so that it belongs to the Council, but only if we have our registered folks living on it. If we were to go in there and let’s say, rescue the sprites, the humans would view that as kidnapping. Either we piss off the humans by working outside the treaty or we let Chesvarin do whatever he wants, knowing there’s nothing that’ll get the humans to intervene.”
“After two centuries, our relationship with humans remains chilly. We’ve sent overtures to them, but they fall on deaf ears,” Damian added.
“We’ve had humans contact us to join our annual gathering of fallen knights, but I can’t bring myself to even consider allowing them,” Venerable Knight Roman Calixtus stated. “It was a group of humans who killed the Reverent Knights. I know that asshole Bernal paid them to do it, but they still had no problem murdering two dragons in their bedroom.”
“Oh trust me, I understand. I must remain impartial and do what’s best for the Council. We could improve our lives if we managed to convince the humans to be friendlier, which is a long shot at best. If they would deal with us, we might even be able to save these sprites. But personally I have little use for them,” Chrysander confided. “They killed our emperors, and they treat us with contempt. I won’t even repeat the things they’ve said to us about our lifestyles, especially those who have gender identities that differ from their so-called norm or sexual orientations that aren’t male to female.”
“So we can’t save the sprites because the humans would essentially see it as an act of war,” Saura remarked. “That’s terribly unfortunate. Is there any way we can convince the sprites to run away to land owned by the Council so we can help?”
“The sentinels are trying to intervene by speaking with any sprites they can, but I’m afraid Chesvarin’s hold on them is too strong, or we’re too intimidating. They run from us before we can explain that we mean no harm,” Alaric said.
“While we are on the subject of sentinels helping people, did anyone get the chance to give one of Chrys’s business cards to his parents’ mate, Niko?” Costas asked.
Alaric nodded. “We slid a couple of them under the door to the guest house where it appears he’s living.”
“Let’s hope he picks up the phone and gives me a call,” Chrysander said.
“I hate to think of this poor guy living out in the guest house. I mean, how does that make you feel when you’ve got two mates and they’ve both kicked you out of the house? I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that our parents haven’t sealed their bond with him after all these centuries,” Damian retorted.
“Families can certainly be trying,” Aleksander remarked.
Chrysander grinned. “Not yours. You’ve got this house full of incredible people, and you can feel affection and love the minute you walk through the doors. I’m half-afraid Ellery’s going to pack his bags and decide he wants to be a D’Vaire too.”
