Page 9 of No Ordinary Drakeling
Chapter 4
Present Day
Chrysander jotted down a note, then raised his head to speak with the three men gathered in his office. “What else do we need to discuss?”
“We received another letter from Chieftain Fen-Lynthi. I have put together a response—I just need your signature at the bottom,” Wesley told him as he lay down the sheet of paper in front of Chrysander. For centuries Wesley had faithfully maintained Chrysander’s office and administrative staff.
He was an asset—not only to dragons but the entire Council since without him, there wouldn’t be such a push for every petition they received to move so quickly. As the Council grew, so did Chrysander’s staff to keep up with the demand. It was embarrassing to admit he didn’t even know all the names of the people crammed into the ever-growing hive, but there was simply no time for Chrysander to memorize them. Leading a Council of over one hundred races was a demanding but fulfilling role, and Chrysander worked hard to always give his best.
“Another letter?” Chrysander asked. “I don’t recall his name.”
Wesley pursed his lips. “It’s the fifth letter he’s sent. That’s why I decided it was time to end this foolishness. I don’t have time to deal with autocratic elven chieftains who don’t even belong to the Council.”
“What does he want?” Zane asked.
“He’s demanding that the emperor come to his village because he swears there’s an elf who is part dragon,” Wesley revealed.
Damian’s eyebrows rose. “A hybrid? Does he give any details about him or her?”
“Let me get his letters,” Wesley said as he marched out of Chrysander’s office. His desk was just outside the door, so he popped back into the room only a minute later. “Here.”
Chrysander took the stack of papers from Wesley’s hand, and his brothers swarmed over to grab them as soon as he completed reading each one. “The hybrid’s already over a hundred.”
“I think it’s a prank to get you to his village,” Wesley stated.
“What do we know about the Fen-Lynthi tribe?” Chrysander asked.
Zane tapped a few times on the screen of his phone. “There is no record of them ever applying to the Council.”
“So basically we don’t know shit about them,” Damian commented.
“Exactly. We don’t have time to deal with nonsense like this. If Chieftain Fen-Lynthi wants to join the Council, he needs to do so through the proper channels like everyone else. He can’t simply demand the Emperor come to his little village in the middle of nowhere,” Wesley complained.
“I’m going to send a few dragons to fly overhead,” Damian said. “I want to know how many elves belong to their tribe.”
“I’ll call King Klossnerdraconis. His court’s in Montana, so he might be familiar with this tribe,” Zane remarked as he continued to swipe his finger over the device in his hand.
“I think we’re wasting time and energy here,” Wesley protested.
“If there’s a hybrid there, we need to intervene. At one hundred, he or she could shift at any moment,” Chrysander replied as Zane spoke in low tones to the king on the other end of the line.
“We can’t help,” Wesley responded. “Not a single dragon hybrid has ever survived their shift. The only thing we can do is assist them in getting their affairs in order before their death.”
“Just because there hasn’t been a survivor yet doesn’t mean it’s hopeless. Our numbers of pureblood dragons dying during their first shift continues to diminish because we’re making it safer each year,” Damian stated. “I’ve got people on their way to see if they can find the Fen-Lynthi village.”
Zane lowered his phone and his black eyes met Chrysander’s. “King Klossner said there are two tribes in Montana that don’t belong to the Council. Both are tiny and don’t have much to do with the outside world. His dragons have seen them trekking to human towns to trade goods. They live primitively just as their ancestors did. No electricity or anything else, just earthen huts and fires.”
“I’m going to assume none of his dragons have a half-elf child living in one of those villages,” Damian drawled.
“No, His Highness swears none of his dragons have personally interacted with either of these isolated tribes,” Zane replied.
“Wesley, we need to address this properly. I want you to draft a letter to Chieftain Fen-Lynthi. If he does have a hybrid, we’re willing to help. He wants us to take the hybrid, and we’re more than happy to do that as well as accommodate him for the loss of a member of his tribe,” Chrysander said.
Wesley’s face was a mask of horror. “You’ve read the letters. He will only release the hybrid to you personally. You can’t waltz into a tiny village to pick up one elf who may or may not be part dragon. You’re the Emperor.”
“Fate gave me the responsibility of overseeing the dragons, including those who are hybrids. I couldn’t sleep at night if I let him or her die in a village with no clue how to prepare that person for their first shift,” Chrysander responded. “My duty is to my people, and my title is meaningless if I’m not doing all I can to aid them. It may be possible for a hybrid to survive, and we’re going to help this person however we can. If they die, that’s in Fate’s hands.”
“But there’s no time on your schedule,” Wesley complained.
