Page 10 of Prince of Storms
We shared a laugh over that. Storm dragons weren’t exactly known for taking our time to make decisions. It was in our blood to act swiftly and deal with the consequences. Like lightning strikes. We didn’t waste time.
“Well, this is what happens when you leave a place empty for, what, fifteen years?”
“Seventeen,” I said immediately, pausing to look at some of the furniture. “We’re going to have to replace much of this, too.”
“The entire Manerium?” Ty questioned. “That’s alotof furniture, Torrent. Like, a lot.”
He used my full name when he wanted to make sure I was paying attention.
“You mean a lot of money.”
“Yeah.”
“It’s not your money,” I said. “Why do you care?”
“Because if you want to just give it away, give it to me. My hoard could use some topping up.”
I rolled my eyes. “These are royal funds, Ty. From the coffers that all dragons pay into. I’m not spending it on personal things. You know this place will be open to everyone once we’re done setting it up.”
“Speaking of that, when are you expecting the others?” he asked. “And how many?”
“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “I left orders with Tempest to find some people who wouldn’t mind setting up shop here on Earth either permanently or for longer periods at a time. So, however long it takes him to find a handful of people like that, I suppose.”
I wasn’t in any rush to have others come to the manor either. As we’d said, it needed a lot of work. Until that was done, I wouldn’t be doing much else, including searching for my mate. If I were to impress her, it wouldn’t be with the house in this dusty, rundown state.
“Got it. So, tomorrow’s plan?”
I wandered down the hallway, dragging a finger along the top of an uncovered side table. My fingertip came away gray, covered in a thick layer of dust.
“New furniture,” I said, rubbing my fingers together to rid it of the dust. “Fuck, this is dirty.”
“Yeah, it needs a good deep cleaning from top to bottom. How do you want to handle that?”
“Hire a human to do it,” I said dismissively.
“You want humans in here?”
“It’ll be fine,” I said, waving aside his concern. “We’ll just keep them out of the Rift room and make sure we don’t do anything wildly obvious to reveal what we are. It’s just you and me in here for now anyway. What could go wrong?”
“Famous last words,” Ty warned.
“You want to tackle cleaning all this?” I said, waving a hand around as my voice echoed down the hallway.
“Fuck, no,” he said immediately.
“Exactly. So I’ll find a cleaning agency while I’m in town tomorrow, and they’ll handle it.”
“What do you want me doing, then?”
“Grounds search,” I said. “Go over it with a fine-tooth comb and discover any major issues. Then you can start on the perimeter, making sure it’s secure, seeing if any repairs to the walls need to be done, etc.”
“Can do,” Ty said, bobbing his head. “Sire.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’ve been my best friend since we were kids, Ty.”
“And soon, you’re going to be my prince.”
“It’s not going to change our relationship,” I promised. “Still friends to the end, right?”
