Page 135 of Claim of Blood
Thursdaybroughtchaos.
Adam’s phone buzzed at dawn with a frantic message from Gaspard:Emergency. Meeting room. NOW.
When Adam entered the meeting room, he found Gaspard staring in horror at his tablet, while Oren spoke in terse sentences on the phone with the gate team.
“What’s happening?” Adam demanded.
Gaspard thrust his tablet toward Adam. “Bai and Jian’s advance teams just called. They’re arriving together in twenty minutes.”
“And?”
“And they’re requesting accommodations for fifty-seven people in total. Fifty-seven.” Gaspard’s voice rose with each word. “That’s more than quadruple what protocol dictates.”
Adam kept his expression neutral, though internally he shared Gaspard’s frustration. Four centuries of Court protocol, and his siblings still found ways to create mayhem. “This wasn’t coordinated in advance?”
“Not a word,” Gaspard confirmed. “We’ve been completely blindsided.”
Lander entered mid-conversation, his face shifting from confusion to alarm. “Did you say fifty-seven?”
“We don’t have enough rooms prepared,” Gaspard said, running a hand through his usually immaculate hair.
Adam’s jaw tightened. The solstice was days away, with other Courts arriving throughout the week. This level of disruption could destabilize everything. “Reassign accommodations immediately. Lander, contact additional staff.”
“I’ll call Emilia and Nathaniel. Again,” Lander replied.
The next few hours passed in a state of organized chaos. Adam coordinated with Oren on expanded protocols, while Gaspard frantically rearranged the room assignments. Leo assisted where he could, helping inventory available space and supplies. The household staff moved with practiced efficiency despite obvious tension, reorganizing entire wings of the mansion.
During a brief lull, Adam retreated to his study to review the updated security layouts, when a soft knock interrupted his concentration.
“Come.”
Lander entered, closing the door behind him. In his hand was a small velvet box, deep midnight blue with silver corners.
“The seal is finished,” he said simply, crossing to the desk.
Adam set down his tablet, a welcome distraction from the morning’s upheaval. Lander placed the box before him, and for a moment, neither man moved.
“May I?” Adam asked, though his fingers were already reaching for the box.
The seal was exquisite. The onyx scarab sat at the center, wings spread wide in perfect symmetry, its surface polished to mirror-black perfection. Leo’s ruby—the single stone salvaged from his family crest—blazed like captured fire at the scarab’sheart. Golden bands circled the design, and twin sapphires gleamed like ancient eyes, wise and eternal.
“It’s perfect,” Adam said, voice rougher than intended.
Adam lifted the ring briefly, admiring the craftsmanship before placing it carefully back in its velvet nest. After the solstice, he told himself. When his siblings departed and the chaos settled. When he could give Leo the ceremony he deserved.
“Thank you,” he said, meeting Lander’s eyes. “Truly.”
A brief smile touched Lander’s lips before duty reasserted itself. “Oren needs you in the security office when you’re ready.”
Adam nodded, closing the box and securing it in his desk drawer.
By mid-morning, a procession of armored vehicles began streaming through the front gates—sleek black SUVs with tinted windows and reinforced frames, obviously rented from a high-end service. No identifying marks were visible on any of the vehicles, giving the convoy an ominous, anonymous appearance.
Adam stood in the main hall with Gaspard and Leo, watching the feed on the tablet as the vehicles approached.
“Raj’s people are in the north wing,” Gaspard muttered, fingers flying across his screen. “Most of Bai and Jian’s teams are in the underground complex. The rest are doubling up in the south wing.”
“Oren’s assessment?” Adam asked.
