Chapter 13 #2
Adrian released a spoiled huff. “I don’t know. Maybe. Don’t they have anything to drink here?”
Haru flashed him an indulgent grin and tapped the tip of his nose with his finger. “Let us go find something. But not too much, my precious viper. I have plans for you later.” Haru tightened his arm on Adrian and gave Amelia a passing wave. “Tell Drost to find me.”
The evening continued for a bit like that as they acquired flutes of champagne.
Haru rotated between being effusively friendly and coldly distant for no rhyme or reason that Adrian could see, and these rich lunatics ate it up as if he were some kind of social genius.
With the dragon pulling all the focus, Adrian was free to watch everyone who moved through the party, memorizing faces and catching bits of conversation.
After half an hour, a man in a charcoal-gray suit with shoulder-length blond hair and a closely trimmed beard walked over. This was Matthys Drost from the pictures Vitor had shared with them.
“Yujian!” the man greeted, clapping Haru on the shoulder. Adrian hurried to the dragon’s side, prepared to provide support or distraction as it was needed.
“Matthys, at last,” Haru purred. He brushed a kiss to the man’s cheek before wrapping an arm around Adrian’s waist. “Let me introduce you to my darling treasure, Mitso.”
He had no idea how Haru had chosen that name for him, but he’d been adamant about it. He had a dark feeling that it meant something to the dragon race. Unfortunately, Haru was being tight-lipped about it, refusing to say anything.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Drost. Thank you for inviting us to your party,” Adrian said.
It was the first time Haru had introduced him to anyone, and it was also the first time he’d spoken to anyone other than Haru.
The point was made loud and clear—Drost was the only one worthy of meeting Yujian’s pretty adornment.
“Come outside with me. We’ll find a quiet spot to chat, away from all this noise and craziness.” Matthys waved a hand at all the half-drunk, laughing people and beamed.
He led them through a set of open glass doors onto a wide stone patio that looked down onto the prettier half of the city with its gleaming skyscrapers and clean, well-maintained roads.
From here, a person wouldn’t have their eyes sullied by the Little Stip or Black Water Gate districts.
A young lady hurried close with a silver serving tray with three fresh glasses of champagne.
There was a bright smile on her lips, but fear in her wide blue eyes.
The fear morphed into relief as Matthys accepted a glass and motioned for her to leave after Haru took the other two.
Adrian guessed that the workers at Matthys’s party lived in Little Stip, and their entire livelihood rested on not pissing off the boss.
“So, Yujian, what do you think of Damardor so far? This is your first visit, right?” Matthys motioned for them to sit.
Haru chose a chair rather than the sofa, which would have allowed Adrian to sit next to him.
Adrian’s expression stiffened when he had to perch on the arm of the chair, but Haru was a fucking devil.
Before Adrian’s butt could touch the chair, the dragon wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him into his lap, forcing Adrian to cuddle him while still holding onto his champagne.
It wasn’t the most comfortable arrangement.
While they were the same height, Adrian was broader than Haru.
It wasn’t possible for him to shrink so that he didn’t overwhelm the damn man.
“It is okay,” Haru replied, his tone bland and unimpressed. “You have some good alcohol here. Pretty clothes.” He pointed his glass at Adrian. “I am still planning to take this one shopping for some shiny baubles. I hope your shops do not disappoint him.”
Matthys chuckled. “We have some very fine jewelers here. New Rosanthe is known for its diamond and ruby mines. We get a cut of those goods well ahead of the other kingdoms. Definitely a better selection than what you’ll find in Erya.”
“Excellent. I am surprised that your country is so rich, but it feels overrun by poor people.” Haru wrinkled his nose as if the stench of Little Stip could reach him even on the patio. “Outside the district where our hotel is located, everything feels so…dirty.”
A long sigh tumbled from Matthys that sounded very contrived, and he held up his hands.
Once Haru had settled into the chair, Matthys had claimed the long sofa as his own, falling into the center cushion.
“Sadly, that is the price of being controlled by a foreign government. New Rosanthe understands that to keep people under tight control, you have to keep them poor. When their minds are consumed with basic worries, they have no energy left to fight.”
“But that is not so with you and your friends.” Haru tipped his flute of champagne at Matthys before taking a sip.
“No. No. Of course, as a much smaller group, it’s easier for the government to keep us happy. They know to step back, allow us to run our interests as we see fit, and we’ll supply them with a modest cut of the profits.”
Adrian rested his head on Haru’s shoulder, turning his face toward the dragon’s neck rather than risking Matthys seeing the disgusted look he couldn’t quite keep out of his eyes.
“Cut of the profits” didn’t sound like paying taxes.
It sounded a hell of a lot more like a bribe to officials to keep ignoring their nefarious business dealings.
“Yet, from what I am hearing, New Rosanthe is on the brink of collapse. Their government cannot take care of its people, let alone Damardor or Uris-Oladul. Talk has reached even as far as Erya that Damardor will break free.”
“So what?” Matthys laughed. He swallowed the last of his champagne as if it were nothing more than a shot of cheap whisky and held up the empty glass.
He gave it an angry shake in the air, and within a couple of seconds, the young serving girl who’d appeared earlier nearly ran over to take his glass and offer him a fresh one.
Matthys waved her away, shooting her an annoyed look as if pissed she couldn’t read his mind.
“It doesn’t matter if New Rosanthe is in control of Damardor or if we’re independent with our own people running things.
Everyone knows that money makes the wheels turn here.
All the politicians and ministers are bought and paid for.
If they want to keep living in nice homes and receiving their fat checks, they can’t stick their noses in our business.
We own the newspapers and all the other media.
We own the factories that employ the poor workers who are existing paycheck to paycheck.
If the government were to do something we didn’t like, we could say…
close a factory. I can live fine with that factory shuttered for six months.
But could those thousands of poor people?
” Matthys shook his head, a faux frown pulling down the corners of his mouth.
“I don’t think so. Now, those unemployed thousands are protesting in the streets, demanding the jobs of those politicians for forcing me to close my factory. ”
The champagne resting in Adrian’s stomach soured, leaving him feeling sick. He wanted to throw up, preferably on Matthys. But that wouldn’t help them complete their job.
After listening to Matthys speak, he wondered if maybe Vitor had gotten this one wrong.
These were rich assholes who didn’t give a shit about anyone other than themselves.
They were more than happy to make other people suffer so long as they got more material wealth and power out of it.
Yet, he couldn’t imagine how this had anything to do with Shey’s disappearance or the disappearance of those people in Damardor.
He appreciated getting to see this insanely sexy version of Haru, but it got them no closer to saving Shey.
“I can see the appeal of having so much control,” Haru murmured. Adrian had to admire Haru’s ability to utter those words with what sounded like full sincerity and maybe even a hint of amusement. Adrian was ready to pitch a chair at Matthys’s head.
With clenched teeth, Adrian slid his hand up Haru’s chest, trying to get himself lost in the part he was supposed to be playing of devoted boy toy.
As he slid his hand higher, he jolted to a stop over Haru’s heart.
It was racing. The damn thing was pounding as if the dragon were in the middle of a life-or-death battle.
Maybe Haru was as affected by the bastard’s words as Adrian was.
He needed to help Haru stay in character and remain calm.
Adrian shifted his head closer to Haru and lightly brushed his lips along his neck, feathering light kisses across his skin.
Almost instantly, Haru’s heart slowed to a more normal pace.
Haru caught the hand resting on his chest and pressed kisses to Adrian’s fingers before sliding them inside his shirt to rest on bare skin. Evil dragon.
“Considering your moneymaking skills, I thought you would jump at the chance to move your base of operations here to Damardor. You would have far fewer headaches than you have with Erya’s nosy government.”
Haru chuckled. “That is true. The government in Erya is always in my hair about rules and regulations. So much paper work. So many meetings. I have better things to do with my time.”
“Like buying me pretty things,” Adrian interjected in a pouty tone.
“Exactly!” Haru nuzzled the side of Adrian’s face, and Adrian could feel the dragon’s smile. “My darling treasure should always outshine the world.”
“I think you and your treasure would be very comfortable in Bellcairn,” Matthys stated.
“It is something to consider. I spend less time in Stormbreak now. The new king seems to want to be more hands-on with managing the country, and I’m not sure how that suits me.
I considered Ilon, but they are less business-minded.
New Rosanthe could present some opportunities in its current tumultuous state.
I do not know. Money has become…boring. I have so much, and it’s easy to make more. I want something…different.”
Matthys shifted to the edge of his seat and leaned toward Haru. “Stay in Damardor longer. There are so many more like-minded people you must meet.”
Haru grunted in agreement. “You mentioned that there was someone you wished me to meet. Someone who needed my unique skills.”
“There is.” Matthys turned his head to peer through the crowd. His eyes widened, and he jumped to his feet. “He’s here now.”
Adrian lifted his head and watched as Matthys hurried over to another man’s side.
He had black hair that was going salt-and-pepper throughout.
A neat beard and mustache outlined his round face, through which beady eyes peered out.
He was immaculately dressed in what looked to be a very expensive suit with a diamond tiepin that winked in the warm lights.
Matthys’s bossy, arrogant manner shifted in a flash. He was taller than this newcomer, but as he approached him, Matthys bowed his shoulders inward and bent his knees as if trying to shrink his appearance to make him less than this other man.
“Maybe this hasn’t been a wasted trip,” Adrian whispered in Haru’s ear.
“I pray it has not. I would very much like to burn this entire house to ash with all these people inside,” Haru replied in a low voice while maintaining a lazy smile on his lips.
“Me too.”
Haru looked away from Matthys and grinned at Adrian. “Do you think we will be allowed to keep that collar you wear?”
“Probably not. Why?”
Haru made a grumpy noise. “My cousin should gift it to me for a job well done. I wish to fuck you while you wear it and only it.”
Heat scorched Adrian’s face, and he wanted to punch Haru in the nose, but he couldn’t without destroying their cover.
Someone cleared their throat, saving Adrian from saying something he shouldn’t. They both gazed up at Matthys and the stranger standing nearby.
“Yujian Visconti, it’s my honor to introduce you to Ruben Deinum.”