Chapter 8
Chapter
Eight
Mercury insisted on being in on the meeting the next day with Cain and all of his lieutenants. There were a few other seers there too, as well as all of the omegas. Even the fabled Jack, who he had yet to meet, and his mate were there.
Jack was a very urban-looking dragon wearing a suit, his dark hair brushed ruthlessly back off of his forehead, but his eyes spoke of a powerful dragon who could move mountains.
“So, what is all of this about?” Triton asked. He was Talon’s brother, a scarred, serious-looking dragon who had proven that he didn’t hold any sort of ill will in his heart toward Mercury. His caution to begin with had simply been that—caution.
Cain took a good look around, then gave Mercury an encouraging smile before he started.
“It’s come to my attention that Mercury here was a witness, even in an oblique way, to the total destruction of a dragon keep.
He had a very dear friend at his former keep who had asked Mercury to slide him to his old home.
When they got there, they found it destroyed, completely, no life in attendance.
This is quite a development, and something that I felt you all needed to be informed of. ”
Kami gave him a look, eyes narrowed, but it didn’t look accusatory; it was more speculative. “So that’s why they locked you away. You had something you could hold over their heads. This very dear friend of yours, who was from this destroyed keep. Why did he end up at your keep?”
“He was some sort of envoy.” Mercury shrugged. “He had brought gifts and trade goods to my keep and was negotiating some kind of agreement. He never really told me too much about it because it was considered a private deal. Something I wasn’t privy to.”
Cerran whistled. “Right, so the negotiator shows up, he brings all sorts of riches and promises more where that came from. While he’s tucked away at your keep, they go kill everybody at his. Did your keep have alliances with anyone else?”
Mercury hunched his shoulders because he didn’t like to think about the warlike keep just to the south of them, who had always been their closest allies.
“We did, and neither of our keeps were particularly rich with natural resources anymore, unless it was fish.” He wrinkled his nose just the thought of eating fish, making him want to gag.
“So there you go. This keep that your lover was from.” That was Jack, asking him a question directly and making him feel very exposed. “Was it full of natural resources?”
He shrugged. “I think so? Biram said it was filled with great artisans, vast quantities of gold and silver. I liked the idea of art everywhere…”
Biram had told a lot of stories about his home, and they had been almost like fairy tales.
This beautiful, peaceful place where there was music in the streets.
Everyone had food and was given opportunities to grow and learn whatever they wanted.
It had been like a fantasy land. And Mercury had to admit he never really thought it was real.
Kami’s stare narrowed even more. “Could you slide us there?”
“Absolutely not,” Talon barked. “We are not involving my hailee in this.”
I can help.
Talon gave him a look. We haven’t even gotten to make love!
“There is a problem with this idea,” Lake murmured, and everyone blinked over at him.
“Problem? I think there’s more than one problem.” Talon sounded absolutely frustrated.
“Right, but there’s an absolutely practical problem.” Lake rolled his eyes. “Mercury, sweetheart, you said that someone else has to know where you’re going. You don’t get to decide, right?”
He nodded his head. “Yes, that’s correct.”
“Right, then none of us know where this is. None of us have seen it. None of us can ask you to take us. So none of us, including Mercury, can go.”
“Lake’s my new favorite.” Talon sounded utterly satisfied by that answer.
“That’s my hailee. No wonder I can never beat him at chess.” Boone grinned at him, and Mercury had to admit, very privately, that he was sort of glad because that had been an awful idea.
He didn’t even want to remember, even for a second, all of the destruction and horror that he’d seen. It had only been for a few moments, but he’d never experienced anything so terrifying. And it had been overwhelming—the smells, the filth, the horror.
He would go back if it would help.
But if he couldn’t go, he couldn’t go.
That suits me, my love. Talon gave him a smile that lit him up inside.
Me too. I was so scared.
I want you to be happy and get strong enough to love on me and have my babies. Not go sliding off to find dead keeps.
I want this as well.
“One way or the other, discreet inquiries from me is all we need right now,” Cain was saying. Somehow he’d missed part of the discussion. “We are already a target. Let’s not make ourselves a huge target. But I do think that we should make inquiries.”
“I think we need to make allies.” That was Cerran, who very rarely spoke up in these meetings and who he’d known very little about, which was weird given that they were literally family.
Triton looked at his mate. “Go on.”
Cerran took a deep, almost cleansing breath. “We’re a very powerful keep. But no single keep can stand against the world. We need allies. Genuine allies, trade partners. A place that is as free as we are. We need to find these keeps and create diplomatic relations with them.”
“That sounds so formal,” Cain said, and Jack was the one who snorted then.
“Formal. Cain. You have more seers in this one keep than I’ve ever seen in one place. You have a Rock Singer. You have warriors. And now you have him—” Jack pointed to Mercury. “Cerran’s onto something here. Fortunately for all of you, I have a list.”
“Of course Jack has a list.” Durango rolled his eyes. “He always has a list.”
“Don’t make me beat you.”
Boone looked at Jack and snorted. “You could try… Do you even remember how?”
Fire flared in Jack’s eyes, and the tension seemed to ratchet up.
Mercury curled into Talon’s side, nervous. This was a lot of big dragons.
A lot in a very small room.
“Guys, if you’re going to have dick measuring contests, you’re going to have to go outside and do it in the salle. There’s just not enough room for everyone to throw down in here.”
The entire room turned to look at Betty, who sat on the edge of her desk sipping her coffee. She was amazing—she looked like a pin-up drawing, curvy and lush, brightly colored and pretty—but she was one of the fiercest dragons around, or so Talon insisted.
Talon and Kami had to deal with her a lot. Kami said he would have totally fallen for her if it weren’t for Reno.
“Betty has a point. So does Jack. So does Cerran. Cerran, Jack, would you two please work together and come up with some sort of a plan? I’ll have Skye help you. Skye has been trained in diplomacy.”
Lake nodded. “He’ll be brilliant at it. I’d offer to help, but I have four thousand children.”
Boone grinned, the look wicked. “Not only that, we’re about to have four thousand and one.”
There was a huge chorus of congratulations, and he had to admit, he was petty enough to want that for himself.
Soon, hailee. I promise.
He glanced up at Talon. What if I can’t?
Then we adopt orphans from another keep. Several of our friends here have done just that, including my brother.
Mercury blinked. There was still a lot of children he hadn’t met.
But he knew that was true. Cerran and Triton and Elowyn had a little girl who had been some sort of real source of contention at another keep.
Kind of like him. Jack and his mate, he knew had a lot of children who were special, like seers.
I hope we can have ones of our own, but I would be willing to take other children too, especially if there were ones like me.
“And we’ve lost them,” Kami said, grabbing his attention back. “They’re now having some sort of lovey-dovey mental talk.”
Talon grinned, squeezing him. “We are at that. Is this meeting over now that we know that Jack and Cerran are going to do all the work for the time being?”
“I’ll help,” Betty said. “I’ve got some contacts.”
“Perfect.” Boone slapped his hands on his thighs and stood up. “Who wants to go spar?”
“I think I would rather go have a meal with my mates.” Triton stood as well, winking at Talon and him, which made Mercury feel incredibly included.
“Kami, we have that thing.” Reno jerked his head toward the door.
Kami’s eyes widened. “Right. That thing. We really need to go do that thing. We’ll see you guys later.”
The room started to empty out, and it was finally only Jack, Cain, and the two of them. Jack smiled at Mercury, which made him want to hide a little bit again, but it wasn’t nice to do that because the man was being kind. “Don’t worry about it, Mercury. We’re going to figure this out.”
“Thank you.” Talon held out a hand to Jack, who shook it. “I appreciate your help on this, alpha. And you, seer. Very, very much.”
“That’s our job.” Jack clapped Cain on the shoulder and then headed out of the room.
Cain gave them both a gentle look. “I think the two of you should go spend some time together, just alone.”
Talon lifted Mercury into his arms, making him gasp because he felt like the world had just shifted under him. “I think that’s a perfect idea. Are you feeling up to going home and enjoying ourselves, mate?” Talon headed out of the room so Cain didn’t get to hear the rest of their conversation.
“That depends on what you mean by enjoying ourselves,” Mercury said. “If you mean ordering more milkshakes, I’m not sure I want to do that.”
“I had something more physical in mind,” Talon told him, winding his way down the hall toward their apartments. “I think you’re up to it now.”
“Do you now?” Mercury chuckled because he did feel up to it and, even if he hadn’t felt up to it, he was done with this just sitting and staring and drinking milkshakes nonsense.