30. Adrian Westergren
THIRTY
ADRIAN WESTERGREN
Adrian didn’t ever want to move another muscle again.
After a shower that mostly consisted of him leaning on the wall while standing in the spray and eating a sandwich that he couldn’t recall tasting, Adrian fell into bed and was unconscious before his head was on the pillow.
Hours later, someone claimed it was time for a meeting.
How the hell was he supposed to get up when his body was still so tired?
Plus, there happened to be a sexy, half-naked dragon wrapped around him, holding him as though he never meant for them to be parted.
Why the fuck would he ever willingly get up?
Oh, that’s right.
Evil man trying to kill gods. Someone had to save the world. Blah blah blah.
He just wanted five more minutes.
Maybe ten now that Haru was kissing along his shoulder.
More knocking on the door. This time it was Shey, and he didn’t sound happy.
After another shower and another sandwich he couldn’t taste, Adrian was up and cradling a cup of coffee as if it were his lifeline back to the living.
He glanced through the living room crowded with people he didn’t know.
He vaguely recalled some quick introductions on his way to his first shower, but it was all a blur.
He found a familiar face at last. Tyche sat on the sofa with his legs folded in front of him, holding his mug of coffee the same way as Adrian.
Shey was beside him, perched on the sofa arm and scowling like an angry rain cloud ready to burst all over the meeting.
Neither of them looked as if they’d gotten nearly enough sleep even though it was late afternoon.
Haru stood beside Adrian’s chair, his arms crossed and a rare frown on his lips.
Jules perched on the edge of the sofa cushion beside Tyche, all of his attention on the map spread out on the coffee table.
Both he and his companions appeared as if they’d gotten some sleep.
The unfamiliar faces all had an air of discomfort or awkwardness, as if they weren’t sure how to handle Adrian and his friends.
“Nigel, why don’t you start with what you’ve learned?” Quill coaxed.
The young man with the thin hair and narrow face swallowed hard and nodded as he stepped forward. “They moved up the flag ceremony.”
“What?” That single word exploded from several people, and Haru even took a menacing step toward Nigel as if the change in the timing of their attack was all his fault.
“My sources say that the situation within Bellcairn has grown too volatile and if they wait longer, it will only get worse. To get ahead of it and to keep the chancellor safe, they’ve moved up the timeline by nearly a week. It’s happening in two days.”
“This is bullshit,” Hayden muttered. “I was planning on using that time to continue recruiting protestors. People aren’t scheduled to grab trains into Bellcairn for several days.”
Nigel frowned at the older woman. “That’s exactly what they are trying to get ahead of.
It’s also why they aren’t bothering to announce the change in the scheduling until the day before the ceremony.
They want to reduce the number of people attempting to enter Bellcairn.
They don’t have enough police and military in town to handle the crowd that’s here. ”
“It will work for us,” Shey announced, and the low grumbling throughout the room stopped. “They are trying to keep protestors out of Bellcairn by moving up the event, but it means that New Rosanthe doesn’t have time to move in more soldiers to control the crowds.”
Adrian nodded. If the local authorities were struggling to handle the people in Bellcairn now, it wouldn’t get any better come the time of the ceremony. They would have to find a way to use that to their advantage.
“What do we know about the event itself?” Shey continued.
Nigel sucked in a deep breath and shifted the tablet he was gripping. He tapped the screen a few times. “Originally, Chancellor Feng was supposed to arrive at least two days prior to the event and stay at The Iron Bridge Hotel—one of the city’s most exclusive and highly protected hotels.”
Haru touched Adrian’s shoulder, drawing his gaze up. “Why does that name sound familiar?”
“It was on the same block as the hotel in which we stayed. The Lotus.”
Haru hummed. “Yes, The Lotus was a better hotel.”
Tyche snorted. “You only liked that one because you had half the hotel staff trained to jump to your every whim.”
Haru shrugged. “Why else would they be the better hotel?”
The three of them grinned, but Shey refused to join in the happy memory. His scowl seemed permanently etched into his face, and Adrian had a good guess as to why.
“When does Feng arrive?” the prince demanded, his cold voice sending a bitter wind through the room.
Nigel cleared his throat and shifted from one foot to the other.
“Um…he’ll be arriving by ship and won’t be disembarking from the ship until that morning.
From there, he is supposed to be driven in a highly protected motorcade from the military harbor to the capitol building.
He arrives at the capitol building at approximately ten o’clock.
He is scheduled to be in a series of meetings with local officials and leaders.
At noon, he will hold a luncheon for his staunch supporters.
At two o’clock, the flag-raising ceremony will begin, which will include a speech from the former president of Damardor, a speech from Chancellor Feng, and the playing of the new national anthem, which I understand sounds almost identical to the old New Rosanthe national anthem.
From there, Chancellor Feng will return to the interior of the building for another shorter ceremony where he will name the new ‘governor’ of Old Damardor.
His schedule has him in the motorcade prior to four o’clock and returning to his ship.
From there, we hear some whispers that he is headed to Olan in Uris-Oladul. ”
Case scoffed. “Not likely. There’s no way Feng is brave enough to show his face there. He’d have to have significant military support.”
“He probably does,” Jules countered. The young man squinted at them.
“To rise to power and make such a bold move as taking over Damardor, Feng had to make a number of deals to keep his backers happy. So far, the war with Caspagir has not gone well, and the region is not prepared for Erya to enter the fight as Caspagir’s ally.
Add in that Uris-Oladul has declared its independence from New Rosanthe, and things are now looking dire for Feng.
His supporters have to be loudly complaining.
To buy himself some time, he has to win one battle, and the easiest one would be pulling Uris-Oladul back into the fold. ”
“But if we get rid of Feng in Bellcairn, Uris-Oladul gets some much-needed breathing room to stabilize, and Caspagir will have the chance to kick out the last of the invaders,” Adrian chimed in.
“What about Damardor?” Haru asked.
There was a long, heavy silence as Jules tipped up his face to stare at Haru behind smudged glasses. “The highest probability is civil war. The distance between Aswa and Bellcairn is shorter than it is between Aswa and Olan. New Rosanthe can move suppressive forces into Damardor the fastest.”
“However, that also depends on the next group to seize power in Aswa,” Adrian pointed out.
“After the battle in the Ordas, New Rosanthe was left in chaos, and it’s been less than a year since the death of Emperor Naram Suen.
With the failure of the Federation of Order, it seems likely that the people of New Rosanthe would push for an extended period of peace so they can rebuild their lives.
They’ve got to be tired of losing sons, daughters, husbands, and wives to one senseless battle after another. ”
“If this were any other country, I would agree with you.” Quill’s low, growly voice rolled through the room, drawing all eyes to him.
“I spent fifteen years in the Damardor military, which was largely trained by New Rosanthe officers. They’ve built their entire identity on fighting and conquering.
Peace is seen as weak and wasteful, while dying for your emperor is viewed as the highest honor a person can achieve. ”
“That’s disturbing,” Adrian muttered.
“No, it’s just different,” Tyche said with a sigh.
“It’s been a long time since I last wandered through New Rosanthe, but I doubt much has changed.
Most of the territory is mountainous or hard, rocky land with minimal plant life.
What land that is good for farming and husbandry is limited to the two narrow peninsulas in the south.
Not nearly enough land to support all their population.
While they have ample resources available in terms of mining minerals and gems, they never sought to expand the technology that would make pulling those resources from the rock easier and more cost-effective.
Instead, they pooled all their resources into the military.
In their minds, it was easier to conquer Damardor and Uris-Oladul, who had ample farmland, and force those people to supply them with food.
Other countries view them as barbaric and greedy.
For the people of New Rosanthe, they see it as fighting for their survival. ”
The silence that followed was almost suffocating.
It was the first time Adrian had ever heard anyone effectively explain why New Rosanthe was so militaristic and antagonistic.
He’d grown up in Erya and had considered himself somewhat worldly before joining the royal guard because he’d traveled to Brightspire in Ilon when most people he knew never left Stormbreak Point, let alone Erya.
All the surrounding opinions had always been the same—New Rosanthe bred arrogant, greedy assholes who thought they should rule the world.
It had always been about power. No one had ever talked about something as basic as survival.