And tripped. Badly.
I shrieked and fell over someone’s luggage on the damn floor, and I reached out to find purchase of something…anything, really. I managed to grab a plant, taking the enormous thing down with me. Along with multiple suitcases, which fell like dominos. The hard tinkle of shattering pottery echoed against the walls. I grunted, my shoulder and hip slamming into the solid, colorful tiling, while dirt and leaves and branches fell everywhere inside the grand Elemental foyer.
Then…silence after the chaos.
It was so quiet, I was sure the Elders at my back heard my mortified curse.
I brushed my hair out of my face, my cheeks alive with color.
The crunching of pottery informed me one of the Elders was moving toward me.
An amused male stated, “Here, let me help you.”
A golden tanned hand appeared in front of the blue wall in my line of sight.
Inhaling heavily, hoping these Elders kept this little incident from King Collins, I gripped his hand, letting him help me to my feet. He even kept a steadying hand on me while I put on one of my flip-flops that had come off. More than humiliated, I quickly scrubbed my clothing of debris, keeping my head down. “I’ll have to tell the gossiping, gawking, pain-in-my-ass house staff to clean this up.”
His right hand that was reaching to pull a twig off my shoulder froze, indeed, his entire body went still. “I’m sorry, Miss. I didn’t hear you right. What did you just say?”
I sighed in frustration. The damn staff had been getting on my nerves lately. ‘Shootings’ and ‘brawl’ and ‘troublemaker’ were comments that were becoming a normal whispered occurrence when I entered any room with a staff member inside. I flipped my hair out of my face, staring up into unblinking golden eyes. “I said, the damn gossiping, gawking, pain-in-my-ass house staff will clean this up.” I glanced downward from who had to be Elder Nelson, the Elder Mage. I shuffled my right foot, toeing some of the debris. “But it’ll give them something else to bitch about.”
I brushed off the twig that Elder Nelson had been reaching for on my shoulder, then I extended my own hand into his frozen one. I hoped he wasn’t the sensitive sort since I had—ahem—cursed. Peering up into his eyes, I stated clearly, “It’s nice to meet you, Elder Nelson.”
He blinked once. Twice.
A masculine throat cleared to my right.
There was an Elder Vampire standing there, who had to be Elder Venclaire.
I glanced back to Elder Nelson. When he only continued to stare, I asked quietly, “Did I offend you?” I was really hoping that wasn’t the case.
“What?” he murmured absently, then he blinked once more before his shoulders shot back, his spine straightening. He finally shook my hand, and he stated a bit gruffly, “No, I’m fine. Just a bit jet-lagged.”
I let go of his hand with a kind smile. “I’m sorry to hear that. I’m positive the Rulers and the other Elders wouldn’t mind if you rested before the meeting.”
His eyes darted back and forth between mine. “How do you know what the Rulers and Elders would want?”
It was my turn to blink, and it swiftly occurred to me that he had no clue who I was…and neither did the others staring at me, whose gazes I could feel on me. I cleared my throat before speaking. “You’ll have to excuse me for not introducing myself. I automatically assumed you knew because I’ve been on television and the internet…” I bit back what I was going to say as his golden brows rose—I remembered they had been in the Third World. The less they knew about my ‘playful’ antics, the more likely this greeting would go well. I waved a hand, a bit of dirt flying from it. “Never mind. You’ll figure that all out soon enough.” I dipped my head to him as a respectful Prodigy should. “I’m Caro Jules, the Prodigy Elemental.”
He stared. “Caro Jules, the Prodigy Elemental?”
I nodded once. “Yes.” I gestured to the mess on the floor. “I’m not normally this ungraceful. I didn’t see the luggage in my rush to meet you.” When he didn’t say anything but only continued to eye me, I moved to the Vampire. I stepped carefully through the wreckage…and quickly jerked a leaf off his shoulder and dropped it on the ground. I extended my hand to him, peering up into his blue eyes. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Elder Venclaire.” My lips pinched under his direct, intense regard. “Sorry I made such a grand entrance. I’m really not a klutz.”
His lips twitched as he shook my hand. “I believe you…Ms Jules, you said?”
“Yes, Ms Jules. Or you can call me Caro if you prefer.”
His smile was handsome as he released my hand, his gaze flicking across my face. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, too.” He tapped his cheek. “You have a little dirt right there.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled, quickly wiping my face. I continued to the right, turning to a black-haired Shifter. I hopped over a large chunk of dirt and held my hand out to him politely. But I promptly reached up with my other hand and grabbed a twig that had somehow made its way into his hair, dropping it on the ground. “Elder Kincaid, I’m sorry if any other debris hit you.”
He huffed gently, his dark eyes penetrating. All of their gazes were intense. He spoke calmly and shook my hand. “No harm done, Ms Jules. And it’s nice to meet you.”
I lowered my hand and kept my features pleasant, deflecting his nice to meet you comment. “Are you happy to be back in the States?”
His lips curved. I was pretty sure I hadn’t put anything past him. “Yes, I’m pleased to be back. Especially since my mate, Fi, will be joining us later this evening.”
An honest question. “You haven’t seen her in two months?”
“No.”
“Well…” I leaned closer, my words quiet. “You may want to have a Mage spell your room for privacy, since there are walking Vamp ears everywhere.”
He chuckled quietly. “Thank you for the advice, Ms Jules.”
I straightened. “You’re welcome.” Watching where I walked, I continued to the right, heading to the last Elder. I placed my feet carefully between suitcases before hopping over one piece of luggage. Being as dignified as I could, I brushed hair out of my face and stared for a moment at the brown cashmere sweater in front of me. I composed myself, since this was the Elder Elemental. Inhaling subtly, I extended my hand then peered up into amber eyes. “It’s nice to meet you, Elder Fergus.”
The tone of his voice was the soft cadence of a self-assured man: a deep rich tenor. He spoke steadily, “The pleasure’s all mine, Ms Jules.” He paused as I cleared my throat, and he watched as I quickly bent down to right some of the luggage, giving my hands something to do. “May I enquire if Caro is short for Caroline?”
“Yes, you may and it is.” I lifted another suitcase from its side. “Caroline Sadie Farrow Jules.” I blinked, pausing for a moment. I was nervous as hell if I was rumbling out my entire name like that—the staff really were going to hate me after this. “But please, call me Caro.” Done dusting off the heavier-than-shit suitcase, I straightened. “I can have the house staff take your luggage to your rooms, if you’d like to go straight to the meeting. Or if you’d care to rest as I mentioned before, then I’m sure no one would mind—”
Pottery crunched across the room, then Sin’s voice grumbled, “Ow, dammit.”
“Excuse me a moment,” I murmured to the Elders. I jerked sideways, glancing back to see Sin had just turned the corner to the foyer. He wore only a pair of damp, black swim trunks, holding a sandwich in one hand and a sleeping Isolde in the other. I looked down to his feet where he was glaring. I instantly scowled, carefully walking in my flip-flops to him, and I snapped my finger in a jerking upward motion as I squatted. When he lifted his bare foot for me, I yanked the piece of pottery out of it. “Go the other way. There’s too much shit you’ll step on in here.”
As I stood, he stated dryly, “I think I can manage now I know it’s there.” His gaze was quickly assessing the newcomers and the broken bits of the pot and plant…and my dirty attire compared t
o their clean attire. His lips twitched. “And she enters with a bang.”
“Shut up,” I mumbled, stealing his sandwich since he was using his mouth for making fun of me. I grinned when he instantly scowled, but I cut off his forthcoming comments by quickly telling him who the Elders were. Then I motioned to the man trying to covertly steal his sandwich back. “Elders, this is Sin.” I took a huge bite of his sandwich before holding it away from another flick of his hand.
Elder Nelson asked, “Sin?” He paused. “Is that it?”
“For now,” Sin stated easily. “Besides, I’m sure one of the Rulers will inform you of my more humiliating legal name.” Sin glanced at me as I wolfed down another bite, muttering quietly, “Didn’t you eat enough at lunch?”
“Didn’t you?” I asked around a mouthful.
Elder Venclaire questioned, “Is that…her Vizoac you’re holding?”
“Yes.” His brows raised in fake amazement. “It’s truly amazing, isn’t it?”
“Actually, no. We’ve seen the previous Vizoacs do that with the current Rulers.” Elder Kincaid blinked slowly. “What do you do here, Sin?”
Sin stared back at him with what I knew to be forced patience. “I’m with Caro.” Green eyes to me, with a falsely thoughtful expression. “Maybe I should start saying something else. It sounds similar to saying I’m your luggage.”
My grin was original. “Aw…but you’re luggage that makes a great snack.”
Sin grinned, leaning down to kiss my cheek, but he covertly whispered at my ear, “I don’t believe that Elder Fergus—the man currently staring at you like you’re his long-lost best friend—likes me very much.” I choked on my mouthful as he lifted away, and I pounded on my chest, not glancing in that specific Elder’s direction. I barely hung on to my sandwich when Sin slapped my ass, his hand lingering a moment on the curve of my derrière. “I’ll see you later, love.” I nodded, trying not to be flustered with him leaving me. He nodded to the Elders in a cordial manner while picking his way through the debris, Isolde still sleeping in his hand. “Elders, it was a pleasure meeting you.”
“Likewise.” Elder Fergus watched Sin as he moved, his head of green curly hair turning to following him. I would have to agree with Sin’s assessment. The gleam in his amber eyes wasn’t friendly, for whatever reason. Maybe because both Sin and Elder Fergus were earth Elementals.
Quickly downing my last bite, I brought everyone’s attention back to me. “Would anyone prefer to go to their room, or would you care to go straight to the meeting?”
All four Elders agreed to go to the meeting. Easy enough.
I gestured to my left. “It’s this way if the four of you will follow me.” I didn’t really wait for a response, turning on my heel. I strolled safely but swiftly through the debris, hearing their dress shoes crunch on the pottery as they followed behind me. Not really wanting to, I flagged down a staff member cleaning one of the rooms and asked her as nicely as I could to clean up the mess in the foyer and to make sure the Elders’ luggage arrived in the appropriate rooms. This earned me a long stare from the staff member before she muttered something under her breath as she marched away to do as I bid.
Elder Venclaire chuckled quietly behind me. “The staff really aren’t fans of yours, are they?”
“Nope.” I trekked in the direction of the conference room, leading them along the twisting hallways. “I’m too much trouble for most of them.”
“Trouble?” Elder Fergus asked directly behind my left shoulder.
Well, introductions were over so why the hell not tell them?
“For the really interesting fumbles I’ve made so far, look it up on the internet. If you want to hear the rest, just stand behind a corner and listen to the staff gossip,” I muttered, nervously brushing hair behind my right ear. “It’s safe to say, it has taken some adjusting for me to take on this role from the previous Prodigy.”
Elder Fergus hummed quietly, his voice reassuring. “I’m sure it’s not as bad as what you’re saying.”
My chuckle blurted from my mouth. “Oh yes. It is.”
Elder Kincaid, at the far back, stated in a helpful fashion, “Queen Ruckler had an adjustment period too, when she took over as Prodigy from my son.”
My brows puckered and my footsteps almost faltered.
I hadn’t realized his son had been the original Prodigy—not Queen Ruckler.
“Dominic Kincaid was Queen Ruckler’s mate, and the power moved to her similar to how the power moved to you,” Elder Fergus stated quietly. I quickly glanced back and saw his head was down as he walked, his hands casually in the pockets of his black dress pants. He shrugged a casual shoulder. “In case you were unaware of that fact.”
“Oh.” I peered back to where I was walking. “Thank you. I wasn’t aware.” And it was probably best to keep my mouth shut about who her long-time beau was. “Were your facilities so poor in South America that none of you had a television to watch…or even a radio?”
Elder Nelson grunted. “Too put it bluntly, we’ve been living in squalor for months.”
I hummed quietly.
“The radio…” Elder Fergus hummed calmly. I could feel his attention on the side of my face. “Did something happen on the radio we should be aware of?”
I hoped I spoke too softly for them to understand. “Just a little incident with me and the President.”
Elder Venclaire choked, then he quickly mumbled to the others, “Nothing to worry about. I’m sure it’s all been handled by now.”
“It has,” I muttered on a sigh, running a hand over my face, a bit tired. I stopped in front of the closed, wooden green conference room door. Not glancing back, I explained, “And when you four get to the mud wrestling part on the internet…” I cleared my throat. “Just do me a favor and skip past it. That’s been handled, too.”
Silence behind me.
Elder Kincaid choked as Elder Venclaire had. “Truth.”
“Mud wrestling,” Elder Fergus stated slowly. I saw him staring at me from the corner of my eye, and if I wasn’t mistaken, his voice was a bit hoarse. “As in, women fighting each other, wearing hardly—”
I held up a stopping hand. “Just skip past it.”
More incoherent words from Elder Kincaid. “Did you win?”
My lips twitched. “I now hold the record there for most fights won.”
Elder Nelson chuckled, but the sound quickly cut off with a grunt.
And still I stared at the closed door as the silence extended.
Elder Fergus cleared his throat. “Is this the room we’re meeting in?”
I nodded once. “Yes.” I only eyed the door.
He took a step closer, tilting his head, his green curls dangling. He watched me with a careful gaze. “Is there a reason we’re not going inside?”
“A few.”
“Such as?”
I sighed heavily and crinkled my nose. “I’ve been grounded recently, like a fucking child, and banished to my room. I’m not particularly interested in being cooped up inside this room for much longer than I already have been.”
Green eyebrows slowly lifted. “Grounded?”
“Yes.” I waved my hand. “For the drunken mud wrestling bit.”
“You were also drunk?”
“Bingo,” I mumbled, staring back to the door. “Caught on film for the whole world to see.” I rubbed at my forehead. “Plus there was the fact the announcer caught me on tape placing an illegal bet.”
Elder Fergus didn’t even blink an eye. “How much did you make?”
My lips lifted. “You’re only the second person to ask me that. It was ten large.” My eyebrows bounced once. “And it’s all mine.”
“Not bad.” He cleared his throat. “And the first person was?”
“Sin.” My lips pinched, and I blinked at the door. I cracked my neck and placed my hand on the doorhandle. “I really don’t want to go in there and see the One.”
His warm hand darted out, landing on mine on
the handle. “Has he done something to you?”
“Nothing bad,” I stated instantly, hearing in his tone what most others probably wouldn’t: the sound of a calculated death in the works. “The bad came from the other one, which I’m sure you’ll read in the report King Collins has for you. The real One,” my laugh was cynical, “well, he’s dangerous in a whole other light. And he’s way more intelligent than he’s letting on. He’s also not too happy about my decision to have a break from romantic relationships.” My brows lifted slowly and I glanced from Elder Fergus’s hand over mine to amber eyes. “I’ve sworn off any romantic relationships until I can get my head screwed on straight, after what that bastard did to me.”
Eyes roaming my face, Elder Fergus lifted his hand from mine. “It’s all in the report?”
I snorted, twisting the doorhandle. “All of it, I’m sure.”
I pushed the door open, walking inside the room.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
King Collins stood to introduce the Elders to the spirits…after his eyes had narrowed on the dirt debris remaining on my clothing. He silently cast a glance at my chair, a direct order to sit my ass down. It was probable that in his eyes I was a disaster waiting to happen.
Which wasn’t entirely true.
Each of the Rulers handed their corresponding Elder a fairly thick file. I almost groaned seeing how—in such a short time of being here—I already had a file that thick. Because it was mostly about me and what had happened since I’d been named Prodigy Elemental.
King Collins sat down on my right, as per normal.
Elder Fergus sat directly on my left, relaxing easily on his chair. He was comfortable in his own skin, which was another sign of a self-assured Royal: someone who was at home in a conference room with many dignitaries.
I, on the other hand, took a calming breath. Inside this room…once more.
Chosen Fool (Forever Evermore Book 5) Page 24