by Amelia Jade
“Or they anticipated us coming here somehow.”
Daxxton nodded. “Exactly. In hindsight, it actually makes sense. If we didn’t stay in Cadia proper, where else would a guest of your status be housed?” he asked, nodding deferentially to the princess.
“Shit,” Dak swore.
“Shit indeed,” Miranda agreed. “Which means that they may have even more unexpected surprises for us.”
***
She waited with Daxxton, glad for his solid, comforting presence next to her. Whatever barrier had been between them had come down, and he protectively stood nearby.
Her lips tugged upward at that. Despite his desire to ensure her complete safety, he’d let her do her job as normal, with the single caveat that she was never more than several steps from his side, and never out of his sight. His presence was noticeable, but he didn’t try to control her at all as she went about discussing precautions for the princess’s security and altered evacuation plans in case something went wrong with her own security team.
Miranda just hoped he saw her for her, and not as his chance at redeeming himself for his failure to protect Kyra. She liked him, despite knowing that doing so would most likely result in heartbreak for both of them, but she had to be her own person, not a modern day version of someone in his mind.
Still, he respected her enough not to try and take over her life, and that was something she valued highly.
Jeremiah returned at regular intervals to keep them updated, and she shook herself alert as he entered the room.
“What is it?” she asked the instant he looked up.
Something was going on, and it was written all over his face.
“The Iron Scale merc got away,” he said angrily, never having gotten over the direct order not to have anyone engage him. “He got into a car and headed for Cloud Lake, where he lost us in the subway system.”
She nodded. That was unfortunate, but had been mostly expected. They’d hoped to get something useful out of tracking him, but it had always been unlikely. “And?” she pushed, knowing that hadn’t been his only reason for returning.
“I just received word from the Council,” he said, nodding to her and Daxxton, but turning his attention to the princess. “They are holding an emergency meeting.”
Miranda turned to Daxxton. “Excellent. They want to speak to us. Let’s go.”
Jeremiah winced.
“What is it?” she asked.
“It wasn’t an invitation for Her Royal Highness,” the Guardian replied with an apologetic glance to the princess. “It was a friend of mine who simply passed on that information to me.”
Her rage peaked. “They’re having a Council meeting, about an attack on a foreign dignitary, and they’re not inviting us?” she asked dangerously.
“Jeremiah is just the messenger,” Daxxton said, stepping smoothly in front of her, his face a weird combination of calm and curiosity, something that should have gotten through to Miranda, but didn’t.
She was too pissed for that, but Daxxton did have a point.
“Sorry,” she grated out, nodding to Jeremiah. “Thank you for informing us.”
Her attention returned to Daxxton. “I’m going there. Now.”
“Yes,” he agreed after a moment, then turned his attention to the others. “Okay, gentlemen, Princess. Let’s get you moving.”
Nobody in the room moved.
Miranda watched his face as his eyes flicked around in confusion. She should tell him, but now was not the time.
“Miranda will speak for me,” the princess said. “I am feeling ill from the attack, and would prefer to remain here with my agents.”
Daxxton opened his mouth in surprise, but he was smart enough not to argue with the ruler of a shifter stronghold.
“Very well,” he said, snapping upright and giving the princess a bow. “I will take her there, and ensure that the Council gives her the right to speak.”
“Thank you,” the princess said genuinely.
Miranda was already moving from the room by that point and she heard Daxxton jog down the hallway to keep up. He fell in stride next to her, his longer legs easily keeping pace.
She could sense that he was intensely curious as to what was going on, but she hoped he didn’t press the issue. Right then Miranda needed to focus on what she was going to say to the Council. There was something she did want his input on.
“Why wouldn’t they invite the princess?” she asked as they emerged outside into the chilly evening air, trying not to sound insulted.
“They didn’t make the decision,” he ground out. “Klara did.”
“You think she’s a traitor?” Miranda asked in surprise, moving to the center of the nearest stone circle, preparing to summon her dragon.
“No,” Daxxton replied. “But I also believe she has one person’s interests in mind only. And it isn’t anyone from Tanith. We need to get you there to speak on the princess’s behalf. Who knows what she’s going to tell the rest of the Council without you there to correct it.”
Miranda nodded, and when it became clear Daxxton was done speaking, she spread her arms and summoned the shadows of her dragon, the blackness growing to encase her.
Behind her, Daxxton waited his turn, eyeing her speculatively.
***
Miranda didn’t pause on the shifting circle at the Cadian Council building. She’d initiated her shift before even touching down, and this time she strode forward within the circle of darkness even as her form shifted. She kept walking as the cloud dissipated, heading for the doors ahead, even as the two sentries moved to block her passage.
“Move aside,” Daxxton commanded as he dropped from the air, his human legs flexing slightly as he hit the ground.
“Show off,” she muttered under her breath, making sure the smile didn’t reach her face.
While she’d thought herself adept at shifting, Daxxton had taken it to a new level by shifting mid-air. He’d literally fallen from the sky in human form next to her, so that he didn’t get left behind.
The flight over had been made in companionable silence. Daxxton had watched over them while she concentrated her mental strength on what she should say. Unfortunately, her efforts had been wasted, because she still did not know what she was going to say. The line between asking for help, and telling Cadia it needed to get its shit together to prevent Tanith from falling was a fine one, and she needed to walk that razor’s edge perfectly.
“I said, move aside,” Daxxton ground out as they neared the sentries, who hadn’t moved.
“Sorry sir. Orders from Klara,” the sentry said nervously, but to his credit, he stood his ground.
“I don’t want to be an asshole,” Daxxton said as they came within a few strides. “But we’re in a hurry. If you don’t move, I’ll be forced to move you.”
The sentry who had spoken looked at his partner. They shared a glance, and then made the smart decision.
“Thank you,” Daxxton said, looking at both of them and nodding respectfully.
Miranda, on the other hand, kept walking. The door opened smoothly and she entered the building, heading down the laser-straight hallway to the big set of double doors that she assumed marked the entrance to the Cadian Council chambers.
“Okay,” Daxxton said, catching up. “How do you want to play thi—”
Miranda hit the doors like a wrecking ball and they flew open, the ceremonial wooden beam that kept them “locked” splintered, spraying the room with debris. It sent most of the Council ducking for cover as she walked into the center of the curved room and stood, surveying the assembled lords and ladies with barely restrained contempt.
“How dare you interrupt us like this!” Klara said, rising from her seat in the center.
Miranda’s eyes swiveled to impale her with the full fury of her gaze. “How dare I?” she whispered, the chamber so silent the noise bounced off the room’s notoriously poor acoustics. “How dare I?”
“Yes, this is a priv
ate session—”
“Of a Council that you told us wasn’t going to be assembled until tomorrow at midday at the earliest,” she spat, interrupting the woman once more. “So, you lied to us. I’m willing to overlook that I suppose, though I wonder if the rest of your Council knew that. Just as I have to wonder if they are okay with the knowledge that twice now a foreign dignitary ostensibly under your protection has come under attack while on Cadian soil.”
Miranda paused. “Although, both occurrences of which have happened while on the Nova Estates. Perhaps we were mistaken when you convinced us of the safety of your home, Councilwoman Nova.”
Backs straightened and more than one set of eyes widened as she hurled that bomb out there. Miranda hadn’t insinuated anything about Klara’s possible involvement in the attacks, but she had insulted her host nonetheless. Her reputation would likely suffer as word circled about her inability to protect foreign dignitaries.
“I assure you,” Klara said, realizing her need to play polite for a moment. “That we have the security of the Tanithian delegation at the foremost of our concerns.”
“We’ll see. I know he has our best interests at heart,” she said with a nod at Daxxton. “But Wing Commander Ryker is but one individual. I have my doubts about how Cadia feels about Tanith lately. I can tell you, we have noticed her apathy. As the ruling body of Cadia, that apathy comes from you.”
Many of the Council members who had watched the proceedings with disinterest until then sat up as she called them all to task.
“Yes, you heard me right,” Miranda said, addressing them all. “You do not have anyone else’s interests in mind anymore. Cadia was once a great and respected power. They looked out for those of us who were not as powerful. Cadia would stop the more predatory powers from exerting undue influence upon us, with a scant care for what Cadia might get from the deal. They did it out of a feeling of pride and respect for all strongholds.”
Miranda snorted. “Now though. Now you sit in your ivory towers and don’t lift a finger until it will help you grow richer or more powerful. It disgusts me, but I am not you, and while I would love to implore you to change, I won’t. I simply tell you that if you continue to look the other way as Fenris makes inroads on places like Tanith and others, you will swiftly find yourselves removed from your perch as the most powerful shifter realm on the planet.”
That got their attention.
“You need to stop being so lazy. Or, perhaps I have it all wrong,” she mused. “Perhaps you aren’t lazy at all. Perhaps Fenris has already become more powerful than you, and you know it. So you don’t act out of fear.”
“That is enough!” Klara said, vaulting the platform that separated the raised dais upon which all the Council chairs sat. “I will not be talked down to by some minion of the princess.”
Beside her, Miranda felt more than saw Daxxton step forward to protect her. But she was ready for this.
“No?” she snapped. “Then perhaps you should rest assured that you aren’t talking to one, but instead you’re insulting the Princess of Tanith herself.”
Chapter Ten
Daxxton
His dragon blazed with golden fire as Klara lost her temper and came flying over the dais.
Fury consumed her eyes as she made clear she intended to teach Miranda a lesson for speaking to her so. It was rare that such things happened at the heights of power within which they now stood, but it did. Miranda had called the Cadian Council cowards, but everyone in the room knew who was the controlling power of that Council, and as such who the words had been directed at.
Daxxton wasn’t about to let that happen, and his body language made that clear to Klara.
But it was the words of Miranda which stopped things from happening. They caught him so off guard that he stumbled to a halt, jaw dropping as he turned to stare at her.
Miranda was the princess?!
That certainly explained the odd things he’d seen amongst the security detail. It wasn’t at all what he’d expected. Daxxton had been ready to hear that she was the princess’s sister, or cousin perhaps. Something that gave her more status than just Head of Security. But this? This was unexpected.
Umm.
His mind was trying to tell him something. It was right there. He could feel it. What was it? Something about her status. But he couldn’t—
Oh. SHIT.
He’d slept with her. With Miranda Pyke, Princess of Tanith.
Except the princess’s name wasn’t Miranda.
Was it?
“I am so confused,” he muttered, not even realizing he’d said it out loud.
“I’m sorry,” she said apologetically, her voice pitched low as the Council itself buzzed with surprise at the revelation that the princess was amongst them, and not back at the Nova Estates as they’d thought. “I’ll explain it all afterward, I promise.”
He nodded, keeping watch on Klara as the councilwoman eyed Miranda dangerously.
Even as he did, his mind raced, filling in all the blanks that this new knowledge implied.
Including the reason why she’d looked so panicked after they’d had sex. Daxxton had noticed it at the time, but he’d been so caught up in his own guilt and grief that he’d not said anything about it. He’d been intending to bring it up with her at the bar, but once more, they’d been interrupted.
She had slept with him, a powerful figure in the Cadian world. As security chief, that was pretty bad, but could be waved off as a simple physical dalliance. That was frowned upon, but everyone knew it happened.
As the Princess of Tanith however, she was expected to keep much better control of physical urges. Which meant that if anyone knew they had been together, it could spell doom for Tanith’s reputation for neutrality. Hell, it could even provide Fenris with the ammunition necessary to make an open move against her government.
Stir up enough support among the anti-Cadia sentiment he was sure existed, and Fenris could move in and claim they were doing so for the good of the people, freeing them from the union their monarch had made with the disgusting Aurum Dragon from Cadia.
It would need a bit more planning than that, but the basics were there, and he didn’t doubt that those in power in Fenris would have a field day with doing just that.
He needed to do something to ensure the Council acted in her favor.
But what?
Daxxton stepped forward, his mouth opening before his brain had even begun to process what it was going to say.
“The Princess is right,” he said, his strong baritone voice carrying easily across the chamber and overwhelming the side conversations occurring all at once.
Heads turned to look at him. Although he might have arrived in the company of someone who had deceived them about her true persona, they knew well who he was. Daxxton Ryker commanded respect from almost all of them, and even those who didn’t respect him would be careful to speak out against him.
In effect, he thought with a mental smile, his speaking was the equivalent to telling them all to shut up, and he used that power to its fullest effect.
“We need to do something. Not because it would bring more glory or power to Cadia. But because we are the only ones who can. That is what this stronghold was founded upon, the essence of wanting to do the right thing, to be there for those who couldn’t do it completely alone, but wished to try anyway. For a long time, we did that, and we managed to grow and become strong because of it.”
He glared at the entire assembled Council, letting them feel the full brunt of his wrath, of his true feelings on politicians and their ilk.
“This is no time for debate, to ensure the best terms for Cadia. We will come out stronger from this simply by doing what we have done in the past. It is what you are doing now that is making us weaker.”
Several sets of eyes narrowed as he spoke.
“Yes, I know the current mindset of this Council and its obsession with money and power. You have grown complacent. You have been led astray, and
Fenris is set to overtake us on the global stage. It is not the fault of anyone but you, the decision-makers.”
“That is just blatantly not true,” Klara snapped, finding her voice amidst the tongue lashing he was giving them.
Daxxton just laughed. “Are you serious? Your house, your house Klara, was infiltrated not once, but twice by their agents. People are dead because our borders are more porous than a fishnet. Who is it that authorized all the budget cuts to the Guardian program, stating it was no longer necessary? It certainly wasn’t me.”
He looked out over the Council once more. Fourteen members sat there, representing the various shifter species within Cadia. Two each of wolves, gryphons, bears, dragons, tigers/big cats, Pegasi, and even two who represented the multitude of smaller races that existed. A number of them had looks of dissatisfaction on their faces. Some of their glares were directed at him, but enough were directed at Klara that he knew he was getting through to them.
It was time to let them know how the rest of Cadia felt.
“I can see in your eyes that you’re well aware of the reality of things. But let me clue you in to something. She,” he stabbed a figure at Klara, who shuddered with impotent rage at being singled out, “is a cancer in your midst. And trust me,” his voice dropped a level. “The rest of Cadia agrees. So, do the right thing here.”
“Just what are you trying to say?” Klara asked, stepping forward.
Daxxton drew himself up to his full height and turned to face her, letting the gold of his dragon flow through to the surface of his skin, giving him a fierce glow.
“Are you threatening me?” he asked, his voice deadly quiet.
There was complete silence in the hall now.
Klara’s eyes widened at the change in his attitude. Her throat bobbed as she swallowed heavily, her nerves betraying her. She might be a power in her own right, but he was an Aurum Dragon, and Klara Nova knew better than to challenge him to a straight-up fight.
“I thought not,” he said again in that same tone as she backed down.
Daxxton turned back to face the remainder of the Council. “Mark my words,” he said loudly. “She is a cancer, not only in your midst, but in the side of Cadia as a whole. She is killing it, all the while telling you that the sky isn’t falling around us.” His eyes glinted with steel. “But I tell you this, she is wrong. We are on the brink of falling into ruin and opening ourselves to a hostile takeover from Fenris. We need to turn this around now, or risk losing Cadia to her enemies forever.”