“Oh yes,” I mumbled. “That’s precious.” I spoke in a high, childlike tone. “Look at me, I’m so cute,” then in my firm voice, “I don’t listen to my damn owner.”
I huffed in aggravation and peered up with irritated eyes to King Collins. He was staring at me oddly. “Sorry about that.” A glance at the One’s nose. “And thanks for catching us, although next time don’t expect Isolde not to bite you if you try to pet her.”
“It was no hardship,” the One drawled slowly, and his hand…well, he moved much faster than I had seen him do before. I was pretty sure his arm actually blurred for a second because I blinked and suddenly Isolde was out of my hands and in his. Isolde yapped at him then growled again. But she didn’t bite him as he petted her back softly with his other hand. “As you can see, she won’t bite me. If she was going to, then she would have after I caught her and didn’t release her.”
I blinked slowly in the mute room. My gaze went to King Collins, my brows furrowed. “You once gave me a conundrum to figure out…and I think I got it wrong.” My head swung back to the One’s hands. I lifted her out of his hands. “I’m thoroughly confused.”
King Collins snorted.
Brows furrowed—and not about to unfurrow anytime soon—I peered in his direction, waiting for King Collins to make his next move. The greeting, and side show, was over. But King Collins and many of the others were wearing extremely perplexed expressions. They weren’t so quick to alter them as they stared at the One. King Collins eventually cleared his throat, stating, “Would you care to have the meeting now, or would you prefer to be shown to your rooms first?”
The One’s head cocked, and he held up a finger. “I’m sorry, just a moment.” He glanced out the opened door, staring out into the hallway.
As one, we all turned our attention toward the opened door, wondering what captivated his attention. But the hallway was empty. I kept staring because he was. About a minute into the silence, a handsome man I had never met before—a Shifter with black hair and a few white streaks—turned the corner down the long hallway, reading from a book. He stopped in his tracks, turned the page, and continued reading a second before taking three more steps. Not looking up, he fumbled for a doorhandle halfway down the hallway, got the door open, entered, and shut it behind him. The hallway was deserted again.
Like an ancient wind-up toy, the One gradually straightened from his slight tilt. He ran his fingers through his hair, his gaze on the ground, before he lowered his arms. He peered back up to King Collins, everyone’s attention back on him. “It’s not irregular for me to become…distracted. I ask you to please excuse any disruption this may cause while we’re here.” His thumbs tapped on his silk covered legs. “And to answer your question, we can go ahead with the meeting. Reese, Roselle, and I will need to retire to our rooms after that, though.”
King Collins worked smoothly with the eccentricities unique to the One. “Thank you. We appreciate it.” It sounded like the gratitude was actually genuine.
We moved from the Shifter section of the building to the Elemental side. I sat inside a large conference room, the colors a splendid mix of the five elements. My own chair was neon blue, and the inlaid tile conference table was a rainbow of colors. The three other Prodigies hurried to arrive after their King or Queen had phoned them. To their credit, each one handled seeing the newcomers well, although Aria stared at their eyes overly hard and Brann sniffed them. But there was also a moment when Brann shook hands with the One, and Brann stiffened, blinked, then a small smile curved his lips. Their handshake was definitely a little too rough. Eventually though, we were all seated around the table. King Collins sat at the head of the table to my right, as was normal, and he gestured for the One to take the floor.