“Currently, my father’s handling it in my stead, so tomorrow will be fine.” He paused. And blinked. “Oh…and whoever goes needs to know how to ride a horse, since that appears to only be a “sport” here.”
I snorted. “I don’t even like to ride a horse.” But I had learned after going to the Temple the first time—Sin had taken lessons with me when we could, realizing they didn’t have cars there, a much more medieval era. “But I understand.” In other words, we would be traveling to one of the surrounding cities. “Anything else I need to consider?”
He hummed quietly, eyeing me. “No. I believe you understand what a Lajak needs to be.” In my mind he stated, “At the Temple…and here.”
I nodded once, and then flicked my gaze around to the table’s occupants, everyone silently watching, and I ran my free hand over my face before stating, “There are only seven spots available as I’m sure you all know by now. I know this seems a bit…condescending…considering your positions here compared to mine, but I would like to treat this like an interview process. So, for anyone who would like to be one of my Lajaks, I will need,” my head teetered in thought, “a file on your most impressive accomplishments in battle that you wouldn’t mind me knowing—only for my eyes, because, let’s face it, there a shit ton I don’t know about what you did in the wars, or even outside them, that you keep hidden.” I nodded, feeling good about that decision, wondering if these Royals around me really understood what I was looking for in a Lajak. “I’d like to have those by lunch to review them. I’ll be in a conference room waiting.” I held up a finger. “And if you don’t want to be a Lajak, I will not be offended, just as if I don’t pick you, I hope you are not offended. It is a lifetime duty…to me…as a guard, and I know not everyone will want that.” They continued to stare, so I cleared my throat. “That’s it. I’ll make my decision by nightfall.”
The scraping of chairs were instantaneous as every single Royal calmly stood—bolted—from their seats with the decorum innate to them before they walked—dashed—from the room, expressions calm as could be, some grabbing their plates or a muffin or a juice, not done with their breakfast, no one saying a damn word, except for, maybe, a grunt or a hiss or a growl when they bumped each other to get out the door to complete the task I had mentioned.
Sin blinked, and then started chuckling hard as the last one—Elder Farrar—sedately walked from the room, munching on an apple. Sin’s green eyes twinkled, just at Leric’s and Roselle’s, and even, Reese’s were across from me, my guards peeking their heads into the room, small grins on their faces. Through his hilarity, Sin muttered, “Damn stampede of Royals.” His eyes glowed a bit. “Wish I had gotten that on film. I could have made a fortune.”
I imitated King Zeller’s voice, trying not to laugh. “There had better be no damn videos!”
Leric grinned, chuckling gently. “It appears knowledge outweighs a lifetime of servitude to you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Or their curiosity.” I shook my head, sitting back on my chair. “I’ll just have to distinguish which one it is.” Because who I picked, I wanted them to have the knowledge, the trust, I would need here, exactly as Leric had mentioned. But…that wasn’t all I was looking for.
King Collins poked his head back into the room, stating hurriedly, but gruffly, “This doesn’t mean you get out of your power training with your guards, my Prodigy.” His head disappeared.
I sighed, staring where he had been. “I’d hoped he’d forgotten.”
Picking Lajaks…was exhausting.
Physically, I was starting to wear down from my few hours of sleep, plus two hours of training this morning, so when I entered the conference room—by myself—around ten o’clock with a sandwich and a few cookies, I had hoped to be able to catch a few winks. Which, I did. For, maybe, an hour, only to wake and see three files already sitting beside where my head rested on the table, each one color coded for their faction or Element. And they weren’t thin. Fat…damn…files sat there. Although, intelligently as I drank a Coke a house staff member had grudgingly brought me, and started in on the first one, I realized the Elder was intelligent enough to make it easy reading with bullet points—and a few bloody photos I could have done without, but definitely gave me insight to his handiwork—to make the reading easier, the file also beginning with a simple reason for his wanting to be a Lajak…also with swift instructions to “disintegrate” the file—not the photos, he wanted those returned—as soon as I was done.
Lord.
Elder Farrar strolled in with a file that was twice as large as the others, not saying a word, flopping it down on top of the others, but I stopped him, asking, “Elder Farrar, can you tell me something?”
He turned around, brows quirked. “I was told you didn’t want outside interference.”
Yes, but…I waved an absent hand. “Who is the most powerful Shifter?” Their strength was a given.
“He’s old. Too old for what you need.” He chuckled quietly, appearing mighty amused. “And an ass.”
“Aren’t they all?” I drawled, because Shifters were notoriously cocky. “The second most powerful, then?”
He hummed. “You know, I’ve never thought about that.” His brows quirked. “So, you’re looking for power?”
“It’s one of the things I’m looking for,” I stated elusively. The Temple was almost always peaceful, but if there was ever an uprising, power would be needed. “Any clue?”
“Just a moment.” Instantly his eyes glowed, and his head cocked very slowly, staring up into something I couldn’t see. It wasn’t instantaneous, which meant it wasn’t easy for him to assess through the vision of individuals. His brows eventually slammed together, his eyes widening, saying dreamily, “Well, damn.” He blinked, coming back to himself, and he appeared a bit wide-eyed, muttering, “Fuck, if I shouldn’t have already known that.” He shook his head, and turned on his heal. “It’s Elder Merrick. Go figure. He always controls it so well. Now I know why.”
I blinked slowly. “Elder Farrar?”
“Hmm?” he asked, still appearing pensive at his own lack of knowledge, standing at the edge of the door.
“What about a Vampire and an Elemental?”
“Oh.” He nodded once. “That’s easy. King Zeller’s your pick for power, even though he’s second because of his youth.” He stared pointedly. “If you can believe it, the Vampire with the most power is even more of an ass than the Shifter powerhouse, and the Elemental would be Elder Lincoln.” He nodded once solidly. “Now, he’s a good man who didn’t let his power go to his head, and he’s young enough to be what you need.” And with that, he left the room.