🐲 Dragon and Phoenix (Path of Light and Fire Book #2) (Completed) 🐲

Chapter 18

Leena sneezed. Then she hugged herself and shivered.

Someone must be talking about me somewhere.

She folded her arms and looked at Zannick's irritating mug, whistling as he picked up the books they had knocked over. He stooped over, picking up books and placing the stacks into neat rows he could walk between. He hadn't asked for any help and Leena wasn't about to offer, so she just watched him go about his work.

She was frustrated at how things had gone since the ugar invasion. She had taken Wade and she led the Seriens. Any appreciation for picking up Sabin's slack? No. Any criticism for him leaving when they needed everyone together? No. He shows up at the last minute and gets toasted like the returning hero. Everyone went back to the old structure without as much as a 'thank you, Leena'.

Then he left Alaina to deal with three armies on the brink of war and no one called him on that nonsense but her. They rode to Hruh, a place where everyone looked like her and she couldn't understand a word. Yet the golden boy had no issue as usual. At least if he were a jerk like Turrent, it would be easier to hate him.

Shucks, I'm such a nice farm boy that with maximum effort and a good heart everything works out for me.

Maybe Sakima is right. Maybe I need to get laid.

It's not that she hadn't before; she was no virgin. Not only did the constant life and death situations kill her libido, her options were an asshole, an old lecher and a lot of Hruh men she couldn't understand.

She stroked her chin.

That might not be such a bad thing.

She sighed. She needed to focus on the problem at hand. Zannick, the former Serien of Lightning, thrived in chaos. This happened to be the same environment the Guan loved. She had to end this Ghost situation one way or the other. She needed more information.

"Hey pervert," she said. "Tell me more about the former leader."

Zannick shot upright and bumped a stack, sending it toppling into the next. Soon the entire line of books scattered across the floor. He shook his head and muttered something in Hruh-ya. "I suppose I'm not all that busy now. What do you want to know about Selena?"

"Everything."

Zannick shrugged and plopped into his tan lounge chair. He leaned to his right, resting his chin on his hand and stared out of the window. "She was very smart, able to process large amounts of information in a short amount of time. Of course that's to be expected out of any Empress candidate."

"Empress candidate?"

He blinked and turned to Leena, adjusting in his chair. "Lo siento. It's easy to forget you are not from Hruh. There is an Empress test given every twenty years, sooner if something happens to the incumbent. Only the best and brightest can rule. Selena survived several rounds before she lost in the finals to the current Empress. That's quite a feat and naturally when she joined the Ghosts, I stepped aside to let her lead."

Leena unfolded her arms and placed her hands on her hips. "You're a Serien. Why would you listen to a...?"

"Normal person?" Zannick cackled. "Yes, that is the danger of being a Serien. Sometimes you can forget your humanity."

A chill entered the room and goosebumps prickled along her arms. She's left her coat upstairs in her rush, but she was sure her sudden temperature shift wasn't from the air.

I'm an asshole.

"Why don't you just come out and say 'Leena, leave the golden boy alone'?"