The Unwilling Queen

Should I stay or should I go?

The late afternoon sun streamed in through the windows of Hayden's study. Spring was starting to show in the small buds and green stems poking up through the rich earth. Hayden and Sari had hired gardeners to spruce up the grounds around Ember Place. Normally Hayden prefered to do it himself as a way to relax at the end of the day. But this spring he would not find the time to keep up with spring maintenance and there were so many people who needed work. So Ember Place now employed a few extra caretakers both inside and out, all carefully monitored by Cora and Nicolas.

"Do you have the maps of the tunnels?" Hayden asked, making notes at his desk.

"I left them in my apartment. I'll bring them down tonight," Roedin answered.

"Thanks. Arctos and I will need them when we meet with the Sorex faunids tomorrow morning."

"Tobias is still trying to get someone inside Gallen," Roedin reminded.

"I know. Who knew he'd regret reinforcing those city walls so well. At least he moved the bulk of the army into the shelter of the hills. He was too vulnerable there."

"He won't abandon Safira, but his options are limited. He's spending the time trying to restore order in the rest of the territory. Without an alpha prime, chaos has descended."

Hayden sighed and dropped his pen on his desk in disgust. He rubbed his eyes then blinked them clear. "The primes want us to host a fundraiser with some leading citizens and delegates from the other territories."

"A party?"

"Sort of. Sari mentioned that it might serve as a good way to ease some tension and remind people that Corinth is still in one piece, even if it's a bit more crowded. I'm also inviting several newly arrived primes looking to establish themselves here. We need to rally our forces and --"

"And nothing gets people in line like a display of wealth and power."

Hayden grimaced. "You know how it is. We need more schools and shelter for all the refugees, not to mention the increased shipping costs for simple things like food. I'm happy to give people work in the army or city guards, or trades so we can build the stuff, but it's a chicken-and-egg problem. They can't pay taxes until they get paid, and we can't pay them until they pay their taxes. The fleeing primes have saved their wealth and we can tap into that. We play the game and once they're invested start changing the rules from within."

Roedin growled, "The rules are always the first to go." That's what Avery always said.

"Come on, brother. You know how it is."

Roedin sighed. "I just thought more would change over the centuries. I feel like we're having the same arguments that our parents had."

"Change doesn't come easy to people with long memories. But Corinth has always been at the forefront of change. First faunids in the alpha pack, and now humans." Hayden grinned and Roedin conceded a small smile. "Speaking of which, have you spoken with her yet?"

Roedin groaned and rested his face in his hands, elbows pressed into his knees. "Why does everyone keep asking that?"

"Because maybe we could give the fundraiser a little more spark if a mating bond was announced. We could use a good news story."

"She came back, is that not good enough?"

"Of course it is. But even Arnica's going to pick up on the sexual tension in this house if you don't sort it out soon."

"When? When was I supposed to talk to Avery about it? We've hardly been given a moment's peace since we opened a stream on the front lawn!"

"That's another thing we need to talk about -- "