Across the room she spied Melissa sitting in a big armchair, her ever-present mate Jarek standing guard at her side. There was a wheelchair and ambulance standing by for her. All the Preor had protested her attending, but she had insisted that all mates were needed at the ball. It was true. Without her, they were missing the very first mate, the first to be affected by the Knowing. Sasha made a mental note to tell her to go home before the big dinner. Appearing for the main reception was enough.
Jarek stood over her, his green wings held high. Dawn had managed to rouse him, and he took on his mate’s pain without succumbing to the agony. Once Dawn had shown him that the heavy, sharp feelings were coming from Melissa and that he alone had the power to help, he had taken hold of himself in a way Sasha thought was impossible.
Whelon and Chashan had managed to find a compound that would slow the child’s birth and give Melissa time to prepare. Dawn had distilled the formula and agreed that it might be the only viable plan. No one wanted to open Melissa up unless they had to. Tonight she looked glowing and well, and the last Sasha heard, the child was in position but sleeping soundly and Melissa’s muscles were slowly relaxing in preparation for labor.
Jarek had not eaten or slept since he had been roused from the sympathetic labor, his strength impressive for a Preor warrior. If the rumors were true, he had once shifted and flown with broken wings to save his mate.
Across the other side of the room there was a sudden commotion as people in high heels and tightly tailored pants scurried to get out of the way and not ruin their outfits. Sasha grinned when she spied Lana reaching for Lorrasyh, who was making a toddler run for it, waddling across the floor in a purple gown with a fluffy skirt that matched her little wings and scales. When Lana got close, little Lorra spit a ball of fire at her.
Lana stood quietly, hands on her hips, and when Lorra was done, the simple, straight-sided black dress was still intact.
Lana tapped her chest. “Fireproof, you little weasel.” She reached down and grabbed Lorra who started up such a tantrum that Sasha saw embers flying around her scrunched up little face.
“We’re out of here, Taulan!” Lana yelled and Taulan soon followed, chasing after his mate at a run with young Shanas in his arms.
“Does the boy breathe fire, too?” Kerry asked, eyes opened wide in awe tinged with a hint of fear.
“He can. He just doesn’t usually,” Sasha said absently. She gestured to her two helpers and started moving around the room, greeting people and asking questions. She didn’t hold anyone to account or ask difficult things. There’d be time for that later. She wanted the public to see the heads of the Preor mixing with the congressmen and trusted members of society to show that the new rules of the treaty were accepted by all.
No other media crew had been granted entrance but many waited by the door. Sasha was pleased to see that they all reported from a neutral position and no one was trying to sway opinion either direction.
She paused with her crew for a moment, cutting her live feed and interspersing some images of Whelon in his brand-new clinic near Farthing Street. To continue to administer to the poor, they had to file tons of official paperwork, which laid out what he intended to do and why. Before it could be implemented, human officials had to prepare an impact statement, and only then could construction truly begin.
Then they had to get approval for the Preor to move freely through the suburb. This demanded far more extensive paperwork that was only granted on the condition that the Preor didn’t step out of the approved zone.
In spite of all the red tape, Whelon had set up three clinics. The first thing he did was return to his original area and rebuild. Then he moved into surrounding spaces. There was free food, playgrounds, and toys as well as medical centers.
Sasha spliced the pictures of Whelon’s clinics into the feed, doing a quick voiceover to remind people that the Preor did not have to do all this for the humans. They simply couldn’t stand to see the suffering of those less fortunate and they happily used their own resources to support the poorer areas of the city.
Sasha very carefully did not mention that the city charged Whelon a fee for “renting” space in the suburb yet paid no money toward the restoration of the area or support for the poor. If human officials ever made trouble or got too greedy, she would be holding that piece as ammunition—ready to fire. She already had footage of city officials stating they wouldn’t use their own money.
We need the Preor so badly, she thought. They could teach us to be better if we only let them.
She swept through the crowd, graceful on her high heels. She’d recently heard her mother was locked in prison with no chance of bail or parole. A part of her was sorry, but mostly, she was simply sad. The saddest thing was that Sasha had spent most of her life believing her existence was normal.
She had honestly believed all children lived in such a state with their parents—a condition of fear and desperation, needing approval and love but never being good enough to win those feelings. If Whelon had not come along, Sasha may have stayed locked in that destructive, abusive pattern forever.
The crowd drifted toward the dining room and little silver bells above the doors chimed as they were being called to eat. The mixing of people before dinner was served was only for greeting and feeling each other out. Lots of powerful people were in the room and none of them could sit to negotiate without a bit of a threat display—warriors and politicians alike.
After dinner is when it all goes down, she thought. They will talk over dinner, and then after, it will be all handshakes and brandy.
And Sasha was going to capture every moment. Some of it would go out live and she’d keep some for a special occasion. All kinds of deals would be made tonight and she wanted to capture them all.
As the crowd moved slowly toward the dining room doors, a sharp yelp cut through the noise. Sasha spied Dawn bolting through the gathering, long green skirts held up around her thighs as she tried to run in her high heels. She was the first to reach Melissa.
“It’s happening!” Dawn yelled. “It’s for real this time!”
The crowd pulled back, away from her and Melissa. Jarek stood with both hands on Melissa’s shoulders, breathing deeply as he lent strength to his mate.
“Get the wheelchair!” Dawn demanded with authority. “You!” She pointed at a nearby usher. “Find me a spare room.”
No one argued. Sasha edged into the space near Melissa and saw Whelon already there and ready to assist. She reached for his hand and they followed Dawn, Melissa and Jarek down a nearby hall.
This is it, she thought anxiously. This is the moment when it all turns.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Melissa had been doing so well over the last week that Whelon had taken it for granted everything would be fine. Now he chased her down a narrow hallway, desperate to take her vitals and frantic that he had no equipment and no backup.
He needed Chashan, but he had stayed behind to tend to Preor Tower with so many warriors being absent. Even with so many Preor and their mates out at the event, the tower was still filled with males, human, and Ujal, and patients were always in the clinic. It had made sense that Chashan remained at the tower.
But I can’t move her now, he thought in frustration. We’ll end up birthing a dragonlet in evening traffic.