Smitten (24 page)

He strode from the room without further word, leaving everyone in stunned silence. Ēostre sank against the couch and dropped her face into both hands. Saul, frozen to the spot, merely stared.

“I don’t… I don’t understand. What’s wrong with him, Mother? He’s never behaved… the father of my memories wasn’t like this.”

“I don’t know, Saul.”

“Is it truly him? Perhaps it’s an imposter,” Max suggested, clinging to shreds of hope.

“I considered that, Belenos,” Ēostre whispered. “But he is aware of things only my Fafnir would know. He knows secrets kept between the two of us.”

Her Fafnir.

The words stabbed him with the might of a thousand lances. At the same time, Ēostre recognized her mistake and threw her arms around him tightly. “He was my Fafnir once, Maximilian, but you are mine now. You,” she whispered harshly. “I don’t know what that thing is, but he isn’t the man I once loved.”

“He can’t be allowed to leave,” Watatsumi interjected from the couch. Through it all, he had been a silent spectator to Fafnir’s explosion.

Max fell into the seat beside him. “Of course not. Where could he possibly go when he only speaks Old Norse and Middle English?” Max muttered. “He had begun to shy away from mortals long before Saul was born, and if he finds a world populated by them, there’s no telling what he’ll do.”

“He is in the hoard. As long as he is there, I see no harm in him remaining in our home,” Saul said. He folded his arms against his chest. “I will keep Chloe and Astrid away from it, and him, for now.”

“What are we going to do?” Ēostre asked. “What if he’s dangerous? I am not afraid of your father, but what will you do if he snaps or decides… Chloe’s presence is intolerable?”

“If he decides such,” Saul said dryly, “we have a dragon-slaying sword and a pregnant woman who knows how to use it. I think we’ll survive. I don’t want to harm my father, but I won’t allow him to threaten my mate or my children. We also have—”

“Me,” Mahasti said as she materialized. A hazy outline appeared first before the rest of her body followed, trailing smoke. “I will remain vigilant while Fafnir is present. I give my word he will harm no one for as long as I am here. In the meantime, Astrid is safe with Leiv in our home, and the timing is perfect since she and Svetlana asked me about a sleepover only a week ago.”

“Perfect timing,” Saul agreed.

“What will you do?” Chloe asked Max. “You guys are plastered all over the news. It’s panic out there between all of the scientists trying to identify you, the evacuees Saul and Mahasti saved, the government clamming up about it, and the media swearing it’s a conspiracy.”

“I don’t know. Right now, I need to get to the White House. The world knows we exist and want answers. They’ll expect me to make a statement about what’s happened.”

“There’s some guy on the television claiming it’s aliens, so you better hop to it,” Chloe replied.

Ēostre turned to her son and embraced him tightly. “Saul,” she whispered. “I am sorry. I am so sorry for this. I will stay to watch also. You should not have to do this alone when he is also my responsibility.”

“No, Mother. Maximilian needs you by his side.”

“I will stay,” Watatsumi informed them. “Perhaps I can make Fafnir see reason in a world gone mad.”

Chapter 17

Maximilian and Ēostre discovered a circus awaiting them at Washington, and it worsened when they stepped through her portal into the middle of the panicking vice president’s office.

The security agents whirled, one with a hand on his gun, only to freeze before it even cleared the holster.

“Thank you, my love.”

Ēostre nodded. “They’re in a magical state of sleep, but it won’t last long. Speak fast.”

Kenneth Palmer stared at her. Once the shock wore away, he turned his glowering face to Max. “Half an hour, you said.”

“Relax, Kenneth. I’m here now and perfectly fine.”

“Were you one of those dragons on the television?” Palmer hissed at him. “I can’t believe you chose this moment to disappear. Your security team panicked, the White House has been in an uproar, and you left me here without any answers.”

“Chastise me later, my friend.” Maximilian smoothed his fingers over his suit jacket and maintained his poise. “Right now, I need a media team ready for a public address.”

“I’ve had one standing by since this all began. They’re set up in the Oval Office. I have reporters from every station clamoring for news.”

“They can wait. What are the numbers so far? How many lives lost?”

“The early estimates are about one hundred and thirty-nine. Sixty unaccounted for. Now tell me what is happening and why there were so many of you there. It was something out of a sword and sorcery movie.”

“An old friend of mine was buried in Rainier’s magma pool once. He was deceased at the time, Kenneth. Slain by a dragon hunter and completely dead, but something seems to have resurrected him.” The vice president opened his mouth to speak, but Max beat him to the punch, “I can tell you right now that he didn’t cause it, but that volcanic eruption wasn’t natural either.”

“Shit.” Palmer ran his hand through his thinning hair. “Well, we have too many videos on the internet and news to try and cover up this dragon issue. You have to come forward.”

“I know. I’d planned on it.”

Ēostre turned to address the other room occupants in the room, whispering under her breath. Their blank, slack-jawed faces and motionless poses resembled wax figures, but they awakened within seconds, including the one who had gone for his firearm. One by one, they blinked and shook their heads to clear away the fog.

None of them questioned his unusual appearance among them, and he knew he had Ēostre to thank. A little magic went a long way, but even she lacked the spells to fix the day’s events. Sooner or later, he’d have to answer for their abrupt disappearance and the two hours they were missing.

One stepped aside and spoke in a hushed tone through his microphone, no doubt informing other agents Max had arrived.

“Do you want the press admitted?”

“No. They’ll get their chance soon. For now I need to speak directly to the American public without interference.” They headed down the hall as they talked, where Max noted an increased presence of the Secret Service. One of his own personal protection retinues fell into step behind them. Most remained outside once he stepped into his office, but two men followed inside and took up position by the door.

“Are we ready, everyone?”

“Yes, sir, Mr. President.”

“You can do this, Bel.” Ēostre hugged him tightly.

“Of course I can.” He cracked a half-hearted grin at her. “I’m the president.”

Once Ēostre took her place out of the camera’s view, Maximilian settled behind the desk. His fingers automatically steepled and the gravity of the recent catastrophe came crashing down on him at once. He’d never felt all of his twenty-seven centuries before. Never. Now he felt every year.

Ēostre mouthed, “I love you” from the edge of the room.

“And we’re live in five, four,” the cameraman said, counting down the final three in silence.

“This afternoon, the world watched as the United States experienced a horrific natural disaster. In the aftermath of this tragedy, despite the loss of one hundred and thirty-nine lives during the eruption of Mount Rainier, attention has shifted to another development with just cause.”

He clasped his hands together, palms clammy, and looked into the camera. He imagined the hundreds of thousands of faces staring at their television screens.

“Tonight, I want to address all your concerns, and to bring you the truth. Supernatural and magical beings of all varieties are real… and I am one of them,” Maximilian said from behind his desk, his stoic features concealing the dismay ruling his thoughts.

“Paranormal creatures such as the ones sighted above Mount Rainier are known as dragons. I am still gathering the facts about what has happened so that if wrongdoing has occurred, the responsible parties may be punished. The truth is that we don’t know yet why this dragon has appeared. So far, we have no evidence to indicate the creature intentionally executed an act of aggression against the public, and every reason to believe the volcanic activity drew him from a deep slumber.”

Max ignored the staring faces in his office and continued.

“My fellow Americans, I have dwelled in this country since its inception, long before its Founding Fathers first signed documents creating our nation. The United States has long been a melting pot of many cultures, and I want you to know nothing has changed since our emergence.”

The faces continued to stare. Gaping mouths, wide eyes. One of the Secret Service agents assigned to his protection looked like a fish. He felt their condemnation and judgment piercing him. Their apprehension.

“I will hold a press conference tomorrow evening to address questions from the American public. It is my hope that in the coming days, we are able to pull together as a nation of many cultures, races, and now, other intelligent non-human species. In closing, I want to say here today, in the office you elected me to represent, that no matter your skin color, race, religion,
or species
we are all equal in this country. I ask you to give me a chance to prove that you have nothing to fear from us. Like you, we learn, work, and love. We are people. Thank you.”

The light on the camera went dark.

“And we’re off the air.”

“You’re all staring at me,” Max said quietly. “If any of you have any questions, speak them now.”

The young cameraman opened his mouth to speak, then snapped it shut without voicing his question. Instead he busied himself with breaking down his equipment.

A fresh-faced Secret Service agent assigned to Ēostre spoke up when everyone else failed. “If you’re magical, sir, what about the first lady? Does this mean we’re no longer needed?”

“I am also magical,” she replied gently. “But your presence makes me feel safer just the same.”

Max shook his head. “I’m not bulletproof, and you’re not out of a job. None of you are out of a job until they’ve kicked me out of this office. As far as I can tell, you’ll be needed even more in the coming days if any dragon-hunters decide it’s time for me to make a hasty exit from office. Using the full extent of my abilities to protect myself would only terrify the world at this point.”

“Dragon-hunters?” This time the cameraman found his voice. He looked over with wide eyes and pale cheeks. “You’re a dragon? Like the thing we saw flying above the mountain on the reports?”

“Indeed,” Max replied. He let his gaze turn to every man and woman in the room, meeting their gazes. “I know it sounds fantastical, insane even, but every word is true. We didn’t disappear and give our security the slip in Hawaii to avoid our responsibilities,” he spoke, addressing the agents currently assigned to him. They’d been giving him funny eyes since his return. “We took action before the volcano could claim more lives. We, along with several other dragons, hurried to Rainier and stopped it.”

Ēostre joined him behind the desk and took his hand. Years ago when they first concocted their crazy plan to strive for office, he never imagined she’d stand beside him as his wife. Now he couldn’t imagine being without her.

“If any of you choose to step down, I will understand. It will not be held against your service record, and you will be reassigned to a position of equal esteem and salary.”

No one moved, though there were a few uncertain glances.

“You did well, Max,” Palmer said kindly. “I suspect I’ll receive a lot of questions asking if I’ve known all along about this. I’ll tell them I only ran with you because you were a dragon and had to have better economic skills than our last big spenders.” The vice president shot him a grin.

Max chuckled weakly. “I should show you my hoard one day, my friend. You guessed right. As for the rest of you, I ask you to keep what was said here off camera between us and key members of the service staff until tomorrow. They deserve to know the truth.”

“Of course, sir,” the same agent said. “As for requesting a transfer, you’ll have to fire me to get me out of here now. My kids are going to lose their minds once they find out their dad is assigned to protect a
dragon
.”

***

“What’s happening back at Saul’s estate? Have you called since we left?” Max asked while unknotting his tie. He fumbled with uncooperative fingers until Ēostre stepped in front of him and deftly removed the knot. “Thanks.”

Ēostre smiled and kissed his lips tenderly. “Nothing to worry you just yet. They said Fafnir has spent the entire day coiled around some of his old treasures and counting the additions since he left. Saul removed Astrid to Leiv and Mahasti’s cabin, of course, as he mentioned before.”

“And Chloe?”

“She won’t leave, but the…” She swallowed and struggled to maintain her reassuring smile. “The sword is in her possession. Just in case. As she’s currently pregnant, she should be able to use its magic again.” She returned to taking her accounting of the belongings in their bedroom as well as those in the rest of the Executive Residence. Somehow, in the span of hours during their wedding, every possession had been unpacked and placed as if she’d done it herself.