Even a couple of the Sentinels tried to hide their smiles.

  “Either way, it looks like our luck is turning around,” I said with a grin. “We found out good information last time. Let’s try for two.”

  Chapter 10

  Alyona and I stood in our chambers as she looked over her clothes and tossed them on the bed.

  “I have so many outfits,” Alyona moaned. “What is considered my most formal attire?”

  “What about a dress?” I suggested. “They’re formal, right?”

  “Of course, but which one?” The princess gestured to the pile of clothes on the bed and tugged on her braid. “I could wear white or black or purple.”

  “You look great in all of them.” I shrugged. “Whichever one you like best.”

  Alyona raised one raven-colored eyebrow as she put her hands on her hips.

  Apparently, women in Inati weren’t too different from the ones on Earth.

  “Ah, I like the black one,” I said as I pointed to the pile.

  “Okay.” Alyona dug through the dresses and pulled out three black dresses. “Which one did you like?”

  “Uh, that one,” I offered and gestured to the one in the middle.

  “It is nice, but it might be too short to be formal,” Alyona murmured.

  “Oh, right,” I agreed as I tried to resolve the issue and pointed to the dress on the right. “Definitely that one, then.”

  “That one is perfect!” the princess gushed. “Thank you, my love.”

  “Of course,” I chuckled.

  Crisis averted.

  I slipped my own black trousers on as Alyona pulled on her dress.

  “Can you help me with the buttons?” she asked as she turned her back to me.

  I stared at her perfect ivory skin as it peeked through the gap in her sleek black dress. The opening was wide at her shoulder blades and then tapered down to reveal the curve of her lower back.

  My cock pressed against my pants’ seam while I walked forward to touch her. I grazed her skin with my fingertips, and my cock throbbed when she shivered at my touch.

  “We shouldn’t be late,” Alyona murmured as I slipped my hands inside the opening of her dress around her tiny waist.

  “I don’t know if I care,” I moaned and ran my hands around to her tight stomach and up to her round breasts. Her nipples were hard already, and she let out a gasp as my fingers began to tease them.

  “You have to care,” she whispered as she turned around to face me and put her hands on my cheeks. “We have so many people to help here.”

  “You’re right,” I sighed and let my hands fall to my sides. “But I will be picking this up later.”

  “I certainly hope so,” she giggled. “Now, can you button it?”

  “I guess,” I growled when she turned back around. Then I reached forward and buttoned her dress before she turned around again to show me.

  “What do you think?” the princess asked.

  The long black dress was tight across her ample bosom and waist before it draped down her hips and legs and stopped just above her tiny feet. The dress was sleeveless and revealed her lithe arms and narrow shoulders, and it was also shimmery, almost like it was covered in sequins or glitter.

  “You look amazing,” I breathed.

  Her cheeks flushed at the compliment, and she stood on her toes to kiss my cheek. Then she sat on the bed and pulled on her black slippers as I tugged my tunic on over my head. Finally, I yanked on my boots, and we headed out of the bedroom and into the hallway.

  Ravi and Aaliyah waited in the hall for us. Ravi wore a long orange dress that draped over her lithe frame. The neckline dipped into a deep V to reveal her cleavage, and a belt tied at the waist accentuated her hourglass body. Aaliyah’s long, golden tail poked out of the back of her crimson and gold dress, and the outfit wrapped around her body tightly and ended at her lower thigh.

  Then the dryads walked out of their room, and I took a sharp breath as I looked over their dark jade dresses. Polina’s dress had a slit below the collar down to her belly button that opened just enough to get a glimpse of her emerald tits, while Trina’s dress snugly enfolded her slim figure and tapered off just below her round ass. Marina’s outfit was in two pieces. Her top was loose and barely covered her large breasts, while her skirt started at her hips and left her six-pack abs exposed.

  As I stared at the dryads, Laika peeked out from the room behind them.

  “Are you sure this is formal?” she whispered.

  “Yes,” Polina said firmly. “Come on.”

  Laika sighed and stepped out into the hallway with a sheer blue strapless dress that pooled at her feet. The outfit hugged her curves and revealed her muscular arms, and as she walked toward us, I could see her gray furry tail swishing behind her.

  I growled as I pictured ripping all these damn dresses off my women and marking them with my seed. I could only imagine how those dumb aristocrats were going to react, and I imagined words tumbling out of their mouths as they fumbled for answers to our questions.

  Just then, Nike walked out of his room and glanced over the group. He’d traded his typical white tunic for a black one with silver lining along the hems, and his black hair fell over his silver eyes before he pushed it back and gave me a grimace.

  “Ready to go?” I asked.

  The noble nodded, and the girls cheered. Then we headed downstairs and out onto the stone path that led to the Emerald Estate.

  As we approached the house, we could hear the band as they played an upbeat song, and I could smell the warm scent of chicken and kudu meat as it was roasted for dinner. We walked in the front door, and a few couples were dancing to the beat of the music, while other couples and groups stood around or sat at tables and chatted.

  I noticed Whitaker and Helena sitting together at a table near the dance floor as they sipped champagne and watched the dancers. The lizard Demi-Human looked up to see us enter, and I chuckled to myself as I watched his yellow eyes widen in surprise while Helena’s face shifted into a scowl.

  Apparently, she was the only one who was allowed to check out anyone else.

  Whitaker shook his head and stood up to greet us. We walked over to the table, and I stuck out my hand.

  “Evan,” he murmured as he snuck another glance over my shoulder.

  “Whitaker,” I returned the greeting as we clasped forearms, and he winced. “Everything alright?”

  “Just a bit sore from our duel,” the lizard muttered. “It seems you had more practice than I expected.”

  “I noticed,” I chuckled. “Thank you for the invitation. My ladies were very excited to come.”

  “Ah, good,” he replied. “Well, I’d like to introduce you to everyone, if that’s alright.”

  “That would be great,” I said. “And please let them know I’m here to help. You shouldn’t tell them about the portals, but let them know to answer our questions.”

  “What questions?” Whitaker looked baffled.

  “The ones we’re going to ask.” I smirked. “Unless you want me to tell them what really happened at the duel?”

  “Ah, don’t worry,” he replied and waved his hand. “I’ll let them know you are a friend.”

  “Thanks.” I grinned.

  Whitaker turned to the rest of the room and tapped his glass.

  I thought people only did that in movies.

  “If I could have your attention, please!” the lizard called out, and guests turned to look at him while the band slowly stopped their music. “Thank you. I’d like you all to meet Evan of Tikal. He has helped the council with a few things since his arrival, and he will be doing more of his work over the next couple of days. He is a friend to us, and he should be treated as such.”

  Many of the guests lifted their glasses and murmured cheers.

  “Thank you, Whitaker,” I said before I turned to the crowd. “My party and I will be talking to several of you in order to help the city. We appreciate your honesty and kindness in these matters.”

  I watched as flickers of concern crossed many of the guests’ faces, and then Whitaker took over again.

  “Thank you all for your attention,” he declared. “Now, keep enjoying the party!”

  The band started back up, and so did the various conversations, but I wondered for a moment how many of the guests were worried about what we would find out.

  “Thank you,” I said to the Demi-Human.

  “My pleasure,” he hissed. “Dinner will be served in an hour.”

  “I’ll let you know if I need anything else,” I told him and walked back over to my group. “Well, that was interesting.”

  “I’d say so,” Nike agreed with a frown. “There were quite a few guests who looked uncomfortable about you being a friend.”

  “I saw that,” I muttered. “So, let’s start with friendly questions, maybe how long their families have been here, what they do for a living, shit like that. Then we need to focus on anything odd going on around town.”

  “Is there anything in particular we’re hoping to hear?” Aaliyah asked as her lion’s tail swayed behind her.

  “Anything about weird people they’ve never seen before, or anything related to the rations,” I answered. “Those are the two problems I want to get solved.”

  “I hate greedy people,” Laika muttered, and her gray wolf ears flattened against her head.

  “Yeah, me, too,” I agreed. “But we’ll have to keep those feelings to ourselves if we want them to talk to us.”

  “Unfortunately, I believe you are right,” Alyona sighed. “If they think we’re out to decrease their fortune, I doubt they will want to give us any help.”

  “Exactly.” I nodded. “Let’s go talk to some people as their friends and see what we can find out.”

  The dryads linked arms and headed to the bar, while Ravi and Aaliyah walked to the snack table. Nike and Laika spread out, and Alyona took my hand as we made our way to the dance floor.

  I spun her around, wrapped my left arm around her waist, and took her left hand. We started to dance, and it was like everything else went away for a minute. The princess gazed at me with her sparkling amethyst eyes, and I knew we were doing all of this for the right reasons. There was no way Rahma was meant to have anyone but Alyona as their queen. She and I were destined for this.

  Then I noticed a mouse Demi-Human as he danced with a parrot Demi-Human woman and stared at us with concern. So, I adjusted our dance path to take us closer to him.

  “How’s it going?” I asked as we danced next to the mouse.

  “How is what going?” he responded with a perplexed look on his face.

  “Never mind,” I replied. “So, do you have something on your mind?”

  “I’m not sure what you’re hoping to find out,” the mouse muttered as he slowed his dance speed to match ours, and his female companion looked away.

  “Anything weird you’ve noticed,” I explained. “People going where they shouldn’t, lights on late at night, anything like that.”

  “Okay, that is what I noticed, I guess,” the Demi-Human replied as he ran a hand through the brown hair between his furry brown ears. “There’s this old furniture factory over behind the art store. It’s been abandoned for a few years. Not many people could afford the furniture, so it just kind of fell apart.”

  “Okayyyy … ” I prodded him for the actual information.

  “Well, you know, it’s rare for us to see someone who isn’t from here,” he said and gestured toward us. “I’m sure you’ve noticed the odd looks you get. It isn’t unheard of to see someone you don’t know personally, since there are a few thousand people here, but we usually have at least seen everyone once before.”

  “So, what exactly have you seen?” I asked with my last ounce of patience.

  “I keep seeing a few people that I’ve never seen at all before a few weeks ago going in and out of the factory,” the mouse explained. “They never talk to anyone, and they don’t come into the market or shops for anything. I just catch glimpses of them.”

  “Have you ever seen where they go when they leave?” I pressed.

  “I’m not going to follow them!” The Demi-Human looked appalled at the idea, and his dance partner covered her mouth with a feathery hand. “I’m just an accountant.”

  “Okay, it’s fine,” Alyona assured him. “He was only wondering. Anything else?”

  “Did you notice how many there are?” I added.

  “There are at least three different men that I saw,” he said slowly. “And one of them carried a bunch of books into the building the first time I saw them. That’s all I noticed.”

  “You have been very helpful,” the princess replied with a kind smile. “We’ll check everything out, so don’t worry.”

  “Anything to keep our city safe,” the Demi-Human responded before he resumed his dance and pulled his partner away.

  “That certainly sounds like something we need to check out for ourselves,” I murmured as I spun the princess around and led her back onto the floor.

  “I agree.” Alyona nodded. “The behavior is very strange.”

  “Yeah,” I exhaled. “We may have just found out where the rest of the Sect is hiding out.”

  “Then we must ensure no one else is hurt while we’re here,” the princess declared.

  “Oh, but you must stay!” a human woman exclaimed as she and her partner neared us.

  She was a beautiful woman with long blonde hair that fell in waves down her shoulders to the middle of her back, and she wore a cream-colored dress that flared out at her hips and modestly covered her chest and arms. Her dance partner was a cat Demi-Human, and he looked like a pet as he stopped next to her and waited patiently for her to continue.

  “What do you mean?” Alyona asked and cocked her head to the side.

  “You could stay in Colaruma,” the woman explained and gestured toward the rest of the room. “You would love it here. You look like someone who could earn a banner.”

  “I--” the princess started as her face filled with color.

  “She is beautiful,” I agreed and put a gentle hand on Alyona’s arm. “How would she earn a banner?”

  “Oh, the council would just do a little family tree testing to ensure your bloodline is clean,” the woman replied with a wave of her hand. “You’d love it. We get the most beautiful gowns, the nicest homes, the best food!”

  “That sounds like a great deal,” I said with a smile. “How do you get those things with the banner? It sounds like it would just be a title.”

  “Oh, no.” She shook her head. “Being a banner family is a great honor, and the council rewards that honor with extra rations to use for barter!”

  Bingo.

  “Wow, that is kind,” I replied as I rubbed Alyona’s shaking back. “I don’t think it’s quite what we’re interested in, though.”

  “Whitaker said you were a friend,” the woman said with a confused expression. “I assumed you were interested in our lifestyle.”

  “Not particularly,” Alyona said through gritted teeth. “Thank you, anyway.”

  I nodded politely to the woman and her companion before I grabbed Alyona’s hand and escorted her off the dance floor.

  “You okay?” I whispered into her ear.

  “Yes,” she confirmed, but her beautiful face was marred with a scowl. “Their system just sickens me.”

  “I completely agree,” I growled. “We’re going to tear it down. I want to hear from the people on the other end of the spectrum. If the banner families get extra, that means someone else is getting less.”

  We walked over to the snack table, where the fox Demi-Human girl cleared empty trays and stacked them to take to the kitchen.

  “Hello, Fiona,” I greeted her with a smile.

  “Evan,” she replied and nodded. “That was a great introduction from Mr. Whitaker.”

  “A man will say just about anything to keep from being embarrassed.” I smirked. “He didn’t like the results of our duel yesterday.”

  “You didn’t cheat?” Fiona asked in surprise.

  “No,” I chuckled. “I beat him fair and square.”

  “Oh, my,” the fox mumbled. “He certainly tells a different story.”

  “I’m sure he does,” I replied with a laugh. “Nonetheless, I’m here to talk about you.”

  “What about me?” Fiona looked surprised.

  “You said you don’t get the nice things that they get.” I gestured to the party guests. “Why is that?”

  “They have more to barter with,” she replied with a shrug.

  “Why do they have more?” Alyona pressed gently. “You’re working, and they’re not.”

  “I use my earnings to barter for more food for my family,” Fiona nearly whispered. “They use their rations to barter for fancy things.”

  “Why do you need more food?” I whispered back. “Everyone is supposed to get equal shares from the king.”

  “The rations are delivered to the council, not the families.” The fox shivered and took a deep breath. “We have no say in how much we get, even if they decide to keep more for themselves and give us less than what we need.”

  “They’re shorting your rations to give extras to the banner families?” I growled.

  “Please, don’t say anything,” Fiona begged, and her fox ears twitched as her eyes darted around nervously. “My mother can’t work, and she doesn’t have any skills to make things we could sell. I’m the only one who can earn extra rations to feed my little sister.”

  “I won’t tell anyone where I heard it,” I promised. “But I can tell you this. It will not continue. And I’m so sorry you’ve had to endure their greed.”

  “We will not stand for it,” the princess agreed with tears in her eyes.

  Fiona nodded, and her blue eyes glittered with her own tears.

  “Now, I’m going to make a scene, so they don’t know you told me anything, okay?” I whispered.

  The fox nodded again and offered a small smile.

  “Don’t ignore my question!” I roared dramatically. “You will answer to me!”

  Most of the party guests turned to see the commotion and craned their necks to hear better.

 

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