Page 24 of Consort's Glory
In general,Theodore didn’t get much sleep. He wasn’t one for sitting still, and since he spent every spare minute of the last twenty-five years of his life as his sister’s protégé and getting the shit kicked out of him in surprise combat training, Theodore was used to going days without sleeping.
What he wasn’t used to was the keen awareness that his consort slept in the adjacent suite. It should have soothed him, knowing that she was finally under his care and close at hand, but it did the opposite.
Unable to trust himself so near to her after their encounter in her suite, he paced half the night, wearing a track into the expensive carpet of his study, and fought the impulse to stand guard at her door once more.
It turned out to be a good thing he didn’t bother trying to sleep. Almost as soon as the clock struck five, calls and messages started pouring in.
Most of the media inquiries and lower level contacts were filtered through his two steely-eyed assistants, but there were several interested parties with direct access to his private lines.
The first message was from Valen Yadav, General of Patrol and the man who was Theodore’s grandfather in all the ways that truly mattered. He had dispatched a tech unit to piece together any evidence not destroyed by the fire and had several shadow teams chasing down whispers of discontent.
Theodore made it clear when he took the seat of power from his sister that he would not reinstate their father’s reckless use of the shadow teams to enforce compliance from the Protectorate’s citizens. That didn’t mean he underutilized them, however. If there was some plot to undermine his claim to power, it was the shadows who would uncover it.
After going over Yadav’s report and giving his approval for a full investigation into the attack, he sorted through the various statement requests and flagged articles forwarded by his assistants. Despite their efforts to quarantine the blast site, Theodore was not surprised that news of the attack had already made headlines.
His lips thinned with displeasure as he scrolled through an article from The San Francisco Light with not only Margot’s name printed in bold letters, but a grainy photo of her sitting on the curb with Viktor, her scraped knees tucked close and her blood still running fresh rivulets down her throat.
HEALING HOUSE DESTROYED IN LATE NIGHT BLAST — At roughly 9:30 PM, an explosion rocked the well-off neighborhood of St. Francis Woods, shocking residents and injuring the local healer, Margot Goode, 25, who took the post only six months ago. Although there has been no official statement from Patrol or the EVP government, witnesses speculate that it was a targeted attack.
“I can’t believe someone would go for a Healing House,” says Antony Cleeve, arrant investment banker who lives three houses down from the Healing House. He claims to have seen the explosion as he took his dog out for his evening constitutional. “And the healer— we’ve only had her for a few months, but she’s really good at what she does. Friendly. A really nice girl. I just don’t get it. Who would want to hurt a healer? Aren’t there laws to protect them?”
We at the Light are in full agreement with Mr. Cleeve. If the explosion is proven to be deliberate, it will mark the first attack on a Healing House since the Healer Protection Act passed in 1917, and will undoubtedly send waves across the UTA.
The ramifications of the attack might prove more far-reaching than simply spawning outrage, however. The rumored target, Margot Goode [pictured above beside Viktor Hamilton, alpha of the Merced coyote pack, who could not be reached for comment], is not just a little known member of the Goode Coven, but, according to the records unearthed by the Light staff, the only granddaughter of Sophie Goode herself.
We at the Light and much of our readership wonder what this act of violence, should it prove to be so, will do to the sovereign’s reputation. Only in power for eight months, Theodore Solbourne is rumored to have been challenged for his position upwards of four times by high ranking elves. With his hold on power so precarious and the apparent attack on a healer in his territory, the upcoming Summit could prove to be the most politically volatile one since Thaddeus II declared his total rule in...
Theodore skimmed the rest of the article, his bare claws digging into the flesh of his palms as it went on to speculate about Margot, why she may have been targeted, and just what her relationship was with the Merced alpha. Without statements from his government, Sophie Goode, or Viktor, all the Light could do was throw Margot’s identity out into the populace for them to chew on.
Theodore stabbed his claws through his hair and blew out a furious breath.
It wasn’t how he wanted to introduce her to the world. It wasn’t how he planned it.
Twenty-five years he’d known his consort was Other. Twenty-five years he knew that keeping her by his side would take careful planning and the seat of power under his control. In one night, all of the steps he mapped out to ease Margot into life at his side were blasted to bits.
His plan to introduce her to the world and his people after their bond was solidified lay in shambles, the destruction no better illustrated than in the scorched remnants of the St. Francis Woods Healing House.
Not all was lost, though. Not even close.
He didn’t like being forced onto the defensive, but Theodore knew when to take advantage of a sudden change in circumstance.
No, this was not how he wanted things to go, but he was clever enough to see certain benefits to the situation. Mainly, Margot was close at hand and would not be leaving his protection. There was also the benefit of the world seeing her as a victim. If she had the public’s sympathy from the start, it was good groundwork for building her into something not even the elves could tear down.
Even if that didn’t work, Theodore knew there was no going back. Their fates were intertwined, had always been intertwined, and he was not about to let her go now that he was finally so close to the life he dreamed of.
Besides, it wasn’t like either of them had a choice now. Theodore knew the consequences of coming into contact with Margot when he stepped through the emergency m-gate. They had a matter of days before the pull, the chain reaction of chemicals and magic in elvish blood that pushed consorts together, would become irresistible.
Shooting off a message to his head of PR to field the statement requests with firm reminders that the investigation was ongoing and the safety of Healer Goode their main concern, Theodore glanced at the time and sent another message, this time to the Met in Margot’s room. The rest of the messages, which included emails from nearly half of the families in the Parliament and a mocking personal note from the insufferable dragon Taevas Aždaja, could wait until after he’d seen his consort.
No, circumstances weren’t ideal, and he would need to draft a joint statement with Margot to give to the press while they hunted for her attackers, but he could overlook all of that in favor of the joy he felt when he got to spend any time with her.
Rising from his chair, Theodore darted into his bedroom to take a brisk shower before changing into fresh slacks and a button down. Fixing his starched collar at his throat, he eyed his flushed cheeks and wet, tousled hair with the bubbling happiness of a man ready to greet his destiny.
Breakfast. With Margot. His Margot.
His breath came faster, his pulse hammering under his fingers as he pinned the double-headed thistle against his throat.
Margot.
