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The crowd cheered.
I dropped back behind Dex to let the Keeper bask in the glory of our success.
As the night wore on, the stories about the hunt would spread and be exaggerated, until no one would be able to tell the truth from the bullshit. They'd probably have me breathing fire and flying over the dragon by midnight.
For now my face was just another amongst the hunters. I was okay with that. I preferred to keep a low profile.
A small boy, no more than four, stopped with his fist halfway and gaped at us, eyes wide. When Dex waved at him, he drew himself up as tall as he could and pressed his hand to his chest so hard it must have hurt.
Dex smiled.
I gave him a nod before we passed him by.
Someone started to chant, "Keeper. Keeper!" More voices took it up until it was all I could hear.
As they chanted, the people saluted, fist to chest, some in unison, many not.
Dex's expression changed from a smile to a frown before his good humour reasserted.
I didn't need to delve far to understand Dex's response.
In theory, the people should praise the Alpha, or even Hades, not just the Keeper.
For many, the Alpha was unapproachable, rarely seen.
Few people laid eyes on him in their lifetimes, although I had done so several times. Still, if the Alpha, Hades keep his soul, should hear of it and assume Dex encouraged loyalty toward himself instead, it might be his head, heir or no heir.
Thank all the gods the people didn't chant Dex's name.
I raised my gaze to scan the crowds on the terrace.
A dark haired figure stood apart from everyone else. Viva. I knew her, even at a distance, almost as clearly as I sensed her discomfort. While those near her were relaxed and jovial, she held herself stiffly, both body and mind.
Those who celebrated around her were open books, but she held secrets tight like a phone with a forgotten passcode. Or a box with a lost key.
Secrets, I sensed, she was desperate to keep and aching to share.
It was none of my business, but I wanted to know anyway. I wanted to know everything about her. I doubted she would confide in me. At least, not unless I opened up to her. That was a risk I wasn't willing to take. Not yet.
Fortunately I had other methods for breaking open locked boxes.
I lost sight of the terrace as we drew closer to the residence, and my attention moved from Viva to the organisation of my men.
I sent Felix to the healer to have his broken arm fixed. He'd be back to work in a few weeks. Sometimes I wished shifters and witches didn't hate each other. A witch would fix him in a matter of moments. I thought about asking Viva, but Felix would probably refuse anyway. Prejudice ran deeper than it should.
Certain Felix was in reasonably good hands, I sought out the Keeper.
Dex had already changed into more comfortable shoes and a casual shirt, and was speaking to Jaq, his driver. Dex's hands moved as he illustrated his point, and his smile was wide. The driver listened, and nodded every few moments.
"She was one of the biggest, most aggressive sand dragons I've ever seen. One of her talons was the length of my arm." Dex held out his arm to its full length to demonstrate.
I smirked. By the end of the day, the dragon's talons would be bigger than Dex.
"Ah, there's Bain. Come over here." Dex gestured. "Jaq is suggesting the dragon wasn't as big as I made out."
The driver stuttered. "I didn't… I would never—"
"Of course not." Dex clapped him on his back so hard Jaq's jerked forward. "I was merely teasing."
