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The Chosen One he suggested might be me.
I reread the rhyme and try to make something that resembles sense out of it. I don’t get much at all. Parts of the poem concern me.
What iron hand am I freeing dragon kind from? My father is king of dragons, and my family has ruled dragon kind for thousands of years. We are powerful rulers but fair rulers, kind and just, and we certainly don’t rule with an iron hand. In all of the centuries we’ve ruled, no one’s ever claimed that we rule with an iron hand.
And what’s this about the ashes of darkness and pain? My father is in good health. I’ve just met the woman who might be my true mate. Is she going to die? Is my father going to die? Is our family going to be overthrown? If any of this is true, then where are the signs?
I sigh decide it’s not worth trying to speculate right now. I need to see if I can find more information about this prophecy, preferably something that isn’t a children’s poem.
My phone rings—not my private phone, but the one I use for ordinary business. That means I could choose to let it go to voicemail, but since I have nothing better to do at the moment, I answer.
It’s Romeo.
“Hello, Your Highness,” he says. “You’ll hear all about this from Brooke soon enough, I’m sure, so I won’t steal her thunder. I only want to tell you that she is absolutely the most wonderful thing to happen to your family since the birth of your niece.”
I can’t resist a laugh at that. Romeo, like many Italians, is a true romantic, and while I hired him for his legal prowess and negotiation skills, perhaps my favorite quality of his is his loquaciousness. “I’m glad to hear that, Romeo. So she did well for us?”
“Better than,” he replies. “She’ll fill you in on the details, but to summarize, we’ve rejected the agreement. Needless to say, there were many signs that this agreement was not intended to foster cooperation but to provide the EU with the legal means to control commerce in ways that would be very detrimental to all concerned, not the least of which would be the citizens of the EU.”
That doesn’t surprise me. Governments, after all, are only people. They operate with the same frailties with which people operate.
“I’m happy to hear that she recognized that trap and avoided falling into it,” I reply.
“And did she!” he exclaims, “Wait until I tell you how she addressed Machiel Jannsens!”
He gives me a brief description of the final meeting, and I feel my admiration for Brooke rise. For her to keep her cool in that situation is remarkable and speaks to a level of maturity far greater even than I identified.
She truly is an asset to this family.
Romeo hangs up when the plane lands, and as soon as he hangs up, I call Brooke.
“Hi, Aiden,” she says. “I hear that Romeo told you a lot of what happened in the meeting. I have a lot more to discuss with you, but first, you should know that Jannsens might call you and harass you about me.”
“He won’t,” I reply. “He knows better than to risk more of my wrath than he’s already incurred. But we can talk about business later. Perhaps over dinner?”
“I would love that,” she replies.
“Wonderful,” I say, “I’ll send a car to pick you up.”
“I look forward to it.”
She hangs up, and I smile as I anticipate my dinner with Brooke. For the moment, I’m not thinking at all about a prophecy.
ChapterSeven
Betrothed
Brooke
I don’t think there’s any world in which this man doesn’t represent perfection. As I watch him swim effortlessly across the length of the pool, I can’t help but be amazed at the movements. I can’t point to any particular thing that makes the movements seem so damned majestic. Hell, I mean they’re almost magically majestic. He looks like one of those superheroes, the underwater one who talks to fish.
He’s wearing a tiny bathing suit.
He pulls it off.
I mean, isn’t it a cliché than men shouldn’t wear speedos?
Well, he can wear one all he wants. This is a bit of a contradiction, I guess but he pulls it off.
