Chosen Fool (Forever Evermore #5)(51)
I took the seat he had mutely indicated to, my gaze flying to the other side of the room. There was a handsome but modest white marble desk at the other end with two chairs in front of it. The long couch looked pretty damn comfortable, a coffee table in front of it. The seating was positioned in the middle of the room to look out the windows. Books littered the coffee table.
Nothing in this room was what I would have expected for his office.
“Ms Jules,” the One stated loudly.
My attention snapped around to his nose. He sat directly across from me, and I kind of got the hint he may have said my name a few times. My tone was composed. “Yes?”
Roselle cleared her throat, glancing at the One, but said nothing. She reclined on her chair, sitting on the right side of him. Reese was on his other side.
The One’s eyebrow raised the barest bit as he stared back at me, even as he asked steadily, “Would you like to wait for the others to arrive or would you like to proceed now?”
I bit at my bottom lip, my gaze going to his opened door. “Will it be long?”
“No,” he murmured as he also relaxed on his chair, his long silk shirt gaping open a bit to reveal his amazing chest and his flexing abs. “They should be here momentarily.”
I nodded once, focusing my gaze on my purse as I positioned it on the table. “I’d like to wait. I have a few notes I need to read over, anyway.” I had to see what the hell type of questions the Kings and Elders had put together for me to ask.
I pulled the notepad out, trying to unwind on my chair. I would have normally enjoyed the plush white leather, but I was damn fidgety now. I adjusted…readjusted…and then my brows came together. I stuck my hand behind me and dug down into the crevice of the seat. I pulled out a—I stared at it and blinked. I glanced around the room, trying to find the television the remote went to. When I couldn’t find one, I shrugged it off and set the remote on the conference table then continued reading the first question repeatedly. I eyed the letters but they didn’t make words, my attention elsewhere.
The three of them spoke quietly about some business having to do with someone’s pigs. Their babble utterly confused me as they spoke of zoning ordinances being in effect or not. I finally breathed a sigh of relief as the others started coming in less than five minutes later. I was somewhat—oddly—pleased to see Mr Damon and Mrs Damon appear exactly as their Walkers. Right when Mrs Damon went to shut the door, Tristan barreled into the room before she got it closed. I muttered a silent curse, keeping my attention off the damn tiger and hoping he didn’t come my way while the One’s parents began taking their seats.
The One opened his right palm in my direction. “Mom, Dad, this is Caro Jules, the Prodigy Elemental, the next Queen Elemental.”
There was a possibility crickets were chirping somewhere as they eyed me.
Unable to take their stares any longer, I placed the unread notes face down on the table and started digging for my pencil to give my hands something to do. “It’s nice to meet you all. I asked the One for a private meeting with you because of what’s happened recently.” Finally having found my pencil, I placed my purse on the ground, out of line of sight of everyone’s staring. I leaned and placed my forearms on the table, tapping my pencil lightly on the pad of paper. “First, I would like to ask each of you if you suddenly felt an extra jolt of energy a week ago.”
Mr Damon sat forward, his head cocking slightly as his gaze ran over my face. “That’s a very odd question to ask.”
My eyes landed on his with a steady regard. The one thing the Walker hadn’t gotten right about him was the fact he wasn’t quiet, obviously being the first to speak up. “Yes, it is.” I nodded once, and I groaned inwardly when I felt Tristan under the table rubbing against my legs. I stalled, placing a quick hand under the table and pushing his face downward when he started sniffing at my crotch. The Walker for the tiger had most definitely been right. I cleared my throat again and acted like I was brushing off my pants, glancing down when Tristan ignored me and placed his huge furry head on my lap under the table. I shot him a stern look, but I quickly looked back up since no one could see him down there. “Um…” Think dammit. “Oh yes. Did you feel the extra energy?”
He was staring at me oddly, but his gaze was sharp. “Yes, I did.”
I flicked the pencil at the group. “And the rest of you?”
One by one they nodded.
Not the One, though. He was still resting lazily on his chair, one elbow on its arm and his chin in hand with two fingers over his mouth. With the gaze of a f*cking tiger, he drawled, “Why have you come here, Ms Jules?”
“Jesus,” I muttered, sitting back on my chair and running a hand over my face. No matter how much I tried to fool myself, I was not really able to handle the weirdness of this situation. I shook my head, staring up at the ceiling. “This is just too damn bizarre.” I was sure they were staring at me like I was crazy, but I didn’t really care. I inhaled heavily, trying to calm myself. Eventually, I let my head drop to stare at his nose. “I’m here because of Walkers.”
He froze, as did everyone else. But he recovered the fastest, flicking a finger in my direction. His voice was no longer bored but now blunt in the extreme. “You have our direct attention, Ms Jules.”
I nodded once and then started. “Everyone I asked into this room had a Walker.” I waited a beat, letting that settle in for them. “As I tell you what happened, please bear with me. It’s easier to use your names—even though they weren’t really you.” Another deep inhale, and I rolled my head on my shoulders. “It all started about a month ago when Leric, Roselle, and Reese, plus four guards—whose names I can’t remember—asked to visit the current Kings and Queens. Leric, in the entirety of his time with us, never stated what his true purpose for being there was. He only said that he was needed…” For the next half-hour I told the story of what had happened, stumbling over my words a few times when I had to think on my feet and flat out lie because I didn’t want to get into the physical relationship I’d had with the Walker Leric. I finished it off with the truth of how I had figured out they were Walkers, and how I had killed them, releasing their essences back to the bodies they actually belonged to.