Dragos Goes to Washington (Elder Races #8.5)(22)

He barked out a laugh as the orchestra finally stopped playing that infernal waltz, and Ferion escorted his mate back to him.

She looked beautiful, as always, but underneath the bright vivacity of her makeup, she also looked tired. He put an arm around her. “We’re done for the night.”

“Are you sure?” she asked. Her gaze darted over the dance floor. “Nobody else has left yet, I don’t think.”

“Someone has always got to be the first,” he replied. “Besides, it’s almost eleven. We’ve put in a respectable enough showing.”

“Okay.” She leaned against him in relief.

They began the long, tedious process of saying their goodnights, until finally they were able to climb into the back of the limo and relax with big sighs. Eva and Bayne settled in the seats opposite them.

Bayne was the closest to the mini liquor cabinet. Dragos told him, “Pour me a double scotch, would you?”

“Sure.” As Bayne handed the drink to him, he asked Pia, “You want anything?”

“Just water,” she said. Her words disappeared into a wide yawn. “I guess for a fairly disastrous event, it didn’t go too badly?”

Dragos snorted as he swallowed amber liquid and felt a pleasurable fire burn down his throat. “I guess you could say that.”

Opening the cold water bottle that Bayne handed to her, she slid off her shoes and curled against Dragos’s side. The soft, warm weight of her body resting against his felt soothing, and he let go of the tension that had tightened his muscles all evening.

She asked him telepathically, What are we going to do if we can’t smooth things over?

I’ve been thinking of contingency plans all evening, he admitted. Finishing his drink, he held it out to Bayne in a silent request for another. He thought of the conversation he’d just had with Niniane. We always said that if we needed to walk away from my position we would, but that wouldn’t solve the problem for any of the other Wyr.

No, she sighed. In fact, it might make things worse for everybody else. If we walked away, I would want to take all of them with us.

At that, an idea burgeoned in his head, and he went still as he thought it over.

It was sweeping and drastic, but it was also the first idea all evening that made his uneasiness subside.

If worst comes to worst, he promised, we will take all the Wyr with us. At least, all the Wyr who want to come.

Chapter Six

Pia lifted her head to stare at him. He looked alert and focused, as he always did when his mind was racing.

She didn’t know if she should be amused or maybe even a little frightened. She said uncertainly, You do realize it’s physically impossible to run away with the world’s entire population of Wyr. Don’t you? I mean, isn’t it? Even if we could corral them all together. Oh lordy, that would be like trying to herd thousands of cats all at once.

Chuckling, he kissed her. Don’t worry, worst is not going to come to worst.

But if it did, she insisted.

If it did, I think we should take a leaf from the Dark Fae’s example, he told her. They never did invest entirely in integration into human society¸ which is why they have such a thriving culture in Adriyel.

You mean leave New York? She felt her eyes widen. Completely?

He laced his fingers with hers. You know our house in the Other land, the one where I like to experiment with what technologies can be brought over from Earth?

She thought back. You told me about it . . . last May, I think, but you haven’t mentioned it since.

I’ve been too busy to tinker around with that project, he said. But that land is massive. It’s roughly the size of Greenland, only unlike Greenland, there’s lots of arable farmland, lots of clean water, and clear, fresh skies, and almost no people. That’s one of the reasons why I like it so much. More importantly, at least right now, the main access to the Other land is near our estate in upstate New York. He met her gaze. That land is mine, and it has limited entry points which makes it easily defensible, along with plenty of natural resources.

She sat up straight as she turned the thought over in her mind. Yes, there was tremendous possibility, but there were huge obstacles as well.

She said slowly, You’re talking about transplanting a lot of people who don’t know how to live without modern Earth technology. Many of them live in cities, and they buy their groceries along with everything else they need in stores.

Well, I didn’t say it would be easy, or that it should happen quickly, he replied. Or even if it should happen at all. But if worst came to worst, and we couldn’t find a way to continue living peacefully with humankind, we would have a place to go that would be safe and sustainable. I just need to hire a team of civil engineers and maybe some Dark Fae consultants to lay the groundwork, so that we’re not caught completely vulnerable and unprepared.

Oh yay, we get to build a whole new utopian society in our free time? She yawned again.

Potentially, he said, chuckling. A whole new potential utopian society. If worst came to worst.

I’ll be honest, she confessed. I’m too tired to really absorb an idea of this magnitude. I can’t imagine the kind of infrastructure you would need to lay down that would support thousands of people, let alone the training programs you would need to help them acclimate to such a different way of life.

That’s okay. He hooked an arm around her and pulled her back against his side. Because the worst isn’t going to come to worst. Things will smooth over.