Dragon Hunter

Chapter 22: Honouring Heroes

"We need to hurry," Alia said as the two of them quickly stepped out of the temple's main building to walk towards where a handful of operators, including Ilya, Beyless, and Kraddok stood. "The ceremony is only moments away from starting. We'll have to get the boys to shadow gate us there."

"Sounds like a plan," Cooper replied, their approach making the temple soldiers look up from the game they were playing on the ground that looked alot like dominoes.

"We need a lift to the conference hall," he then said in a slightly louder voice.

"Can we press you fellas into service?"

A shadowy embrace later they were striding smartly down the paved path to the conference center. There were no prime councilor's guard this time, just a handful of city defenders at the door to salute smartly as they approached.

"Captain, my lord," one of them spoke up to say. "Her Grace, Her Eminence, and Her Honor await you in the small meeting room to the right, once you step inside."

"Thank you, sergeant," Alia said with an acknowledging nod. Then they were through the main entrance and turning right.

Maevin, Vannea, and the city's governor all looked up as another pair of city guards ushered them into the significantly smaller meeting room.

"Ah, excellent!" Maevin declared brightly with a broad smile even as Vannea, now dressed in a sophisticated silk wrap in various shades of black, leveled a smoldering gaze at Cooper, virtually ignoring Alia to do so. "Excellent timing. We were about to start." She then stood from behind the table she was seated at, reviewing what appeared to be reports. Her standing seemed to serve as a signal for the other two, who also stood.

"The ceremony won't take long. Then we can look at the issue of the Kalphor once more."

"Right," Cooper said with a nod.

"Good, good," Maevin said as she stepped around the desk to stop beside Cooper.

That close the big human was able to catch a hint of the prime councilor's delicate perfume, a mixture of sweet woods with a touch of herbal musk. And he nearly frowned when he found it familiar, like he had smelled it before. A glance over at the government leader in her comfortable tunic and skirt combination in governmental colors and he did frown when he found his mind's eye filling with an iridium pattern that matched her body shape along with a pale birthmark on her left hip.

A cold flush then went through him as he realized something shocking. Cooper had seen Maevin naked during last night's celebration! No, not just saw her, he ...

The big man sucked in a quick breath to let it ease free of his nostrils as he tried slowing his suddenly pounding heart. Holy shit ... in the craziness of the party, he and the supreme leader of the Noriquien government had hooked up. He then swallowed hard when he realized one of the faces that had watched him get pulled out by the Guardians was hers.

They didn't just hook up once. It happened multiple times.

Cooper inwardly groaned. Could this morning be any more surreal??

"My lord, Captain, please meet my daughter. She will be assisting in the medal ceremony this morning," Maevin then said, pulling Cooper out of his thought spiral.

Only to feel yet another cold rush when he looked over at the dark elf woman that joined them. And found himself looking at the only woman the night before that had managed to distract him from finding Alia.

Kaisea.

"My lord," the beautiful woman with the long braid greeted him brightly and with a great deal of delight, her eyes wide as they took him in. Then her expression tightened an order of magnitude before: