Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

The dining room was cozy, with one large table in the center. Everest took one glance around the room to see who was in attendance and what the situation was. All the witches were seated while their bound shifter stood behind them. When did the shifters eat? Or had they eaten already?

Cadel was not going to be happy if he didn't eat tonight.

Not that it would be right if Cadel sat with him and the two lords. The seven other witches Everest recognized weren't noble, but they were rich. The siren was also in attendance, along with another he hadn't met. Hackman wasn't there. Not rich enough. Or on another job? It was also telling that Everest wasn't given a seat at the head of the table. But then the Board knew the truth and now considered him a lowly shifter.

As much as he wanted to demand to see Olier, he wasn't going to blow decades of work because he could taste the finish line.

He sat, and Cadel stood behind him, having read the room.

"Theo, glad you made it out of London," Everest said with a lazy smile. Lord Theo Baxter-Finlay, Shadow Board member with a few fancy houses and inherited wealth that he'd managed to not only maintain but grow due to his influence. He was smart and dangerous, but he loved to be flattered. Everest had never met him in person, and he appeared a little flustered that Everest knew who he was.

The other man, Lord Goodbourne, had a title and a crumbling house and worked in a bank. He wanted money, the same as his father. His father hadn't wanted to leave his son a debt, so he had thrown in with the Shadow Board, hoping to lift the family fortunes. Everest had known the father and met the son once when he'd been king. He liked neither, as they'd sell their soul given half a chance.

"So you've heard about that," Theo grumbled as he picked up his wineglass.

"Yes, it's why I haven't been allowed to return to London. I'm drifting around Europe, waiting to go back to university." Not that he needed to attend, as he knew more than the lecturers. Nor was he ever going to finish his degree. Attending university had been more of a cover to work for the Coven, which had been a cover for getting into the Shadow Board. Everest pointed at the shifters. "Is all this necessary?"

"This is a formal gathering of what is left. So yes, it is," Theo said.

Eleven senior witches, plus a few foot soldiers like Hackman. When Theo said all that was left, Everest assumed he meant those who still had magic and who weren't under the watchful eye of the cops and banned from leaving the country.

Waitstaff brought in platters of food. Soup and bread.

Oh, this was one of those long and formal and completely dull dinners. They were always right up there on his do not want to do list. Especially when it involved kissing the asses of people who hated him.

He was damn sure these witches did .

There he was, a powerful phoenix with money and titles, and he was almost untouchable. If he vanished, there would be no rock left unturned. So as much as being in the public eye came with its own pain, there were a few benefits.

He was also the key to their survival, and they knew it. He could call Dalmon and have them all arrested or at least stripped of their magic.

He didn't agree with that, as even humans with a vendetta were dangerous and they'd pass that hate onto their witch children and grandchildren. Ghosts glimmered at the edges of his vision and their long dead whispering threatened to draw him in to the past to listen closer. He picked up his knife, the cool metal against his palm was enough to help his concentration.

"And what are we discussing at this official meeting?" Everest buttered his dinner roll. He was tempted to pass it back to Cadel as the lion's stomach grumbled and made the woman next to him flinch.

He could use that.

He glanced back at Cadel. "Your stomach is disturbing me."

Cadel ducked his head. "I'm sorry, sir."

Everest handed back the bread without looking at him again, but Cadel's fingers brushed his, and the touch calmed him immediately.

"Thank you, sir."

Cadel shouldn't be thanking him. This was fucking stupid. It wasn't the eighteenth century. Even if Cadel needed to accompany him to an official dinner, he ate first. Everest made sure of it. A hungry bodyguard was a distracted one, and a hungry shifter was a weak one.

Or was that the point?

Theo scowled at him.

"Are the shifters getting fed, or do they just watch us eat? Have you ever seen a hungry lion? It's not pretty." He peered past the woman next to him to speak to the siren. "I'm guessing a hungry tiger isn't much better?"

"They will eat later," Theo said. Did he not allow the others to speak?

Everest tilted his head. "Brave. I prefer not to eat in front of hungry predators."

He thought he saw a flicker of a smile on the bear shifter's face, but he didn't acknowledge it. That would be risky for both of them. The bear shifter belonged to Lord Goodbourne.

What did an impoverished lord promise a shifter family?

Everest needed to dig into that, but not over dinner.

He helped himself to another roll, buttered it, and took a few bites. "This is terrible. Do you not have a baker on site?" He stared at the offending bread. "Was this frozen and then baked?"

Sometimes, playing up the spoiled prince was more fun than it should be. Today, it gave him something to do instead of rummaging around for all the intel on the witches present.

He handed the bread back without warning, expecting Cadel to be watching his every move and anticipating. Cadel didn't disappoint.

"Can you stop feeding him?" Theo snapped.

"As I said, his stomach is distracting and loud." Everest looked at the woman next to him and lowered his voice. "I don't want him to spoil our meal."

It seemed whoever did the cooking would do that all on their own.

Her gaze danced to Theo, then Everest. "I've never heard anything like it. He must have a ferocious appetite."

Behind her stood a wolf who kept glancing at Cadel like he wanted to snatch the food out of his hand. Did they keep their shifters hungry to restrict their ability to shift without getting stuck?

Everest gave her a cheeky wink. "Oh, he does."

She blushed, as expected.

"Can we please get down to business?" Theo said between mouthfuls.

"Can we please get down to business, your highness?" Everest took a mouthful of soup. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either.

Over the centuries, he had become a bit of a food snob. Far removed from the man who'd once eaten whatever he'd found and plucked the maggots out. That had been a bad chapter, and he had been much relieved to find their circumstances changed when he had hatched again.

The other witches paused.

The tension around the table ratcheted up a few degrees. That was more like it. He didn't want them behaving too casually with him. They needed to remember who he was. And while they may consider him a shifter, a prize for binding, they had to catch him first, and he'd incinerate every single one of them without regret if he didn't find his brother.

Hell, he might do it even if he did rescue Olier, to end the remains of the Board.

Everest lowered his spoon and stared at Theo. "You address me as either your highness or sir. I'm the Crown Prince of Mont de Leucoy, and you would be wise not to forget that if you would like new land and title."

"Apologies, your highness," Lord Goodbourne said. "We aren't stickers for titles when we're having a board meeting."

"Ah. But I am not an official board member, am I? I'm here as your guest ." He let the word hang, already picking out a nice plot of land for each of them in the forest near his estate. Who was he kidding? He was too lazy to dig graves. Walking away from ashes was much more his thing.

"And at official dinners. I am very much a stickler for correct addresses." Everest smiled and took another spoonful of soup, trying not to act hungry himself. Behind him, Cadel's stomach tried to take over the conversation. "What is it you'd like to discuss?"

Theo watched him with wide eyes as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing and hearing. No doubt he'd expected Everest to cry and beg for his life or something. It took a lot more than kidnapping to ruffle his fiery feathers.

"How best to negotiate with your father," Theo said, as though that was obvious.

Everest took several mouthfuls, taking his time like he was considering his answer. As if he hadn't already run through myriad options and how they might play out.

"Of course, if you'd been successful, none of this would've been needed. But here we are. Isn't it lucky I planned to spend a couple of weeks in Geneva on official business and visiting friends? I should cancel my plans; otherwise, it might be awkward if they raise the alarm that something is amiss." Everest gave them all a big smile. No doubt they thought him feckless.

Which was perfect.

"Yes…here we are, and we need to make a plan to proceed," Theo said.

Only one? You fool. Everest held his gaze. He had ten plans to get through the soup course.

Theo's cheeks reddened. "Your highness."

Everest bestowed a smile on him. "For a start, my father is a stickler about his title. I guess I get it from him."

Theo slapped the table. "He's not your bloody father. You hatch. "

Everest calmly sipped his wine, watching over the rim of the glass, making them all wait before responding. A couple of witches squirmed. Every shifter watched him, some with wide eyes and some with envy. They'd been bound to help their family, but that didn't mean they were enjoying their service.

"The king is the man who raised me. That makes him my father, and he sees me as his son, as well as his heir. You would do well to remember that in negotiations."

And he regretted the distance he had put between them, but at sixteen, with all the lives in his head, he'd been worried Gerrit would realize and take them away. Or at least try to find a way. Everest wasn't sure it was possible, and he didn't want to give himself that hope in case it swayed him from the course. Even for him, the desire to live was strong, especially as death crept closer on almost silent feet.

Theo stared, not bothering to hide his disgust that he was having to negotiate with a shifter. Everest had no doubt that should these witches be given sanctuary, they'd push to turn Mont de Leucoy into a democracy and end up in charge, destroying a thousand years of work that had created safety and prosperity for all. A simple ideal that few truly wanted, even if that was what they claimed.

"How many of your kind exist?" Goodbourne asked.

"Hatched or in waiting?" Everest picked up his wine glass and let it dangle from his fingers. He figured he'd be able to kill three before he was stopped. But if blood was shed, he wouldn't get what he wanted. And if he failed, he'd rather not hatch again. The pain would be too great.

That was his gamble. That he could heal the wound. However, setting up the mission had ripped it wider, and he hurt. He was raw and had never been more alone. And that was saying something, as he had been alone for so many lives.

Cadel was right. He didn't let people…lovers…close .

Losing Olier had been the final cut.

"Both," Theo said.

Everest smiled. "And what do I get?"

Theo's eyelid twitched. The other witches all remained silent. While they didn't use titles, those with them ranked higher and were allowed to speak. "I will arrange for you to meet the one we have."

Everest gave a one-shouldered shrug. "My father is going to demand his return as a condition of entry. You must realize that."

"You don't care about him?"

"I care that he is my kind, the way any shifter cares more about their kind than other kinds." Everest lifted his gaze to look at the shifters he could see. "Do I know him? No. Would I recognize him? No. You must have realized that while our bodies are reborn, our minds are not. We are like any newborn baby and must start over." He took a sip of the wine and placed the glass down. "There are five hatched," that included Olier. "And to the best of my knowledge, another thirteen in waiting."

Goodbourne leaned forward. "Why wouldn't you hatch everyone?"

Aside from not knowing where they were, having only seen them in his memories? "Because everyone deserves a rest from the demands of ruling. When can I see the phoenix?"

"Tomorrow."

Staff cleared away the soup and returned with the main course, which wasn't even steak but chicken cooked two different ways. Boring. Could they not be bothered to cook some fish?

For a few moments, everyone helped themselves from the platters of food, everyone except Everest. When it became clear the wait staff weren't going to serve him, he beckoned Cadel closer .

He didn't have any problem with serving himself, but he wanted to draw a line between himself and Theo and his friends.

Cadel stepped forward and served Everest as if he'd been trained to wait on his every need, even topping up Everest's wine glass. When they finished this job, Cadel was getting a bonus.

Everest noted the envious stares he got from the witches. They only got that kind of obedience by binding a shifter. All he needed to do was not be a dick to his staff. Which was a step too far for most of them as they'd been born with a golden spoon shoved down their throat and it had cut off the oxygen to their brain.

He was sure plenty would argue he was no different.

But that was an act. He'd been raised to look after his people. To treat everyone equally. Gerrit was a bloody good king and much more personable than Everest had been as King Sebastien, but then Everest had been busy setting up this mission.

"Thank you," Everest murmured as Cadel stepped back. He glanced up acting surprised that he was being watched. "You need to hire a better staff. A prince should be served first, and he shouldn't be doing it himself."

Theo's eyes bugged out. He was about to lose his shit.

Everest smiled as he loaded up his fork. An angry opponent was a predictable one.

"Between the terrible food and the terrible service. I want to know when you're going to commence negotiations so I can leave. I'd also like to know what you are offering."

"I'm offering the phoenix." Theo stabbed a piece of chicken. "And you."

Everest pretended to consider that for a moment. "If I'm not seen in public for any length of time, there is going to be a large-scale operation to find me."

"They won't. You'll be an egg."

Everest nodded. "I can guarantee if you threaten my life, my father will have this city swarming with Coven agents and cops before the phone call is over. You need to have something you can offer the country aside from being paranormal."

"You have a history of taking in paranormal refugees."

"Yes, though I think the French Revolution, World War I, and World War II were extenuating circumstances. Since then, migration to Mont de Leucoy has been limited. We are a small country with not much land. We must ensure we have sustainable population growth. It's not as though we can annex part of France or Switzerland." Everest laughed as if he was joking. He wasn't. It had been discussed during the First World War.

A few of the witches joined in with a nervous titter.

"You'll also find that binding shifters is frowned upon, so you will need to negotiate to keep them, or you will need to break the bonds. You will need to prove you're trustworthy."

"And when you are king?"

He was never going to be king, so it didn't matter what he promised. He picked up his wine glass, not intending to drink anymore. "Then I will revisit how things are done. I have always believed that it is time for paranormals to live in the open."

"Is that why you took an interest in what we were doing?"

"Yes." He put the glass on the table. When they thought him a fire witch, things had been easier. Because, of course, a fire witch would be interested in joining the Board. A shifter, even a royal one, was much more unlikely, even if their goals aligned. "You may not be aware that we have no official religion. We allow people to practice what they believe. There are plenty of old religions where binding was seen as necessary. "

With those words he was giving the distasteful practices legitimacy. But then fifteen hundred years ago, people had practiced and believed all manner of weird things, and some humans still believed the Earth was flat, and that magic didn't exist.

Theo nodded in understanding. Sometimes, it was too bloody easy to lead people down the path he wanted them on. So easy, he wondered if he was doing it wrong, and they were about to trick him.

He'd given Gerrit and Theo their talking points. All he could do now was trust that Gerrit kept his focus on retrieval not survival