Kerrigan was pleased that Kelan had the good sense to take her to Velyki’s finest diner and her favorite place for steak, the Emerald Bison. She had earned her reputation as the dragoness not only at the negotiation table but also before a steak.
“I see you did your homework”
“Katie was treated well to several meals, outings, and fine jewelry before she even considered giving up such a trade secret. You should be proud you have such loyal staff.” Kelan said seriously.<
Kelan wiped the red droplets off his face. “That was a very expensive suit,” he muttered to himself.He glanced around at the stunned faces of the other guests, his eyes narrowing. “What are you looking at? Get back to eating!” he barked, his voice laced with venom.“And if I see this in a single news article or online, I’ll make sure to track each and every one of you down! Don’t cross the Benedict family, or you’ll be at the bottom of our mines by tomorrow!”The guests quickly averted their gazes, the sound of cutlery awkwardly resuming as they tried to pretend they hadn’t just witnessed the scene. One of Kelan’s cronies rushed over with a towel, nervously dabbing at the red stains on Kelan’s suit.Kelan smacked him across the face. “Off, man. Can’t you see it’s ruined? Just have the tailor send me a new one. No point wasting energy on this one.”The crony hesitated, still holding the towel, unsure whether to continue or retreat. “And what of the girl?” he ventured cautiously. “Shall
The next morning, Kerrigan sat fuming in her office, thinking about Kelan and his audacity. How could he just propose like that? It was worse than the last time when she was just 18. At least then she thought it was all a big joke and even the Prima had shot it down as bad timing. Kerrigan wondered what the Prima thought of all of this. For years he had talked as if he would marry Kerrigan himself, a thought that made he want to gouge her own eyes out. Her desk vibrated, and she quickly looked around to see if anyone was in her office. Natalie had slipped out to get them both some apple cider from the breakroom, so she unlocked a hidden drawer in her desk. Inside was a phone that was silently vibrating.
That evening, as the staff began to leave, Kerrigan bade Natalie a good night and wished her a restful weekend. She texted Breanna that she would be working late and would text her later. After the last of the regular staff left, Kerrigan began looking for Katie’s car, occasionally clicking the alarm. She finally found it in the back corner of the parking garage. Kerrigan hurried over to the older model light blue car and tried the handle. The key stuck in the lock and the handle wouldn’t budge until she yanked hard. It flew open, clipping her shin. Jinstain – Conor Conor wrapped himself tight in his long coat. He really should have grabbed his fur lined jacket instead, but for some reason he had thought the sun would warm the world a bit more than it had. He darted from the car and made his way inside the run-down community center. “Conor!” squealed a small girl, wrapping herself around his legs. Rejected Billionaire 95: Where is Eibhlín?
Targu Province – Kerrigan LokirMonday dawned with a glistening sheen of ice coating the snowpack creating a white shell across the world. Kerrigan had been up since before dawn training with Breanna. Sometimes, a vigorous bout with the warrior was the only way to keep warm when the temperatures dropped below -17C and tried to drop further. Kerrigan twirled with her quarterstaff. Clank, clank, clank!Breanna stepped back, sweeping
Kerrigan made it to her office reinvigorated from the cold air. She was surprised Natalie had not greeted her as usual, but she had also been a bit later after the morning warm up with Breanne. She set down her bag and slipped her mask back in a drawer, taking out a stack of papers to begin looking over her files for the day. A few minutes later, Natalie arrived with a steaming cup of apple cider with cinnamon. “Bless you, Natalie. At least we can still get this even in this weather.” “Well, it might run out soon if the trains from Bayan don’t come more o
Kelan sat in the Prima’s office looking at a cute young waif of a girl. “I suppose she will do. she looks like she would break as soon as you touch her.” “You will have to be the judge of that, Kelan. Go on, Alina. Go get ready. You will train with Kelan for a while, understand? Learn well from him, and do not disappoint me.” “Yes, Prima.” She said and bowed. “Is there anything I need to be aware of to pack properly?”
Kerrigan Lokir paced around her office. Katie had made it in this morning safely but something had to be done about Kelan. What Kerrigan needed was more information from Dagdon. Katie’s story would only go so far. Natalie had the foresight to help document all of the injuries and bruising, but pressing any sort of charges against Kelan would be a challenge. They needed more. Kerrigan wanted to see Kelan’s world collapse around him. Let him suffer piece by piece for his transgressions. Perhaps Bayan Rail would be the thread that began to unravel it all. She looked down at several maps and figures Natalie had prepared. Bayan Rail was a blade that Kelan had sunk deep, but it could cut both wa