Before his beast could protest, Asher crossed the threshold and walked quickly to the main conference room. It was where all the clan leader candidates would meet with their liaison from the Department of Dragon Affairs, which was the branch of the UK government that dealt with and handled the dragon-shifters.
The DDA didn't usually concern themselves with clan leader trials. Most of their efforts were spent with the human sacrifice programs, where human females willingly allowed a dragonman to impregnate them in exchange for a vial of valuable dragon's blood that could heal many human illnesses.
In recent months, from what Asher had been able to gather since being set free, the DDA had spent just as much effort on finding and subduing those out to destroy or enslave dragon-shifters as they did on their other priorities. The news reports stated how short-staffed they were most of the time, too.
However, even with those tasks taking up much of their time, the previous corruption of both the Skyhunter leader and the former DDA Director warranted extraordinary caution. No one wanted a repeat performance.
Hence the DDA's oversight regarding the Skyhunter trials.
His beast huffed. How long will it take for others to stop blaming us all for Marcus's treachery?
I don'
t know. But getting angry won't do anything. Channel the energy into the trials.
Asher reached the entrance to the large conference room and nodded to the male standing guard. Robin had been a prisoner under Marcus's reign like Asher, although they hadn't been cellmates.
They shared a look of understanding. Regardless of who became leader, no clan member would ever be imprisoned again for simply expressing an opinion.
Once inside the room, Asher did a quick scan. There were seven other candidates: five males and two females. While he knew all of them, it was the blonde-haired, blue-eyed female at the end of the table who caught his eye.
She may be older and now an adult, but he'd recognize Honoria Wakeham anywhere.
Although where she'd come from, he didn't know. Her parents had sent her to America nearly fifteen years ago for her safety, back when she'd been a teenager and Marcus had only started to make questionable decisions.
Honoria's gaze met his, the widening of her eyes telling him she knew who he was, too.
His dragon spoke up. I want to talk to her.
Not now.
Soon? I've missed her. And she's even prettier than before. Very pretty. Maybe you can finally end your dry spell with her.
It's not really a dry spell when you're imprisoned for five years, he drawled.
Of course, Asher wasn't sure he could mentally handle a female just yet, regardless. No one wanted to wake up next to a male screaming from his nightmares.
Pushing aside thoughts of nightmares and sex, Asher quickly took the remaining empty chair on one side of the table, next to one of the males.
As soon as he took his seat, a young woman who couldn't be more than twenty-five stood and cleared her throat. All he knew was that she was one of the human DDA employees. "Good afternoon. My name is Penny, and thank you all for coming, especially since I know this isn't the usual method of how you select a clan leader. However, I think we can all agree that whoever becomes clan leader of Skyhunter must be willing to work with the DDA, as well as the other clans in the UK, to prevent another scandal. In fact, as we progress, the other UK clan leaders will make appearances and talk with you. They will help in the final decision-making process, although it will ultimately be up to the DDA to determine who is allowed to take command."
All the dragon-shifters sat in silence. The DDA employee's undertone was understood. This was the last chance for Skyhunter to redeem themselves. While it had been centuries since the last occurrence, dragon-shifter clans had been disbanded in the past, and theirs could very well be the next one.
Asher's beast spoke up. We will not fail. Everyone who remains on Skyhunter is anxious to rebuild and move forward.
I'm not sure if everyone is the right word, but enough of them.
The DDA had already removed all of the coconspirators several months ago. Thankfully, it had been a much smaller number than Asher had first imagined.
Penny spoke up again, looking at each candidate in turn. "Today will be the interview portion of the trials. The first candidate, Lee, will come with me now."
Lee stood. Without a backward glance, he left with the DDA employee, leaving the remaining candidates in the room.
At first, silence descended and stayed that way. However, Asher glanced down at the other end of the table, meeting Honoria's gaze. Having learned not to waste what life he had remaining, he asked, "So when did you get back, Ria?"
~~~
Honoria Wakeham was a stranger in her own clan.