For Asena, the week of boring 'classes' stretched every hour into an eternity. Like in school, she set her head down on her bent arm to sleep. The Eros instructors weren't amused by her inability to stay awake. Again, she'd provoked the ire of the queen bee and her mean girls posse—in this case, Bebi and the Nasi leopard twins. Back then and now, she had no clue why they targeted her.

Bottom line: she was back to the hell she'd outgrown. Except she didn't even have Vic to stand up for her, but Duma filled that void, and even he was losing patience with her indifference to the 'process'.

After dinner, three days before the dreaded viewing, the bald intake agent she met in Puntland, in Northern Africa arrived to the Eros safe house in Bulgaria.

He beckoned her with a grin and squeezed her shoulders.

When she squirmed out of his hold, he whispered, "Your presence has been requested by an interested party and I'll be overseeing your meet-up."

While she mulled over that unexpected development, he took her elbow and led her out of the doors to the off-limits administrative wing.

"How much will your 'overseeing' cost me?" she demanded. The missing expense report niggled.

"You hurt me, child. Have we done anything to deserve your misgivings?"

"You're all shifter traffickers," she mumbled.

"And you're a willing client. As are the rest. It's prudent to be cautious, but not paranoid. Come along." In an office, he sat down and almost reverently placed a file on the table.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"I am Zane Toki, a pantheroid from Aberdares. Now to business. Prince Drach Nassau has paid to have tea with you."

Asena plonked herself in a chair too, and opened the file. Inside lay a two-sheet long printed bio-data. The second sentence threw her off guard. "A dragon?" she yelped and pushed the papers away as if they were a snake, not just any, but a cobra.

Dracos were the rarest of shifters. None resided in her homelands. Most assumed them to be extinct, or critically endangered with an unsustainable breedable population.

"Winged or—reptilian?" she squeaked.

"The former. Keep this development to yourself. We wouldn't want the others to be jealous. A private audience, that too from a prince, will earn you a few enemies."

Zane's solemn statement didn't worry her. The male who desired to meet her did. And why her?

'That is the million dollar question. We're unsuitable... he might as well find a fawnoid while at it,' Moggie wailed.

"Most entrants refrain from telling us the truth, even their real names, where they're from, why they chose this program, or what they expect. If the Prince pursues it further, with such an elite family, with the means to hire investigators, your story will be scrutinised," Zane warned.

Asena stared at him as she paled.

"Pay attention, child." He snapped his fingers near her face. "If there is a topic you should avoid, say you do not wish to speak about it. We've had a few deals fall through because the participants lied."

Flummoxed by the whole turn of events, she nodded.

"Drach Nassau is not to be trifled with." Zane went on to inform her the crown prince had lost his father at the age of twenty. No one knew how Ziad, the general who led the rebellion against the werewolf empire after the fall of the Romulus, died. His passing broke the back of the Olden resistance. "This is important. The Nassau did not bend a knee. The Emperor invited them back to court and signed a peace accord. They are proud creatures."

Zane explained that Drach, who had been in exile with his brother for their safety until his father's passing, had restored his family's fortune.

"He invests in the markets—commodities, and the like, and had some luck shorting stocks. The Prince has made some shrewd calls, but how he makes money doesn't matter." Zane waved his hand before leaning forward. "They're one of few families untainted by scandal. He has a younger brother, Prince Calek. There are some distant relatives, but none came to their aid. His stronghold is a sanctuary for the remaining dragons and his family's staunch supporters. In the last decade, he's diversified into real estate, shipping, and trucking. Like all dragons, he hates humans, but is the foremost proponent of using their economy to fill the royal coffers and his own, which is radical. We're aware of all this because six months ago, the court's annual journal, Voix de l'empereur*, featured him as the gemme of the année*."

The Saxe-Coburg court used French and German as their official language. She wasn't versed in either. "The what and what?" she asked.

Zane's grin widened as he handed her a magazine. The cover was a picture of a classically handsome male dressed in a formal suit that accentuated his well-defined physique.

His strong, chiselled jawline, sharp cheekbones, and an intense gaze lent him a commanding air. For Asena, his striking features, especially the deep-set piercing black eyes, conveyed arrogance. So did his thin lips, curled up slightly, not to smile, but to sneer.

"That is the gem of the Emperor's court."

When she didn't react to his translation, Zane sighed.

"He is stunning, isn't he?" he prodded.

"Sure," Asena responded with a shrug.

She hated interacting with strangers. Once she couldn't reply to the simplest questions when put in the spotlight, be it in class or the packhouse, even to stand up against those who tormented her and called her the 'mute mouse'. In school, she had the answers, but couldn't voice them. Her throat would closed up. Papa, Vic, and Nessi spent years teaching her to speak for herself. It still stressed her out, but she managed when necessary.

'Like now. I will not tolerate your selective mutism. Speak up, else we'll end up locked in a tower somewhere,' Moggie growled.

"Unfortunately, there are no photographs of his beast." Zane seemed disappointed by her lack of enthusiasm. "Drach Nassau is the highest tax-paying individual in the Empire. He has asked you for tea at his residence, the Latibulum." He paused as if for effect. "This is a great honor."

The last revelation caused Asena's ears to twitch. "So you don't even know the location?" she asked. The Latibulum meant a hidden place. Their education insisted on intermediate Latin, that'd mothered a majority of Western hemisphere languages.

"Few receive invitations to his lair. He is rather reclusive and would be caught dead associating with Eros. Should I accept? His people expect an answer to organize your travel—" Zane nattered away.

"Is it safe for me to go there?"

Dragon shifters birthed tales of horror but to the carnage they inflicted and their habit of stealing treasures or 'princesses' for mates. They harnessed fire, ice, wind, earth or water. The term 'feral' was coined to describe them.

Despite the tailored suit, the silver caveat with an egg-sized ruby pin, and snug waistcoat, couldn't tame the nature of the beast within. These were Olden creatures of myths. She didn't care if they existed; or ever imagined she'd share a meal with one in her lifetime.

'Hey, genius! Answer me this. Why would a prince, who has it all, buy a mate?' Moggie asked.

"We can insist on a chaperon. I'll accompany you. All our wards return here unless they decide otherwise." Despite his best efforts, Zane failed to convince her this was a good idea.

"Any of your wards been to a dragon's lair?" she asked. "Don't make promises you can't keep. Why can't he come here?"

"Child, this is a first for us too. One does not make demands of Drago Nassau. It's as blasphemous as challenging the Emperor."

Asena didn't need to mull over her decision. She stood up. "Nope. Not interested."

She refused for two simple reasons. Dragons were dangerous. Also, he was a recluse, which would not help her find Vic. Moggie was right. Why would someone like him select someone from Eros when he could find a match amongst his kind or those 'fitting his station'? Also, the pompous royals wouldn't be of any use to her quest.

Zane followed her to the door. "He's paying more for an introduction than surrogates fetch in an auction. It's not a measly sum of gold."

She huffed.

"He is seeking a companion too, but if we imply you're uncomfortable meeting him, it will offend him," Zane added.

Asena didn't respond. She detested explaining the obvious.

Zane rubbed his shaved scalp. "But I will suggest a public place. It'll still be an isolated venue. Drach Nassau wouldn't advertise him or you availing our services. The few involved had to sign a non-disclosure agreement already."

"It's insensible—" she argued, but Zane cut her off.

"—to insult the powerful blue bloods. If you agree, the fee will cover everything you owe Eros," he said.

Asena's lips thinned. "It's my choice, isn't it?" Her curt response surprised her.

Even Zane's eyebrows rose.

She lifted her arm. "Sell it. That should settle my accounts, yes?"

Taken aback, Zane muttered, "Let me see what I can do."

Within an hour, he had convinced the Prince's office to change the whereabouts of the rendezvous to a 'neutral' spot, whatever that meant. 

Now the ball was back in her court and she really didn't want to play this game.

Voix de l'empereur: The voice of the emperor

The gemme of the année: The gem of the court/ crown.

Did this chapter help you get to know Asena more? I wanted to do some character building before tossing her off a cliff... into the deep seas. Do you like her so far? What's you take on her?

And what do you think she'll decide?

Ps. Please point out any mistakes you find. I am going on 27 hours, no sleep. This bout of  insomnia is killing me. TGIF!