Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 112416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 562(@200wpm)___ 450(@250wpm)___ 375(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 562(@200wpm)___ 450(@250wpm)___ 375(@300wpm)
“So, Yujian, what do you think of Damardor so far? This is your first visit, right?” Matthys motioned for them to sit.
Haru chose a chair rather than the sofa, which would have allowed Adrian to sit next to him. Adrian’s expression stiffened when he had to perch on the arm of the chair, but Haru was a fucking devil. Before Adrian’s butt could touch the chair, the dragon wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him into his lap, forcing Adrian to cuddle him while still holding onto his champagne. It wasn’t the most comfortable arrangement. While they were the same height, Adrian was broader than Haru. It wasn’t possible for him to shrink so that he didn’t overwhelm the damn man.
“It is okay,” Haru replied, his tone bland and unimpressed. “You have some good alcohol here. Pretty clothes.” He pointed his glass at Adrian. “I am still planning to take this one shopping for some shiny baubles. I hope your shops do not disappoint him.”
Matthys chuckled. “We have some very fine jewelers here. New Rosanthe is known for its diamond and ruby mines. We get a cut of those goods well ahead of the other kingdoms. Definitely a better selection than what you’ll find in Erya.”
“Excellent. I am surprised that your country is so rich, but it feels overrun by poor people.” Haru wrinkled his nose as if the stench of Little Stip could reach him even on the patio. “Outside the district where our hotel is located, everything feels so…dirty.”
A long sigh tumbled from Matthys that sounded very contrived, and he held up his hands. Once Haru had settled into the chair, Matthys had claimed the long sofa as his own, falling into the center cushion. “Sadly, that is the price of being controlled by a foreign government. New Rosanthe understands that to keep people under tight control, you have to keep them poor. When their minds are consumed with basic worries, they have no energy left to fight.”
“But that is not so with you and your friends.” Haru tipped his flute of champagne at Matthys before taking a sip.
“No. No. Of course, as a much smaller group, it’s easier for the government to keep us happy. They know to step back, allow us to run our interests as we see fit, and we’ll supply them with a modest cut of the profits.”
Adrian rested his head on Haru’s shoulder, turning his face toward the dragon’s neck rather than risking Matthys seeing the disgusted look he couldn’t quite keep out of his eyes. “Cut of the profits” didn’t sound like paying taxes. It sounded a hell of a lot more like a bribe to officials to keep ignoring their nefarious business dealings.
“Yet, from what I am hearing, New Rosanthe is on the brink of collapse. Their government cannot take care of its people, let alone Damardor or Uris-Oladul. Talk has reached even as far as Erya that Damardor will break free.”
“So what?” Matthys laughed. He swallowed the last of his champagne as if it were nothing more than a shot of cheap whisky and held up the empty glass. He gave it an angry shake in the air, and within a couple of seconds, the young serving girl who’d appeared earlier nearly ran over to take his glass and offer him a fresh one. Matthys waved her away, shooting her an annoyed look as if pissed she couldn’t read his mind.
“It doesn’t matter if New Rosanthe is in control of Damardor or if we’re independent with our own people running things. Everyone knows that money makes the wheels turn here. All the politicians and ministers are bought and paid for. If they want to keep living in nice homes and receiving their fat checks, they can’t stick their noses in our business. We own the newspapers and all the other media. We own the factories that employ the poor workers who are existing paycheck to paycheck. If the government were to do something we didn’t like, we could say…close a factory. I can live fine with that factory shuttered for six months. But could those thousands of poor people?” Matthys shook his head, a faux frown pulling down the corners of his mouth. “I don’t think so. Now, those unemployed thousands are protesting in the streets, demanding the jobs of those politicians for forcing me to close my factory.”
The champagne resting in Adrian’s stomach soured, leaving him feeling sick. He wanted to throw up, preferably on Matthys. But that wouldn’t help them complete their job.
After listening to Matthys speak, he wondered if maybe Vitor had gotten this one wrong. These were rich assholes who didn’t give a shit about anyone other than themselves. They were more than happy to make other people suffer so long as they got more material wealth and power out of it. Yet, he couldn’t imagine how this had anything to do with Shey’s disappearance or the disappearance of those people in Damardor. He appreciated getting to see this insanely sexy version of Haru, but it got them no closer to saving Shey.