He was a jolly old soul. ‘It’ll be a pleasure. I’d expect it out of the cunning Raven but was shocked Leon was involved. He definitely needs to rethink his friends or he’ll make more enemies up here than just me,’ he croaked out with annoyance.
Next stop was Hydra, the home of the water snake that may have received some slight damage after Cassie had been snatched from them. His men cleaned up all but a couple of chunks and those he had seen head for Hydra. He needed to check out the damage, if any.
Zaine was now the ruler of Hydra. His father had been accidentally killed in an attack many years ago. Zaine was the spitting image of his dad and had the makings of a worthy ruler if he would stop following his father’s stubborn views. However, he was only young yet and even though sometimes a little foolish, Kayden liked his strong will and ability to get on with the job. Knowing him well, he knew that Zaine would be getting a little impatient waiting for their visit.
Arriving on Hydra, they had spotted from above that there had definitely been some damage and it had caused a fire in the bushlands. The fortress had no apparent harm done to it that Kayden could see which made his job a little easier. Claiming damage to structures was always so messy and at times dragged out for years. Materials used in the constructions in the sky were so very expensive. A lot of the castles and palace furnishings were of solid gold and decorated in a selection of diamonds and special gems.
Woody joined Kayden as they walked around assessing the damage. From the air they’d already spotted where the nova portion had landed. Where it had exploded, it had left a crater of black and smouldering terrain. The flames had jumped the river, heading up towards the fortress. Even though the fire was now contained, smoke from smouldering embers floated in the air. Zaine came up to them. He had black smeared all over him where he’d worked beside his men to extinguish the flames before they caused any damage to his home.
He was annoyed with whoever it was that had taken Cassie. She had blasted every piece before it reached them, bar the one that did this damage. He was hoping to meet her to thank her personally. He said it would have been a hell of lot worse if she hadn’t hung in there with her injuries to protect them.
‘She was cut pretty badly on her right arm and shoulder and is getting her lacerations seen to,’ Woody intervened, seeing the look on Kayden’s face.
Each time Cassie’s name was mentioned, guilt plagued him and worry for how she was consumed his thoughts. Not wanting to discuss Cassie further for fear that he might just get back on Zoltan and do what he really wanted to be doing which was to search for his wife, he tactfully changed the subject.
Speaking to Zaine, Kayden found that even though he was upset about the number of water snakes destroyed by the fire, he was taking it extremely well. He wasn’t too concerned about the burnt bushlands either as they normally did a burn at that time of year. He was just a bit peeved that he hadn’t had time to move the snakes further down the river before the final blast hit them.
‘I’m going to be claiming this time, Kayden! I’ve had just about as much as I can take from that damned Raven.’ He was annoyed but in control. Kayden realised he was finally starting to grow up and knew his dad would be proud of the hard-working man he’d become.
Kayden smiled and shook his head. ‘We have talked about this many times, Zaine. There is only one thing that will end this feud between the two of you and that is to let the Raven visit the cup every now and then. Otherwise this argument will continue to simmer and blow up intermittently as it has been doing, for many years to come.’
As usual he felt like a broken record, repeating himself. However he put a little jest in his tone, not really wanting to fuel an argument. Today was not a day he wanted to spend revisiting the topic and spending the next four hours debating it. He told Zaine he’d be back in the next few days. That would give him time to take stock of his losses. Then they could go into it more thoroughly once he knew the exact extent of the claim.
‘Bring your female Cloud Rider back with you, Kayden. Join us for dinner and a night of festivities if she’s feeling up to it. It’s been far too long since we enjoyed your company,’ he offered as they mounted their rides and left.
Ophiuchus Palace–King Lepius
Covin was leaning beside the fireplace, viewing them as they came downstairs.
‘Cigar, Lepius?’ Covin asked, opening up a box on the coffee table and offering one to him and then to Conom. They had enjoyed many a night, just the three of them. Covin would be hoping that by relaxing Conom with a drink and maybe a cigar, this would hopefully help them make sense of what this was all about. Give them insight as to how he ended up caught up in a relationship with Cassie, putting him in deep trouble with the Cloud Riders. Considering they were on totally opposing sides, none of this made sense to either of them.