That same day (Sunday, May 1, 2022) The Hidden Kingdom of the Emperor

Kothin knelt on the marble floor before his liege.

“The girl?”

“Badly injured but alive. The Aqrabuamelu are guarding her in New York.”

“Your asset?”

“Disappeared. Djara may be dead.”

“The dagger?”

“We are still pursuing several leads.”

“You interrogated the thief, but my shadowed friends tell me the thief’s son disappeared from your surveillance.”

Kothin said nothing.

Ekerri sat back on his throne, idly playing with his scepter. The girl was turning into a real threat. She had suborned the Aqrabuamelu somehow. And, recently, had drawn so much magic from his crown he had felt the drain. That should not have been possible.

The first part had gone well enough. The plan had revealed the fae, who had brought back the Wild Hunt. Ekerri had slaughtered many of their hunters long ago. It had been a long time, but Ekerri still remembered putting his scepter through Herne and ending the Wild Hunt. It had been the beginning of his own Ascension after all.

The Nüwa had returned as well. But he had not been able to trace them back to their progenitors and gods, the dragons. They were out there and had survived the millennia, of that he had no doubt, they were too troublesome not to have.

Kothin had also provided reports on an enclave of elves the girl had found — lost to their heritage, living in the abandoned halls of the dwarves. They were nothing. Just another thread to weave into his reclaimed empire.

And then there were the humans. When Ekerri had awoken, it had been an unpleasant surprise to find the humans had come to dominate the world. Their inventiveness had granted them powers that were terrifying, and, worst of all, could be used by anyone.

Fortunately they were still animals, easily led through greed and self-deception. The few he had met were strange, eccentric creatures: self-important and alone in their wealth. Caught in a self-imposed trap of spiraling greed and fear of the ones they had oppressed that would lead them to their eventual deaths at the mobs. They were fools unable to see the obvious consequences of their behavior.

He had promised them money, and they would be eager to take his side until they found another host for their parasitism.

Kothin had things to do. But he remained kneeling. He waited and planned.

The drow as an intelligence service were woefully inadequate. They needed time to adapt to the new world. Djara, disguised as Donna Arthurs, had gotten close to Ellla, but even that had gotten out of control.

She had been meant to get her to a shooting range and kill her when appropriate. Instead the girl had taken to it and now was with the Aqrabuamelu training further.

And the Miami debacle was even worse. The drow, sensitive to magic, had followed her to Miami and then when they sent human agents to capture her, something had gone wrong and the drow and her agents had all been killed or were missing.

The other Matriarchs were fuming and had retreated for now to modernized their approaches, something that would take years.

Kothin had started to cultivate Human Resources. He had brought some to the Emperor but they were greedy and power hungry and would just as likely betray them as serve them.

And the girl? She had proven more resourceful than he had ever expected. She had been given power and ruthlessly leveraged it. He had decided to remove her from consideration and somehow she had survived and killed the mercenaries he had hired. Even if she was injured and hospitalized, it should have been enough.

The Emperor had wanted to call the Manticore back and reclaim his bracelet. Fortunately Kothin had managed to dissuade him. It was perfect where it was: a challenge, a mystery, and a display of power for the humans. An obvious bit of bait but, in the end, unavoidable for the girl. She would be drawn to it and the other regalia. There were multiple reasons to leave it in play for now even if the power of the bracelet would have been valuable.

He had asked the Emperor to see if they could reach into any of the other kingdoms. He needed an assassin that was precise. One that would not have to bow to mortal constraints. He needed the Keres or the Akarthatos.

The Emperor dismissed him finally, and Kothin went to his chambers to examine a still of the bracelet from the newscast.

Kothin’s memory was perfect. He knew what this picture would look like without needing to see it. He also remembered when the Emperor had forged the bracelet. It had been thick and rigid, almost a cuff. The Emperor had invested it with magic but no Aspect. The newest of his items, he had several possible plans for it.

Then the Waning had happened. The Emperor had been forced to cast a magic so great it had folded the universe in on itself. He had used his imperial regalia as anchors. The spell had been indiscriminate though and many of the People had been trapped without food or water or in inhospitable realms. Those that had survived were often changed.

During those years, the bracelet itself had changed. It was far more delicate now and the rings were new. It had taken on an Aspect and neither Kothin nor the Emperor knew how. Was it more powerful or less? Controllable? It was definitely the bracelet, but it had come to a semiotic meaning of its own.

Kothin dismissed the still of the bracelet and turned to the picture of his mate. He had died so long ago. A perfect memory could be a curse. Soon enough Kothin would see him, soon enough.

He shut out the lights and lay on his bed, amethyst and basalt, and rested. He wished they had never woken up.