Lottery King 7, page 14
A crowd started to gather at the front doors, and Lady Pemala practically oozed with delight as I climbed the few steps to her. The sone towered several inches over me, and I couldn’t help but notice that she stood confidently tall as she greeted me.
“Your majesty,” Lady Pemala said in a refined Burmese accent. “What a pleasure it is to host you at my home this evening.”
“Thank you for having us, Lady Pemala,” I said, and I quickly introduced all six of my ladies.
“An honor, I assure you,” Lady Pemala said. “Please, do come inside.”
The statuesque woman led us through the open double doors and into the crowded mansion.
There were paranormals of all kinds in the huge house. I spotted wings, scales, antlers, hair of every color, and even some hooves as we stepped inside. I wondered briefly if there were any centaurs in attendance tonight, but I quickly saw the hooves belonged to a short, bearded man I identified as a satyr. I hadn’t seen any satyrs since Poppy, Helena, and I had been in Greece.
“Have you come to Yangon for pleasure, your majesty?” Lady Pemala asked me as she showed us to a huge room lined with refreshment tables cloaked in white linen. “Or is it business perhaps?”
“A bit of both, I suppose,” I said in the charming kingly tone I’d perfected over the last several months. “I’ve made it a mission of mine to meet all the representatives and check in on all the areas of my kingdom. I fear some have been neglected over the years, and I mean to right that.”
“Ah, yes,” Lady Pemala sighed, and she gave an overly dramatic frown. “We’ve all heard of the dire situation you righted in Neirnan. Quite the feather in your cap, your majesty. And in your first reigning year, too. Very impressive.”
“Thank you,” I said. “I don’t do it for the feathers, though. I’m determined to be a king who helps the people, all the people, not just the ones at the top or the ones who can do something for me.”
“Quite.” Lady Pemala offered me a perfectly white smile.
Then she introduced us to several of her other guests, and we were able to meet some paranormal species I’d only ever read about including a few more kinnara and sones. I started to notice that the kinnara often had the bright colored wings of tropical birds, while the harpies of Greece had more white, tan, and brown feathers like hawks and eagles.
The party was lavish, and I couldn’t help but compare the over-the-top decor, food, and drink to Lord Oba’s party. He’d had living statues, but Lady Pemala had daring performers. There was a contortionist who bent her body in ways I was sure would break every bone in her spine. There was a fire-juggler who swallowed a flaming sword to the hilt. It made my throat ache to watch, and Dinah went pale before she politely turned away.
The food was the kind of expensive dishes that I never really understood. Tiny portions that looked like modern art sculptures were served on full-sized plates that were drizzled in swirls of some kind of sauce. It was all delicious, but it looked like it was more about the presentation than anything else.
“Have you enjoyed meeting some of the local paranormals, your majesty?” Lady Pemala asked.
“Yes, your introductions have been great,” I said with a charming smile. “I must say, I’ve read about several of the paranormal species of this area, but I haven’t met any until tonight.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to,” Lady Pemala said, and she gave me a simpering smile that made my teeth ache. “Few of our local population enjoy traveling. They see no need to go to faraway places when everything they might want is right here at home.”
“I can understand that,” I said, but honestly, it baffled me.
One of the coolest perks of all the money I had now was traveling to all the exotic places of the world. I loved visiting other cultures and seeing things outside my previous world view.
Lady Pemala’s attention was temporarily drawn by a servant with a question about the next course of food, and I turned my focus to my ladies for a moment.
“The poor don’t have the means to travel,” Helena mumbled under her breath to Nyxx and Gemma.
“And that’s most of the population here,” Nyxx muttered back as Gemma and the others nodded.
Even Rune’s teal eyes went wide with emphatic agreement.
“Perhaps we can learn more if we divide and conquer,” Helena suggested quietly.
“That’s a good idea,” Poppy agreed. “I suspect our group is too large and intimidating to hold a real conversation with anyone.”
“If we break into pairs,” Ivis said, “we might be able to get some of the locals to open up a bit more.”
“I agree.” I nodded. “Stick in pairs, and–”
“Your majesty.” Lady Pemala grabbed my arm and nearly dragged me across the room away from my lovers. “I simply must introduce you to another of your representatives.”
“Right,” I said in a dry tone, and I shot Rune a pointed glance.
My golden-haired advisor scurried to keep up with us, and my six lovers gave me amused looks and smiles as I was pulled away from their comforting company.
Lady Pemala started to show me around the party in a way that made me feel like her champion show dog. It was clear I was the most important guest in the room, which to be fair, I was, but Lady Pemala seemed to gain some kind of ego boost from my presence. It was like she felt personally responsible for my attendance at her party, like she’d manifested me out of thin air or something.
I tolerated her too-sweet and smug personality as she paraded me around to various guests. Rune trailed a step behind me as a silent presence of moral support, and I knew he was ready to aid me however he could.
The representative that I simply had to be introduced to ended up being a Belu, which was basically a Burmese shapeshifter.
“This is Lord Ohnmar,” Lady Pemala introduced the man right as his hair shifted into a long mane of black waves. “Oh, you’re showing off again, aren’t you Lord Ohnmar?”
“Never, Lady Pemala,” the dark-skinned shapeshifter replied in a smug voice. “You know I would never degrade myself in such a way. My hair simply has a mind of its own.”
As if on cue, the long black waves retreated back into his head, and a pair of short horns emerged from his forehead. From everything I’d read or heard about shapeshifters, every shift was entirely intention. Never had I seen anything that suggested they had no control over it, even juvenile shifters had to concentrate to make such alterations to their body.
Either Lord Ohnmar was just that fucking full of himself, or he mistook me for an idiot who knew nothing about the people of the Eternal Realm.
Neither option made me like him.
But then the brown-skinned shapeshifter caught my gaze, and there was the most fleeting spark of discomfort in his eyes that seemed in utter contrast to his outward mannerisms.
I watched a bit more carefully as he continued to interact with Lady Pemala.
His shoulders were tense in a way I had missed at first, and his smile was just a little bit forced under the smooth charm.
I glanced between him and the tall sone again, and she seemed completely at ease and in her element. Lady Pemala made some comment I didn’t pay attention to, and she reached out to caress her hand down Lord Ohnmar’s arm in an overtly flirtatious way.
The shapeshifter’s jaw clenched unmistakably, and his nostrils flared like he was forcing his breath to remain calm.
I tuned back into their words, but I couldn’t ignore the fabricated ease with which Lord Ohnmar spoke and moved.
Lady Pemala and Lord Ohnmar stroked each other’s rather large egos for a moment with excessive compliments. But while the statuesque sone came across as perfectly at ease, the shorter shapeshifter seemed to weigh every expression, word, and movement before they happened.
“This gown is just…” Lord Ohnmar said, and he gathered the tips of his fingers and kissed them in an exaggerated motion. “Exquisite, Lady Pemala.”
“Oh, this old thing?” she said in a poor attempt at modesty. “I just threw it on. That tuxedo, though… Your majesty, doesn’t Lord Ohnmar’s tuxedo suit him perfectly?”
“You both look very nice,” I said.
I thanked the goddess as a servant came to save me from another second of this tooth-rotting conversation to announce that dinner was about to begin.
“Lovely!” Lady Pemala clasped her hands together. “Your majesty, I’ve sat you right beside Lord Ohnmar so you may enjoy one another’s company even more!”
“Lovely,” I said.
Good, maybe I could get a more genuine version of Lord Ohnmar further away from Lady Pemala.
“Come, everyone,” Lady Pemala announced to the room at large. “I do hope you all enjoy your meals!”
Lord Ohnmar released a tight breath as Lady Pemala wandered away to attend to her guests as a whole. I paused a second before I offered him a friendly smile, and I noticed a bit of a flush rise up at the crisp collar of his shirt as I looked at him.
I wondered if he was worried that I might have noticed his discomfort about Lady Pemala. It was curious to me that he seemed more at ease around me than the tall woman, and I hoped I would get a bit of insight into that curiosity.
“Shall we?” Lord Ohnmar asked, and he gestured after the herd of guests moving toward the dining hall.
“Mmm.” I nodded in agreement.
I spotted Helena and Ivis walking together toward the dining hall. Poppy was close at Dinah’s side as she’d promised, and Gemma and Nyxx were together. That was a powerful team, and I chuckled to myself with pity for whoever had to dodge the shadow nymph and mermaid’s tactics.
Lady Pemala’s guests filed into a shockingly long dining hall, and I knew the space just had to be magically expanded to accommodate the table that was probably twenty yards long. It was insane looking, and the far wall was a giant mirror that only made everything look even bigger. I wondered if the room was always this large, or if Lady Pemala had the space expanded for events like this.
“How long are you in the city, your majesty?” Lord Ohnmar asked as we found our seats. His tone was more relaxed now, and the tension had eased from his shoulders.
“For as long as I like,” I said, and I threw in a cocky smile that hinted at the benefits of not having to decide such things beforehand.
“Ah, that’s the only way to vacation.” Lord Ohnmar smirked.
An army of servants pulled out the chairs from the dining table as all the guests stepped to their places. I had been positioned at the foot of the table with Lady Pemala directly across from me at the head.
Traditionally, a visiting king would have been seated at the place of greatest honor, but after what I’d learned about Lady Pemala so far, I wasn’t surprised in the slightest to see she’d reserved that spot for herself. Not that I minded, I wasn’t so high on my horse to be offended by which seat I was given, and it was a bit of a relief to be as far away from the overbearing sone as possible.
“I feel I must apologize, your majesty,” Lord Ohnmar whispered as he leaned closer to me.
“What for?” I wondered.
“Lady Pemala expects a certain amount of pomp and circumstance,” Lord Ohnmar explained, and I noticed his tone was more reserved than before. “I am not usually so… showy.”
“Ah, I see,” I hummed. “You did seem a bit… uncomfortable in her presence.”
“Was it that obvious?” Lord Ohnmar asked with a nervous look.
“I’m very perceptive,” I assured him so he wouldn’t become even more nervous around the sone.
“Image and status are very important to Lady Pemala,” Lord Ohnmar continued with a sigh. “And it would benefit no one for me to lose her favor. As the representative of the local sone, she has sway with the people.”
“I completely understand,” I assured the shapeshifter. “And I’m grateful for your honesty.”
Lord Ohnmar nodded respectfully, and he must have noticed Lady Pemala watching us because he put on a blinding smile and gave a too-false laugh that was loud enough to be heard across the table.
The army of servants appeared again and placed filled champagne flutes before each of us, and I took a moment to locate all of my gorgeous ladies around the table.
Poppy was sitting across the table from Dinah, and my pregnant wife looked relieved my first bride was so near. Gemma and Nyxx had been separated by quite a few guests between them, and they were both engaged in conversation with the people seated beside them. Ivis was a few seats down from Dinah by herself, and Helena had lucked into the seat right beside Lady Pemala. It was going to be interesting to see what they learned throughout dinner.
An old woman sat on my other side across from Lord Ohnmar, and I got the impression she was either bored to death by events like this, or completely deaf. She didn’t make conversation with anyone and ignored all the chatter around her as she focused on her food.
Rune sat three seats away, and I wondered if he was close enough to hear my conversation with Lord Ohnmar.
I was thankful because it allowed me to give the majority of my attention to the shapeshifting representative instead, and he turned out to be a wealth of information.
“Will you be attending the festival, your majesty?” Lord Ohnmar asked as our first course was served in choreographed perfection.
“I’d heard there was a festival in a few days,” I said as I recalled Rune mentioning it during our planning phase. “I must admit, I’m not very familiar with it.”
“It’s a long-standing tradition,” Lord Ohnmar said, but there was darkness in his black eyes. “Centuries ago it was a brutal affair of the local paranormals.”
“The humans weren’t involved?” I asked.
“Oh, they were involved,” Lord Ohnmar sighed. “There was once a time when humans were sacrificed at the festival to appease the goddess.”
The food on my tongue suddenly tasted like ash, and I couldn’t help but picture Raeva’s beautiful face contorted with rage and fury at the idea that anyone would be harmed in her honor.
“I see you share my distaste for the idea,” Lord Ohnmar said. “The tradition ended around the 1500s for many reasons. One of which being the fear that word would spread much wider among the humans. Some of the oldest paranormals still desire such a sacrifice, but it’s simply too dangerous to do now.”
“I’m glad it’s not a thing anymore.” I scowled. “I might have had to put a stop to it.”
“The idea was barbaric to say the least,” Lord Ohnmar agreed.
“Was it eliminated from the festival completely?” I asked.
“A substitute was arranged in those early years,” Lord Ohnmar explained. “For about a decade, livestock was sacrificed. It allowed the paranormals the sacrifice they craved while making it safer for the humans.”
“Well, I guess that’s better than killing people,” I said in a dry tone.
“The tradition changed again after that,” Lord Ohnmar continued. “Eventually, straw men were crafted to take the place of the sacrifices. It was a compromise that pleased very few, but no one was displeased enough to argue.”
“Straw men?” I asked. “Is that exactly what it sounds like?”
“Yes, your majesty,” Lord Ohnmar said with a little smile. “The directors of the festival craft mock humans of straw stuffed into clothing.”
“Huh, clever,” I said.
“It allows the festival to be human friendly,” Lord Ohnmar said. “And in this modern day of technology it’s a requirement. Glamours can only do so much, and the festival has evolved to be one the humans look forward to as well… usually at least…”
Lord Ohnmar’s face fell, and I could feel the sudden shift in his tone.
“Usually?” I prompted.
“My apologies, your majesty,” Lord Ohnmar said. “There is heaviness in the atmosphere of Yangon lately… it must be contaminating my good mood.”
“I’ve been informed of the discontent among the poorer populations,” I said in a noncommittal tone.
I didn’t want to lead Lord Ohnmar in any directions. I wanted him to tell me what he really thought, not what he thought I wanted to hear. It was a tricky path to walk in this conversation, and I focused on keeping my face placid as I waited.
“The implementation of the straw men centuries ago made the festival safe for humans,” Lord Ohnmar said. “And even in recent years when the divide became sharper and wider, the humans were still relatively safe. Muggings happen on occasion, desperate people making desperate decisions… but…”
Lord Ohnmar scanned the long dining table, lifted his champagne glass, and lowered his voice before he continued.
“There are rumblings in the streets, your majesty,” Lord Ohnmar whispered behind his champagne flute like he could hide his words with the crystal clear glass. “Dangerous rumblings.”
I raised my eyebrows a fraction to prompt the man to finish his thought, and my heart raced inside my chest.
“There is word that the group known as Myangtaat Larhkyinn,” Lord Ohnmar mumbled. “Or, roughly translated to English, ‘The Rising.’ They plan to sacrifice humans at the festival.”
A deathly chill raced down my spine, and my entire body felt suddenly cold.
“What have you heard?” I asked in a serious tone that must have frightened Lord Ohnmar.
“Oh, uh,” the shapeshifted desperately tried to backtrack. “It’s only rumors, I assure you, your majesty. Rumblings in the streets of the displeased lower classes. I’m sure the people are perfectly safe.”
I narrowed my eyes slightly, and he must have seen that I wasn’t comforted by his words.
“The Rising desires to spread hatred and fear,” Lord Ohnmar continued. “They’re a hate group, and their biggest tool is word of mouth. It suits no one to give any credit to these rumors. They will only give The Rising what they want.”
“Mm,” I hummed, but I wasn’t convinced.
The Rising. My instincts screamed at me that this wasn’t just about rumors, but without proof, there wasn’t a clear path for me to go down.
