Flame Touched

Chapter Eighteen - Matteo

Apparently, Matt wasn't allowed to have more than one night of honeymoon bliss. While Rei spent the day lounging about the pool, Matt went to a private meeting with Lord Lynx. He figured his father would have work for him. There always seemed to be something for him to do. At the same time, it would have been nice for him to grab his bride and spend some good quality time with her before going back to the grind of work. Didn't most couples get a vacation of some kind right after they got married? Soon, we'll have to go somewhere soon.

While Eian went off to do whatever it was he had planned for the day, Matt went to their father's hidden office tucked into the back corner of the castle. The room was small, not much deeper than ten feet. Two of them could fit comfortably. Anyone else joining in might have been a bit much. Usually, our one-on-one meetings are held in his suite. I wonder why he wants all of the secrecy. Shrugging, Matt sat in one of the hard, wooden chairs, arranged in a circle throughout the room, and waited for his father to join. Another ten minutes passed before he did so.

"Thank you for coming. I'm aware you have other things you'd much rather be doing at the moment, seeing as how you no longer smell pure," Lynx said and sat across from his son.

Matt wasn't sure how to respond. "I...yes...I was hoping to...um..." More time with Rei had been on his mind, though he didn't want to assume what they would do with said time. He could only hope she'd want to explore more of their new relationship together. Matt cleared his throat. "The castle is new to her. All of this is new to her. It would be good for me to help her get better acquainted with all of the changes."

"A logical concern. There are other women who can help her with those things." Lynx waved his hand. "I have more important things for you to attend to."

"Yes Father," Matt said quietly. He did his best to hide his disappointment. Being a trusted adviser was an honor he should be thankful for. Showing any displeasure might give his father reason to rethink giving Matt such a lofty position.

Lynx gazed off to the side, his eyes not focusing on one particular thing or another. "There are Oceina spies in our nation. We've found two of them, and Captain Kendall believes there are at least three more. At least, Matteo. There could be as many as a hundred. I don't think I need to explain what needs to be done, do I?"

"Get as much information from the men as possible," Matt said.

"Then use them to send another message back to the pathetic water dragons." Lynx growled. "We are close to making a deal with the Terran in regards to strengthening our armories. It would not be good for the Oceina to have this information. The element of surprise will be our greatest weapon. You know their magic is stronger, as is their technology. If we're going to overtake their land, we'll need every advantage we can get. This will not be an easy war to win. Even if we are blessed by God to succeed, I am not foolish enough to believe it will be handed to us on a silver platter. We must do the work."

Matt nodded, knowing Lynx was right. He was still desperate to keep his emotions level. The Oceina spying wasn't much of a shock. Lynx had dispatched his own share of them into all of the nations along with the ambassadors stationed outside of Inero borders. What did surprise him was his father's order to kill. In the past, he would have sent the spy home and chided the Oceina Lord to find better help. Then again, in the past, Lynx was not so obvious about his plans to overthrow an entire nation.

Carefully, Matt thought over what to say next. "You're right. The closer we get to Day Red, the more careful we need to be. Killing the spies will put up more red flags that we are hiding things. Perhaps it would be better to keep the Oceina in the dark on our discovery until after our first wave of attacks. I know you're eager to acquire our true destiny, Father, but we must not be rash either."