and my Kindle was perfect company. The only thing that would've made it better was best not considered. And if I couldn't have his company, I definitely preferred hanging out with my favorite fictional characters.
Our chance to practice our poker faces with Gary and the schlong-swinging fauns was a damn good thing, or we would've looked like idiots when we finally laid eyes on COME. I'd never given much thought to its fancy name—the Council of Magical Entities—or considered it might represent anything other than shifters.
When we walked into the cavernous chambers and I saw the council for the first time, my worldview wasn't simply shifted—it was torn completely off its axis. I knew witches and mages existed; their fights were legendary. And noticing a warlock there as well didn’t surprise me. But seeing what I'd always believed to be fictional creations as living and breathing people took me a minute to process.
And speaking of people… I would swear the two humans seated on the marble dais were dead ringers for Mahatma Gandhi and Leo Tolstoy. Younger and hardier versions than the old men they'd been at the times of their deaths, but total twins of the actual people. Unless… nah. Not possible. Right?
While I got a hold of myself, I glanced around the chamber. Everything was marble. Except for the gold accents, bringing out the veins in the marble. And the green ivy wound around the marble pillars. Comfort wasn't on the agenda, apparently. The sole seats in this place were the ones the council members sat in. Everyone else had to stand. Thanks to the raised dais, we were eye level with their feet. I had to admit, it was rather poetic.
The chairs on the dais would more aptly be called thrones because they were thrones: thirteen identical golden seats with white velvet seat cushions. I knew the number because one of the seats was empty.
Although the thrones themselves were the same size, the sole difference between them was the height of the seat level. The seats were either adjustable or it was done magically, unless maybe they made a new one every time a new member joined the council? They put every council member's head at the same level, despite height differences.
A splash drew my attention to the far left end of the dais, and I understood the empty chair. A broad muscular back faced me as a man pushed from a small pool of water. Even if I couldn't stomach the idea of touching another person, I had to admit he had a beautiful body. Or top half, anyway.
He pulled himself partially out of the pool, displaying a beautiful turquoise lower body. Of a fish. A merperson. As he turned, I watched, waiting to see whether or not his beauty matched his cut torso or gorgeous—if fishy—lower half. When he looked up, I met the eyes of a nightmare creature.
Seriously. I only wouldn’t have bad dreams after this if I found a good therapist. His eyes were solid black, like looking into a void. Instead of a nose, his elongated nostrils totally made me think of Voldemort. Slashes—gills, really—stretched the length of his cheek, blinking open with each breath he took. As for his lips, they were gray and shiny and definitely covered with scales.
I made a mental note to avoid any merman erotica stories in the future and went back to surreptitiously studying the other council members.
Since Saul Everly was no longer in charge, I had no idea who the man sitting in the prominent center throne was. I definitely recognized Morty, who stood at his right side like a yes-man or personal assistant. I wouldn't be surprised if Morty fell somewhere in between. One day we would have to figure out his secrets, but they were the least of today's worries.
A tall elf with ears nearly as long as his head sat at the far left. I worked my way right from him, taking note of each person and who—or what—they might be. The next was a dwarf's seat, raised so far his throne reminded me of a baby's highchair. His head, hands, and feet were roughly the same size as mine, while his small stout body couldn't have been taller than three and a half feet. His long brown beard, flecked with gray, reached all the way to the top of his round belly.
Judging by the bulge in his rough, homespun britches, I had to wonder if every part of his body was