Kosandion was an excellent orator. His diction was perfect, his voice modulated to carry through the space without sounding harsh but conveying just the right amount of gravitas to underscore the importance of every word.
“We all know why we are here, but I shall reiterate for the record.”
Oh, it was all about the record. The inn was filming him from three directions simultaneously while also recording a panoramic shot of the ballroom from two directions and both the observer and the attendant galleries. Any rise in activity would cause Gertrude Hunt to whip out a sensor and dutifully preserve everything that transpired. The footage was downloaded into Resven’s databanks, edited, spliced, and at appropriate intervals, one of his assistants would run it through the portal back to the Dominion where it would be broadcast.
For Earth politicians, popularity was a major factor, but it wasn’t everything. Plenty of people took office based on the strength of their personality or a tough stance on a particular issue. Some of the politicians were even nearly universally disliked but continued to be reelected for complex reasons. For the Dominion, a ruler’s likability was vital. Kosandion knew that fact better than anyone. He had beckoned me over once he took the throne, and I stood only a couple of feet away. From this distance, the force of his magnetic personality was almost too much.
“We have gathered in this hall today to select my future spouse. After a long and careful consideration, twelve candidates have made the final cut. The parent of my future offspring is among you.”
In the attendant gallery, the Holy Ecclesiarch was nodding sagely. Elderly, with skin the color of old parchment and an elaborate headdress on his bald head, the spiritual leader of the Dominion seemed too slight for his luxurious vestments. He wore a silky white robe with an overdress embroidered with metallic brass colored thread. A short, carefully draped cape covered his shoulders, reaching to mid chest, its deep neckline revealing a tall asymmetric collar. A rectangular jeweled medallion hung from his neck, indicating his holy status.
He looked ready to keel over, and I was watching him for any sign of fainting. He was led in by his acolytes shortly after Kosandion’s arrival, and it had taken him a long time to cross the ballroom to the throne. At some point Kosandion became concerned and went down the stairs to escort him. I had suggested that we make the Ecclesiarch more comfortable in custom quarters from where he could watch the proceedings, but he had patted my hand and told me that this was the last duty he could do for the Sovereign, and he had never been one to abandon his responsibilities.
“Bringing a child into this universe is a grave and sacred task. A parent’s obligation is far deeper than a simple contribution of genetic material. One must guide, educate, and love one’s offspring, putting their needs above one’s own. That is why the candidate who will become my spouse will be required to reside within the Dominion for a period of no less than twenty-five Dominion years. In recognition of this significant commitment, the Dominion will honor one request from the spouse or their sponsors.”
And that was the deal in a nutshell. Prior to entering the spouse selection, each delegation was required to list a minor and a major ask. If they made it to the finale, the Dominion would honor their minor asks, but only one delegation would ever be granted their major request. It was the grand prize. The whole process provided the Dominion with an opportunity to negotiate some deals they wouldn’t have been able to make otherwise. Some delegations made it to the finale for purely political reasons that had nothing to do with the qualities of their candidate.
A movement in the far end of the room drew my eye. The Dushegubs were getting a bit more agitated. Sean was openly watching them. Both he and Gorvar stared at the dark forest with nearly identical expressions, like they wanted something to bite.
Looking around the room, it was clear which candidates thought they had a chance of winning. Most of the humanoids had taken care to match the Dominion’s aesthetic: structured garments in tasteful shades, a lot of white, a lot of delicate embroidery. The otrokars were the exception, and the vampire candidate was in her syn armor, but she had taken time to add a cream cloak and to decorate her hair with big white flowers.
“Let us remind those who are watching of every being’s origin and allegiance. We shall begin our introductions in a random order chosen by our host.”
That was my cue. I tapped my broom. Sections of the floor under the delegations lit up, the pale glow bouncing from group to group until it stopped under the Gaheas. It wasn’t really random, but nobody needed to know that.
A graceful Gaheas glided forward into the open space between the two rows of participants. He wasn’t lean, he was lithe, with long limbs, perfect amber skin, and a face that was androgynous in its delicate beauty. He wore a stylized scale mail, a deep burgundy accented with white, more of a ceremonial garment than battle-ready armor.
“My name is Nycati of Gaheas. Should I be chosen, I shall teach our offspring the beauty of the arts so their soul can reach harmony with the universe.”
I bounced the light again and stopped it under the Kai. Prysen moved forward. A full foot shorter than Nycati, he wore a pale blue robe cinched at the waist and a white circlet. His long blue hair streamed down his back, and the wide sleeves of his robe looked like delicate wings. The Gaheas was a tough act to follow, but Prysen held himself with quiet, calm dignity.
“My name is Prysen Ol. Should I be chosen, I shall love our child and share with them the teachings of ancient masters, the logicians and philosophers, so our offspring will seek understanding and harmony in all things.”
Clearly, harmony was the theme. They must’ve been given talking points.
I moved the light around and let it pause under the Dushegubs. Their candidate hopped off the root on which she had been perching and strolled into the open, rolling her hips. Her dress, a slight flowing gown, seemed to be held up purely by the fullness of her breasts.
The Dushegubs, subtle like bulldozers. Humanoids like sex. Here’s sex, now give us everything we want.
The woman tossed her hair back. The Dushegubs’ roots stopped undulating. The killer trees held completely still, waiting to see if the prey took the pretty bait.
“I am Unessa Sybate of… Creeeeeak hisss hisss creeeeak knock.”
And that’s why we called them Dushegubs.
“Should I be chosen, I shall commit fully to ensuring our children will be conceived in love and care…”
Aha, and?
“… and I shall raise them to smother their enemies before they have a chance to root.”
There it is.
“And harmony,” Unessa concluded triumphantly.
“A harmonious smothering,” Kosandion murmured under his breath. “Of course.”
I tossed the light again. Let’s see… It had to be the Horde or the Anocracy. If I waited too long, they would get offended.
There was movement in the Temple’s quarters. I opened their doors and stopped the light under House Meer.
Lady Wexyn exited her quarters and moved toward us at top speed. Sean glanced at me. His voice whispered in my ear through a tiny earbud.
“Do you want me to bar the door?”
“Nope.”
Sean grinned.
The vampire candidate rearranged her face into a milder version of a sneer. “I am Bestata of House Meer. Should I be chosen, I will raise our child in the finest tradition of my House. I shall make our child strong, powerful, decisive, skilled in the battle arts…”
The doors burst open, and Lady Wexyn appeared in the huge doorway. She was five foot nothing, and all of her was wrapped in a shiny golden gown and decorated with jewelry, as if someone had taken a 5-gallon bucket of precious accessories, tossed it at her, and most of it had stuck.
She wasn’t simply curvy, she was curvaceous and plump, with large full breasts, a round firm butt, and a soft tummy. Her naturally pale skin was sun kissed to a glowing tan. Her long dark brown hair was lifted to the top of her head in an elaborate ponytail that dripped curled locks onto her shoulders. A massive headdress rode on the front of her head, with the ponytail strategically threaded through it. It looked like a tree made of pure gold, complete with branches dripping with ruby flowers and supporting tiny, bejeweled birds. The whole thing added almost most three feet to her height.
She opened her big dark eyes as wide as they could go and declared in a loud voice, “Your Majesty!!!”
Resven turned green.
Kosandion didn’t miss a beat. “Lady Wexyn, what a pleasure to have you with us.”
“You didn’t wait for me, Your Majesty. Am I late?” She clasped one hand to her ample bosom. A dozen thin bracelets in every precious metal found in the galaxy clinked on her wrist.
“Only a little. Please join us.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty!”
She swept into the room, somehow keeping the golden oak upright on her head. Unessa’s hip roll was amateur hour. This was master class. It was hypnotic. There was no way I could ever imitate that sashay. Not only didn’t I have the hips or joints for it, I didn’t have the confidence.
Next to me Kosandion leaned his elbow on the armrest of his throne, rested his chin on his hand, and tried very hard to appear disinterested. At the observer gallery, Gaston was blinking rapidly. Tony leaned a little to watch as she passed, and Sean was staring intently at her back. Hehe.
“Sean, pick your jaw up off the floor,” I murmured with a small smile.
“She moves very well.”
“I noticed.”
“No, not like that. That thing on her head is real gold. Scan it.”
I nudged the inn. Lady Wexyn was carrying fifty-two pounds on her head and thirty-five on her body. And she moved like a weightless butterfly. She reached her delegation with a dazzling smile, and they swarmed her in apparent joy. Someone clapped their hands. Someone squeed in a high-pitched voice.
Kosandion gave them another twenty seconds to settle down and turned to Bestata. “Please continue.”
She glared at Lady Wexyn and ground out. “Harmony. In battle.”
Kosandion nodded, and the vampire knight turned and stomped back to her House.
I moved the light around.
At the observer gallery. Caldenia sat very still, watching Lady Wexyn with an almost predatory focus, like an eagle sighting her prey. Karat pretended to look bored. Next to her Cookie was smiling.
I stopped the white spot under the otrokars. Their candidate strode into the open. He truly was a stunning example of good genes and focused physical training. Perfect, hard muscle corded his large frame. His broad shoulders strained his chitin battle armor.
“I am Surkar, son of Grast and Ulde, Champion of my tribe, Gutripper, Blood Drencher…”
The vampires were rolling their eyes. Dagorkun was too. Clearly, reading the room wasn’t in Surkar’s skill set.
“…Bone Crusher. I am not meek. When I am chosen, I will mold our child into a war machine. They will reap a bloody harvest of their enemies, until all who oppose them cower and tremble, too afraid to cry out.”
“Splendid,” Kosandion said with a completely straight face. “Thank you, Son of Grast and Ulde. Let us continue.”
I flicked the light around to the Right Dominion delegation. We still had six groups to go.
Woohoo!!!
First award!
Yaaay!
So close!
Yaaay! I can’t get enough
Woohooo.
Thank you House IA.
My first time even close to first. What a feeling! Now for some joyous reading. Yay!
First?
Seventh 🙂
Not even close
…..Sometimes there is a delay in seeing any comments posted
OOMG comment number 11! That’s the highest i have ever been!
Thank you!
Such a delight, thank you!
Wow!
Well nice to see I moved up.🙂. I wish it was just a little longer.. but great intro of the candidates.
Thank you so much. I hadn’t really thought about Kosandion’s personality, but I think I like him. He reminds me of Caldenia.
😀
This is the closest I’ve ever gotten to being first hahaha
Happy Friday everyone
Yeah.
So close!
It’s hilarious that we all post now and then go back to read
yup!
By the time I see the post to the blog there’s already 200+ comments, so I still comment post reading as there’s no way I’ll be close to first🤣
This was really great, thank you very much.
🙂
Thanks just wonderful, your stories are awesome
… and Harmony.
😀 Harmonious smothering
Maybe the smothering occurs at a karoake bar?
Lol
I loved that part.
Unless you’re an Otrakar… apparently they don’t do harmony 🤷 🤣
Their child might be a *harmonious* war machine, but he should have mentioned that part. The term “missed the memo” comes to mind.
Hehe
I love Fridays!
Thank you so much! Going to reread everything this weekend with a cup of coffee or tea by my side. Can’t wait!
I did notice last week that this is the point where most people need to go back and reread so they can keep it all straight 🙂
I love rereads!
I re-read Wednesday in preparation.
This is so great. The detail transports you there.
Now all I need is the menu for Orro’s opening feast! Better go fix breakfast.
PS I tried the monkey bread. Managed to undercook it. Thanks for the recipe!
I reread this week in prep too as I was losing track.
I’m literally listening to SIP onGraphic Audio. Got to the scene where everyone is arriving and then this post pops up! So OF COURSE I pause SIP and started reading this. And now my brain is like what the heck is going on!
Yay! (And darn it not first)
So awesome! The candidate introductions remind me of Miss Congeniality… “and world peace”
Hehehe!
Speaking of, the perfect date is coming, April 25th!
National Hug a Plumber day?
It’s a quote from the movie Miss Congeniality. The most innocent of the candidates responds to the prompt “Describe your perfect date” with “I’d have to say April 25th. Because it’s not too hot, not too cold, all you need is a light jacket.” 🙂
Ahh! Thank you!
We could all still hug a plumber if we wanted to though – so long as it was harmonious!
I kid you not. I was at a community pagent, the young lady was asked, what was her favorite dish. She said pyrex…as in the glass baking ware…
Hhahahaha, pyrex is one of my favorite dishes as well!
Good taste in home ware
And it’s Anzac Day, down south.
Haha! Makes me laugh everytime!
All you need is a light jacket! 🙂
Loved it! Reminds me Miss Congeniality and every candidate striving for World Peace. Thanks!
You guys just continue to deliver. Thank You! 💖
I wonder, cause y’know there is a tiny bit of brain space yet not taken up by all the other wonderful things shared with us to wonder about, if some hint, whisper, or mayhaps bite-sized chunk about Dina’s parents might be revealed? I reckon Klaus continues to work on that from his angle. It’ll probably take years, but…just wondering.
Strong vibes of the Sleeping Beauty christening scene – although whether Lady Wexyn will turn out to be the bad fairy or not will come next week (or the week after…) I’m guessing!
Love the…harmonious introduction of harmony into every one of their ‘gifts’ to their potential offspring – except for the Otrokars – will that cost them, or earn them points?
Can’t wait for next week!
Good Friday morning
Interesting. I wonder if Sulkar gets points for honesty, he certainly doesn’t seem to have anything else in his favor!
And I look forward to Lady Wexyn getting her comeuppance for hijacking the introductions, whatever that may be.
Thanks for another great read!
Hehehe, Ledy Wexyn is everything! I feel like she gets away with a lot lol 😀
I wouldn’t want to mess with her. She was double timing it from her room while wearing close to 90 pounds of metal and wasn’t even out of breath. And that tree would’ve been messing with her balance.
This! All that weight! And why run?
Aaaaannnnddd, here comes the heavy metal! Just perfect, *snicker*
“She moves well.” I can barely walk into a room without tripping. I need classes from the Temple of Pleasure. I loved this. Perfect for a temperamental spring day.
This is pretty close to the front, so that works out well. I think Miss Congeniality is a perfect comparison. I’m not sure which candidate I like yet, but none of them are filling me with confidence about good intentions. I really want to hear what favors everyone is asking for. Also, a conversation between the Sovereign and Dina and Sean is in order. We might get a glimpse of the real man behind that mask. Great job House Andrews!
I am going on record as #TeamWexyn 😀 ! She had me at agent of chaos and making Resven turn green hehe.
I think Lady Wexyn has hidden depths. She is more calculating than first glance – she times her entry for impact and attention, with an ‘oops’. She is much stronger/physically adept than she appears carrying all the weight of her jewelry yet able to move weightlessly. Wonder if her brashness is a ruse to give her a ‘forbidden’ vibe by annoying the advisors – Resven can’t stand her. Would not be surprised if underneath she is level headed, intelligent, and decorous. If so, suspect HA will have fun revealing the ‘real’ Lady Wexyn.
Either that, or she’s a villain… 😅
Time will tell 😉
I cant imagine that a candidate supported by the merchants – the adorable master assassin’s, mind you – doesn’t have something devious up her sleeve. Especially since she is 5’0″ and carrying ninety pounds of weight like it’s nothing. That probably about the same as her body weight.
She is specified as not just curvy, but “curvaceous and plump”. At 5′ and 90 pounds she would in fact be underweight 🙂
True, and not necessarily human either. But it is sus.
Calenda was certainly paying attention to Lady Wexyn. I think you may be right that she is a strong contender. I wonder what her ppl want from the Dominion?
I agree! It feels a lot like she´s playing the feather-brained, flighty idiot who is so vexing (Lady Wexyn, hmm, is that name sheer coincidence?) that no one stops to wonder if she´s actually quite clever and calculating. The overdone jewlery also seems to hint at that, along with the fact that she´s physically probably about as strong as a vampire knight. Also, Caldenia pays special attention to her, which means there´s definitely more to Lady Wexyn than meets the eye.
Which doesn´t tell us if she´s going to be a villain, just someone with her own agenda, or a valuable ally. I get the feeling she´ll be important one way or the other, though. There´s a lot of potential depth in that character.
Caldenia’s interest in lady Wexyn makes me wonder if she might be yet another relative. We shall see.
I just assumed that Caldenias well known hatred for overdone/distastful displays of wealth came into play.
Caldenia is watching her closely. That’s all I need to know.
+1
Yep.
I know, right? I love her already!
I love a good battle of the bands.
Wow!!! Heck of a gathering. Thank you for the brilliance of your world. I have a smile on my face.
So much harmony, lets see how long it continues, hehe.
Lady Wexyn is indeed an interesting candidate, wondering what else she is hiding beside strength and a tactical mind.
Happy weekend
Definitely time to reread. I obviously missed an important point somewhere.
Nothing like a good sashay to grab attention. I’m sitting here giggling. My ex roommate (50) came sashaying into the house one night and proceeded to lecture me about how I needed a man in my life and how much she enjoyed thinking up sexual positions to keep her man happy and on and on. It was a one sided conversation with way to much sharing!
Hi Mod R,
I have a quick question. So the other day I was having a bad morning and I decided I deserved a little treat so I went into the blog archive to reread some snippets. Specifically I wanted to read the snippet with the new house (I mean estate) the really long one which was both the first part and the second part with Alessandro proposing, and the snippet with the FBI, interrogation and the cool Irish song but I could only find the post withpart one of the first snippet and not the post with the second part or the second snippet. I was wondering if maybe they been removed, because I looked for a while and couldn’t find them. Could you confirm or deny?
Thanks!!!!
Hi Chloe,
The posts in question have indeed been archived, because the manuscript has gone through extensive ( so extensive!) edits at this point and has been accepted by the publisher, so multiple versions of the same text would be confusing.
Fear not, you will be encountering some of the story you remember in August!
In the mean time, have you seen the new excerpt released with the cover reveal? 🙂 https://ilona-andrews.com/featured-release/
Hope this helps!
Thank you!!!!!
Just reread that snippet and agin I cannot wait in this book comes out. I love this world and it’s characters so much. It’s next to impossible to decide if I like HL or Innkeeper better. Love them both. And that apart from how much I love Kate and Julie_
How did I miss seeing that snippet? Thankyouthankyouthankyou!!!
Omg I never saw this part either!!! Thank you for the link.
Can I check if it was posted in twitter at all? As I normally scan back through the twitter feeds to see what I’ve missed in the blog, and I don’t remember seeing this one at all.
But of it wasn’t I need to start also start going and scanning the website periodically. Cheers
It was shared as a link in one of the posts :). It always pays to scan the website hehe.
So was allowing the interruption Dina’s little revenge on House Meers?
I love it.
Cookie smiling indeed.
Ohhh did not think of that revenge angle. I thought she just didn’t like the sneering and took and advantage to puncture the pride.
But yep, taking a little revenge on House Meer for the ballroom incident would be quite plausible.
oooo, Lady Wexyn for the win. Hehe, can’t compete with hauling 87 pounds of gold on your person and managing to gorgeously sashay, not to mention a total wipeout of the sneering vampire.
Thanks!! this was a great addition and put my Friday in a happy place.
Este goteo maravilloso de historia comienza a ser un perverso placer.
I’m not usually much of a shipper, but I can’t seem to help myself with Karat and Dagorkun.
Shippedee-doo-dah, shippedee-day.
The unit for beauty is the milihelen- the unit of measure corresponding to the amount of beauty required to launch one .
If the BDH is to be believed, the Karat+Dagorkun pairing sits comfortably at several kilohelens hehe!
I vote Karat and Miralitt Anocracy+Dominion = Dynasty
I’ve built that ship myself, let’s see if it holds a hea or water 🙃
I thought about that too. It made me laugh. What a way to cement a peace accord.
Thank you! So Lady Wexyn is very strong. Interesting
Ahhhh, thank you. I truly needed this written shot of serotonin 🥰
Dang ya’all are fast.
First?
Not even close, sigh.
Sorry, not even close.
I call dibs on the band named A harmonious smothering
Yesssss. We could have band t-shirts.
with a smothered potato and onion mascot (a truly harmonious smothering)
Potato and parsnip also combine really well when smothered… Especially if the smothering involves butter 😉
+1 on recipes for harmonious smothering
🤣🤣🤣🤣 Harmonious smothering involving parsnips! Only the BDH!
+2
Or Bernaise sauce…
For some reason I’m liking this Kosandion 😆
He’s very like his aunt.
Wow, someone has to die! Anticipation! Love your stories
Oh, my word, you are killing me! I cannot wait to find out what Caldenia is thinking, planning or contemplating. So much fun.
Lady Wexyn is going to be in the top 2 or 3. Someone is probably torturing their advisor by keeping her around.
And he probably wouldn’t mind getting in her pants either. He was trying awfully hard to appear indifferent.
When the book comes out, could we be provided a brief character description at the back or front? There’s a lot of new and familiar faces and it’s a little hard to keep track, but I’m loving it so far!
It will become a lot easier when you read all in one rather than with weekly breaks 🙂
Cannot express how very much I look forward to Fridays because of these posts! Thank you so much! I can’t wait to see who gets chosen.
Those were some entrances! How entertaining? Or terrifying? LOL. I’m living for the Friday update.
Just this continues to be tooo delicious. I imagined the Holy Ecclesiarch shuffling across the room like Tim Conway’s World’s Oldest Man character from the Carol Burnett show. But the various candidates? So much fun.
#TeamPopcorn
And Harmony. 🙂
Harmony Popcorn! Bringing together the Sweet and the Salty!
Love Tim Conway!
O M G!! Too funny!! Those Tim Conway old man skits were hilarious!!😂😂 I think the Holy Ecclisiarch might be just a touch more dignified and definitely better dressed.
I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!
Thank you for your wonderful writing!!!
💗💗💗
OOoooh. The Bachelor galactic style. I love this.
Stalk the blog all day from Europe and then 🥳 next chapter!! Already 44 comments. I have no chance to be first 😆😂
I know 😂 I have this fantasy that Mod R will magically publish at 9:00 UK time.
This one wishes to observe the Master Class Hip Rolling! Please direct our optics to the nearest Earth equivalent video representation! All gratitude!!!
Marilyn Monroe in “Some Like it Hot” should be a good start. My mom always said she had a horizontal walk.
Plus hula dances.
Mae West did it best. Sex and brains.
Thank you for another lovely chapter update!!!!
All the characters including Lady Wexyn are great!!!
Wonder though if Lady Wexyn is hiding anything in her gold headdress? (or bosom? hehehehe)
ahhhh love the drama!! Can’t wait to see what the minor and major favors are O.o
Interesting. I find it confusing that Kosandion would choose a spouse from males and females. Did I miss something in previous chapters? Looking forward to seeing how this works out. I like how the explanations from the candidates help to define their respective races.
““It’s an old established practice.” Caldenia waved her hand. “With the genetic science available to those with enough resources, gender and species don’t matter. As long as there is enough compatibility, you could marry a whale, Officer Marais. They would splice the DNA together into an offspring.””
Chapter 6, Part 2 https://www.ilona-andrews.com/2022/chapter-6-part-2-2/
Species and gender don’t matter, the genetic technology of the Universe has long overcame human limitations and biases 🙂 .
I am wondering though, are the children of a male-male coupling carried to term by a surogate mother (and what would be her compensation) or in an artificial uterus (or maybe some type of soft-shell biological egg) or…. so many options
I love that it’s a mix of genders. This made me happy. 🙂
100th? (No chance of bein 1st 🙂
Just so fun to read. There is really going to end up being some type of killing happening. Don’t know if it will be literal, verbal or what but I am here for it.
Yay!
I’m not usually a fan of dating shows, but I can’t wait to see more of “The Interstellar Bachelor”.
Thank you.
Lovely! Thank you!
Wow. Excellent entrance by Lady Wexyn. She must have great bones under all those curves to carry all that gold and still move effortlessly. I am thinking the Temple team has an advantage being backed by Cookie’s clan.
I would love to have seen the vampire eye rolls!
Not clan Nuan! Some of their rivals. Same genome, different clan.
Mar is correct 🙂.
The Temple of Desire, Lady W’s backers, has amongst its sponsors the merchant Clan Nuan 🙂.
“ “The Merchants are some of the Temple’s most generous contributors,” he said.
It made sense. The Merchant clans of the Lees, who ran vast financial syndicates, desired things themselves and made their money by catering to the desires of others.
“Clan Nuan?” I asked.
“The second biggest contributor.”
From Chapter 8 Part 2 🙂 https://www.ilona-andrews.com/2022/chapter-8-part-2/
As we all know by now; I get most of my excersize jumping to conclusions. Obviously I assumed that that given sufficient lead time as those backers of Prysen and Sybate had, any competent Clan (Sai) must have been involved in arranging an appropriate candidate with the necessary obligations to the clan as well as every possible positive trait for the co-parent and spouse of a multi system galactic overlord.
Unless things are still waiting to ambush my conclusions I think the fishy folks didn’t want it bad enough to commit the time, money, and person to this job interview.
I must apologize. Mea culpa! Couki deflects rather than denies when Dina suggests Clan Nuan would be interested in taking Clan Sai’s market share in the Dominion.
Should Clan Nuan have been involved in the Selection,and Preparation of the candidate from the Temple of Desire they would certainly want someone watching to see how their investment performs and are sufficiently subtle not to place a lees in the candidate’s entourage.
Does Dagorkhun’s position as an Official Observer mean that the Southern Otrokar candidate is or is not the candidate of the entire Hope Crushing Horde? I inferred that Karat’s appearance does not represent the Entire Holy Anocracy because surely an observer for all of the Anocracy must have come from either the Judicial or Religious groups unless it was the Warlord?
Robin, I think this might be getting away from you a little bit. Here are the facts as presented in the narrative.
The Dominion is in the territory of the Merchant Clan Sai.
The Temple of Desire is neutral; however, it rewards its benefactors. Clan Nuan is the second largest benefactor of the Temple. Sean knows this because he worked closely with Clan Nuan as Turan Adin.
Clan Nuan is observing the spousal elections.
The Hope Crushing Horde consists of many different groups, the two largest of which and the Northern and Southern Clans. Currently, the Khan and Khanum are from the North. The tribe presenting themselves at the spousal election is from the South.
The Khan and Khanum have sent Dagorkun to observe the spousal elections. Dagorkun has not stated his reason for doing so; however, Dina speculates that this move by the southern tribe was not sanctioned by the Khanate and Dagorkun is there to see what happens on behalf of his parents.
As specifically states, Karat represents House Krahr. House Meer is a separate entity in direct competition with House Krahr.
I hope this clears things up. 🙂 It might help to reread things from the beginning because everything you are asking about is already in there.
Thank you very much!
Thanks for this fact check Mod R. The writing is deliciously in-depth and detailed and you don’t always remember everything.
Well we can start to guess who is definitely eliminated and only still there there for the minor asks / political reasons.
Harmonious smothering!
I was trying to imagine Lady Wexyn’s headdress. My Mom once lectured me on how heavy Las Vegas showgirls’ headdresses are, and how much respect they should get for dancing while wearing them. I looked them up. The heaviest headdresses that are regularly used run about 35 pounds. Way to go, Lady Wexyn. (Also, according to google, Vegas showgirls don’t exist anymore)
I remember reading once about Prince Charles commenting that Queen Elizabeth used to wear her crown to breakfast in the week leading up to the opening of Parliament, to get used to the weight. Lady Wexyn seems to have it down pat.
This was awesome, especially Lady Wexyn’s entrance! I can hardly wait to read the whole story, but I LOVE these weekly chapters…thank you to HA for being so generous with your devoted fans! 🥰
I loved this. Thanks for a really fascinating read.
Hilarious!
“… and Harmony.” Is that something like Miss Congenitality’s “… and world peace”? 🤔🤨
+1
It definitely has the same vibe 😂 I was laughing so much at this part! 😂
YUP. Just tack it on even if it doesn’t match what you’ve said – LOL!!
Thank you, Ilona Andrews for the snippet.
Fortunately I had reread the saga to date yesterday during the whole day rain event — nice soaking rain, hurrah, no severe weather— so I enjoyed the show. Oops snippet. 😂
Nice story.
By any chance, was the ‘squee’ for Lady Wexyn a tiny homage to the BDH? Many squees have burst forth in these comments. So many!
Thank you!
Best thing to happen to me today. Lol Work is kinda sucky.
YAYAYAYAYYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYYYAYAYAYAYAY….. Mean woot and yay and thank you… reading this with edibles is especially devine…
You know it’s been a long week when you check your email and think, “Wow, they posted the chapter early! It’s unusual for there to be two consecutive posts two days in a row!” And then you realize it actually IS Friday and it becomes even more amazing! Hip hip hooray!!! Yay! Happy Friday, everyone!
Really like the Sean Dina interplay and Caldenia’s reaction to Lady Wexyn.
I have re read kate series this week while I wait for next instalment. Thoroughly enjoyed the snippet too, Mod R, Thankyou. I had forgotten about that.
I got here so early! Yay!! I am loving this. I so wonder what Caldenia is going to do. Who will he get saddled with….
Oooo…this is getting so good…
It feels like the further we get into the story, the shorter the chapters are…I know it’s not true, but I really just don’t want it to stop!
Really intrigued by the symbolism of the different groups…wonder if the Dushegubs were happy to see the tree headdress on a competitor?
That’s A lot of gold.
Her sponsors are lees. I would be more surprised if she wasn’t all but coated in wealth and demonstrating strength of both body and mind.
Resven has no clue what she offers as a co-parent. The difficult part would be preventing her sponsors from taking over the Dominion!
Thank you. The Bachelor Alien style. Question: how would you pronounce Dushegubs? I think you did mention how to say it. But still not sure. Thank you. Hope you Enjoy your weekend
You can find the pronunciation online if you wish, it’s a Russian word 🙂 https://www.wordhippo.com/what-is/the-meaning-of/russian-word-b4552f972a9d2756ba25baf8b0a017c4c3c76985.html
House Andrews are very rarely prescriptive about it, just as long as readers don’t fight over “correct” ways 🙂
Ha! I was wondering if “Dushegub” had Slavic or Russian origin, as it sounds like it could be translated to “soul forsaker” in Polish… Seemed too coincidental, but it didn’t occour to me that I could just try to Google that, lol.
Alien species receive names in foreign languages quite often, because the inns are international.
“Some species, like the koo-ko, have easily pronounceable names and some, like the Quillonians, do not. In cases where the names are too difficult for a human mouth to replicate, the innkeepers resort to nicknames. Whoever first encounters the species, gets to name it. Some species have nicknames in more than one language. It would be unrealistic if all the nicknames were of English origin.”
https://ilona-andrews.com/2022/sweep-of-the-heart-questions/
PS Queen Elizabeth said that at her Crowning ceremony she barely moved her head because the crown was so heavy she was afraid it would fall off. Find a clip of the ceremony on Youtube and you can tell she barely moves her head.
QE’s crown is 2.3 pounds. I imagine LW wearing a tree for breakfast. Maybe it looks like a Dushegub – a warning not to talk to her before coffee.
As I live in the uk and I can’t work out time zones I am never going to be first. I don’t care
I love love love this.
I love this!
Geeeeezz
Post it one up manship…
Honestly peps!
Good story writ on..
Hehe. Looking forward to much harmonious slaughter!
Each week I am on pins and needles
Leave it to Sean to only be staring at the gold….
Cannot wait to see what happens next
Earthling wolves mate for life. I’m not sure why the female werewolves lusting for Sean’s genes and body believe it is possible that they could replace Dina in his life.
Perhaps because there has been no ceremony or formal declaration? Is there something Sean and Dina could or should do together that would convince the fan club that even if one Could kill Dina to make room at Sean’s side, ( the only way to pry them apart) it would only last a moment before Sean ensured the interloping murderer perished painfully?
Have I misunderstood Sean’s declarations to Dina?
Sean and Dina are a couple 🙂, you have not misunderstood.
However I would not judge the Werewolves of Auul based on the habits of Canis Lupus…
You are of course, right. Sean grew up believing he was a mutant human. Dang it! Thought there could be another wedding in the future. Although I suppose there is no good reason they couldn’t marry or whatever the mating process was on Auul…
Hi, I don’t know if I was wrong, but Auul werewolves generally don’t recognize Dina and Sean’s union, is it because they don’t like the idea of their children being born part human? Have I noticed that both werewolves and vampires in the Anocracy find humans inferior or weak, or am I wrong?
However, I believe that all children born from the union of Auul’s werewolves with other races, whether human or not, would be born completely werewolves, as the people of Auul used nanotechnology in DNA, and this would spread into all the child’s cells.
But despite that, I believe they would at least inherit the more dominant traits of the other race as well, such as the Dina family’s Innkeepers’ magic, Vampires’ super strength, stamina and fangs would be enhanced, and so on, correct me if I am. wrong. And sorry for the google translator inconsistencies.
Just a supposition, but I think the bias is against Sean’s parents and their batch. They were considered soulless because of how they were born. Sean is proof that batch could love and thrive (aside from being super strong warriors)
Humans are not seen as “inferior”, just different 🙂
There is no such thing as “genetic Innkeeper magic”, there is just magic, which most humans on Earth possess, and a bond forged with an Inn 🙂 .
You’re on your own with the nanobot baby cells hehe, I’ll leave you all to have your fun.
I would love it if you would post a cast of characters to refer to, as I keep forgetting who they are. For example, Gorvar and Tony.
Gorvar is Wilmos’ hound, he was wounded when Wilmos was kidnapped from his shop in Baha Char and has now made a full recovery.
Tony is an ad-hal, we met him in previous books, namely One Fell Sweep. He is the son of Brian, the Dallas Innkeeper Dina goes to when he needs help 🙂. He is currently at Gertrude Hunt on behalf of the Assembly.
Thanks. If Tony is Brian’s son, then who was Michael?
Michael Braswell was an old childhood friend of Klaus, Dina and Maud’s brother.
He was also an Ad-Hal, the first corrupted one they encountered.
He has no relation to Brian Rodriguez.
That was masterful! I’ve never seen three sentences squished into two words before…
“I noticed.”
Lolzzzzzz
Thanks for the chapter!
Candidates:
Galeas – M beautiful Nycati
Kai – M dignified Prysen
Dushegubs – F smothering Unessa
Vampire House Meer – F traditional marital arts Bestata
Otokars – M gutripper Surkar
Merchants Sai – F curvaceous Lady Wexyn
Not quite…
Lady Wexyn is the candidate for the Temple of Desire, not the Merchant House Sai.
If anything, The Temple of Desire is sponsored by Clan Nuan…
I thought that Clan Nuan was the 2nd highest contributor to Temple of Desire while House Sai dominates trade in that dimension. Wouldn’t House Sai be the highest contributor?
What does Clan Sai being the primary Merchant Clan for the Seven Star Dominion have to do with who backs the Temple of Desire? 🙂 The two are entirely unconnected.
The Temple isn’t even in the Dominion 🙂
“The White Rose cluster in Cassiopeia, otherwise known as NGC 7789 or Caroline’s Rose, adorned the Northern Milky Way. A beautiful open cluster of about three hundred suns, it resembled a rose when viewed from Earth, a blossom of white with a yellow border on its petals. It glittered with diverse civilizations, and it was famous for its Temples, with entire moons devoted to the worship of universal aspects. The Temple of Kindness, the Temple of Rage, the Temple of Grief… The Temple of Desire explored exactly that, the urge to obtain something beyond your reach at any cost. Within its walls and gardens, the priests and supplicants pondered the exact nature of desire, whether it was inherently selfish, whether it was just, and if it could ever be pure and selfless.
From Chapter 8 Part 2 https://www.ilona-andrews.com/2022/chapter-8-part-2/
Clan Nuan might be the highest contributor among the Merchants, though. Maybe the overall highest contributor has no interest in these proceedings.
Clan Sai! Clan Nuan is there to steal (excuse me, clears throat develop a trade relationship with) the Dominion.
Robin, as I’ve told you above, Clan Sai are not involved in any way with Lady Wexyn or the Temple of Desire 🙂.
Contributor to the temple?Yes. Part of Clan Sai’s Bid to improve, Tighten (snickers) the trade relationship Clan Sai has with the Dominion, nope. Clan Nuan hopes to replace their trade partnership if possible.
That’s a bit like assuming two insurance sales folk who represent different companies but belong to the same church, are both working together.
Robin, could you please link to the where you are taking all of this from? Which chapter says Clan Sai contributes to the Temple of Desires etc ?
Oh, how we are drawn into the tension in room for the introductions. Wow
It’s going to be a long week. 😉
I’m killing time in between appointments at the library. It seems fitting that my pandora decided to play foreigner I want to know what love is, right before I opened the email.
Ooh, a mystery from the Temple of Desire!
Now, if anyone tells me I move very well, I will feel both empowered and bee-you-tee-full!!
May the Best Being win!!!
The best part of Friday!
Thank you!
Anyone else feeling a bit anxious as the nature of the big favour the winner or their sponsors will receive? Nope? Just me then.
Thinking back to stories like Salome and Herod, not exactly anxious, but certainly wary.
Hey CFF,
It’s a good idea to use a different username as opposed to your full email 🙂 . It becomes public and that’s not always pleasant. I edited for you here 🙂
Thank you so much; I usually do, as you probably know. Yesterday was a day of major distractions. I was thrilled to read the chapter when I finally got around to it, but the little grey cells were a bit worn out by then.
Are the asks made public or are they privately conveyed to Kosandion? Could a delegation modify an ask after hearing another’s?
Mod R?”
I’ve added it to the list of questions, now we must wait 😉
Thanks!!
Hahaha, harmonious smothering… thank you!
Thank you for sharing your talent and making my day!
Thank you for the snippet! Have a great weekend!
Thank you!
This going to be so much fun …all of the crazy I one Inn. Cackling..
Great end to a great day; thank you!
Such an exciting read! So many possibilities going through my head.
I love Fridays!
Hey, maybe the Eccleasiarchs holy whatsit will pass to Lady Wexyn! Wouldn’t that be a startling event!
Ever so much fun! House Andrews, thank you again for making and sharing this story. I am loving it so much.
Thank you.
So… Lady Wexyn may be from a high G world… and backed by the Temple of Desire… which has Clan Nuan as a sponsor…
So does that mean that she’s a super strong assassin-trained bodyguard? Like… maybe wants to guard the body of the Sovereign?
I should go bake some more bread… I made a killer batch of dinner rolls the other day.
mwahahaha, Cosmic eHarmony at its best. Who gets the swipe right?
Thanks for a great start to the weekend!
I love your books. I can’t wait for your next publication!
After Caldenia’s immediate interest in Lady Wexyn, and her stunning entrance/parade, no one else stands a chance, it’s come to light that she not only has surreal beauty, but a hidden strength (holding 87 pounds!) and manipulative intelligence as well.
Can I hope that at the end of the book there will be a double wedding ceremony? Dina and Sean, Maud and Arland.
A double wedding would be far fetched. Dina and Sean are likely to be married on earth, in the inn. Maud and Arland are likely to be married on the planet of House Krahr. Besides, this way we get two books from House Andrews, not just one.
If the theme is harmony then I kinda want to make them all watch the trolls world tour movie. The reactions would be priceless.
Oh, my! Nothing like galactic stakes ….
Not only was that great (already love Kosandion) but I can’t wait to read what the other 6 candidates have to say besides “harmony”. 😂
Thank you for another great chapter! I like Kosandion so far. He seemed to be set up to be a pain, but he seems to be practical and has a sense of humor.
With all the “Miss Congeniality” talk, I wondered if HA or anyone else here has watched “The Lost City”. What did you all think of it?
I am a big fan of the cartoonist Jean Claude Mézières (author of the series “Valérian: Spatio-Temporal Agent” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valérian_and_Laureline) and I am imagining this scene all the time with his drawings.
I love it completely.
Kisses from Spain,
MJ
Love reading this. Thank you guys so much for keeping the innkeeper world alive.
Kosandion sounds utter sarcastic and I’m so going to like him. 😍😍
You know, the more I think about it, the more unlikely I think it is that Caldenia didn’t know exactly who was coming. Heck, she could have engineered it to take place at the Inn. There has to be a Caldenia plot going on here….
I think I’m going to really like Kosandion. From the titles that are a direct statement to his aunt (I don’t think calling them “taunts” would be accurate) to “harmonious smothering”, he seems like a class act. Pushing Caldenia out may have irritated her, but she must take some pride in his quality.
Wait. You mean Lady W is not going to have a chance to list her attributes? What she is bringing to the marriage? Oh man and she interrupted another candidate’s spiel! Does she need a turn to speak or did she use hers up? That was drama. There’s gonna be a fight.
I am not at all calculating and am frequently late. So it flew over my head that Lady W’s entrance was calculated. That’s why Dina picked House M as the next to go. She’s calculating as well.
Speaking of things that went over my head: why are they called Dushegubs? I understood it’s a reference to their native language but don’t understand how that translates to Dushegubs.
Thank you for a wonderful installment. I don’t watch dating shows or beauty pageants, but this one is fantastic. You know that exactly one hour after this introduction event is over Caldenia if going to know everything about Lady W down to how much she weighed at birth. And several hours after that she’ll know that about all of the candidates and their sponsors too.
I wonder what effort she will make to influence the spousal selection? Does anyone have skeletons in their closet? Leverage points? Cause you know Caldenia is not going to be content just observing this event. She’s going to meddle!
So much fun!
Hey Layla,
Dushegub means “killer, murderer, strangler” in Russian 🙂
Thank you very much Mod R. Ahh. I’ll have to remember that. Thank you. I appreciate it.
My comment got removed? It must have been taken as criticism or I said something spoilery.
Please don’t point out typos etc- there’s a dedicated team of proofreaders who will go through the copy but in the meantime it just creates arguments 🙂
So, I was sweating my way through yard work and wondered. Do Innkeepers need to mow the grass? Trim the hedges?
Well, Dina was in charge of the gardens at her parent’s Inn. But I don’t know if the tasks performed were by magical or manual means. Hmm… good question. I’d guess magical. But Caldenia started growing tomatoes so I wonder if that’s magic or manual for her?
I remember an aside where Dina said she made sure Caldenia’s tomatoes were properly watered and fertilized on the side, apparently without Caldenia knowing. It seemed the inn was taking care of it for her.
OOHHHHH, did he come to Gertrude Hunt cause he wants his aunt’s help with the choosing?????
You know, cause Caldenia’s the bomb!!!
The plot thickens…….
…Or Caldenia will just off all the ones she doesn’t approve of.
Form and earlier Q/A you stated:
“Now, if an inn somehow got access to a construction site, it would have a field day gobbling stuff up.”
This sounds like a both a hilarious mystery for a construction company building one thing, like an office building, only to show up one morning to find a crazy fancy resort where the construction site was, and a potential problem with the stay hidden at all costs directive of innkeeping.
Hello,
This is awesome… and stopped right in the right place to wonder what’s coming…
Tchau
Excellent, the birds have begun their display hehe
Poor Kosandion, that will be a difficult choice and and endless twenty five years.
By the way, I love the art work. The richness and 3 dimensional look of the gold against the interesting blue background is really striking.
Excellent reading
Ooh, Lady Wexyn must have hidden depths to be floating along as if her jewellery doesn’t weight anything!
Do you have any idea of how many chapters will be in sweep of the heart?
Sweep of the Heart is an ongoing project, and it’s being written week by week. House Andrews have a good idea where it’s going and how it will end, but the minutia is being figured out as we go along with them😊. In short, no.
The longer the better
For me a book can be a snack, a meal, or a banquet. A banquet is my preference
Squee!
I read the last chapter a month ago and can barely remember why someone is important like when wexyn stepped in. I forgot if we’re supposed to root for her or not. I think I’m gonna reread the last few chapts and come reread this again.
Definitely reread. Personally, I think she’s a very good actress/ assassin. Remember the fifty pound headdress. That’s a lot of body strength for someone that’s supposed to be mentally vacant.
Big question for the team. I am a you g writer who has a problem of not researching well before writing about something. I absolutely love science fiction fantasy like this and I do write things like this. But as I am considering self publishing I want to give it all I can. Please how does Ilona Andrews know how to classify alien races so well? What resources do they use to know these things. Like how they get the culture and social mechanisms and biological of aliens sound so authentic. Is there a guide out there? Please I need to know.
Great. I never complain about a book being too long, it gives a book room for everything it should have, also, I don’t know how you manage to produce so much story in each week. It’s amazing. Especially considering that it’s probably not the only thing you’re working on. Cudos too your prodigious writing, please don’t burn yourselves out.
I love being able to read before publishing, it’s a unique look at the author’s writing that you don’t get to see. It makes me more eager to get the book.
Is anyone besides me tired of the race for first place? I mean I read this for the story, comments about first place don’t really matter to me. Maybe I’m odd?
Anyway thanks for a great read