Bane of the Wild Hunt (Heart of the Tithriall #2)

23. THE KING’S COUNCIL

Chapter twenty-three

THE KING’S COUNCIL

Orion

I hated to be impressed by the efforts of the witch’s new handmaid, but Sofia’s work was undeniable when she and her mistress met us in the morning for breakfast.

The witch had seemingly been transformed overnight from a timid outsider to griffin royalty. She was dressed in a traditional, purple chiton with pinched shoulder straps and gaping sides that exposed her ribs and the sides of her breasts. The Kórinthian silk was thin and soft, clinging to her torso just tightly enough to tease the shape of her torso beneath. She wore a wide belt to emphasize the alluring curve between her waist and hips, and a cape flowed down her back from where her wings should have emerged. Every step exposed her long, lean legs through a slit in her dress that reached the front of each hip bone. Since she’d arrived, she had been keeping her hair braided simply over one shoulder, but Sofia had styled it in the fashion that Imítheos ladies currently favoured. Half of it was swept into a messy bun tied with a scarf that matched her dress while the rest was left loose. Most Imítheos had thick and curly hair, but hers was silky and straight. It was a unique feature that now seemed rather exotic with the way Sofia styled it. The witch even had aitháli smudged around her eyes which made the colour pop all the more. Although I doubted she understood the significance of the makeup that all adult griffins wore.

I hated to admit it, but there was no denying that she did look rather good in our attire. And I frowned at Sofia in annoyance for her exceptional work, reminding myself that I meant to look into her.

The dress was nothing Riordan hadn’t seen a thousand other women wear, but he was only affected by it on the witch evidently. She giggled at his wide-eyed response and flushed with pleasure as she wrapped her arm around his to walk him over to the breakfast table. She certainly looked the part of an eager and blushing bride-to-be.

Although she sobered instantly when her eyes landed on me, and her soft mouth pinched. “Orion.”

“Witch,” I replied drolly, only to have Riordan shoot me a warning glance. “Good morning,” I added a little more pleasantly, but she turned wordlessly away.

I sat there with them over the course of the next hour, attempting not to listen as they fawned over one another while the rest of us tried to eat. I caught Helena’s eyes on me sometimes, looking both sympathetic and reproachful whenever my mood would show. There were times when I was tempted to make snide remarks to the witch when she spoke of the Rookery or Ergastiri, but I refrained.

Even I could acknowledge that how I handled things at the pixie camp had been truly repulsive. I had been too angry the night before to fully realize but had awakened this morning full of shame. The longer I thought about it, the more disgusted I became with myself for allowing my jealousy to get so out of hand. For attempting to abuse the trust my skiá had in me for my own selfish reasons.

So I was going to try. I would try .

But I was still relieved when we left her chambers to attend the meeting. I could not recall a time before when I had been relieved to be standing in the council chamber.

Ares went ahead to secure the room while Riordan consoled the witch over what she was about to endure. Honestly, I had no idea why they thought it was necessary to even have her there. Riordan was more than capable of defending her, but I opted to keep my mouth shut.

The herald announced our arrival, and Riordan tucked the witch against his side with her arm looped around his. With a glance at me to ensure I was ready too, my skiá walked proudly into the council chamber.

Straight ahead was his throne with a smaller seat next to it for his consort, but he did not sit in that elevated seat. Rather, he brought the witch around to the empty side of the long table that stood before the throne. He pulled out the middle chair which faced the other council members who had risen at his entrance. He ignored them as he got his mate situated, and then took up a position behind her, his hands resting on the back of her chair. Standing over the table with his throne behind him was decidedly more intimidating than sitting in said throne.

I took my position with the other skiá at the edge of the room with the best vantage for watching Riordan’s back.

“Sit,” the king invited the council members who were not supposed to be seated while he remained on his feet. But they did as they were asked with glances at one another. At least Dio seemed happy to see Riordan and grinned at his skiá who stood near me against the wall. I could tell the Commander of Erétria looked forward to seeing the king bring order to the council.

Riordan took a moment to take in the nine members of the council. I was familiar enough with these meetings to know there were two representatives from each of the other four city-states: an oligarch and a commander. There was also the commander of the capital, and the monarch was the head of the council, bringing their total number to ten including Riordan who replaced his mother. Although I was still surprised that she had not attended at least this once since it was his first meeting. Even just to observe the symbolism of passing the council to him.

“It is good of you to finally join us, Your Majesty,” noted Castor with typical, underhanded sass, but Riordan did not spare him a glance. My skiá had become focused on his cousin, Nikos, who sat quite comfortably in the seat of the Commander of Kórinthos.

Riordan’s old seat.

“I am here in the stead of Commander Sebastian who is not proficient on the stairs,” explained Nikos when he realized he was the focus of the king.

I guess we know why that old bastard was appointed. Nikos pulling strings to get on the council, I thought to Riordan who concurred mentally.

“I apologize if I am impertinent, Your Majesty, but I always thought only oligarchs, commanders, and all their skiá could attend council meetings,” said Isaura Kontos. The Oligarch of Thíva had her eyes on the witch in front of Riordan, who had also noted the other woman’s gaze. But to her credit, this time she did not flinch under the scrutiny and disapproval. Perhaps she had gained some confidence after accepting Riordan.

“You are not impertinent,” said the king, speaking in Gaelic for his mate to understand. “But it is also tradition for Royal Consorts to attend these meetings.”

“But she is not yet—” Isaura began to protest.

“Amira will be learning Aeolian soon, but for now, please use Gaelic for her,” Riordan interrupted.

Several council members hissed in displeasure, and I thought Nikos might snap the wooden arms off his chair. But Isaura inclined her head grudgingly in agreement.

“She is not yet your mate, Your Majesty,” the oligarch declared in Gaelic. “Additionally, we understood that we would be given an opportunity here to address concerns we all have about her… potential appointment.”

“You understood correctly. It is usual in our society for someone to be present when allegations are made against them so they may address the charges,” said Riordan.

“We have private matters to discuss,” insisted Castor, his voice clipped, but he did speak in Gaelic which truly surprised me. “Sensitive matters that should not be made into a spectacle for a potential enemy.”

“Do you mean our abysmal defenses that utterly failed to protect the Oighear Pixies yesterday?” Riordan asked. “Or do you refer to the systematic suppression of so many of the most talented members of our society who could have helped to prevent that tragedy? Worry not, Amira is already well aware of our shortcomings.”

Castor opened his mouth but could not seem to find any words to respond.

“What happened to those poor pixies was regrettable,” said Nikos without an ounce of real sympathy. “But it was an appropriate sacrifice when the security of our cities was at an unprecedented risk from internal upheaval.”

“Ah, yes, your claims about dissension,” said Riordan, barely managing to keep the disgusted snarl out of his voice this time. “Do you have proof of this dissension? Documented riots, property damage, loss of life, assaults? Any concrete evidence? Because the testimonies I have gathered tell a different story. And the consequences of your paranoid response to imagined threats in this city cost those pixies their lives,” Riordan declared.

“I am not responsible— This is not what we wanted to discuss today!” Nikos exclaimed, looking at his fellow council members as if expecting assistance, but they were surprisingly passive. Even Castor did not deign to speak. “This meeting was to be about how you elevated so many of the Ktínos above their natural place, and how it almost cost us this city,” Nikos pressed on determinedly. “It was about how you always choose Ktínos and witches above your own kind, and how you are not fit to be our king!”

Such a denouncement was treasonous, and yet none of the other council members voiced an opinion aside from Dio’s taunting smile. They merely looked at Riordan with their calculating expressions and waited to see what he would do while Nikos gaped at them all in confusion.

He is the only one here who is not legally a part of this council, so they have opted to sacrifice him as a test to see how I will react, Riordan explained.

I was astonished to realize he was right. The councillors were taking the measure of their new king after he spent so long away. They wanted to know if he would rampage at the slightest provocation like he might have done many years ago. They were testing him at the expense of Nikos who not only did not belong. He was surely the only one who was foolish and desperate enough to oust Riordan to fall for their ruse. He was the only one who would believe the King’s Council would entertain, even for a moment, supporting his anarchy. But of course none of them were so brave nor so foolish to actually do that.

Many of them did not like my king personally, but they still understood he was king. The power of the Vale had passed to him, they would feel it in his veins. Not only that, but to openly oppose the man who commanded the unflinching loyalty of the vast majority of the army would have been utter madness.

So they opted to test him. To give him an opportunity to prove that he was levelheaded and canny enough.

Nikos was too blinded by hatred to see it. He believed so strongly in his democratic manipulations that he had miscalculated. And he hadn’t realized until it was too late, and he was left staring at the other councillors in horror.

Riordan did not appear pleased, although I could feel his satisfaction down the bond as he faced his cousin.

“I will discuss my mate and any other concerns that the council has with the council . You, however, will take accountability for the lives that have been lost, since you have no evidence to support your claims of dissension,” Riordan maintained.

Nikos went very still, his jaw clenched so tight that the muscles in his neck stood out.

“And what do you propose, cousin?” he asked coolly.

“Expulsion from this chamber, to start,” said Riordan, and Dio did not bother to hide his triumphant grin as he looked at Nyssa Petros, the Commander of Siracusa.

How long had Nikos been permitted to impose himself upon the council thanks to the leniency and favouritism of his aunt? I was sure this was why Riordan’s mother was not present for this meeting. She had either opted not to be a part of betraying Nikos or someone might have made sure she was otherwise occupied.

The underhandedly cutthroat ways of the Imítheos would never cease to shock me.

Nikos was glaring at Riordan hard, but he retained just enough composure not to fly over the table at my king.

“Perhaps a vote—” he began to suggest.

“A vote it is! I shall have ballots sent out to all the fey and Ktínos who have been affected,” Riordan agreed with him instantly. “Or is that not what you had in mind?”

Nikos would not respond, and I could not help but smirk at him.

“For all your talk of democracy, you certainly are very selective of who qualifies for having a voice. Get out,” Riordan commanded him.

Have him arrested!

There will be other dissenters. I will allow him to do our work for us and find them, Riordan reassured me.

Nikos sat a moment, seething, but eventually he shot out of his seat and was followed out the door by his skiá. Once the door had closed behind them, Riordan released a breath and pulled out the chair next to the witch to sit beside her. He took her hand and clasped it on his thigh before looking up at the other council members who were still watching him with varying degrees of intrigue.

“Now, let us all have a discussion. One that does not devolve into groundless accusations, bigotry, or prejudice. You may share your genuine concerns, or perhaps you’ll take this opportunity to actually learn more about Amira before you presume to judge her,” Riordan suggested.

Not even Castor seemed prepared to break the silence, so it was Dio who sat forward and smiled at the witch.

“Hello, my dear, I am Dio. I have served with Riordan for a long time, so I am truly pleased to meet you.”

The witch had about as much tact as a Ktínos and did not bother to hide that she was pleasantly surprised.

“Hello, Dio. I am Amira, and I’m very pleased to meet you as well,” she replied with a relieved smile.

“Tell us about yourself,” suggested Isaura with a bored gesture of her hand.

“Well, I am a fire witch from Uile Breithà. I was raised without a coven by a single mother, and up until about six months ago, I mostly made portraits of birds,” the witch admitted with a wince. “There is not much else to tell.”

Aside from the fact she steals your magic, I thought to Riordan sarcastically, and he shot me a forbidding glare. You should be honest about that. At least with Helena.

I will tell Helena, he relented in exasperation.

The council members all eyed the witch for a moment in varying degrees of uncertainty.

“And what kind of birds do you use in your portraits?” Dio asked when no one else spoke up again.

“I’m not sure that’s relevant, Dio,” interrupted Castor, having regained his nerve. “I am glad to know that you have no affiliation with more of your kind, Miss…?”

“Kelley,” the witch supplied her surname for him.

“Miss Kelley,” said Castor. “Tell us about how you met our king and how you helped to bring him home.”

The witch glanced at Riordan as if to verify that he did want her to be the one to tell this story, and he gave her an indulgent smile. One that I saw all the councillors taking notice of with varying degrees of interest. Some frowned as if threatened while others were intrigued, but I knew they would all seek to exploit her one way or another as a tool with access and influence over their new king.

“I was taking pictures when I heard a loud sound down by the lake. I was not expecting to find a half-drown griffin tangled in a fishing net,” she admitted with a grimace at Riordan.

I saw some of the councillors shudder in horror at her description the way I had when Riordan told me.

“I didn’t know he was… a man,” she said, shooting my skiá another glance, but this one was mildly reproachful. It made him smirk knowingly at her, so I guessed that was a part of the story that they were not going to be sharing with me or the council. “I cut him loose, thinking he was just an animal, but he was… the most beautiful creature that I’d ever seen,” she admitted with another shy look up at Riordan. My skiá did not bother to even try and hide his smug grin which had eyebrows rising around the table. “And I really wanted to get a picture of him. His portrait,” she clarified. “So I spent weeks trying to get close to him until he was kind of forced to be my friend.”

“She killed one of the vampires who served Jade when they demanded her help to trap me,” Riordan insisted, amused by her humility in glossing over this point.

“And you wanted his… friendship?” verified Isaura, clearly suspicious that the witch must be omitting a part of the story. “It never occurred to you that you might use him to further your own power? Many witches before you have murdered our people for our feathers.”

The witch looked genuinely horrified by the question, and Riordan frowned at the councilor while his chosen mate shook her head emphatically.

“I would never hurt another living thing!” she tried to swear adamantly, but then her expression quickly faltered. “Besides the vampires that kept coming after him.”

The councillors all looked at Riordan, but the king’s focus was wholly on the witch. The way he looked at her made my heart hurt, but I did my best to stifle the ache.

“We were taken prisoner by Jade, and the witch broke her spell on me for… sadistic purposes. Amira risked her life to help me defeat her just long enough to get us all out of the prison,” Riordan picked up the story. “I had already set my heart on Amira by then, but it took some time for her to feel equally confident about me. She spent a year thinking that I was an animal and was rather surprised to find it was not the case,” he explained with a look at the witch that made her roll her eyes at him.

They were so comfortable and open with one another, despite the skeptical gazes on them, that it made me feel sick with envy and yearning for… something.

“That all sounds lovely,” said Castor, although his tone was rather dismissive of them. “Miss Kelley, you must understand that the consort of a monarch would typically come from a family that was well known to the council. Romance and… friendship have very little to do with it,” he added with a disapproving glance at Riordan.

The witch’s expression grew sombre as she nodded at him knowingly. “I am perfectly aware that I am not what you would have preferred for him. For many reasons.”

Castor grunted and then considered Riordan’s frown as if he were deliberating on how to phrase his concerns so the king did not dismiss them for bigotry.

“I am convinced you are not an active threat to us,” Castor began, earning him a few raised eyebrows around the room, including mine. “I do not believe King Riordan would ever seek to undermine the safety of this kingdom. He and I may have had our differences, but I can say with absolute confidence that the defense and well-being of his people has always been his priority. So I trust his instincts in that particular arena.”

Not even Riordan could hide his surprise at such high praise coming from Castor of all people.

“It is tradition, but not a necessity that a consort bring leverage into a union. Alliances, trade, wealth, resources. None of which you possess, although it can be overlooked since you have a more… emotional value to our king. Something he deems to be important,” Castor pointed out, while the other councillors nodded like he was making great sense. “So I am left with concerns over breeding.”

“Excuse me?” the witch blurted as her eyes widened. She was completely taken off guard.

“I understand witches do not experience the same sort of difficulties that our kind is faced with,” Dio spoke up. “An argument could be made in her favour that she would be more likely to prove fruitful for our king.”

“True,” Isaura conceded, her shrewd eyes narrowing on the witch with an unasked question.

The witch cast a wide-eyed glance at Riordan, and he gave her thigh a comforting squeeze but did not intervene. He had said he would allow the councillors to voice their genuine concerns, and as long as they were not bigoted, then he would allow them to speak.

“She may produce many offspring, but will they all be healthy and mentally sound? We have no family history to refer to in terms of hereditary illnesses. How do we know how health concerns may differ for witches? And what if her offspring do not have wings or they cannot shift their form into that of a griffin?” Castor listed his concerns.

The witch looked mortified, and Riordan breathed in deeply for calm as he prepared to intervene.

“There is never any guarantee when it comes to the health of children. And I did not realize that wings and shifting were mandatory qualities of a monarch. My heirs require my blood to pass on the mantle as defender of the Vale and that is all. Do any of you have questions about what good Amira could do here for us?”

I saw a couple councillors glancing in my direction, which meant they probably had concerns about the role that I would play in Riordan’s union. At least they knew better than to bring that up now.

“Right. Then let us consider this matter settled so we may move on to more appropriate business for this council. Like how to protect our people and help them flourish,” suggested Riordan when they could come up with nothing else more substantial to raise concerns over.