Chapter 18 Bylur
The way Auria closed her eyes and trusted me to guide her to places that were safe struck at my heart every time. How could she trust me when she hadn’t seen my face? When she was a stranger in a land full of fae? What would I do in her position?
Not lie, I thought ruefully. That, at least, wouldn’t be a possibility.
I took her through the shadows to the watch room, and guided her to the bottom of the staircase that led to the watch hole. I stood directly behind her but still held her shoulders so she knew where I was. I didn’t want her to accidentally spin around to face me. “Open your eyes.”
As she took in the room, I explained. “The stairs in front of you give you access to a small hole at the top of the room that you can look through to see the meeting. I’ll face away from the hole so you can watch.”
She set her hand on top of mine and squeezed. “Thank you. I… I’m excited to see how it works.”
Her warm hand sent a current through my arm.
The skin on her fingers was rougher than any noble fae’s, but there was something beautiful in the evidence of her efforts to survive.
And in her bravery at coming here. I wanted to reward her for it, but all I could think to say was, “If I were not cursed, I would bring you to the meeting. As my wife, your opinion would matter as much as any noble’s in the room.
But I do not dare risk you seeing my face right now. ”
She squeezed my fingers again. “I know. I really appreciate this.”
Her gratitude stirred fresh emotions in my chest. It was such an easy thing for me to bring her here, but it was one of very few things she’d asked for. I wish I’d thought of it days ago. I bent down to kiss the top of her head, but—
I stopped just before I touched her and straightened back up. She hadn’t given me any sign that she’d like a gesture like that.
But it felt like such a natural thing to do, especially after she labeled my flower beautiful and inspiring.
I squeezed her shoulders instead, burying the urge to kiss her. The fact that she was captivating did not make her trustworthy. “Don’t turn around. Climb the stairs and look through the hole. You’ll see when I enter the meeting room.”
That was a form of trust, though, wasn’t it? She could turn around and look at me with as much ease as she made up stories.
But she did not. I stepped into the shadows made by magic-lit torches on sconces on the walls and emerged from the shadows in the meeting room. I kept my back to the watch holes, and unfurled my power.
Shadows poured out from the space around me, drawing everyone’s attention as I strolled up to the long rectangular table and sat down. As I glanced at them, everyone not sitting already joined me at the table. Twenty-two of them. Two from every house except mine.
Perfect.
Before I had a chance to say anything, Eris stood up and faced me.
I lifted a hand toward her and resisted sighing. The arguments would begin even faster than normal tonight. “House Fundan,” I said. “You wish to begin?”
“Yes.” Eris tossed a blue lock of hair over her shoulder. “House Fundan would like to point out that you have been excessively patient with arguments over the last few months. It’s time to move forward with actual plans for your council.”
Well. That was a surprise. Her cousin, Ephaltes, the Fundan House Lord, sat next to her and nodded his agreement.
I nodded at them both and scanned the others at the table for any disagreement. “I will move forward when everyone is satisfied with the conditions of the council. It must have the support of all twelve houses at its inception.”
Most heads nodded back at me but, on the other side of Ephaltes, Marcella’s wrinkled face turned to a frown. She stood up and faced Eris. “House Aurap is not satisfied with the power such a council will give to the smaller houses.”
I groaned as Eris answered over her cousin’s head. “Only because you want to hoard the power for yourself!”
Marcella’s brother jumped to his feet. “Show some respect for the higher nobility!”
Across the table, Platano yelled out without standing, “Respect is earned. Prove you deserve it.”
Marcella sneered at the younger lord. “We don’t have to prove anything to you. House Volucris is barely even nobility.”
Platano flicked his fingers at Marcella and dust coalesced into six crickets that peppered her face before disintegrating and falling apart around her head. Marcella spread her hands, readying to retaliate with her own weaponized air.
I stood, flooding the room with my own magic. Black shadows curled around every house representative, reminding them exactly who had the most power in the room. The last thing this meeting needed was to devolve into a magical fistfight.
Darkness wrapped around every fae and pressed particularly hard against Marcella, her brother, and Platano. Everyone seated themselves again, facing me.
I eased the pressure from my magic, but did not allow the room to return to the full brightness it had when I’d arrived.
Dedalus slammed a fist against the table. “Burn it all, Bylur,” he grumbled. “This is absurd.” He waved at Marcella. “Two days ago, you argued in favor of the council when Sadina voiced the exact same concern about empowering smaller houses. Now you oppose?”
Marcella’s face twisted, as if she wasn’t quite sure of her answer. Her words came out prim and controlled this time. “I’ve reconsidered my position.”
Dedalus turned to me. “You should just announce the council as the next governance and force everyone to conform.”
I flexed my hand on the table in front of me, making sure my voice did not betray the extreme frustration I felt. “I will have an accord. If I force you all to agree, I might as well be king.”
Taedo stirred. “Nobody would complain about that. Everyone agrees you’re an improvement over the Snow Queen.”
I clenched my hand and watched their eyes shift to my fist. “I do not want to rule a coerced people. If the noble houses of Kalshana choose the council, the fae of this kingdom will abide by its governance far better than if they are forced to follow my rule.”
Heads started nodding again. I made eye-contact with them all, nodded back, and finally faced the scowling heads of House Aurap. “Marcella, what would alleviate your concerns about potential power imbalances?”
Marcella stood up and started making arguments that we’d discussed a thousand times. My mind drifted to the woman behind the wall behind my back. What must she think of this chaos?