Chapter 73
CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE
T he next morning, my father did not show up to the council room meeting, which already didn’t bode well for the day. Mikhail was sure to comment on his absence, sure to needle at every possible reason behind it, too.
Not for the first time, I wondered what exactly he and the others suspected or knew about my father’s condition.
The morning became even less fun when the pseudo-king himself strode in, still wearing his ridiculous ostentatious crown, along with another set of purple robes.
He took his time settling into an ornately carved chair at the head of the table before giving the rest of us permission to sit, and I swear, even his brother suppressed an eyeroll.
The long, elegant table was laden with decanters of vodka, each of them a mix of crystal and polished silver shaped like the animals of the clans that were present.
Instead of helping myself to the bear decanter, I reached forward and grabbed the long narrow one in the shape of a snake that Andreyev had just served himself from, pouring some into my own chalice.
I was well aware of the distrust in Iiro that it showed, the insinuation that he would try to poison me, but I wasn’t taking any chances.
Iiro glanced at me with something between glee and malice, making the space between my shoulders itch again. I didn’t trust him or that expression.
And it hadn’t escaped my notice that I was here with only Iiro’s allies and none of my own. And that he had effectively separated me from Rowan.
For at least the thousandth time since I sat down, I reminded myself that she was armed and not half as reckless as she used to be. He wouldn’t touch a Clan Wife, even with only his own allies around.
She was safe.
Still, I was already on edge when he began to speak.
“I have different matters to discuss with each of you, but certainly the most pressing is taxes on imports.”
A muscle twitched in my jaw. I had wondered what form his attack was going to take. The only clan importing anything was Bear, so clearly, this was targeted. Iiro met my gaze, the corner of his mouth lifting.
“There will now be a forty percent tax on goods that come through the pass. Naturally, this applies retroactively to the goods you have already received.”
I fought to keep my expression neutral, though fury burned through my veins. “Those weren’t all traded goods. Much of that was the princess’s dowry.”
“Nonetheless, I would hardly be a fair ruler if I allowed Bear to hoard the resources our united kingdom so desperately needs.”
“We are hardly hoarding them,” I gritted out.
It was true. We had already sent substantial amounts to at least four other clans.
“But it is well within Bear’s purview to oversee their distribution, as it is any future goods that we negotiate the purchase of.” My tone settled into a better imitation of its usual nonchalance. “The crown is, naturally, free to pursue its own negotiations.”
“That sounds rather like an un-unified clan position. We must start seeing ourselves as one,” he said sanctimoniously, making an encompassing gesture. “And you know as well as I do that even Lochlann’s food sources are not limitless. Once they give preferential trade to Bear, are the rest of us to starve?”
There were murmurs of agreement among Mikhail and Andreyev, though Korhonan’s features gave nothing away.
“Again, I’m sure negotiations can be made.” My voice was icy calm. “But Bear will not be agreeing to donate forty percent of its goods, under any circumstances.”
Iiro looked far, far too satisfied, considering I had just publicly disagreed with him, and his power was by no means secure enough to punish me for that.
“Your father has already lent his support of my initiatives.” He let that statement linger in the air before he went on. “Telling you here was a mere courtesy. He sees, as I do, that it’s more important for the whole of Socair to stay strong than to feed a few stray villagers.”
Meaning that the food would go to the armies, as I had suspected, rather than the starving women and children who needed it.
Was he lying? It was impossible to know what my father had agreed to at any given point.
But I could hardly voice that aloud, nor could I disagree with the duke of my own clan. For all the times Rowan had been furious about not having a voice, she certainly wasn’t the only one.
“He has signed off on this law?” I asked.
Iiro still needed the support of the dukes he was making laws for, at least until the other two clans accepted his rulership.
“I have no doubt that he will, as soon as he makes his appearance,” Iiro said smoothly. “Lady Ava says he is unwell this morning. I do hope it’s nothing serious.”
“I’m certain he’ll be fine in no time.” Unfortunately.
Since my father’s illness set in, the healers had been saying his lifespan would be shorter, but he seemed determined to hold on.
What did it say about me that I wished regularly that he would hurry things along?
Especially in times like these.
When we finally stopped for a midday break, I wasn’t surprised to see Korhonan approach.
The others filed out of the room while he stayed behind to talk to me.
I tried to keep my features civil since he had been by far the least obnoxious person at the meeting, but it was difficult when he still looked at my wife like she should have belonged to him.
It was all good and well to tease Rowan about her jealousy, but I wasn’t sure I could have stood here at all if things had gone any further between them than they did.
“I know my brother’s method of communication leaves much to be desired, but I believe that he truly does want what’s best for Socair.” Korhonan sighed. “He just...is extreme in his methods.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, not sure how anyone could be so incredibly oblivious to what was right in front of them.
I might have envied that kind of blind loyalty, since I hadn’t had the luxury of thinking anything half that decent about my own family in years, except that his idiocy was going to affect my clan.
Again.
“You know that like you knew he didn’t want to be king?” I finally asked him, opening my eyes.
He leveled a look at me.
“I said he didn’t want to go to war for it, not that he didn’t want the throne. He wanted to get it peacefully, and that’s what he did. Now we have a chance to put our kingdom back together.” He shook his head. “I know who everyone thinks you are, but I also know that there’s more to that, so I’m surprised that doesn’t appeal to you.”
I stilled, but I supposed it made sense if he was obtuse enough to believe there was goodness in Iiro, he thought it of me as well.
Korhonan went on. “The only thing I can think is that this is about you once again holding a grudge.”
My jaw clenched. He might not have known the consequences of blabbing to his brother, but Iiro had certainly known what he was doing when he went to my stepmother about my plan to…remove her from the picture.
“Though I do despise your family,” I acknowledged casually, “this isn’t about a grudge. It’s about the fact that I wouldn’t trust your brother with the wellbeing of my cat, let alone my people.”
He met my gaze unflinchingly.
“It’s not like it would be the first time you let your feelings interfere with your judgment, for all you pretend not to have any.” It wasn’t hard to guess what he was referring to.
Perhaps it was because he walked away stoically from Lochlann, or perhaps it was because I knew he had defended Rowan since then, but I felt compelled to offer him a small bit of truth.
“I didn’t take her that day to get back at you,” I admitted. “I did it to protect my clan.”
He raised a skeptical eyebrow. “You might not have taken her to get back at me, but you didn’t do it for your clan either.”
I opened my mouth to argue, and he held up a hand. “Or at least, that wasn’t the only reason.”
“Then why aren’t you angrier?” I couldn’t help but ask.
Even in Lochlann, he had been frustrated when I got there, but not nearly as hostile as I would have been in his situation.
He held my gaze for a long moment, then shook his head slowly. “Because if Rowan looked at me the way she looks at you, there is nothing I wouldn’t have done to keep her.”
He turned to go. And for the first time since all of this happened, I reluctantly forced myself to consider this situation from his perspective.
And for the first time in years, I couldn’t quite bring myself to hate him.