Chapter 31
J ust walking into the meeting room was enough to start chaos before I even spoke.
Besides the Council, I saw Father and Ethan present already and was grateful for their silent support as they sat in their respective seats.
The rest of the Council struggled with this, choosing instead to shout at me.
Spencer’s apprehension was palpable, since this was his first invited meeting.
I tried to offer the same mental reassurance he just provided me as I took my seat at the head of the table.
I motioned to Spencer to take the one to my right hand, the one reserved for the King.
Then I sat quietly, waiting for the Councilors to stop their shouting, ignoring them until they calmed down.
I knew they had a lot of issues to hash out with me right now, but that didn’t mean I had to listen on any terms but mine.
I fully intended to set the tone for how they would address their grievances with me going forward, among other things.
Eventually, they settled down, but most remained standing. I made a note that Juniper was sitting in her usual seat, with a smirk on her face, avoiding eye contact with me. I wondered briefly if she and Spencer were talking.
“Thank you for calming down.” I started while still sitting. “Today’s discussion will cover many issues, but I’d like to start by explaining my stance. I expect you will extend me the grace of listening without interruption.”
I paused here, waiting for those standing to nod their agreement and sit down. Instead, Lord Denenbaum refused. He quickly became the last one standing. I turned all my attention to him to stare him down. He returned the stare, inviting me to call him out.
“Lord Denenbaum, you may take your seat.”
He seemed a bit surprised to see me issue a directive instead of requesting his compliance. But he still stood. Father shifted into a position that allowed him to signal with his hand for an arrest, causing the royal guards in the room to shift into a slightly more defensive posture.
“With all due respect, Princess Lyla, we have a foreigner in the room. We cannot start the meeting until the uninvited guest leaves.”
“We have no uninvited guests in the room. Prince Spencer is where he belongs.”
Several of the Councilors shifted in their seats.
Technically, I was out of order, since I wasn’t queen yet.
Tradition dictated that the one marrying into the position not attend these meetings until after their coronation.
Tradition could find itself a comfortable grave to lie in, as I didn’t intend to leave Spencer out of discussions related to our security.
“Princess Lyla, this is a most unusual circumstance, and we will not allow people not vetted through our military intelligence to attend this meeting.” Lord Denenbaum had some absolute gall to use this specific excuse.
I raised an eyebrow. “You are not the one with the agenda for the meeting, Lord Denenbaum. I am. Prince Spencer is already aware of the issues I am about to discuss and has a higher clearance than you on these matters. He is going to be your king soon, whether you wish for it or not, so excluding him from this meeting is pointless. Now sit down, or else you may find yourself escorted out.”
I stood, showing how serious I was on this matter. Lord Denenbaum finally noticed the guards positioned to act and sat, conceding defeat.
I stayed standing as I continued.
“Again, thank you. A lot has happened over the last week, and much of it involved decisions I could not invite the council to discuss with me. These decisions stem from the discovery of a plot to take my life before the coronation.”
I paused here, expecting some reaction, and knowing that this is a prime place for Spencer to check hazes and thoughts. I wished for Emberly to help him.
‘ Lord Denenbaum is unsurprised by this news. ’ I knew I could rely on Spencer to catch this key piece of information. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Spencer shift his head to get the attention of Juniper as I continued.
“After discussing this with General Kellen, we had decided that the information needed to be kept secret while his teams worked to gather more information. We had some suspicion that there was someone within this very Council who was working with the would-be assassin in this attempt, and we could not risk sharing with them.”
Lord Greenhow, Amyra’s father, stood. “Surely, Princess Lyla, you know who it is now? I don’t see anyone missing.”
I smiled at him, knowing that his outburst was out of genuine concern for me as his daughter’s closest friend.
“I’m not at liberty to say, Lord Greenhow.” I answered, offering a smile, and then I moved on.
“Over the last few months, I got to know all three princes well and found that Prince Spencer would be the one with which I’d work best to continue the peace and prosperity our kingdom had enjoyed.
While I wish I could have presented this to you first, the General, the King, and I decided that this would put me at higher risk, as well as Prince Spencer.
My decision to select him would not change with any more tournament events, so it was determined that they were unnecessary. ”
‘ Denenbaum is getting angrier. His haze is darkening and swirling. Please watch him .’ Great.
He was certainly involved. I motioned to Juniper, just subtly enough for Spencer to catch on.
‘ She knows too, and she says that he has no signs of controlling magic .’ I nodded.
I was so grateful to have Spencer here for this.
“Now, I understand that you’re upset that I cancelled the Tournament.
However, it was necessary to ensure the safety of not just myself, but the people.
The plot, as we understood it, could have involved a lot of civilian casualties and I decided that risking the lives of my people, and those visiting, was not worth the boost to our economy.
I have full faith in our kingdom to strengthen the economy in other ways. ”
I looked at Denenbaum, and it didn’t take Spencer’s gift to see his anger seething just under the surface. His jaw clenched so tightly it might crack, and the deep lines on his aged face sharpened with barely restrained fury.
“There is one other concern I want to raise before I address questions. At the time of that eruption, Prince Egan was already reacting with terrible anger. Before he disappeared in the crowd, he made a clear and direct threat to Elthas, blaming me for the explosion.”
I paused again, watching Denenbaum a bit more closely. While he was still quite angry, no surprise reflected on his face, despite the murmurs and gasps from the others. He must have known this, too. But did Egan tell him, or did someone else?
“If Prince Egan went home and told his king there is reason to blame us, I fear they will bring their navy to our city and kingdom and bring war to our doorsteps. I regret the loss of relations with Scoria Bay, but I also want you to know that my announcement was not the reason it soured. Prince Egan was one of the persons involved in the plot against me. The Generals are preparing our army for the possibility of war.” I take a steadying breath before finishing my statement.
“Thank you for listening. What concerns do you have?”
Father stood before anyone could ask a question. “Princess Lyla, I want to first say thank you for coming to share with us and address concerns about this council. Can you clarify how do you intend to handle the threat within the council?”
I nodded. “Yes, of course. I don’t intend to clarify that currently, given the circumstances. I will address this when the time is right.”
I don’t understand why Father would ask that. He knew the answer, and he knew I wouldn’t share that here.
Lord Greenhow stood. “Princess Lyla, you said that Prince Spencer is already aware of this plot. Can you elaborate on what his role is?”
Was he questioning if Spencer was involved?
Or Spencer’s knowledge about Egan? Could he somehow know Spencer reads minds and could incriminate people?
I glanced at Juniper. She didn’t even look up from her notes, which I took to show my fears were a little out there.
“Prince Spencer was present during Prince Egan’s first attempt on me and his quick actions have prevented injury.
He has since provided valuable information from the training they did together preparing for the first tournament event.
He has been very useful in ensuring the success of our efforts to stay ahead of any attempts to harm me.
And since he is to be king, I felt it right to have him join us and learn more about our meetings, effective immediately.
He needs to learn about our ways as quickly as possible to allow us to respond to such outside threats. ”
Lord Greenhow nodded, satisfied with this answer.
I looked over at Denenbaum. I expected more protesting from him if he was part of this plot, some type of acting to deflect any suspicions.
He was keeping his head angled towards his notes but has a vaguely familiar glaze to his eyes.
I turned to Spencer to get his attention.
‘ What’s wrong? ’ He probed.
‘ Can you get into Denenbaum’s mind? Is he talking to someone? ’
Spencer shifted his focus. While he did that, I took one last look around the table. “Any further questions? I expected more.”
“Yes, actually, Princess.” Lord Luther stood up to address me, letting the disdain he had for me drip as he said the word princess. I looked towards him, bracing for trouble.
“Can you address the rumors that you were responsible for the attack on Scoria Bay? ”
‘ It's not good, Lyla. We need to go to the cave room .’ Spencer’s voice caused me to pause before answering. His urgency and tone felt disturbing.
“I don’t see how I could be responsible for a volcanic explosion near that kingdom when everyone could plainly see me standing on the steps of this very castle, telling people my intention to marry Prince Spencer. Are you not aware that volcanos are naturally occurring disasters?”
Juniper disguised her snort by rubbing her nose, while Father allowed his proud smile to show a moment longer than considered polite. I looked around the table one last time.
“Thank you for your time, Councilors. If there’s no further questions about my decisions, then I will take my leave.” As I turned to leave, Juniper, Father, Ethan, and Spencer stood to follow me. Whatever Spencer was about to share didn’t seem promising.