5. Chapter 5
Aliya
Aliya stifled a yawn as she settled into her chair at the head of the council’s table.
She laid the too-short stack of papers she’d managed to wade through in front of her.
Steeling her spine, she raised her gaze and met the eyes of every person sitting before her.
On her right, each noble family had one representative, clad in their house colors: Lord Alinac in forest green; Castegrass in an orange tunic matching his fluffy beard; Havenhash in corn yellow with emerald embroidery; Macherall in his rich purple; and at Aliya’s right hand, her father wearing the pale blue of House Larimar.
On the left, Princess Tsara of the sun elves sat with Thane Hedul of the dwarves and Jalius Cogtinker representing the mages.
The table was frustratingly unbalanced, with all the humans crammed in on one side.
But with tensions running high, she shouldn’t be surprised her nobles preferred to cluster together, despite the cramped quarters.
Safety in numbers and all that. Something furry rubbed against her ankles with a coo-purr.
Shadow.
A heaviness settled in her gut as she scanned the periphery of the room until her eyes caught a slight movement of white hair in the gloom.
Elessan was here, too.
It would be nice if he would sit at the table, with her, instead of watching from the shadows, responding with one-word answers only when she specifically addressed him. As if he wasn’t the one most worthy of being her advisor.
What he didn’t realize was his opinion was the only one she cared about or wanted, and that he had more of a right to a place on this council than the entirety of the human nobility.
Taking a deep breath, she cleared her throat.
Peeling the top document off her stack she slid it to Thane Hedul.
He caught it, eyes widening at her signature scrawled across the bottom above the royal seal. She’d signed the trade agreement before leaving her room to come here. The ink was probably still wet. “Your Majesty?” His voice held a barely disguised wobble.
“Would you prefer to spend more time in negotiations when we both know the terms are reasonable?” she asked, meeting his gaze.
“Given the current situation, they’re as close as they can be to the prior treaty.
” The one that had stood for centuries until the Cerels dissolved it. “I see no reason to drag things out.”
He snapped his jaw closed with a satisfied nod. Rolling the parchment up, he shoved it into a canister that appeared out of nowhere. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Princess Tsara turned to him. “Does this mean you’ll be heading back to Vagkuldir today?”
The thane brushed his finger under his nose, as if his moustache itched. “I think first thing tomorrow will be the better option. We’ll have time to pack and supply.” He focused his attention back on Aliya. “Assuming that’s convenient for you, Your Majesty?”
Aliya blinked. The new title and deference were going to take some time to get used to. She nodded, hoping no one noticed her pause. “Of course. My people are at your disposal.”
He dipped his head in thanks. “I will leave my cousin, Kavol, as ambassador for the time being. I will await your representative.” His gaze swept around the table before settling back on Aliya. “In due time.”
Meaning, as soon as she got her court straightened out.
Aliya swallowed past the tightness in her throat.
It seemed she couldn’t hide the difficulties she was facing from the dwarves.
She’d been kidding herself to think anyone in this room would evaluate what she’d done so far and not find it…
lacking. There were a thousand people in the kingdom with more experience and more skill at managing and getting the populace to work together than her.
Men and women who knew what they were doing, who were actually qualified to run a realm.
In contrast, she was like a child who’d stumbled into the deep end of a lake, only to discover they’d never learned how to swim.
She managed a faint nod.
With a long inhale, Thane Hedul stood, pushing his chair back with a screech. “Well, that seems to be all the business the dwarves have for the moment. If you will excuse me?”
He didn’t wait for an acknowledgement before heading to the exit.
Aliya watched him go, a sense of emptiness opening in her gut. She didn’t know the thane well, had only met him a couple of times, but his departure was one cornerstone removed from the already-shaky foundation of her power.
Her gaze danced across Zadé’s and Elessan’s faces as the heavy doors slammed closed behind Hedul. The loss she was experiencing now would be ripped wide open when the elves departed, too.
She needed to implement a plan of action in that regard. But every time she and Elessan were alone, the last thing she wanted to do was discuss his leaving.
Clenching her jaw, she shoved that thought into a back corner in her mind. She’d deal with her insecurity and too-tender heart later.
Clearing her throat, she lifted the next document as she met Havenash’s gaze.
Dark brown hair with cool red undertones framed his stark green eyes.
His lands to the south were used for farming.
He would have the appropriate connections with the knowledge to make sure the kingdom produced enough variety of food to make it through the winter.
“Lord Havenash, I’ve decided to delegate the allocation of crops to you, or one of your choosing. ”
He leaned forward, spine ramrod straight. “Your Majesty?”
She could see the drool at the political clout the position offered.
Suppressing the sigh, she nodded. “I’ll be the first to admit I have little understanding of the economics of agriculture, and thus, I’m not the best one to manage the details.
Please allocate our seed crop resources appropriately. ”
“Now wait just a minute!” Macherall shoved to his feet. “He can’t be in charge of that for the entire kingdom! What about my farms? He’ll give us the dregs and keep all the profitable crops for himself!”
The other human nobles started muttering.
Aliya’s father, seated to her right, cleared his throat. “Daughter…”
No doubt he intended to offer his opinion on how wrong her decision regarding Havenash was, and she wasn’t interested in hearing it at the moment. Or ever.
Ignoring his attempts to claim her attention, Aliya pressed her lips together as she exhaled. Now, perhaps, she understood why Malkov micromanaged using fear and force.
The noblemen’s whispers and accusations raised to a crescendo.
Aliya eyed Zadé and Tsara. The general was lounging in her chair, arms crossed over her chest and one foot plopped on the table like she didn’t have a care in the world.
Tsara, on the other hand, was sitting upright with her fingers intertwined in front of her.
For all appearances, she was the epitome of grace and patience. Her gaze caught Aliya as she winced.
It felt like a sympathetic apology.
As the princess of the sun elves, Tsara had likely sat through far more than her fair share of council meetings, and had watched the elven nobles bicker just as pointlessly.
Aliya cleared her throat, watching as the humans jostled and took sides. It would be interesting, to be sure, to see who ended up siding with who. Her father was no doubt making copious mental notes in that regard.
At least she could count on him for that. He was nothing if not motivated to keep her, and thus himself, in power.
“I hope you know what you’re doing, daughter,” he said, keeping his voice low so it wouldn’t carry to the others.
Clearing her throat a second time, louder, to catch their attention she slid the next document on the stack to Macherall.
The hall quieted.
“If you would allow me to finish,” Aliya said, spearing the purple-robed man with what she hoped was an intimidating glare, “if Lord Havenash is myopic enough to shaft you with the crops, you can do the same to him with the waterways.”
It was comical, how Macherall’s jaw flapped open and shut like a fish that suddenly found itself on land.
“The majority of our rivers pass through the Macherall estates at one point or another. It makes sense to have you be responsible for sorting out the water rights.”
A slow smile creeped up one side of Macherall’s mouth as he peered at Havenash from the corner of his eyes. “Your Majesty is wise beyond her age.” He bowed.
Well, technically, she wasn’t. The idea to make sure she delegated something important to each noble house had been Elessan’s.
She’d naively assumed the nobles would work together for the good of the kingdom under her direction.
But he’d been right—they were going to squabble for every bit of advantage and power they could grab. At least, until things settled down.
She caught Alinac’s attention and slid a document over to him.
Alinac land was pastoral, at the foothills of the mountains that ran along the eastern edge of the realm.
“I charge you with managing the realm’s logging rights.
” She flicked her gaze to Macherall “I suggest you negotiate for use of the rivers for transportation.” It was much easier to float logs to the capital for manufacturing than to move them by road.
Alinac swallowed, glancing in the direction she’d indicated and dipped his head. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”
She nodded once to acknowledge his response before turning to Macherall. “And if you want wood for your buildings and fireplaces, I recommend you play nice with Lord Alinac.”
The two nobles cleared their throats and avoided looking at each other.
She knew enough about court politics to understand their families were rivals, but regardless…
“You all have a responsibility to the realm and the people. I expect you to cooperate for their benefit.” She held their eyes until the silence became heavy, leaving the implied or else unsaid.
If they couldn’t work together, they’d lose the privileges granted to them.