He fibbed to the Lords with a practiced ease that both awed and worried me. The man was a good liar. Would he use that skill against me? Had healreadyused it against me?
“Is she here of her own will?” Jonathan eyed me as if I were a dangerous animal.
Almost imperceptibly, Harthon’s eyes narrowed. “Do us the pleasure of asking your whole question.” The request was thick with warning.
Jonathan was either too ignorant or too arrogant to heed it. “Well, if themagvisis not happy here, what would stop her from turning on us?” The loose skin of his neck wobbled against the four thick necklaces draped around it.
Harthon stilled. “Do you think I would have invited a threat into our Citadel?” The temperature in the room plummeted, the roaring fire doing nothing to quell the cold tension coming from the head of the table.
“No, Princeps, of course not,” Jonathan rushed. “But themagvisis not human. We cannot know the thoughts passing behind those horrid eyes.”
Witch. Monster. Kill her.
I bristled under the haughty tone. He spoke as if I wasn’t even in the room, as if I didn’t have ears that could understand his words. Anger simmered beneath my skin, the itchiness too much to ignore.
“My eyes are horrid?” I interrupted with a smile, watching as shock widened the whites around his irises.
The other Lords stiffened.
His lips moved as they searched for words. “Well—”
“Perhaps you meant intriguing, or lovely, or enchanting.” Not that I believed in any of those descriptions.
“Yes, of course,magvis.” He struggled to maintain eye contact for longer than a second, turning from me, to his peers, to the table, and back again. No one intervened as he clearly hoped.
“To address your concerns, I have many thoughts that pass behind my eyes. None of them involve harming this Territory.” My smile dropped. “Though quite a few now involve you.”
His face paled, and I indulged in it. Here was a privileged Lord, one with power and status and self-importance, cowering to a lowly village girl. Harthon had mentioned the benefits of being feared. I knew now that if one wasn’t careful, they could abuse and drown in that power. It was rather intoxicating.
I continued the façade for a moment longer, allowing myhorrideyes to traverse over every seat. “If anyone has further concerns or questions about themagvis, do not speak as if I’m not here. Ask me.”
Of all the Lords, only Harold and the hawkish man across from me met my gaze, which eventually landed on Harthon. It could have been my imagination, but I thought I saw his lips twitch.
“Give me the status of our education implements,” Harthon ordered, moving the meeting forward.
I listened intently as each Lord reported on their domain. Harthon had apparently mandated that all children learn to read and write, and if the Lords were being honest, both boys and girls in the cities were attending lessons for two hours most days. The villages, though, lagged, as the people there resisted the efforts.
“They do not see the value in it. It’s difficult to convince them.” Harold stated. He’d reported the best compliance of all, but even then, some of his communities refused the mandate.
“Likely because those in the villages are still struggling to survive. When a child learns for two hours, they cannot help their families for two hours,” Ana said.
“What of the weekly provision runs from your cities?” Harthon asked.
Silence.
Harthon waited.
Harold cleared his throat. “There have been some logistical challenges to work out, but mine are now regular. It is helping.”
Harthon acknowledged his input with a nod, then continued to wait for others to speak.
Agonizing seconds stretched before Jonathan’s neighbor spoke. “Many of us are still working on the logistics.”
As in, none of them were doing a thing to support their people. While I didn’t know the details of these supply chains, it was clear that each Lord was to help transport resources from their cities to the smaller villages. Doing so would rob them of the ability to gorge on food and waste materials on frivolous uses.
Harthon blinked. “Here are the logistics thatIwill implement if the situation does not improve by our next meeting. I will personally send soldiers to each of your homes, and they will take the resources from your kitchens and estates and disperse them to the villages.”
A few murmurs of protest arose.
