I huffed. “A lot of things come out of my mouth without much meaning. But I am genuinely confused at the moment.”
He rubbed his thumbs against my shoulder blades, easing anxiety out of them. Not knowing what was going on around me was stressful, but his hands on myshoulders had been a source of security since my first night here.
“Every night,” he explained, “four hours after sunset, I meet with representatives from each of the twelve houses. They can each bring one guest, so we usually have twenty-three people in attendance. I am trying to convince each house to agree to a council of representatives to rule Kalshana. One person from each house, appointed by the ruling lord or lady of the house. The representatives here right now have decision-making power in their houses. I just need all twelve to agree, and then we could move forward, but every time I win one person over, someone else has a concern.”
“Sounds fun,” I murmured. “What are their concerns?”
“Come watch,” he said. “See for yourself.”
“I’m guessing you have some seating arrangement worked out—” I started.
“I could not find a satisfactory arrangement,” he interrupted. “We’d either need to cover your eyes or my face. But then I remembered. We have a watching room.”
“What?”
He chuckled. “Close your eyes. I’ll show you.”
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 tothe 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 flowerbeautifulandinspiring.
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.”
