Karwyn’s pale face turned red. “There was no riot. A little civil unrest is nothing to worry your head about. Stop disturbing the order of the council and go back to your room.”
Amira noticed that all the men in the room were staring at them. In addition to Nouis and Rhay, she recognised the fae she had seen with Karwyn on her first night in the palace when she’d gotten lost in the creepy corridor. He had an ancient presence about him, yet his light brown skin was the picture of health and the short hair on his skull was an incredible shade of midnight black.
He was the only one to dare intervene. “I think Princess Amira should remain. In her position as the future Queen of Turosian, she can help us find out more about the other contestants. After all, if I recall correctly, her father had very good connections to King Tarnan.”
Amira heard a few grunts of approval coming from the other advisors. She turned to the fae who had defended her presence. “Thank you, advisor…?”
The fae let out a quick laugh. “I’m no advisor. I’d like to think my position as the royal healer is far more interesting. We met yesterday, actually. Saydren is the name.”
Amira felt blood rushing to her cheeks as she was reminded of her state the previous night. This must mean Saydren had been the one offering her medicine.
“Well, thank you for your help,” Amira said. She felt Saydren’s stare lingering on her face, making her uncomfortable.
Karwyn sighed. “Let us stop the chit-chat and go back to the matter at hand.” For once, Amira was relieved by Karwyn’s intervention.
Nouis took out a long scroll. “I’ve talked with most of the royal advisors from the other courts and the three candidates with the highest chance of being selected are yourself, Your Majesty, King Tarnan, and Queen Kaylanthea.” Amira heard a few snickers at the mention of the last name. Apparently, the council didn’t see Queen Kaylanthea as a worthy opponent.
Karwyn laid back in his armchair with a satisfied smile. “Quarnian is one of the poorest kingdoms. Kaylanthea has never been able to implement strong taxes. She is merely getting the sympathy vote.”
“You should still be aware of her. Her water powers are quite impressive. I’ve heard she opened a passage through a powerful river,” Nouis said with a serious tone.
Amira saw Karwyn’s eyes darken. He obviously didn’t like to be challenged. “Are you suggesting that my two powers are no match for Kaylanthea’s single one?” Amira could hear the growing anger in his voice.
“Of course not, my king. I was merely putting everything on the table. We wouldn’t want her to try to one up you during the public display of power,” Nouis quickly added.
Amira saw the anger in Karwyn’s eyes being replaced by something quite different. Was itfear?Looking over at Rhay, the princess saw that the young advisor was intensely focused on Karwyn, as if trying to ease his friend’s mind.
“Your Majesty comes from the longest line of high kings. I’m sure everyone can already see that you are the perfect heir to your family’s legacy,” Nouis said with the clear hope of breaking the tension.
Amira thought back on the history she had learned from her father as a child. The Adelway family had only secured power again once the Dark King had been vanquished. The one time another kingdom other than Turosian had been at the forefront of ruling Liraen, it had ended in disaster. Variel Sartoya had to be stopped. In doing so, it wasn’t just the Dark King himself who had been overthrown. His whole kingdom, Rubien, had been abandoned by the Gods and therefore only seven kingdoms were now recognised in Liraen. Before the Dark King’s reign, it had always been an Adelway sitting on the throne. Indeed, many must be glad to fall back into this tradition.
“What about Tarnan?” Amira dared ask. She had a few memories with the King of Carnylen, all nice ones. And she knew that he was a good amount older than Karwyn. Wouldn’t that make him a more suitable choice?
“Tarnan is a worthy opponent. He’s well connected and a very good diplomat. But he’s older and probably too smart for his own good. The advisors want a high king who is going to rule as long as possible. And he has never showcased his earth powers, so I think it’s safe to say he doesn’t present any risk in the power competition,” Nouis explained to her.
“I see you have a lot of faith in me, lovely fiancée,” Karwyn said in an almost playful tone. But Amira could still hear the bitterness underneath it.
“I know my brother puts a lot of faith in you as his ally. I would never doubt his choice,” Amira cleverly replied. She did know that her brother most certainly wanted the high king crown for himself, but no one ever took the kingdom that celebrated beauty as a worthy opponent. Her brother was forced to side with someone more powerful and more respected than him, someone who could provide him a drop of power.
“Your brother is not the only one. The King of Obliveryn, Quintin Nylwood, is another trusted ally of our court,” Karwyn boasted.
The kingdom of Obliveryn was blessed by the God of Courage. Amira could only agree that King Quintin was a good ally to have, but looking at Karwyn’s prideful glow, Amira felt the need to poke at his confidence.
“You said that Queen Kaylanthea’s kingdom was the poorest. My only concern is that the advisors are going to assume Turosian is suffering after the…civil unrest on Falea Night.” She had to hide her smirk when she saw Karwyn’s pissed off face. His glow was definitely gone.
“Our finances are impeccable, fiancée. And if I were you, I would make sure not to spread hurtful rumours.” His voice was ice cold.
Nouis chimed in, “Our silver supply remains intact, although we should be careful about its spending.”
Karwyn gave Nouis a death stare. The advisor immediately lowered his head to pretend to look at a long scroll.
Rhay loudly closed the book he’d been reading. “Well, I’m only spending a bit for my party. I give so much back to the people, it’s definitely worth it,” Rhay joked. Amira was surprised he was even talking as he had spent the whole meeting not so subtly staring at what looked like a similar novel to the one he had gifted her.
Nouis subtly hit his son on his shoulder. “Rhay, can you for once make a valuable contribution as a royal advisor?” he hissed under his breath.
Rhay straightened his back and put his book away. “What about the renewal of the treaty with the humans? I was thinking I could go with Karwyn.”
Karwyn looked at his nails. “I had forgotten about that. I have been more focused on the contest than this meaningless treaty.”
