The Captain strode over to me. “What the fuck are you implying, you little piece of—”
The King stepped between us, pushing the Captain back with his presence alone. “You have a record of which officers were on each team, do you not?”
The Captain frowned, looking from me to the King. “Uh, yes, Your Majesty.”
“Then you'll be able to determine which talons searched specific homes. And you, General, will know which of your soldiers accompanied those teams.”
“Yes, Sire.” The General bowed. “I have a record of which teams I assigned to regions of Eberein. I’ll make a list of those who were assigned to the homes that were allegedly stolen from and bring it to you.”
“Allegedly?” Lord Ressan narrowed his eyes at the General.
“Yes.” The General met his glare. “Until I see proof of theft, they are only allegations.”
“He's right, Lord Ressan, but you have my promise that I will oversee the investigation. Thank you for your cooperation, General.” The King nodded to the General and then turned back to the Captain. “You will do the same.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” The Captain bowed.
“Lord Ressan.” The King motioned the Shanba man over. “I will assemble a team to conduct the audits immediately. I need a list of the families who were targeted.”
“Yes, Sire. I will have the list to you by the end of the day.” The man bowed. “Thank you so much.”
“I do not condone thievery. Rest assured, the culprits will be caught and dealt with. I will send some of my knights with the auditors when we have the names. If possible, we'll return the stolen items.”
“Thank you, Sire.” He bowed again.
“And thank you, Master Sevarin, for the suggestion.” The King sent me a quick, unreadable look. “Are there any more complaints?”
A Lelurra woman stepped forward. “Your Majesty, my people have had similar experiences.”
Behind her stood several more Lelurra courtiers, including Lord Caro. They nodded in agreement.
The King took a deep breath and exhaled as he turned to look at the Captain. “Will you call her a liar as well, Captain?”
The Captain winced and bent his head. “No, Sire.”
“Anyone else?” the King looked over his courtiers.
My friend, Lord Daglor, came forward with several Volpers. “Your Majesty, it is the same with my people. Just as the Shanba, we Volpers won't fight back. Not that we can't, but we don't challenge authority. We've learned that is not the way to survive. So, the Volpers of Eberein are already packing. We have faced such persecution too many times before to wait and see what comes of it. I had planned on leaving with them. But now that you are trying to right these wrongs, I will stay, and I'll ask the others to stay as well.”
“Thank you, Lord Daglor.” The King went to him and laid a hand on his shoulder. “Please extend my apologies to your people. Tell them I will not allow persecution in my kingdom. But I need them to tell me when it happens, or I won't know to stop it.”
“Yes, Sire.”
“I'll need lists from you, and you, Lady Garana.” He looked from Daglor to the Lelurra courtier.
They both bowed and hurried from the throne room with Lord Ressan.
One of the alchemists, an Argaiv with his wings folded down his back, stepped forward. “Your Majesty, this search and seizure is causing more harm than good. And now you're destroying city property? Please, stop this.”
The room fell silent.
The King went to stand before the man. “This is the only way to rid the city of the Silver Rot, Lord Turgov. And this is only the beginning. I've outlawed creating resonant enchantment loops. After Eberein is clear, I'll be sending teams across the kingdom to do the same in every city.”
“Sire, you can't be serious!”
“I am, and it will end this plague.”
“So, says your new pet.” He flung a hand toward me.
