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I sat back in my seat at the head of the large table. “You’re notified when I say you’re notified.”
Jiraiya shook his head, his dark hair swinging around his face. “We are your council, god king. The great kings appointed us before your father’s reign, and we will be here long after yours.”
I leaned forward and folded my hands in front of me. “Do you assume that gives you power over me?”
“The council was formed for a reason. It goes against our purpose for you to only tell us what you deem appropriate when you wish it,” Elianna said, her long red hair tied back into a tight ponytail, the end swinging over the high shoulder pads of her robe.
The tall chamber doors quietly opened, and Neverra slipped in ten minutes late. She gave me a slight bow before joining the rest of The Hand, who stood at my back in a semicircle facing the council.
My jaw tightened, and I turned in my seat, following her with narrowed eyes. My annoyance did not stem from her being late. No, it was the smallest scent of cinnamon that followed her into the room that set me on edge. Neverra lowered her gaze, and Cameron’s eyes widened, his superior sense of smell telling him who she had been with.
I’d told her to wait. What if she had scared her off? It was too soon. Dianna was too fragile right now, violent and vicious, but fragile.
“What Elianna means is we cannot help if we do not know.”
I turned back to the room, remembering why I was there.
“And that’s why we are having this meeting. To go over everything,” I replied.
Leviathan rubbed his brow, age showing on his fingers and face. “Very well. How many Ig’Morruthens are left?”
“Two.”
Tora continued to transcribe every word, her small hands moving as fast as we spoke. She pushed back her short hair with ink-stained fingers, the blonde strands barely reaching the collar of her garbs.
“Including the girl?” Rolluse asked. It had been so long since I had seen him. I had no idea when he shaved his head, but it aged him far too much.
“The girl is not your or the council’s concern. She’s mine.”
Elianna sighed, throwing up a single hand, and Tora paused in her writing.
“We are well aware how you enjoy others, but this is not the time or place to make such a proclamation,” Elianna spat, a few others nodding their agreement. “She is a threat, not another conquest for you to gloat about.”
The council room exploded in splinters of wood, stone, and glass. The debris floated around us, only the table and chairs remaining. They gasped, their mouths agape and their eyes wide. I sat calmly in the sunlight as the birds in the nearby forest took to the air, screaming their alarm.
The council members sat frozen, their grips tight on the table. The Hand merely looked amused. They knew I posed no real threat, and I’d never hurt them, but the council needed a reminder of their place.
“I can destroy and remake this place faster than the second it takes for you all to breathe. Do not forget who you speak to.”
The council hall came rushing back, the floors, chamber walls, and ceiling reforming, sealed and whole.
“My apologies, my liege,” Rolluse said.
“Regardless, my liege,” Elianna said. “She is but a beast, no matter what shell she wears. Ig’Morruthens are creatures made to shred and destroy. They are massive, monstrous weapons.”
I felt the crack of thunder behind me as my temper bucked against my control. I took a shuddering breath, seeking my center. Regardless of our uncertain relationship and fight this morning, no one spoke ill of Dianna, or they would regret it.
“Tone, Elianna,” I snarled. She must have read something in my eyes because she swallowed whatever else she might have said. “I was unaware that you all assumed your power and wishes superseded mine in my absence. That you somehow gained the right to dictate to me.”
Thunder pounded the sky like war drums, and the wind howled its fury. In contrast, my tone remained eerily calm.
“I have ripped vocal cords out of beasts far larger and more vicious than you, Elianna. Watch how you speak. I will not ask again. Your place on the council means very little to me, and you can be replaced. So I suggest you watch your tongue, or I will own it. The old gods are long dead, and Xheor is no longer here to protect you. Choose your words wisely when you address me. All of you. I am still your king.”
I made eye contact with each of them until they lowered their gaze. Elianna’s lips formed into a thin line, but she said nothing else. She sat back in her seat, the heavy curved back shaking slightly with the force. The storm eased, but rain still pounded the open balcony.
“My liege, regardless of Elianna’s sharp tone, we still worry if she is a threat. If her powers are strong enough to eradicate all those who worked for Kaden and kill a King of Yejedin, even with the help of The Hand, it is too great. Her power may even rival yours, I am afraid,” Tora said, her words softer and kinder.
“She is powerless at the moment. I am unsure if they will return. Therefore she poses no threat.”
