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Absently, her fingers drifted over the scar that marred her Blades mark.
“No, no.” Silas flashed them an easy smile. “Nothing at all to worry about. He is just recovering from a bad cold and needs his rest. Nothing serious. He sends his regrets and hopes he’ll be back on his feet in time for the next meeting.”
“With all the continued buzz from Prey for the Crown lately, I’m shocked Kellos didn’t send a Deer, or…” Cassiel waved his hand, searching for the words. “Or a Rat, or some such beast.”
Silas’s smile was a touch more dangerous as he answered. “Ratsarepredators, I assure you. Something to keep in mind when dealing with them,” he told the deSanguine. “And the PFTC has no problem with Kellos or me. We are happy to work with our nonpredator brethren, so long as they remember their place in the food chain. They understandthe necessity of a predator representing them. And… we’re all predators here, aren’t we?”
His eyes flashed as he spoke.
“I imagine we are,” Alice conceded. Her headache had receded somewhat, and she was eager to get started so she could get home. To her Joy. She peeled her fingers from her scar reluctantly. “Now that we are all here, perhaps we should start the meeting, then? What is on our agenda for today?”
“Bread,” Sana said, shuffling her notes. She sat straight-backed in her chair, acting more secretary than High Priestess at these meetings. “Or, rather, wheat. The price of wheat has risen substantially over the previous year, and it is becoming a problem for many of the Fallen.”
“We don’t use that term anymore, Witch,” Kallista said, leaning her delicate chin on her hand and turning to glare at Sana. “We do not see ourselves as having Fallen from the Goddess’s grace, you know. That was always your Faction’s term, not ours.”
Sana winced. “Right. Of course, my apologies. The price of wheat is presenting a problem for many citizens,” she amended.
“Well, why has the price been rising?” Cassiel asked in a bored tone.
“A few reasons,” Sana demurred, eyes skimming over her notes. “But I think we should focus more on the solutions than on the cause, and I do believe?—”
“The farmers are dead,” Alice interrupted, and when the rest of the council looked at her, a little shocked, she continued. “Most of the realm’s wheat comes from the fourth octant and was farmed by three families from the Witch Faction. Two of those families were killed in the aftermath of the Blood Moon. One had close ties to the Queen’s Temples, and the other…” Alice shrugged. “The other family, very likely, were killed out of sheer spite against the Crown. Or because they were rich and unprotected, take your pick.”
Cassiel winced, but Kallista and Silas at least didn’t seem bothered by the news.
“Yes,” Sana said in a heavy voice. “Thank you, Alice. Those deaths have left the farms untended, and the wheat unharvested. We offered the farms to the remaining family in that octant, but…” She paused and pursed her lips. “They are stretched thin enough with their own work and their own farm. They don’t have the manpower necessary to maintain another one, let alone two.”
“I think we can help with that,” Silas said, tilting his head sharply to the side. It was an unmistakably predatory motion and made Alice itch to touch the small knife she still kept on her, hidden at her side.
They are not your enemies, she reminded herself.Not anymore. She forced herself to keep her hands still on the table in front of her.
“The fourth octant is mostly Shifters, after all,” Silas continued, eyes darting to each of them and finally settling on Sana. “I know of a rather substantial herd of Elk who live there. I’m sure I can speak to some of them about taking over the farms and getting our wheat supply back up and running.”
Sana blinked. “But these are Witch farms,” she said, stressing the word Witch. “If they are taken by some Shifters, other Witches could see it as an act of aggression.”
“Do you want the wheat or not?” Alice snapped and instantly regretted it when Sana flinched. Goddess above, diplomacy would be the death of her. Taking a breath to calm herself, she continued in a softer tone. “The farms are empty, correct, Sana?”
“Correct,” Sana replied, quickly recovering from Alice’s temper.
“Then they are abandoned. And something that has been abandoned by definition cannot be taken. Let the Shifters have them. There’s no use wasting good food to appease the dead.” Alice turned to Silas. “How quickly can you have those farms occupied?”
“Within the month,” he assured her with a smile. “I’ll fly there myself to oversee the transfer and find out if they can salvage any of this year’s harvest. With any luck, we could have more wheat heading to the city within the quarter.”
“Good,” Alice replied. “Let’s have a vote on it, then.”
“I worry about the precedent this might set,” Sana insisted, her eyes on Alice. “If, in the event of a family’s total annihilation their belongings become a free for all…” She dropped her voice, likely thinking the other council members could not hear her, and directed the rest of her statement toward Alice, and Alice alone. “Then what is to stop the full slaughter of members of our Faction?”
“Why are you always so convinced the rest of us are always mereseconds away from murder?” Kallista asked, sounding exasperated. “If you recall, it wasyourFaction that racked up the highest body count in the War of the Fallen. Given your history, shouldn’t it be the rest of us worrying about our potential annihilation?”
Alice fought not to roll her eyes. There was no doubt at all from those at this table who the strongest person in the room was, and it wasn’t either of the Witches by any stretch of the imagination. From the moment she’d shown up, Kallista had made it clear in a thousand different ways that her power was above and beyond anything the rest of them could even hope to reach. And if the stories were to be believed, the eighth octant was full of Demons just like her. It was almost laughable that she would find herself concerned about their Faction at all.
“The dead can’t own land,” Alice insisted, bringing them back to the matter at hand. “And whatever precedent this sets, we’ll deal with it when it comes up. I won’t hold back food from our citizens over someone’s unfounded fears, Sana.”
To her credit, Sana relented. It was one of the few things Alice had found she liked about the Water Witch. Sure, Sana came with her own prejudices and fears about the other Factions, but she was learning to overcome them. She knew when she was beaten and never seemed to hold a grudge about it.
“We should vote, then,” Sana said, setting her notes aside and grabbing the ledger where they recorded official council votes. “Factions in favor of transferring ownership of the two wheat farms and their holdings in the fourth octant to Shifters of Silas’s choosing at a later date, please raise your hands.”
Alice was the first to raise her hand, and after that, it was unanimous. Sana recorded it as such.
