Chapter 29
Council meetings were always the111Please respect copyright.PENANASmUirvaP7s
same. Those in attendance always complained about not making enough money off111Please respect copyright.PENANABoCJaUr8uc
taxes or whatever business ventures they were bankrolling even though a good111Please respect copyright.PENANAp8BouZab1l
majority of the population, both inside and outside the city walls, were111Please respect copyright.PENANA9A1WqB6kOc
struggling. Between the guards forcing those to give them bribes to the111Please respect copyright.PENANAZNQUvYCIBw
ever-increasing prices, more and more people find their pockets dwindling and111Please respect copyright.PENANA2Lk2sdPhq0
unable to pay for even the most basic of necessities. But that wasn’t even the111Please respect copyright.PENANAQieSF0RMOl
worst part.
Now that Malcolm had been buried111Please respect copyright.PENANA1rUJEcKDhW
in the crypt, several of them were discussing how to remove Cuvera from his111Please respect copyright.PENANA8HQAYrTlAj
seat as King and elect someone else. There was staunch opposition to this of111Please respect copyright.PENANAYZa8FAK44L
course, but those in favor were quite persuasive.
“He is still too young,” Anna111Please respect copyright.PENANA3T45nOy67B
Jilena argued. “And he just lost his father after he married a foreign111Please respect copyright.PENANAabzEZIeGvn
princess. We don’t need her whispering in his ear while he is vulnerable.”111Please respect copyright.PENANAL5jnK5tOHw
Peyton never much cared for her. All she cared about was expanding her family’s111Please respect copyright.PENANA4EmuR8r1Oh
influence within the city. Her husband was a general, her eldest son was111Please respect copyright.PENANAuJVqFceeAW
following him, and the youngest likely would have replaced her in twenty years111Please respect copyright.PENANAEbREu8iXsz
if he hadn’t been killed.
Jeffery’s death was a sacrifice to111Please respect copyright.PENANADex548DTWE
get the council, especially Anna, to force Vander into a corner to make him111Please respect copyright.PENANASVGZ1KAuM8
more in a hurry to clear his name by exposing the Serpents. However, in an111Please respect copyright.PENANAh50VYOkrTj
unforeseen circumstance, she had ordered a hit on his head going against111Please respect copyright.PENANAaPtTXYyDOu
Cuvera’s wishes. Once he found out he was furious and ordered it to be stopped,111Please respect copyright.PENANAXbMi7vlkwF
but she went behind his back to keep it up.
“We all agreed to the terms of111Please respect copyright.PENANA9oq4mOosfB
peace term, Jilena.” Simeon Steele said, his deep voice quieted down the table,111Please respect copyright.PENANApgc3JBVYVY
but only for a moment. “And from what I’ve seen of her so far, she is more than111Please respect copyright.PENANAsYp4eVFgsB
qualified to help him run this city.”
“And he is grieving.” Katherine111Please respect copyright.PENANAcv4Xxn0txU
Burnet, one of the oldest council members, said. “He had just lost his father111Please respect copyright.PENANAed3cfgn8iE
to murder, by his best friend no less. So, excuse him for taking some time to111Please respect copyright.PENANAgNjHfVeKry
come to terms with it.”
“And I Iost my son,” Anna hissed.111Please respect copyright.PENANAjHbnAE8R3Z
“Yet I am here doing something productive with my time and not grieving.”
Peyton chuckled quietly to111Please respect copyright.PENANARADgI7Fv9h
himself. That wasn’t the slam on the King as she thought it was. In fact, that111Please respect copyright.PENANA1kNUr7qArq
reflected more on her than it did anyone else. Anna wasn’t someone he would111Please respect copyright.PENANAfZSIyIVFDt
have considered warm, but she hadn’t even taken the week to properly grieve.111Please respect copyright.PENANA4jw8WEMfg7
Instead, she got right to using Jeffery’s death as a political tool to bring111Please respect copyright.PENANA3nSbXxDLMi
people to her cause. It was brilliant, but he would have respected her more if111Please respect copyright.PENANAsKjoqiBtOq
she wasn’t such a bitch.
“Maybe you should.” Bryce Kolmijr,111Please respect copyright.PENANAkPGVJr2AJY
the head of the smithing alliance that stretched the entire country, said.111Please respect copyright.PENANA5amMCaJVy6
Everyone turned to look at him. He was one of the more levelheaded members of111Please respect copyright.PENANApEpCmcSyam
the council. He rarely talked, preferring to listen to gather intelligence111Please respect copyright.PENANADotreEhisG
before voting, so today was such a rare outburst from him.
“What did you say?” Anna’s voice111Please respect copyright.PENANAhUXS0vZ2yM
took on a dangerous tone. Bryce wasn’t phased in the slightest. He took her111Please respect copyright.PENANAlJrbo2UZOl
glared head on, giving her a small smile.
“Your son has been in the ground111Please respect copyright.PENANAzRkeHAwOiS
for many months now.” He knew he had to tread carefully. “Yet you haven’t taken111Please respect copyright.PENANAywB5Hhy65h
a break to be with your family. Almost as if you care more about appearances111Please respect copyright.PENANAHxxP3u7fNO
than your family.”
“How dare you.” She went to lunge111Please respect copyright.PENANAbGa8KkRbqz
over the table, but the brewing master Samuel Mills wrapped his arms around her111Please respect copyright.PENANAXcSoxf2VAv
waist keeping her rooted. Sighing, Peyton knew it was time for him to step in.
“Quiet down, all of you.” Anna111Please respect copyright.PENANAyhEQHN1Jcb
opened her mouth to protest, but a single glare from him dried her retort in111Please respect copyright.PENANAYXLQ7qiST7
her throat. She slapped Mill’s arm to let her go then she sat in her chair and111Please respect copyright.PENANAlWb75HWyKF
folded her arms over her chest. “Bryce, I expect an apology to the Jilena111Please respect copyright.PENANARW5ycbmpxs
family once this is done. What she does is her business, and you have no idea111Please respect copyright.PENANA2yVGeAohV1
what’s going on in her private life.”
“I understand.” While he knew that111Please respect copyright.PENANAyRPeaHkSr2
Bryce would apologize, he wouldn’t mean it. He hated the Jilena family with a111Please respect copyright.PENANAnrkmLnPD5x
passion for reasons known only to him. However, it would have to do.
“Has there been any leads111Please respect copyright.PENANAlJBHUebkJF
involving the Green Serpents?” Peyton addressed them, specifically Katherine111Please respect copyright.PENANAnpfWdUBzrc
who, despite her age, had a cunning spy network that was rivaled only by Ross111Please respect copyright.PENANAgr7XQJkZTj
in the lower district.
“No,” she said. “They have since111Please respect copyright.PENANA0Esdfyjtgu
gone underground. My people haven’t been able to find anything about them.”
“That’s concerning.” Another111Please respect copyright.PENANAilOP2908V2
council member frowned. “They got away with the poisoning and murder of111Please respect copyright.PENANAaWlGQAN9zE
Malcolm, and we can’t find them?”
“There is no proof that Vander111Please respect copyright.PENANAtV0MFMJEZG
worked with the Serpents on the assassination.” Bryce spoke up. “This is purely111Please respect copyright.PENANANWx7h9h1n6
conjecture.”
“It’s an educated guess.” Visc111Please respect copyright.PENANAvdkOqU7mrw
said. Peyton wondered when the rat would speak up. He was being oddly quiet111Please respect copyright.PENANAXf30qxVVCL
during the whole back and forth. “The Serpents were behind the poisoning, that111Please respect copyright.PENANAxdXSGfLYjx
has been confirmed by Topal, however Vander knew an awful lot about the poison.111Please respect copyright.PENANAByFYHXyRXS
It’s a little suspect is it not?”
“Plus, he wasn’t in the city when111Please respect copyright.PENANAlYxWYskMtZ
it happened.” Lucas Brattle, someone on Jilena’s side of things, said. “He111Please respect copyright.PENANAX8E5blJYBs
could have snuck in, poisoned the King, then framed someone else for it to111Please respect copyright.PENANA15GnLNgsnA
avoid suspicion.”
“That’s a lot of speculation111Please respect copyright.PENANAZNAnotTTK2
without any proof.” Mills slammed his hand on the table. “I will prefer to hold111Please respect copyright.PENANA0b8DoLVoFb
my judgement until I hear his side of things. There were of course two people111Please respect copyright.PENANA1kQHElwIRJ
in the room when the King died, we aren’t sure who did it.” He glared up at111Please respect copyright.PENANAlNtPHtTmFP
Peyton. Peyton grinned inwardly to himself. Mills had always been a bright one111Please respect copyright.PENANAildxXPJEOk
and never much cared for the King’s advisor. If only he knew how close, he was111Please respect copyright.PENANAsQKOmCORGn
to the truth.
“I suggest you hold the traitorous111Please respect copyright.PENANAad2DCTXrZ9
tongue of yours.” Visc stood up, though it did nothing to make him look111Please respect copyright.PENANAHYAc0CgisA
intimidating. “Lord Cranton had been Malcolm’s friend since they were children,111Please respect copyright.PENANAKEJOzcda8k
how dare you imply he was behind the murder.”
“And Vander had been part of111Please respect copyright.PENANArAPU1U5Psp
Malcolm’s family since he was but a child.” Bryce fired back. “Yet you had no111Please respect copyright.PENANA1wmdCj4zsu
problem assuming the worse about him.” Before anything could get going again,111Please respect copyright.PENANA8DLKVV1sM9
there was a knock on the chamber door.
“Enter.” Peyton shouted. The doors111Please respect copyright.PENANAD8yBOL8o9C
were pushed open by the two guards allowing Leon Visc to enter the room.
If he was being honest, Peyton111Please respect copyright.PENANAdaAnO2Mm53
hated both Leon and his father. Both kissed the ass of whoever would give them111Please respect copyright.PENANAyGHaNVVJY5
the most power and they had no loyalty to anyone except themselves. Peyton had111Please respect copyright.PENANAwyWRVjkgzc
watched Leon grow up to be spoiled child, picking fights with Vander and when111Please respect copyright.PENANABrjNfqKwIP
he lost, went crying to his father to fix things. He had been jealous of111Please respect copyright.PENANAyz3nJrPC6G
Vander, so much so that he was willing to ruin a happy union due to it. The111Please respect copyright.PENANAOQxMjHm2q2
country would be better off without those two in it, but he would have to deal111Please respect copyright.PENANAwYN2RxqQtX
with that later.
Leon bowed before the table.111Please respect copyright.PENANAsKYw2ywjT6
“Greetings council, I come with news.” He had grown into his new role poorly.111Please respect copyright.PENANA29fL44D6ub
Using his power as head, not Commander, to flex his fight and fill his squad111Please respect copyright.PENANAmbZx0kRJ5x
with people who would obey him without question. The Blades were supposed to be111Please respect copyright.PENANALIT9pgwv9n
independent of the council, protecting only the King and his family, but Leon111Please respect copyright.PENANAVbJgpWblTE
sold their services to anyone who would pay.
“What is it?” Peyton asked.
“The house in the eastern district111Please respect copyright.PENANAu5BA8RMRFQ
that had been broken into and the occupants murdered was discovered to be a111Please respect copyright.PENANA0W8kvpKDXj
Green Serpents hideout.” He explained. “It looked like a savage animal had111Please respect copyright.PENANAYPpKnsMwHw
slaughtered everyone inside.”
“Green Serpents?” Peyton and111Please respect copyright.PENANAAvE87PesE3
Katherine exchanged glances. “I thought there was no trace of them here at111Please respect copyright.PENANAh17D7uCkin
all?”
“They had proper paperwork, so no111Please respect copyright.PENANA10RXlb4qgx
one questioned them. We are going through their house to see what they might111Please respect copyright.PENANAC8qBpwyuRc
have been up to, but that’s not the important part.” Leon was practically111Please respect copyright.PENANAJMLmXxOElM
jumping up and down with excitement.
“Spill it, man.” Viggo snapped.
“We found Vander.” Leon grinned. A111Please respect copyright.PENANAoGLLnJRWem
collective gasp rang out from the council. “Someone recognized him in the crowd111Please respect copyright.PENANAT4N8aZY5vc
looking as we took out the dead bodies, but Alexander convinced them that it111Please respect copyright.PENANAWUY2JLKXiJ
wasn’t him, so they let him go. But one of my people told me as soon as he111Please respect copyright.PENANAB0pecCYhoj
arrived back.”
“So, you didn’t see if for111Please respect copyright.PENANAb8POyREn2Z
yourself?” Bryce asked. “Then how do you know?”
“My man followed Alex as he111Please respect copyright.PENANABgbDWIz0Dm
slipped away from the scene.” Leon explained. “He followed him to the Orange111Please respect copyright.PENANATFZrDxMzFN
Fox, one of Vander’s hideouts. If he is in the city, he would be there.”
“I thought we checked there during111Please respect copyright.PENANAsR3Vx6YTWC
the manhunt?” Anna asked.
“No,” Katherine said. “We don’t111Please respect copyright.PENANAwlKCfvvDQz
mess with the Lower King’s domain he doesn’t mess with ours. That’s the way it111Please respect copyright.PENANAejO09vI9hI
has always been.”
“And that was our first mistake,111Please respect copyright.PENANAuMpfLsmnel
trusting a conman to be truthful with us.” Anna snapped back. “Leon, gather111Please respect copyright.PENANAJPe8ITg53u
your men and bring him here. If he resists, do what you must, but don’t kill111Please respect copyright.PENANAXskr2iPBVv
him, we need him alive.”
“It would be my pleasure.” Leon111Please respect copyright.PENANAryOZNTyxCY
grinned.
Peyton frowned. It was too early111Please respect copyright.PENANAlkfOl5JVB8
for this to be happening, but he had no choice now. It was out of his hands.
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