Chapter 29
Council meetings were always the81Please respect copyright.PENANA8adC3a9GvO
same. Those in attendance always complained about not making enough money off81Please respect copyright.PENANAhKaXwKdXBR
taxes or whatever business ventures they were bankrolling even though a good81Please respect copyright.PENANAGeM0U16EWG
majority of the population, both inside and outside the city walls, were81Please respect copyright.PENANAZ8WEfjyPmM
struggling. Between the guards forcing those to give them bribes to the81Please respect copyright.PENANAKQifTj8qnz
ever-increasing prices, more and more people find their pockets dwindling and81Please respect copyright.PENANA3PXhPihKgr
unable to pay for even the most basic of necessities. But that wasn’t even the81Please respect copyright.PENANADbzdrQOu3P
worst part.
Now that Malcolm had been buried81Please respect copyright.PENANAv1SJEIEWJs
in the crypt, several of them were discussing how to remove Cuvera from his81Please respect copyright.PENANAWWdimqKMJB
seat as King and elect someone else. There was staunch opposition to this of81Please respect copyright.PENANA38az50SrqD
course, but those in favor were quite persuasive.
“He is still too young,” Anna81Please respect copyright.PENANAVOkyKcc72v
Jilena argued. “And he just lost his father after he married a foreign81Please respect copyright.PENANASwUudoonX9
princess. We don’t need her whispering in his ear while he is vulnerable.”81Please respect copyright.PENANAHc4eGwdg5g
Peyton never much cared for her. All she cared about was expanding her family’s81Please respect copyright.PENANA85uShuBgRD
influence within the city. Her husband was a general, her eldest son was81Please respect copyright.PENANAL9GOwrINAj
following him, and the youngest likely would have replaced her in twenty years81Please respect copyright.PENANA20DJ1dey5l
if he hadn’t been killed.
Jeffery’s death was a sacrifice to81Please respect copyright.PENANAWvzAEYTSyx
get the council, especially Anna, to force Vander into a corner to make him81Please respect copyright.PENANA7YwRAGXhTF
more in a hurry to clear his name by exposing the Serpents. However, in an81Please respect copyright.PENANACYBZbiY87V
unforeseen circumstance, she had ordered a hit on his head going against81Please respect copyright.PENANA5WUDi6xcE7
Cuvera’s wishes. Once he found out he was furious and ordered it to be stopped,81Please respect copyright.PENANA8Tl9jU6Oqk
but she went behind his back to keep it up.
“We all agreed to the terms of81Please respect copyright.PENANArPumDZpyfV
peace term, Jilena.” Simeon Steele said, his deep voice quieted down the table,81Please respect copyright.PENANAyuDC3JxI3q
but only for a moment. “And from what I’ve seen of her so far, she is more than81Please respect copyright.PENANAYANxys9g83
qualified to help him run this city.”
“And he is grieving.” Katherine81Please respect copyright.PENANApYmTYeChwW
Burnet, one of the oldest council members, said. “He had just lost his father81Please respect copyright.PENANAXW8iaB5WgI
to murder, by his best friend no less. So, excuse him for taking some time to81Please respect copyright.PENANAoEwgIoxKNC
come to terms with it.”
“And I Iost my son,” Anna hissed.81Please respect copyright.PENANA4hlWbHLt4J
“Yet I am here doing something productive with my time and not grieving.”
Peyton chuckled quietly to81Please respect copyright.PENANAWrMm2cAahS
himself. That wasn’t the slam on the King as she thought it was. In fact, that81Please respect copyright.PENANArVcgsC7ZUk
reflected more on her than it did anyone else. Anna wasn’t someone he would81Please respect copyright.PENANA2PmG81i9sg
have considered warm, but she hadn’t even taken the week to properly grieve.81Please respect copyright.PENANAOjwXdpBHSp
Instead, she got right to using Jeffery’s death as a political tool to bring81Please respect copyright.PENANAwteZZBMvLQ
people to her cause. It was brilliant, but he would have respected her more if81Please respect copyright.PENANAeD87PLfaSq
she wasn’t such a bitch.
“Maybe you should.” Bryce Kolmijr,81Please respect copyright.PENANA97w96Gm6To
the head of the smithing alliance that stretched the entire country, said.81Please respect copyright.PENANACi1WiHsCVs
Everyone turned to look at him. He was one of the more levelheaded members of81Please respect copyright.PENANAmOfEjHoVTR
the council. He rarely talked, preferring to listen to gather intelligence81Please respect copyright.PENANAGD4MSMzuzl
before voting, so today was such a rare outburst from him.
“What did you say?” Anna’s voice81Please respect copyright.PENANAvsaTkHPpMI
took on a dangerous tone. Bryce wasn’t phased in the slightest. He took her81Please respect copyright.PENANAtGJv2tKB48
glared head on, giving her a small smile.
“Your son has been in the ground81Please respect copyright.PENANApFk3P6G754
for many months now.” He knew he had to tread carefully. “Yet you haven’t taken81Please respect copyright.PENANAeJ1I11I5eM
a break to be with your family. Almost as if you care more about appearances81Please respect copyright.PENANABzI1Ufl3Vd
than your family.”
“How dare you.” She went to lunge81Please respect copyright.PENANA8QB2kAusP5
over the table, but the brewing master Samuel Mills wrapped his arms around her81Please respect copyright.PENANAy7xurWUYN7
waist keeping her rooted. Sighing, Peyton knew it was time for him to step in.
“Quiet down, all of you.” Anna81Please respect copyright.PENANAQMmbLxxf3W
opened her mouth to protest, but a single glare from him dried her retort in81Please respect copyright.PENANAooe9M3SyF7
her throat. She slapped Mill’s arm to let her go then she sat in her chair and81Please respect copyright.PENANAVqxRuQm5Pe
folded her arms over her chest. “Bryce, I expect an apology to the Jilena81Please respect copyright.PENANAimCSWKEm5P
family once this is done. What she does is her business, and you have no idea81Please respect copyright.PENANA3wxPcCjIDY
what’s going on in her private life.”
“I understand.” While he knew that81Please respect copyright.PENANA1inHmU2zu2
Bryce would apologize, he wouldn’t mean it. He hated the Jilena family with a81Please respect copyright.PENANA5IdP9k9gJO
passion for reasons known only to him. However, it would have to do.
“Has there been any leads81Please respect copyright.PENANA7GPjkoiQre
involving the Green Serpents?” Peyton addressed them, specifically Katherine81Please respect copyright.PENANARnqnkeBvDc
who, despite her age, had a cunning spy network that was rivaled only by Ross81Please respect copyright.PENANAHGi1p3BPLr
in the lower district.
“No,” she said. “They have since81Please respect copyright.PENANAwfXhCwP4QF
gone underground. My people haven’t been able to find anything about them.”
“That’s concerning.” Another81Please respect copyright.PENANAMrYeCmVpid
council member frowned. “They got away with the poisoning and murder of81Please respect copyright.PENANA8jNjy46PC6
Malcolm, and we can’t find them?”
“There is no proof that Vander81Please respect copyright.PENANAUmT49uq0Fe
worked with the Serpents on the assassination.” Bryce spoke up. “This is purely81Please respect copyright.PENANAHtLDyTFGHS
conjecture.”
“It’s an educated guess.” Visc81Please respect copyright.PENANAU6yVya6Cbk
said. Peyton wondered when the rat would speak up. He was being oddly quiet81Please respect copyright.PENANAi01ntXQ9A8
during the whole back and forth. “The Serpents were behind the poisoning, that81Please respect copyright.PENANARXHkBWsQDs
has been confirmed by Topal, however Vander knew an awful lot about the poison.81Please respect copyright.PENANAmH6eQJUMUZ
It’s a little suspect is it not?”
“Plus, he wasn’t in the city when81Please respect copyright.PENANAlLziwtU2ul
it happened.” Lucas Brattle, someone on Jilena’s side of things, said. “He81Please respect copyright.PENANAIm0z2JrYxl
could have snuck in, poisoned the King, then framed someone else for it to81Please respect copyright.PENANAN2zGLhsMrR
avoid suspicion.”
“That’s a lot of speculation81Please respect copyright.PENANAgoyZz6Il38
without any proof.” Mills slammed his hand on the table. “I will prefer to hold81Please respect copyright.PENANAjwsCB1VxTS
my judgement until I hear his side of things. There were of course two people81Please respect copyright.PENANAMcSiJHontP
in the room when the King died, we aren’t sure who did it.” He glared up at81Please respect copyright.PENANAWvS8l96wmB
Peyton. Peyton grinned inwardly to himself. Mills had always been a bright one81Please respect copyright.PENANAuZOQWaNf7b
and never much cared for the King’s advisor. If only he knew how close, he was81Please respect copyright.PENANAWe2mv9PgAy
to the truth.
“I suggest you hold the traitorous81Please respect copyright.PENANAWSJ5EXY5Sn
tongue of yours.” Visc stood up, though it did nothing to make him look81Please respect copyright.PENANA4DZSITTQtq
intimidating. “Lord Cranton had been Malcolm’s friend since they were children,81Please respect copyright.PENANABaJHOhSTo7
how dare you imply he was behind the murder.”
“And Vander had been part of81Please respect copyright.PENANA4qOdOQuQfQ
Malcolm’s family since he was but a child.” Bryce fired back. “Yet you had no81Please respect copyright.PENANAZjWym018KB
problem assuming the worse about him.” Before anything could get going again,81Please respect copyright.PENANAZrADeZfJMc
there was a knock on the chamber door.
“Enter.” Peyton shouted. The doors81Please respect copyright.PENANAInblkg4jYE
were pushed open by the two guards allowing Leon Visc to enter the room.
If he was being honest, Peyton81Please respect copyright.PENANANjkEhmUzax
hated both Leon and his father. Both kissed the ass of whoever would give them81Please respect copyright.PENANAfU4F7rpevb
the most power and they had no loyalty to anyone except themselves. Peyton had81Please respect copyright.PENANAxrZj7IO5jA
watched Leon grow up to be spoiled child, picking fights with Vander and when81Please respect copyright.PENANAkxg73yl9CR
he lost, went crying to his father to fix things. He had been jealous of81Please respect copyright.PENANA6RkmaHWjcO
Vander, so much so that he was willing to ruin a happy union due to it. The81Please respect copyright.PENANA4obbDYfxvj
country would be better off without those two in it, but he would have to deal81Please respect copyright.PENANAv8LBmdNWWn
with that later.
Leon bowed before the table.81Please respect copyright.PENANA6Flof6RoR7
“Greetings council, I come with news.” He had grown into his new role poorly.81Please respect copyright.PENANAHN8sl76A4Z
Using his power as head, not Commander, to flex his fight and fill his squad81Please respect copyright.PENANA7SeLatK4yq
with people who would obey him without question. The Blades were supposed to be81Please respect copyright.PENANAV5b6Gk7YT9
independent of the council, protecting only the King and his family, but Leon81Please respect copyright.PENANADh7IsFeB9r
sold their services to anyone who would pay.
“What is it?” Peyton asked.
“The house in the eastern district81Please respect copyright.PENANAyIoyDmpSMu
that had been broken into and the occupants murdered was discovered to be a81Please respect copyright.PENANAuYCA2UvHv8
Green Serpents hideout.” He explained. “It looked like a savage animal had81Please respect copyright.PENANAJpZZWX95yd
slaughtered everyone inside.”
“Green Serpents?” Peyton and81Please respect copyright.PENANAaWQ6UvgHHe
Katherine exchanged glances. “I thought there was no trace of them here at81Please respect copyright.PENANA6lc7wsMTlv
all?”
“They had proper paperwork, so no81Please respect copyright.PENANANsywD418Sb
one questioned them. We are going through their house to see what they might81Please respect copyright.PENANADy4VKHWtax
have been up to, but that’s not the important part.” Leon was practically81Please respect copyright.PENANAgOKSadq0Nm
jumping up and down with excitement.
“Spill it, man.” Viggo snapped.
“We found Vander.” Leon grinned. A81Please respect copyright.PENANA6X4cE8PN7v
collective gasp rang out from the council. “Someone recognized him in the crowd81Please respect copyright.PENANAwxtujJjuqn
looking as we took out the dead bodies, but Alexander convinced them that it81Please respect copyright.PENANAn5ELeOIr6Y
wasn’t him, so they let him go. But one of my people told me as soon as he81Please respect copyright.PENANAxMSTGAPcKI
arrived back.”
“So, you didn’t see if for81Please respect copyright.PENANAHrtHoa3rxR
yourself?” Bryce asked. “Then how do you know?”
“My man followed Alex as he81Please respect copyright.PENANASk6cZeLAta
slipped away from the scene.” Leon explained. “He followed him to the Orange81Please respect copyright.PENANAdpFZZDISup
Fox, one of Vander’s hideouts. If he is in the city, he would be there.”
“I thought we checked there during81Please respect copyright.PENANA2vSKbHegjq
the manhunt?” Anna asked.
“No,” Katherine said. “We don’t81Please respect copyright.PENANAb18VjZIGJc
mess with the Lower King’s domain he doesn’t mess with ours. That’s the way it81Please respect copyright.PENANAih43NO8eDb
has always been.”
“And that was our first mistake,81Please respect copyright.PENANAkFSQO1iGyy
trusting a conman to be truthful with us.” Anna snapped back. “Leon, gather81Please respect copyright.PENANAXa00htxMXt
your men and bring him here. If he resists, do what you must, but don’t kill81Please respect copyright.PENANARmp6jdilOK
him, we need him alive.”
“It would be my pleasure.” Leon81Please respect copyright.PENANAVwZ5qiqpli
grinned.
Peyton frowned. It was too early81Please respect copyright.PENANA1tqTJkRxs7
for this to be happening, but he had no choice now. It was out of his hands.
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