Page 112 of My Haven
Law stood. “Malic Nettleclaw, a cousin on her father’s side.”
Alastair looked at the Ashleigh brothers. “You are relatives as well, are you not?”
Thane nodded. “Our mothers were sisters. She is our only cousin on her side of the family.”
“As your mother is a Silverwood, you do have the right to check in on the Air Temple,” Lucius pointed out.
Thane smiled. “We’ll happily check in with them tomorrow.” Both he and Law sat back down.
“That still begs the question, why on earth would they seize the Fire Temple’s accounts,” Alaric asked.
“Money,” Meryn answered.
“We knew that Meryn,” Byron said.
She spun her chair. “Yeah, but this was money that wasn’t being watched, that they felt could use with impunity. I bet you anything the Witches’ Council ledgers are squeaky clean. They’re probably meant to be a showcase piece to prove how aboveboard they are. They needed money that no one would miss.”
“But they were obviously caught, Mikel called them on it,” Marshall reminded her.
Meryn smiled. “And why is he home? If Caroline hadn’t made sure Zoe got the request for the Fire Temple Head and got her out of Storm Keep, Zoe would still be stuck in that hellhole eating garbage.”
That quieted the room.
“Was taking Genevieve meant to be a smoke screen, to distract us from their activities at the Fire Temple?” Mikel asked.
Meryn shrugged. “No idea. But you said they weren’t handing over any money, right? They said that your parents took most of it and left. I’m close to getting into those accounts, so we’ll see where that money went.”
Marshall looked at his niece nervously and went to ask her a question.
She held up a hand. “Plausible Deniability.”
“Meryn, do you really think finding out where this money went will help us?” Byron asked.
She nodded. “The fact that they couldn’t use their own money screams shady shit.”
Byron strummed his fingers on the table. “Meryn, in your opinion what would be their next move and how can we counter?”
Meryn spun faster. “Hmmm. Y’all are trying to pull rank. If it were me, I’d undercut the system that put importance on rank. I see them pushing for an overturn of the Elder Council and putting the Witches’ Council in its place, based on overwhelming public support. Expect rumors based on truth but twisted to make y’all look bad and possible future scenarios that paint you to look like elitist bullies. The Witches’ Council will probably emphasize that anyone can become a council member, while Founding and Noble families are hereditary, alienating a lot of people. Their platform will be decisions madeforthe people. To counter, you need to win over public opinion. Feeding the orphans is a great start.”
The silence in the room was deafening.
Alastair looked faint. “Goddess above, she’s right.”
Kendrick, Thane, Aiden, Brennus, and Magnus all looked at each other.
Magnus held up his phone. “I haven’t gotten her treats in a while.”
The other men nodded.
Meryn stopped spinning. “Are you ordering from Peter?”
Magnus nodded. “A reward for keeping us poor political novices in line.”
“Can you get me the low sugar snickerdoodles? I loved those.”
“Of course.”
“Cookies? Hell, give that child an artifact or something,” Lucius countered.
