Page 89 of The Courting of Bristol Keats
The seed was planted, the damage done, Tyghan thought. Keats would now be viewed less as a helpful recruit than as a game piece to be moved and sacrificed at their command.
Tyghan looked back at the rest of the council. “I don’t want any more talk of killing Bristol Keats. Do you understand, Lord Csorba? She made a sworn promise to help Cael and Elphame, and I will consider any more conspiring behind my back an act of treason—and take appropriate measures. Don’t forget, I am the king until my brother returns, and I hold all the power that goes with the title. Power I willuse.”
Silence gripped the room. Lord Csorba sat quietly, but his hands were still curled into fists on the table.
“May I suggest,” Lord Alistair said, “that if she might be used as a hostage, perhaps we should all take an oath, here and now, that this information won’t be discussed with anyone outside this room? It wouldn’t bode well for any of us if she found out what might be her fate.”
Tyghan nodded, eager for this proposal to be adopted, and for Sloan’s loose tongue to be squelched. A round ofayes circled the table, and Tyghan hoped he would never hear the wordhostageagain.
When the door was sealed and Tyghan and his officers were safely ensconced in the counselor’s study, Eris whirled, facing Tyghan. “A hostage? Have you gone mad?”
“Early on, it occurred to me. When I was frustrated and desperate. But—”
“The council is still desperate! Can’t you see that?”
“It’s not a bad idea,” Quin said. “As a last resort—”
“Tygh did take an oath to do everything in his power to save Cael,” Kasta reminded him. “And by your direction, Counselor.”
“A hostage trade. That’s all we’re talking about,” Quin added.
Glennis winced. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“She is not a hostage!” Eris hissed. “She’s here by her own free will. We cannot violate that.”
“We’re not using her as a hostage!” Tyghan yelled, trying to end the runaway speculation. “I said it in a private conversation with Kasta. After the review meeting, I was thinking out loud, trying to find ways to make sure they couldn’t send her home. Sloan is trying to undermine me.” He turned to Kasta. “How did he find out?”
“I don’t know. I swear I said nothing. Maybe he thought of it on his own. It’s not a completely unique thought—and he is a talented strategist.”
“More like a conniving weasel,” Tyghan answered. “And his smug smile was as good as a wink to let me know I was being watched.” Tyghan hissed, wishing he had something to break—like a neck. Sometimes he had to remind himself that they were both on the same side. He turned to Madame Chastain, more questions burning inside him. “Why hasn’t Keats left her room? Or eaten? Is she ill?”
“No. She hasn’t left for the exact reasons Eris stated. She’s still coming to grips with having a creature on her back—one that her own parents placed there—not to mention that she’s not who she thought she was. Nor are her parents. That would take anyone time to get used to. Her fellow recruits come by every day, hoping to visit with her, but she won’t see them either. They’re afraid she plans to leave. But in Avery’s vernacular, she said Miss Keats just needs space. That means time alone. I agree. We all need to give that to her. Especially you, especially after today. We need to give all these wagging tongues a chance to cool.” She eyed Tyghan’s dusty, travel-weary clothes. “When was the last time you wore your crown?”
He hesitated, unable to remember. “I wear it in the throne room. There’s no need—”
“Wear it tonight,” she snapped, but then her countenance softened, perhaps seeing Tyghan’s grow harder. “And one of your formal jackets. I take it the Lumessa accepted your apology?”
Tyghan sighed. “I may have raised my voice—”
“You what?” she shouted, throwing her hands up in the air, her ire returning as quickly as a crow to carrion. “I told you—”
“She didn’t give me a chance to apologize! But she’s here. That’s all that matters.”
“How so?”
“She agreed to come for Bristol’s sake. Because she’s Kierus’s daughter.”
Madame Chastain nodded. She understood the clemency the Lumessa would afford Tyghan because there was something she cared about more than what angered her. Kierus was the only child she had ever raised, and by extension, Bristol Keats was a product of her devotion and patience. Raising a mortal child in Elphame was not easy, especially when you ultimately lost him to the world he came from.
“I’ll go check with the Sisters and see when a meeting can be arranged,” Eris said. He pulled Tyghan aside before he left. “Cael and Elphame are foremost in all of our goals, but I don’t want her sacrificed on a whim, just because she’s Maire’s daughter. That is not what I brought her here for. Do you understand? We are not Fomorians. We are Tuatha de. Our gods and laws matter.”
Eris paused as he unlatched his door and leveled a warning glance at Tyghan. “The last time I arranged a meeting, the Lumessa’s business with Miss Keats was cut short—by you. Donotcut it short again. And stop thinking out loud. You’re the king, dammit, and anyone could be listening.”
They all stared at the door after Eris slammed it behind him. He was the quintessential peacekeeper, and always deferred to Tyghan, but now twice in one hour he had not only raised his voice but cursed at the king.
Madame Chastain shook her head. Only she understood the true reason why.
CHAPTER 63
