Page 59 of Protected By the Fae King

Chapter 19

Jace

Jaws dropped to the floor when I entered the Council of Ministers chambers the following morning. Dozens of feet scattered around the room as the ministers scrambled to rise and bow to me, mumbling greetings.

“Alpha, you’re here!” one of the ministers choked brazenly.

“This is my cabinet, isn’t it?” I replied. “I do rule over Goldhaven, don’t I?”

“Yes, of course!” he sputtered. “But you never attend meetings!”

I smiled thinly at the trembling fool. “That’s because I have great faith in those that serve me. But I still do run this kingdom, don’t I?”

“Of course you do, Alpha. We’re all very pleased you could join us today.”

I wasn’t sure how true that was, but at least I had shaken things up by appearing.

And you better get used to it. You’ll be seeing a lot more of me from now on.

The urge to attend the Council of Ministers meeting had struck me almost out of nowhere, and no one had been moresurprised than Cirilla when I informed her that I would be gone all day.

“I wish I could be there to see the looks on their faces,” she chuckled.

“You’re welcome to join,” I joked.

She shook her head. “No. In fact, I believe we’re expecting results on Elix’s bloodwork today.”

I gaped at her. “Today? Why didn’t you mention that before?”

“Are you going to stay now?” she asked dryly. “And pace the halls in anticipation?”

She did have a point. It would be better to go and keep my mind occupied. Plus, I had promised myself to be more hands-on in kingdom matters. Cirilla’s comment about me screwing around had hit close to home—mostly because it was true. I was the king, and my days of partying and whoring were over. My focus had to be on running Goldhaven—and keeping Elix protected.

“Does Elix know you’re expecting results today?”

Cirilla had shaken her head, and I thought about this now as I took my seat at the head of the council room, gavel in hand to take over the first meeting I’d attended in longer than I could recall.

“What’s the first matter?” I asked the taskmaster, and the meeting began, sweeping me into myriad kingdom issues.

For the next several hours, I was wrapped up in budget and zoning issues, talks of charity events, and proposed changes to the kingdom. By the time we broke for lunch, I was exhausted.

“I can’t believe we do this every damn day,” I muttered to Gullifer, who still seemed perplexed by my willingness to attend.

“Well, with respect, Alpha, some of us do,” my adviser said. I raised an eyebrow, and he lowered his eyes. “I didn’t mean anydisrespect, Alpha. I don’t understand the change of heart, you being here.”

“It’s like I told them inside: this is my kingdom. It’s high time I started acting like it, isn’t it?”

“If there’s an issue about the way I’m doing things?—”

“It’s nothing like that, Gullifer. Don’t make this about you.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

I’d caused a stir by coming, but I reminded myself that it didn’t matter. It was my kingdom. They needed to get used to seeing me more often.

The second half of the day proved to be even more excruciating than the first, and when I got home, the last thing I wanted to do was pore through the pile of files that had come home with me for the next day’s meeting. I half wanted to throw the ball back to Gullifer already, but I refused to give in that easily.

I can do this, just like my father before me and his father before him. This is in my blood.

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