"Your Highness," Liana says, bowing before him. "We have news for you."
"What news?" he asks, his eyes still fixed on me.
Liana clears her throat. "The Fuegorra has chosenLady Estelato be one of its wise women. Our future queen is a seer.”
He raises an eyebrow. “This is good news. Thank you for telling me. If you would excuse us, we are in a meeting.”
I blink. He is as frigid as the snow I had to walk through to get here. It shouldn’t hurt, but I’ll be damned if it doesn’t burn as I walk out of the room.
1 I love you.
Chapter19
Yellow Sapphire
TEO
A Half Hour Earlier
Estela is locked away in my thoughts. I am determined to give my full, undivided attention in my meeting about the tunnel and this mysterious mist that is preventing my people from hunting. Five of my six advisors are here, as Lothar went with Turalyon to speak with the elves.
I swear the room is colder than normal. Just a degree or two, but I can still hear the hydraulic pumps in the background, working extra hard to heat the city and bring in fresh air from the outside. Something in my gut tells me that it is connected to the mists, but another part of me doesn't wish to alarm my people before it is necessary.
Svanna looks bored. She's the only one sitting back in the chair, picking at her nails with one of her mining tools. I know she's listening. She's just very different in these meetings as opposed to the decisive leader she is in the tunnels.
"Tunnel seven is still open. Theruh’glumdlorpopulation won't be affected if we continue to rotate through the other tunnels, but only for a short time," Vann says.
Ulla still refuses to look at me after our exchange directly following the last meeting. Her gaze is carefully fixed on Vann as she says, "Thearadhlumesalso lived in tunnel seven. They are theruh’glumdlorbears’ main food source, which is extra pertinent since bear mating season has just begun—we need to make sure that enough cubs are produced to continue feeding our people."
Vann nods and grins, clutching his hammer. “We’ll have to go hunting for spiders.”
Lord Salo, Tirin's brother, looks displeased. This is his first meeting since the funeral, and I have heard he's been distant with the stone benders. "It may need to be time to start hunting outside of the mountain. There are deer in the forest below. Would those not serve us better than the fattyruh’glumdlormeat?"
I listen carefully to their thoughts. "How long do we think it will take to clear the tunnel?"
Svanna scoffs. "Yes, Lothar, how long will it take to inspect the tunnels? Oh wait, he got to go on a trip by himself."
"With Turalyon," I correct, and she resumes preening. "It will take time to scout the elves. I would suspect it could take anywhere within a month for them to return. There is little risk that the giants will return before then to test the boundaries of our treaty, so this is our priority now.”
Salo purses his lips at the mention of the meeting with the giants. He knows what happened, his mother even told me she was proud of the sacrifice her son gave. The price seems hard to justify at this moment.
You are a weak, coddled bastard, my father’s voice hisses.
Vann answers next. "Since Lothar oversees the hunters, no one has sent an inspection group to examine the mists. We decided it was best to wait for Liana to confirm we weren’t dealing withwyrmhlumes. The humans," the slight distaste in his voice is clear, "are the only ones who have reported seeing a being. What if the mists happened because of a temperature change in the underground waters?"
Fira, the only member of my counsel who also worked with my father, holds up her hand. “I was born in Vidalena, and lived there till the day King Teo’Likh destroyed it. However, I’ve been coming to this city since before the war. That's nearly one hundred and thirty-seven years of information, and I have never seen anything like this."
Salo shakes his head. "I agree. Tunnel seven is not connected to any water sources. If that were the case, we should see the same problem in tunnels two and five."
"Exactly. We haven't had any problem in the mining section, either," Svanna agrees.
The conversation has strayed, so I reenter the debate. "Members of the royal council. One moment, we are talking about providing enough food for our court, the next, we have moved on to bear population control, only to switch yet again to the threat posed by the mists." Everyone before me remains silent. "My thoughts are these: hunting is not a great concern yet. If the problem persists for more than a week, then we can reconvene, but first, I want to speak with Liana. Then I will commission a thorough inspection of tunnel four."
Vann, Fira, and Salo look back at me while Ulla and Svanna busy themselves with notes.
"Yes, My King," Vann says. The others murmur it as well.
There is an awkward moment that passes as they wait for me to adjourn the meeting. Too damn bad. It's been a restless night and an unsettling morning.