Page 207 of The Well of Ascension
Jastes wavered. “That was an unfortunate accident.”
Elend looked down at the drink in his hand, then threw it aside, the liquor splashing on the dusty tent floor. “This isn’t my father’s den, and we are not friends any longer. I will call no man friend who leads something likethisagainst my city. What happened to your honor, Jastes Lekal?”
Jastes snorted, glancing at the spilled liquor. “That’s always been the problem with you, Elend. So certain, so optimistic, so self-righteous.”
“It wasouroptimism,” Elend said, stepping forward. “We wanted to change things, Jastes, not destroy them!”
“Is that so?” Jastes countered, showing a temper Elend had never seen in his friend. “You want to know why I’m here, Elend? Did you evenpay attentionto what was happening in the Southern Dominance while you played in Luthadel?”
“I’m sorry about what happened to your family, Jastes.”
“Sorry?” Jastes said, snatching the bottle off his desk. “You’resorry? I implemented your plans, Elend. I did everything we talked about—freedom, political honesty. I trusted my allies rather than crushing them into submission. And you know what happened?”
Elend closed his eyes.
“They killed everyone, Elend,” Jastes said. “That’s what you do when you take over. You kill your rivals and their families—even the young girls, even the babies. And you leave their bodies, as a warning. That’s good politics. That’s how you stay in power!”
“It’s easy to believe in something when you win all the time, Jastes,” Elend said, opening his eyes. “The losses are what define a man’s faith.”
“Losses?” Jastes demanded. “My sister was aloss?”
“No, I mean—”
“Enough!” Jastes snapped, slamming the bottle down on his desk. “Guards!”
Two men threw back the tent flap and moved into the room.
“Take His Majesty captive,” Jastes said, with an unsteady wave of his hand. “Send a messenger to the city, tell them that we want to negotiate.”
“I’m not king anymore, Jastes,” Elend said.
Jastes stopped.
“Do you think I’d come here and let myself get captured if I were king?” Elend asked. “They deposed me. The Assembly invoked a no-confidence clause and chose a new king.”
“You bloody idiot,” Jastes said.
“Losses, Jastes,” Elend said. “It hasn’t been as hard for me as it was for you, but I do think I understand.”
“So,” Jastes said, running a hand through his “hair,” “that fancy suit and haircut didn’t save you, eh?”
“Take your koloss and go, Jastes.”
“That sounded like a threat, Elend,” Jastes said. “You aren’t king, you don’t have an army, and I don’t see your Mistborn around. What grounds do you have for threats?”
“They’rekoloss,” Elend said. “Do you really want them getting into the city? It’s your home, Jastes—or, it was once. There are thousands of people inside!”
“I can…control my army,” Jastes said.
“No, I doubt you can,” Elend said. “What happened, Jastes? Did they decide they needed a king? They decided that’s the way that ‘humans’ did it, so they should do it, too? What is it that they carry in those pouches?”
Jastes didn’t answer.
Elend sighed. “What happens when one of them just snaps and attacks you?”
Jastes shook his head. “I’m sorry, Elend,” he said quietly. “I can’t let Straff get that atium.”
“And my people?”
