Page 86 of The Concubine King
Lyrian gave a gracious dip of his head.“I am honored, Your Divinity.I hope I can serve you well.”
“Lyrian, are you prepared to take over advisor duties and begin moving into the palace upon conclusion of this council?”Malor asked.
He straightened his shoulders.“I am.”
“Very well.Let us continue to the matter of the palace guard steward.”
“If I may,” Lyrian interrupted.“As the previous advisor was given stewardship of palace guards, and I have led the city guards for over a decade now, it seems a matter of course that I will take over the palace guards.”
“The palace guards have always had separate management from city guards,” a councilor said.
“But not a separate faction,” another spoke up.“Before Yorith’s tenure as advisor, all guards were from a single coalition.”
A shape moving past him drew Ethyr’s attention and he watched Poyut step through the podiums into the empty space of the middle circle.
The councilor was still speaking.“–most logical and seamless to transition stewardship to the Master Guard.”
“The king has already appointed me as palace guard steward,” Poyut said, loud and clear.
The simmering debate fizzled as the council stared at her like an insult.She glanced over her shoulder at Ethyr, expectant, yet a little desperate.
“Preposterous,” Lyrian scoffed.“She has no ranking or experience to justify such an office.”
“I have been managing the palace guards for a week now,” Poyut said firmly.“I have done so without incident in one of the most chaotic periods in recent history.I would argue that gives me the experience and justification to accept the position.”
“How can you manage palace guards when you are the king’s guard?”Lyrian demanded.“Your responsibilities take you out of the palace for hours on end and disrupt your schedule.You have not yet dealt with that instability.”
“Yorith left the palace often, sometimes for days at a time.”Poyut faced the stares and skepticism with far more courage and presence of mind than Ethyr would have.“There is no reason my duties as King’s Guard predict negligence of additional responsibility.”She spoke carefully, stiffly, as though reciting a memorized script.
“Your Divinity,” Malor cut off Lyrian’s next response.“Are you officially naming your personal guard as the steward of the palace guards?”
Ethyr looked between them all.Lyrian, for the first time, appeared a little miffed.Poyut was still beseeching him silently and Malor waited for an answer with calm coolness.
“I am,” he said, with a kind of confidence that didn’t betray it was an impulsive decision made then and there.
“Then it is decided.We can move on to the next matter.”
Most of what came next was gibberish to Ethyr.Poyut returned to her space standing behind him.Lyrian remained quiet for the rest of the discussions, eying Malor like he was sizing up an opponent in a fight.
Ethyr caught bits of information that were comprehensible to him.It sounded like there was an ongoing administration problem that they were trying to fix, and he also understood that Yorith’s funerary processions had cost a considerable amount that would take a while to replace.
“Does anyone have anything else to say regarding the treasury?”Malor ended the last discussion, looking around.No one did.“Good.That resolves the last matter on the docket.”
“I would like to enter a new one,” Lyrian spoke up for the first time.Malor raised her eyebrows at him.He gestured to Ethyr.“Our king deserves a full coronation, a right that was taken from him by Yorith.”
“A full coronation would cost a considerable amount,” Malor said, a hint of irritation in her voice.“As we’ve just discussed, our funds are low as is.We cannot afford it.”
“We can,” Lyrian rebuked.“A festival will not only raise spirits after such a harrowing week, but it will bring in many outside merchants, who we can tax double, not to mention sales will triple throughout the city with the crowds it will bring.It will more than make up the costs.And there is no need for the inauguration feast, as one was already held.”
“There is no guarantee a coronation will draw a large crowd,” another councilor said.“Perhaps if he was still a new king, but he is no longer a novelty.”
“I disagree.Many people are newly intrigued by a king who murdered his advisor.”
Ethyr whipped towards Lyrian.The words so unexpected yet said so casually were like a hammer to his chest, setting his heart racing and hands sweating.By the offended reactions of some others, it was not just Ethyr who thought such a tactless statement was out of line.
Yet Lyrian continued without concern.“As for anyone else, all we need to do is circulate rumors of his beauty and people will flock to see him for themselves.”
The room was looking at him again.Ethyr gripped the sides of the podium for balance and composure, but he couldn’t think past the blood rushing in his ears.
