Read Online The King of Forever (Scarlet and the White Wolf, #4) by Kirby Crow - Free Book Online Page B

Starhold.” Liall looked quickly around the room to see who understood and who did not, and was pleased to see that many men in attendance were no fools. He nodded. “For centuries, the Ava Thule have attacked from the shadows, killing our men, stealing our women, kidnapping our children into their twisted litters to corrupt their hearts. We will rout these vermin from their holes and drag them into the sun to die on our pikes.” His gaze raked the crowd. “They have taken the hills beneath Ged Fanorl.”
    Ged Fanorl. The sacred mountain of the Shining Ones, forbidden to men.
    The previous noise was nothing to the roar that spilled out of the chamber and into the halls. Shouts of derision, fear, excitement, and accusation echoed around him:
    “Blasphemy! Kill the defilers!”
    “All lies! There is no threat!”
    “Magur was sacrificed for the warmongers!”
    “The filthy tribesmen will be slaughtering us on the streets of Sul next! They will fire the ships in the harbor and feast on our flesh!”
    Liall closed his ears to the ruckus. It reminded him of the same paranoia and disbelief over Scarlet’s magic: that it was either a myth or it existed only to destroy them. Months had passed and the prophesied Hilurin Doom had not come. Instead, Scarlet’s beauty, wit, and bravery had gained him dozens of admirers.
    With time and a little luck, Scarlet might even begin to think of Rshan as his home.
    The king remained on the dais with Alexyin and let the chamber thrash it out. By custom, he had no voice when they argued among themselves, and the usual court etiquette was ignored. If a man was invited to council, he was allowed to say what was on his mind, even to the king. Creative insults were not uncommon. Scarlet would have been greatly shocked.
    Liall crossed his arms. “In Byzantur,” he said aside to Alexyin, “no commoner is allowed to look on the face of the Flower Prince. And in Morturii, they revere their king so deeply that no man, common or noble, is permitted to raise their voice to him.”
    “We could use a bit of that today,” Alexyin grumbled at the noisy crowd. “They’re like a brood of clucking hens spying a fox.”
    “If they don’t stop, fetch a bucket of water.”
    Alexyin grunted. “A few spears would serve better.”
    “None of that,” Liall warned. “We have foxes aplenty among us, but the nobles are more useful alive than dead. Any man—indeed every man—can be forced to agree, but we want to win minds here, not just swords. If I wanted the barons dead, that’s done easily enough. I need the full support of the nobles, in spirit as well as word, and my kingdom needs to be free of this endless dissent and fear. I was raised with royal plotting and treachery, but I do not intend to live the rest of my life that way.”
    “Dead foxes can still be put to use. My neck is better warmed by a collar of fur.”
    Astute and ruthless again, and he’s not entirely wrong. “I wonder if it is not the color that entices you.”
    Alexyin lifted a snow-white eyebrow and his mouth curved. “A red fox?” He chuckled with real humor.
    Ressanda had declined to attend the council. Instead, the baron had sent the ill-bred Jarad Hallin as emissary, an insult if Liall ever saw one.
    Liall promised himself that he would fully attend to the matter of Ressanda soon, so that many other worries could be laid to rest. Ressanda wanted a royal husband for his daughter, but Cestimir’s body was long cold. The baron looked now to more promising prospects.
    I fear he will not take no for an answer. But how can I break Scarlet’s heart to honor a promise only half made?
    “My lord! My lord king!” A courtier waved his arms from the crowd, vying with many others in the sea of voices.
    “I will not speak to a mob, ser,” Liall answered, pitching his voice to be heard.
    Theor’s beard quivered as he clenched his lantern jaw. “Silence! Can’t you see the king is waiting? Stop your wailing! Shut it, ya