Valdemar by Mercedes Lackey

Author:Mercedes Lackey [Lackey, Mercedes]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: subject
Published: 2023-12-26T00:00:00+00:00

Next day, the Council, predictably, was furious. The Council Chamber was in a quiet uproar. People talking over each other, or talking at Kordas. He let them talk without saying a word. They needed to get it all out of their systems. He could understand their concern, but he was the King and Restil was his son, not theirs.

Kordas himself could not have been more proud of his son—of all the new Heralds!—but most of the Council members were appalled that the Crown Prince had put himself in potential danger. Kordas let them yammer on until they ran out of things to say, then stood up.

Silence descended on the room; at this point, his Council members had learned that Kordas seldom exercised his authority, but when he did, it was time to sit down, shut up, and get the hell out of the way.

“Restil’s actions were entirely correct, and it would not have mattered if he was sitting on the throne, rather than being Crown Prince. I nearly bolted out of the Palace to respond, Isla beside me, but we were assured it was being handled. Did you think that the Companions were nothing more than pretty ornaments to bolster the morale of our people? Did you think he should have held back just because he is the Crown Prince, when he had precisely the skills that were needed? Do you really think that I should have forbidden him? Because if I had, there was no one else that could have gotten there in time to keep that boat from going into the rapids. There would have been dozens of our children drowned or smashed on the rocks. I could not have lived with that. I hope neither could you. But if you think you could have actually lived with those deaths on your conscience, rethink your position on the Council.”

He paused and let that sink in, and if the silence had been heavy before, it was now laden with the burden of those words and all they implied.

Before anyone could stammer out an answer, Kordas continued. “I am the King. But I am also a Valdemar, and the Valdemars have always put their people first. Heralds are Valdemaran. How can I, as the King, ask my people to send their heirs into danger when I will not send my own?”

Well, there was no real answer to that question, and mouths around the Council table clamped shut on anything else they might have said.

“Now,” he continued, softening his tone. “It is clear there is a need for a crossing at that point, or people would not have constructed that ferry. But it is also clear that a ferry is not the answer. Or at least, not that sort of crude ferry. This absolutely is a matter for the Council to solve, because the treasury must, in all fairness, cover the costs. Have you any suggestions?”

Koto—who was the mages’ representative today—pulled at his lip. “Well,” he said. “People will complain when

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.