Page 91 of Spirit Rites
Chapter 43
It gets absolutely silent in the room. I let the tension build a few minutes. “We don’t condone his actions.” It’s Halric, the oldest one, that speaks first. “He made his decisions, and he dealt with the consequences.”
I stare at each of them a moment. “And yet, you don’t approve of Kaldar or the way he has led.” I don’t bother to hide the small amount of anger in my voice. I don’t give them a chance to respond yet. “He’s told me that you don’t approve of allowing those who fail to produce a spirit animal back into the kingdom. You think it weakens the kingdom. He also told me that you liked the way his father ruled better. He was stricter and harsher, and you think Kaldar is too soft.” I let my words have their intended impact.
“He told you a lot,” Eldara says with a bit of an attitude.
“He is my mate, after all; plus, we had nothing but time to get to know each other in the Rites.” That’s a little stretch because most of the time was spent just trying to survive, but I did learn these things from him during the Rites. “Are those things true?”
The four of them stare at me. “My. You certainly are direct,” Eldara says, sitting back in her chair but watching me closely.
“You’ll find that I often speak what I’m thinking. So, where are each of you at? Do you approve of your king or not? Are you willing to follow him or not? Because I have to tell you, I’m not keen on working with people who don’t have Kaldar’s back.”
“Well, you have to,” Eldara huffs out. I wonder absently if anybody else is going to talk in this meeting, or if it will just be here.
“Actually, I don’t. It’s within my power to remove any one of you and replace you with someone else.”
Halric shoves his chair back and stands to his feet, placing his hands on the table. It doesn’t startle me; I figured they wouldn’t respond well. I notice Jorren take a step forward, but I meet his gaze and give a small shake of my head. If possible, I want to deal with this on my own.
Halric glares down at me. “You don’t have the authority to do that.”
I meet his gaze head-on. “Actually, I do.”
“This is an outrage,” Eldara demands, all drama.
“You cannot remove an elder from the board. We’re sworn in for life. The law says so,” Halric says. “And you cannot change the law. Once a law is made in the Jaguar Kingdom, it can never be undone. That is our justice system.”
“You are correct. I cannot change the law.” I let that settle for just a moment. “But I can write a new law. I can write a new law that would allow me to create a new advisory board. You see, you are Kaldar’s board; and I can’t change that. But I could create my own advisory board to help me rule the kingdom.”
“You cannot disband this board; it’s a law!” Halric booms at me.
“You are correct. And I wouldn’t disband this board. I would simply create another one. And maybe, over the years, this one meets less and less frequently and has little to no say in what actually happens in this kingdom.”
“You have no right to make those changes, Girl,” Halric seethes.
I meet his gaze head-on. I’m conscious of the fact Jorren has moved closer. “First of all, it’s Kinsley; but I’ll cut you a little slack because we’re all still getting to know each other. Secondly, I can. Seren has informed me it is completely within my rights.” I watch as they all take this in. “Now, I can do that; but I don’t want to do that. I would rather work with you four. You know this kingdom and its people, the laws, and the ins and outs ofthe kingdom. Iwantto work with you, but only if you choose to be loyal to Kaldar. Well, and me in the meantime until he’s back. So, I will give you a chance to decide. Work with Kaldar and me for the good of this kingdom, or we can choose a new board of advisors. By choosing to work with us, you are choosing to listen and follow Kaldar’s vision for this kingdom. I’m not saying you have to blindly follow everything he does, but you have to give him a chance. You have to let him rule the way he wants to. You have to be willing to let this kingdom and its rule change. For what it’s worth, your kingdom is not the only one doing this. The Wolf Kingdom has already gotten rid of the banished community altogether.” My throat tightens, but I push on. “Those who have never had a spirit animal show are allowed to live in the kingdom and partake in daily life there.” It makes me emotional just saying those words, and I watch as surprise takes over each of their expressions. “It’s time to move past prejudices and antiquated practices. I grew up in the banished community, and let me tell you, none of them are a lesser person because their spirit animal didn’t show up. My parents,” my throat closes suddenly, and I push to get the words out. “...were the most amazing parents a girl could ask for. They weren’t lesser or unworthy because they didn’t have spirit animals. They were simply my mom and dad. They loved me, and I loved them.” I lift my head and let them see the fire in my eyes. “It’s time to let those practices go. And if you can’t end them, I will because the banished have been ignored for long enough.” I take a breath, trying to control my anger. “So, are you with us, or are you against us? There is no in-between, middle ground.” I lean back against my seat and cross my arms. I’m hoping it conveys confidence. Really, it’s just to hide that my hands are shaking. I'm not great at confrontation; I hate it, actually. But I know in this case, it was the right thing.
“I’m with you.” My head jerks up. Corvin, the youngest in the group, gives me a tight nod. “It’s time for change.”
“Thank you,” I manage to say.One down, three to go.I rub my hands together under the table, trying to warm my frozen fingers. I don’t say anything, and the silence stretches on. I force myself to stay quiet. I wait a little longer, my disappointment growing with each minute that passes. I’m just about ready to open my mouth and tell them that I will be choosing a new board, except for Corvin, when Eldara speaks up.
“I will support you and the king.”
I try not to show my shock, but I’m not sure I succeed. She turns to me. “You have a lot to learn on how to lead a kingdom.” I nod, because she’s not wrong, even though her words burn a little. “But,” she pauses. “Maybe I do too.”
It takes everything in me to not drop my jaw in complete shock. “Thank you,” I finally manage to say, and I mean it with my entire heart.
“I’m not doing it for you,” she says, sitting stiffly.
I try not to grin. “Okay.”
It grows quiet again, and I wonder if that’s going to be it. But Eldara doesn’t let it go that way. “You two stubborn idiots, get your heads out of your backside. This is the right decision, and you know it.” I try not to respond visibly to her words. I suddenly wish Kaldar were here; I just know he would smirk at me. I would laugh and ruin this moment, but it would be good. I push thoughts of Kaldar from my mind before I can dwell on them. I can’t afford to get distracted right now. “Vaelor was wrong,” Eldara continues. “We all know it. He wanted the throne, and we let him have too much control over us. In the end, he lost his life because of his unwillingness to change and because of his greed for power. We will not go down that same road. We are not Vaelor.” She turns to Halric. “You are not Vaelor.”
“I know,” he says gruffly.
“Then prove it,” she challenges. I watch this all play out and realize that Eldara has a much better shot at convincing these two than I do.
Halric scowls at her, and I expect him to stand his ground. But he surprises me. “I am not Vaelor.” Each of his words are slow and adamant. Then he turns to me, and I’m shocked to see his eyes are tearing up.That can’t be right.But when I look again, they definitely are. “My granddaughter failed to show a spirit animal. She left when she was nineteen to compete in the Trials and never came back.” I close my eyes because I canfeelhis pain, and I really don’t want to get emotional too. “That was over thirty years ago.” He’s quiet a moment. “There’s not a single day that goes by that I don’t miss her. My son,” he takes a shaky breath. “My son never recovered. He’s a shell of himself, and his mate isn’t much better.”
