Serpent's Claim (Serpent's Touch 2)

“Is that what interests you? Council meetings?” The king winced, as if he’d just bit into something sour. “They’re dreadfully boring even if one attends them in person. I can only imagine what a headache-inducing read the councilor’s account of them would be.”

I smiled but agreed. “It is a pretty dry read at times.”

“Why are you reading it, then? What do you want to know?”

The more I learned, the more I realized how little I knew.

With help from Councilor Delahon, who delighted in structure, I’d worked out a system for my studies. Yet, a lot remained unclear. Operation of a land as vast as Lorsan, patched together with individual holdings of High Lords, was a complex machine with many moving parts and the position of the king as the heart of the engine.

“Everything,” I said. “I want to learn everything there is to know.”

My initial goal had been to gain some general knowledge about my new world. But it drew me in much deeper.

“Do you want to come to the council meeting with me tomorrow?” he asked. “You’ll get to see what you’ve been reading about.”

That would be something I hadn’t even dared dreaming of.

“Am I allowed?”

He shrugged. “Why not? If I had a pet lizard, I could bring it with me anywhere I wished. Why not a human girl? Besides, I’m the king. I do whatever I want. My word is the law.”

From what I’d read, that wasn’t entirely true. The king’s “because-I-said-so” could only go so far. The law performed best when it was aligned with the will of the people and was supported by them.

But I said nothing, of course. My current place, apparently, was not higher than that of a pet lizard. So, I acted accordingly, keeping my mouth shut.

I had many questions about the hierarchy, structure, and palace life in general, though. Not all the answers could be found in books. The king seemed to be in a lenient, talkative mood today, and I decided to take advantage of that.

“Can you tell me more about your courtiers, please?” I asked.

He scoffed. “What about them?”

“Lord Adriyel, for example. What’s his role at your palace?”

He exhaled a derisive laugh. “Ha! Him?” There seemed to be no love lost between the king and the man who so fervently wished to take his place. “Adriyel has no role. Not in my palace, anyway. He’s the heir of the High Lord of Mevon, which is located next to Ufaris. His land is so close to mine, it allows him to practically live here, now, waiting for me to drop dead so he could grab the Crown of Lorsan as soon as it rolls off my head.”

“Can he really do that?”

“Not if the others have something to say about it.” He rubbed his hands, a wicked spark of excitement flashing in his eyes.

“Who are the others?”

“The twenty-three other High Lords. All of them are jousting for the place closest to the throne, each waiting to drop his ass in it the moment I vacate it.”

“Why wouldn’t you just choose one of them as your successor?” I asked.

He smirked. “Why would I deprive myself of the pleasure of watching them fight over my throne from the afterlife? Not one of them is worthy to be the next king, anyway. The High Lords are just power-hungry cowards. Why would I hand over the king’s crown to any one of them? Why make it easy for them? Nooo,” he cackled, rubbing his hands together again. “After I leave here, I want them to fight like a pack of rabid jackals while I’m laughing at them from the afterlife. Oh, what a show that will be!”

A show that might plunge the kingdom into a bloody war, possibly resulting in years or even centuries of violence and costing thousands of lives.

“Can a spirit watch over the living from the afterlife?” I asked.

He shrugged. “I haven’t seen anyone come back to confirm that. But who can say for sure that it can’t be done?”

The rain had ended. Only the occasional fat drops of water still splashed from the leaves.

I got up, shaking out the leaves and tiny twigs the wind had blown into my skirt. “Shall we go back inside? It’s getting dark.”

“There’s still some time to start the next round of Reign and War,” the king said with hope in his voice.

“We can do that.”

“I need another chance, since you won the last round.”

I smiled, satisfaction spreading thickly in my chest. It had been a hard-won but clear victory on my part, and I was proud of it.

“Is it all that reading you’ve been doing that made you this good at strategizing in the game?” the king asked.

“Actually, I’ve learned that particular line of defense and attack from you.”

“From me?”

“Yes. I based the whole thing on a series of your own moves. I’ve memorized them over the past games we’ve played. Then, I adjusted them a little, to suit me.” I jumped back into the room. “Come. I’ll show you the combination I used.”

He appeared stunned and…impressed.

“All right.”

Wheeling his chair to the table with the game board, he stared at the pieces piled on the side after my last victory.

“I tell you what. Show me how you won the last time,” he said. “Then I’ll tell you how my game strategy can be applied to win a battle in real life. Deal?”

I nodded eagerly. “Deal.”