King of Mist (Steel and Fire Book 2) Read Free Page B

Siv said, diving into the first item in his notes, underneath the part about the rousing opening speech. “I understand from my advisors that we will have a particularly harsh winter this year, and we need to make sure the people have enough food. Lord Morrven, how fares the plum harvest?”
    “The plums are as good as ever, Your Majesty,” Lord Morrven said. He had a gravelly voice that was at odds with his plump-cheeked appearance. He glared across the table at Bolden’s father. “But the Rollendars have been clogging up our access roads and delaying the workers.”
    “Nonsense,” Von Rollendar said immediately. Like his son, he had sandy hair, graying at the temples, and his nose was pointed and cruel. “Our men keep to roads owned by my estate. You must be mistaken.”
    “I know which roads belong to the crown and which are private,” Lord Morrven snapped. “The plums will rot if we can’t get them over to the drying grounds in time.”
    “Your accusations are baseless,” Lord Von said. He straightened the sleeve of his red coat, which was embroidered with his family’s sigil in black thread. “My house has the right to do what we wish with our holdings.”
    “The road isn’t yours.”
    “We acquired a portion of the Silltine Estate some time ago.” Lord Von waved to his son, and Bolden pulled out a map showing the roads along the southeastern ridge of King’s Peak, near where Orchard Gorge opened into the Fissure. Their landholdings were clearly marked with red ink. “You’ll find that we own orchards on both sides of the road. Therefore, it is ours.”
    Lord Morrven barely glanced at the map. “How are we supposed to get our plums up to market if we can’t use the road?”
    “Surely that’s not my problem.” Lord Rollendar smiled and turned to Lord Samanar across the table, a distinguished gentleman with coarse gray hair and luminous eyes like a morrinvole. “Wouldn’t you agree that I should decide who travels on my own land?”
    “Of course, Von.” Lord Samanar glowered at Lord Morrven. “Besides, Morrven plums are barely fit for the mountain goats.”
    Morrven’s face darkened. “Why you—”
    “I think,” Siv said before the argument could get any worse, “that the law makes it quite clear the road itself belongs to the crown. You can’t prevent Lord Morrven from transporting his produce along it, Lord Rollendar.”
    “I pay for the road’s maintenance,” Von said. He met Siv’s eyes steadily, and Siv remembered a particularly vicious lecture the man had given him when he and Bolden had been caught throwing rotten fruit at passersby on that very road as boys. “If the crown wishes to care for it, perhaps the crown can compensate me for the work I’ve done on the cobblestones over the years.”
    Siv opened his mouth to respond, but others started chiming in, not allowing him to get a word in edgewise.
    “If the crown is going to pay for your cobblestones,” Lord Farrow said, “it can burning well fix up Orchard Bridge down by our holdings. It gets too much traffic as is.”
    “Now just a minute,” said Lord Tellen Roven. “We’ve been in line for bridge maintenance for months now. You can’t leap ahead to—”
    “Enough,” Siv said, raising a hand for quiet. It took longer than he would have liked for the nobles to fall silent. “If you have complaints about the bridges, compile a list I can examine in depth. We’ll find the firestones for it if the maintenance is essential before winter. In the meantime, Lord Rollendar, you must allow Lord Morrven’s workers access to his orchards. We need to get the harvest in before First Snow.”
    “Are you going to dictate what we can do with our own lands?” Bolden said suddenly. He met Siv’s eyes for five full heartbeats before adding, “Your Majesty.”
    The council fell silent. The noblemen looked at Siv expectantly. Well, they were all expectant except for Bolden, who met his eyes across the wide table,