“Perhaps we have not been as… effective… as we believed, while handling the tasks we took on,” Hyel hedged, his speech halting as he fought with some emotions I didn’t care to decipher.

  As I wrestled my own emotions back under control, my mind briefly wandered to my parents. My father would have advised me to show as little feeling as possible. He preferred to twist the knife deeper through cold logic alone, and then take whatever vengeance he desired.

  My mother, however, was a Summer fae through and through. Hyel would have been reduced to char halfway through her rant about his failings, unless he managed to defend himself somehow. Ironically, if he did, she would be much more lenient with him.

  Until I met Alys and realized just how hot my passion could burn, I had thought I was thoroughly Autumn, like my father. But now… were I capable of using Summer’s fire, I would have been strongly tempted to incinerate Hyel on the spot.

  “Being effective would require you to do something to begin with,” I said calmly.

  “We did,” the elf insisted.

  “Then explain to me what exactly your efforts were.”

  Hyel paused, likely because the iciness in my voice communicated that I was almost done with his excuses.

  “We… I… suggested to the townsfolk who came to us that they ought to visit your shop and show support where they can.”

  His face was blank as he spoke. I had to rely heavily on my training to keep mine similarly neutral.

  “So instead of making any sort of announcement on what I can offer through my store — instead of clarifying that because I want to give people easier access to alchemical products, I am willing to trade for ingredients, food, necessities, or anything else they could produce or procure that I would find even remotely useful — you decided to tell them to, and I quote, ‘show support where they can’?”

  “Are you telling me you made my son sound like a beggar trying to reestablish himself?”

  The growl came from Amara, instantly dousing the flames of my wounded pride. The draconian was glaring at Hyel fiercely. Her claws, which had sunk into the wood of the table, were smoking.

  The elf actually gulped. All of a sudden, he wasn’t just dealing with the ‘common fae’ mated to The Molten Expanse’s granddaughter. He was dealing directly with The Molten Expanse’s offspring.

  “I… It was never my intention to —”

  “Your intention? Your intention?! My sweet hatchling and her darling mate are trying to set up a life here and you have been —”

  Soren suddenly moved to hug Amara from the side. While the draconian gave a full-body shudder that made me think she was moments away from throwing Soren off and launching herself at Hyel, she did compose herself for her mate’s sake.

  “Listening to this conversation has been… enlightening,” she hissed. “Mother insisted you were a capable administrator and that my sweet hatchling would be just fine in a town you are helping to grow. Apparently, I must have a talk with her about what ‘capable’ actually means.”

  Hyel was now visibly sweating. I didn’t think Ferlis and Yora could perspire, but their body language definitely communicated panic. Even Grafton had gone very pale and very still, almost like it had finally occurred to him exactly what was on the line.

  Namely, the possibility of The Molten Expanse expressing her displeasure.

  Oddly enough, I found my own rage diminishing. It wasn’t gone. The edges of it weren’t even blunted. It was, however, smothered under a sort of warmth that bloomed in my chest and spread throughout my body until my fingertips felt tingly.

  Amara had gotten angry on my behalf. She had referred to me as her son.

  I quickly ensured I wasn’t making an odd face and focused my full attention on Hyel. I could deal with other things after we were done with the elders.

  “In light of certain recent events, Grandmother invited us to go back with her to her lair,” I mused, my tone shifting to something soft and conversational. “We were not initially leaning towards doing so, but perhaps we ought to consider all our options more closely.”

  That made Hyel’s gaze rush over to meet mine. I gave nothing away, but a part of me sat up and grinned at the panic I could see in the eyes normally filled with quiet confidence and authority.

  “That would be rash, I believe,” he said, not quite able to keep his voice steady. “Both you and Alys are valued members of this town. I know plenty of people would be sad to see you go.”

  My eye twitched. My hold on Alys’ hand tightened a little, a gesture she reciprocated.

  The sheer gall of the elf grated on me. I had never had friends before, so for someone to use them in an attempt to control my actions was nearly enough to make me lash out.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  What stopped me was the look that crossed Hyel’s face immediately afterwards, a look of pure self-loathing that he just barely managed to cover up. I noted, too, that his hands briefly clenched in a show of uncharacteristic anger.

  The silence that followed was deafening. Then, suddenly, Hyel’s shoulders slumped as a ragged breath left him.

  “I apologize. Certain habits are difficult to break. It is not an excuse for my failures, especially since I have led the others into making the same mistakes with me.” He gestured at the rest of the elders, who were now staring at him with more shock than I was. “May we sit, so I can share at least some of the reasons why I have failed?”

  I considered the elf, then turned towards my dragoness with an arched brow.

  She studied him for a few long moments before she finally nodded and said, “Very well. Sit.”

  “Thank you.”

  The relief in the elf’s voice was palpable as he moved over to a nearby table and grabbed two chairs, one for him and one for Yora. Grafton reluctantly followed his lead to do the same for Ferlis.

  They weren’t exactly at our table. No one, not even Kiri or Nasha, had moved to make space. But the tension in the atmosphere did ease slightly.

  My eyes once more found Arandel, who looked far more worried than she had at the start of our little clash. I also glanced at Ritsu. He was watching us with an expression that told me he couldn’t decide whether he was worried or soaking up the drama like it was his favorite play.

  A brief flare of annoyance with the fox was squished quickly when Hyel opened his mouth again.

  “I have been exceedingly careful, perhaps too careful, with how I offer advice and guidance to the townsfolk. I… well, none of us are here on a whim. People do not choose to settle the frontier because they are content with their previous lives.”

  “Get to the point, elf,” Amara huffed, cuddling closer into Soren. Her arms were crossed over her chest like she was worried she would use them to do something rash otherwise.

  Hyel gave a small, tired smile.

  “I used to be in a position of power and authority. I lost myself in the effort to increase said power and authority, to the expense of everything else in my life. I am trying not to repeat that mistake. I always endeavor not to manipulate or exert undue influence on others. That is why I tried to advise people to visit your store, rather than come across as ordering them to do so.”

  Alys scoffed. It wasn’t a friendly sound.

  “So you decided to go from doing too much to doing nearly nothing? Fine. You didn’t want to pressure people into visiting my mate’s shop. What about the surveyor? Or my grandmother? Hrrrrm?”

  Rather than just sparks, some actual flames escaped my dragoness with that final angry rumble. Yora let out a short squawk and leaned back, feathers puffing out. Ferlis flinched in anticipation of pain before managing to catch herself. Grafton, for once showing compassion, quickly threw his arm around her and pulled her close while glaring at my dragoness.

  I did not like him staring at my mate with that look in his eye, but I let it go for the wendigo’s sake. I had forgotten that Ferlis’ species possessed an instinctual fear of fire.

  “I admit that my decision to avoid all things political, to the highest extent I could, was a mistake. I did not believe the Hergeiros family would be reckless enough to do what they did. I did not realize he had sent people off to summon you in that initial meeting, either. I hope you believe me when I say that I cherish the safety of everyone in our town, and that I would not willingly put them at risk.”

  “Let us assume this is all true,” I replied. “Let us say you were unaware of the true threat of Hergeiros and made a simple mistake with my shop. What of Grandmother? And what about the rest of our town’s esteemed elders? What have they been doing all this time to help?”

  “I am here to offer my expertise in hunting, rearing animals, and raising crops. Which I have been doing,” Yora replied, her tone only somewhat snappish.

  “I… I am a wendigo. Technically, I am not an elder at all,” Ferlis admitted sadly, shrinking in on herself.

  Amara’s eyebrows rose. “Explain,” she demanded.

  Ferlis glanced at Hyel.

  “The settlement drive assigned three elders,” the elf said. “Myself, Yora, and Grafton. Ferlis came along as Grafton's wife. Yet she did become part of our group on the journey, due to her experience with wilderness survival and foraging. Her counsel proved invaluable in those early days. Officially, though, she does not have a role.”

  “I see.” Giving Ferlis a small nod, I turned to address the rudest human I had ever encountered. “And you, then? What is your excuse?”

  “I am an archmage, br- alchemist. It’s not my job to hold your hands and help you figure your lives out.”

  My voice was syrupy sweet. “Oh, excellent! It was your job, then, to improve town security. To lay defenses against things like that eel monstrosity and the invading soldiers. To survey our surroundings, enhance the soil quality, improve the health of domestic animals, and even provide healing, depending on what you specialize in. How droll, then, that you have done none of those things!”

  He responded only by gritting his teeth loudly enough to make Nasha shiver.

  I truly had to wonder if it was a wasted effort to produce those supplements for him. He had never stated his rank outright before. A mage of his power should have been supremely useful for the town, but there were absolutely no signs of him doing anything other than decimating our food stores.

  “So, allow me to summarize.” I took a deep breath. “We have, effectively, three instead of four elders in town. One of those elders is actually doing their job.” I glanced at Yora, who sat up a little straighter. “The others have been doing nothing but wasting my time and eating our food. And every last one of you decided to leave major decisions up to Hyel. He asserted himself as the local leader from the start, likely out of habit, and then proceeded to sabotage himself when it came to doing anything genuinely useful. Am I missing something?”

  My little speech made all but Yora, even Grafton, look away from me. The hawk beastkin looked vaguely satisfied.

  “Right. Well! Suffice to say, things will need to change around here. I will be honest: when Grandmother made her offer to us about going to live in her lair, I was tempted to accept. The only reason I didn’t was because my mate doesn’t wish to leave, and we do have friends here. But unless things change… I see no reason to stay.”

  I was aware of the way Alys, Amara, and Soren alike had stiffened. I inwardly cringed, promising myself I would clarify later that this was nothing more than a bluff.

  “Things have worked this way so far because the town is still so fresh. Furthermore, you clearly did do your jobs well at the beginning. From the settlement drive to the journey to the establishment of Swiftband, you organized resources and jobs successfully to ensure everyone’s survival. Already, however, there are… issues. So, we are going to discuss now what you can do to start earning some trust again.”

  I was still definitively angry. I also noted that not one of them had tried yet to offer up an excuse for going behind Alys’ back. Still, I could acknowledge the need to start moving forward.

  As for whether they would make me angry enough to take more extreme measures… that depended entirely on how our negotiations would go.

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