“They’d fight with me?” Griffin asks, seeming surprised.
“Well, they wouldn’t fight against you, and that’s already something.”
His eyes glint with satisfaction. “They’re key players. Others will follow their lead.”
“Cultivating their goodwill is important,” I agree. “And they seem reasonable and intelligent, which is a good start.”
“What else?” Griffin asks.
“Calandra of Mylos. Smile at her, say jump, and she’ll ask how high,” I say sourly.
Griffin lifts his eyebrows at my tone.
“She’s the important one in her couple,” I continue, “with both the money and the magic. Her husband married up. She has a weakness for pretty men and, apparently, strange and violent sexual encounters.” I make a face, wishing I hadn’t gotten a vivid taste of that truth. “He gives her what she wants, and he gets a high-ranking position in return.” I glance at Griffin. “She took one look at you and decided everything was great. I guess she thinks you’re pretty.”
“Gods forbid,” Griffin mutters.
I smile weakly. I have a headache the size of Zeus’s ego, and I’m burning up. I touch my fingers to my forehead, finding it clammy. “She’s not the most powerful Magoi here, but she’s rich, and she’s protected by her city’s defenses.”
“Mylos has the knowledge scrolls, and every temple containing them has its own company of guards. Altogether, there’s practically an army there, and the commander listens to local nobles like Calandra. She’d make a strong ally, and a potentially difficult enemy. I’ll have to make sure she stays on my side,” Griffin says, finding the statuesque blonde with his eyes.
My voice sours further. “Yes, but without any weird sex.”
The corners of his mouth twitch at my jealous tone. I could swear his chest puffs out. “Anything else?”
“Lots of things, but nothing to worry about. You have everyone thoroughly terrified and impressed with the way you so easily disposed of the previous royal family. The news has traveled from Fisa that someone in Sinta killed Sybaris, and they assume it was you, or at least something to do with you. Then there are the melted Tarvans.” And a possible intervention from Zeus. “And, of course, there’s also the mysterious and powerful Magoi working for you—the one drawing nearly as much attention as you are,” I say unhappily.
“Or more,” Griffin says, not helping my nerves. “What about the projects and responsibilities we announced earlier?” he asks.
I shrug. “More surprise than real resistance. Interest, really. Some people, like Agatone and Urania, seem to think the ideas are good and that Sinta will be stronger for them.”
“And here you thought the nobles would all have internal fits when Egeria said they were to spearhead opening healing centers in their areas.”
“They did. Sort of. They got over it faster than I thought they would.”
“What about my requirement that they begin taking more responsibility for shoring up the defenses of their local towns and cities?”
“Same reaction. Mostly surprise. They’ve never been asked to do anything before except pay their taxes and sit around being superior.” I worry my bottom lip, contemplating the possible outcomes we’ve been discussing for days. “I still think letting them build up their own forces is a risk. They might turn into rebellious city-states. They could become too powerful.”
“And I told you, I’ll give them incentives to stay loyal: gold, privileges, my ear so they’ll know their voices matter.” Griffin looks beyond me, surveying the crowd. “Everyone showed up tonight. No one has done anything offensive. You haven’t uncovered any plots to murder or overthrow us. They just want to maintain their status. Otherwise they would have done something by now.”
He’s probably right. “At least Mylos doesn’t need extra protection.”
“No, but it needs a healing center.” He winks. “I’ll personally ask Calandra to be in charge of it.”
I snort. “She’ll love that.”
“She’ll love having a say and getting to push healers around. Most of these people are just bored. It’s up to me to get them doing something useful rather than something destructive.”
My temples are throbbing, but I find a smile for him. “And that is why you’re a wise ruler.”
Griffin draws me farther into the alcove, saying quietly, “But beyond all this, we can’t just sit on our hands if Alpha Tarva is preparing to move against us. We only delayed his plans at Ios. Galen Tarva won’t give up that easily.”