Midas gives a sly grin that makes me want to punch it right off his mouth. “Indeed, but one does not stay a king with honest conversations, as you well know.”
He’s right. When you’re a king, you have to play the game of conversation, and you have to do it better than everybody else. Normally, I’d be able to word twist with the best of them, but I have no patience for that right now. Not with the vision of Auren’s bruised cheek so fresh in my mind. Not with my power itching beneath my skin, begging to be let out. Not with him.
“What do you want, Midas?”
He loses his grin and turns to face me, but I don’t like the look in his eye. “I simply wanted to thank you for your continued alliance with Fifth and Sixth Kingdoms. Now that there is no worry of a boundary war, our people can rest a little easier. And after all, that’s what this ball is all about—celebrating alliances and a strong Orea.”
My mind tries to read between the lines so I can hook onto the words he’s not saying. Midas always has an angle. For years, I let him do what he wanted, so long as he didn’t try any shit with my kingdom.
“Like the stronger alliance you’re forming with Third,” I put in.
“Precisely.” Midas pretends to appraise the room again before he goes on to say, “I was so pleased we could come to an agreement to avoid battle. That plot of land you bargained for seemed to be such a small sacrifice in the name of peace.”
My shoulders go tense.
His brown eyes flit over to me, and I can see the bastard trying to read my expression, though he won’t be able to. I learned a long time ago how to shutter every feeling and thought away from my face.
“Deadwell,” he says, running a hand along his shaved chin. “A fitting name for the place you encroached on with your deadly rotting power. Such a curious piece of land, is it not? I’d thought it was nothing but a frozen wasteland at the border of Fifth, but that’s not entirely true, is it?”
My teeth grind. Out of all the times he could’ve approached me, it had to be right now, when I’m pissed beyond belief and my power is scraping beneath my skin.
When I don’t reply, Midas turns toward me fully, smug arrogance bleeding through his expression. “Drollard Village, ever heard of it?”
My insides turn to ice. The chunk of sharp freeze appears right there in the center of my chest, ready to stab straight through.
Because of my encounter with Auren, because frustration is clawing relentlessly at my back, I let my expressionless mask crack. Just for a split second.
But Midas sees.
“Yes, I thought you had,” he goes on, and I don’t fucking like the gleam in his eye. Not one bit. “Drollard Village, an unsanctioned town, right there at the edge of Deadwell.”
Beside me, Osrik has gone as still as I have.
“Not very pleasant names are they?” Midas muses, toying with me. “But then, it’s not a very pleasant place.”
Fuck.
“Strange how it’s technically been a part of Fifth Kingdom all this time, yet there’s no record of it. Not part of any historical data or population information. The people there have never paid any taxes. In fact, Drollard Village isn’t even on any Fifth Kingdom maps. And now, it’s part of your territory,” he says, and the shrewd edge of his gaze tries to scrape over my expression, attempting to glean anything from my reaction.
I force a bored look over my face. “Yes, it is mine now. As you said, my power encroached on it, so I’ve simply made it officially part of my domain. As such, it’s not Fifth Kingdom’s interest anymore, seeing as how you gave up the rights to it. Unless you’re going back on your trade?” My question is a threat and we both know it.
“Not at all,” the slimy bastard replies. “I am a man of my word.”
I nearly roll my eyes at that.
“Of course, I had a few of my advisors escorted there in an official capacity to mark the new boundary lines. A king must keep up on his precise record-keeping, but I’m sure you agree, don’t you, Ravinger?”
My eyes drop down to where I know for a fact he has his little journal of scribbles hidden away in an inside pocket. “Yes, the notes a king keeps are very interesting.”
Midas finally loses the smarmy look on his face at what I’m implying. Good. Let him worry about whether or not I would’ve ever had a chance to get my eyes on his notebook.
It takes him a few seconds, but he springs back. “You know what’s also interesting about that tiny village? The people there were very forthcoming. It seems you visit quite often.”