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“Perhaps one day.” That was a lie, but Lux was in a hurry to change the subject. “Anyway, there were some things I wanted to discuss with you all.”
“Well, we’re all here.” A man a few seats down gestured around. “What is it, boy?”
Lux resisted the urge to grit his teeth or make a smart remark about that. Yes, Lux appeared to be in his early thirties, but he was centuries older than this man. “Time’s approaching. It won’t be long before the maalaichte cnihme return to take my world back.”
“Only about five thousand years now, no?” A man in the third row of the amphitheater sipped his wine, gazing down at Lux casually.
“Yes, about,” Lux said. “Now, when we made this treaty, when we cultivated this new world, the agreement was when the maalaichte cnihme return, we’d bring our people here and to Morduaine.”
“We’ve read the texts,” another voice said. “We’re prepared for when that time comes.”
Again, so casual. If Usui had told the truth, why hadn’t they laughed in his face when he said that? “Of course. So my plan was that we could use Altum Babage for our people. It isn’t much land, but—”
A laugh sounded.
Lux turned to the man who’d done it. “I’m sorry, what’s funny?”
“You want all of Altum Babage?” He laughed again. “That’s an entire continent, boy.”
“And we have billions of people,” Lux said. “Nix agrees we’ll need all of Altum Babage. He is still the king, and—”
“Only by technicality,” a woman two seats down said under her breath.
“I know it’s small, but we have spells,” Lux said. “We can create masses of ice in the ocean. It’s cold enough that they’ll become their own land.”
“That won’t be necessary.” The man who’d laughed sipped from his chalice. “We’ve allocated some land north.”
Lux’s brows furrowed in confusion. The capital of Matriaza was only a few days journey on foot from the north pole. “Even if we take every bit of land from here to the coast there, it still won’t be enough for all our people. That won’t work. We need—”
“Because you won’t be bringing all your people, love.” The first woman who’d spoken smiled at him. “Your population is twice as much as ours, and we already don’t have enough resources. Account for the alternate worlds there, and it’s just silly to think we could accommodate them all. We have a city in the north, and you can bring those people there.”
“They aremypeople, and Iwillaccommodate them all. There’s nothingsillyabout it, ma’am.” Lux’s voice deepened. “And this isn’t a discussion. This is an announcement.”
Laughs.
All over the room, the members of the Conclave burst into laughter.
“Oh, you think you matter enough for that?” someone called out.
“This isn’t up for argument.” Lux stood, voice booming through the room, but not enough to silence their sneers. “We had agreements. They will not be renegotiated.”
“You’re right.” That man at the end of the table stood too. He grasped the lip and leaned in, eyes narrowed to slits. “We’ve already told you what land you can use, and that’s that.”
“And what the fuck do you expect us to do with our people?” Fire struck through Lux’s veins. In the clouds overhead, through the dome of glass, golden lightning lit up the sky. “They are innocent lives—”
“Innocent lives you promised to the maalaichte cnihme.” That first woman stood as well. “You plan to betray them. We want no part in that.”
Lux’s eyes grew to discs. “You expect us to hand them billions of souls. That’s what you’re saying.”
A voice somewhere in the amphitheater said, “You made the deal, boy—”
“Because it was our only bloody choice!” He pounded a fist against the tabletop. “You’ve made a deal with them—is that what you’re all saying?! You made a treaty with the maalaichte cnihme?”
“To protect our people from them,” the woman said.
“Are you stupid?” His eyes shifted rapidly around the room. “Do you understand the threat the maalaichte cnihme will be if they garner all of my children’s souls?”
“I’m sure they’ve collected plenty in the last three hundred thousand—”
