Chapter 21 The Black Ledgers

The gray-robed man stepped into the hall and the air turned cold. He didn't look at the dead grass outside. He looked straight at the throne. I sat on the hard white stone and pulled Leo closer to my chest. The iron crown felt heavy on my head, like it wanted to push me back down into the dirt.

Valerius was still there. He stayed on his knees at the bottom of the steps. He didn't look up. He looked at the floor like he was trying to find a place to hide. His hands were flat on the rug. He was quiet, like a ghost that had forgotten how to speak.

"The sun is up," the head Elder said. His voice sounded like dry leaves rubbing together. He walked to the middle of the room. Behind him, ten nobles followed. They wore fine silk and smelled like old flowers. They looked at me, then at Leo, then at Silas. Their noses wrinkled like they had smelled something rotten.

"I am sitting here," I said. I gripped the arms of the throne. My fingers felt the cold stone. "The King is Leo. I am the Queen until he is big. Bow or leave."

A man in a blue coat stepped forward. He was a noble with a fat face and small, mean eyes. He didn't bow. He pointed a finger at Silas. Silas was standing next to me. He had his hand on his big black sword. He looked like a wolf ready to bite.

"We will not bow to a Rogue whore," the noble spat. The room went very still. "And we will not work with him." He pointed at Silas again. "He is dirt. He is a Rogue. He does not have noble blood. He does not belong in this palace."

Silas didn't move. He didn't growl. He just watched the noble with his cold, dark eyes.

"Silas is my commander," I said. I made my voice loud. I made it sharp. "He stays where I stay."

The head Elder stepped forward. He held up his hands. "Then we all leave. If the Rogue stays, the High Council quit. The cooks will leave. The men who fix the walls will leave. The men who count the gold will leave. Your government will fall into the mud by noon."

Leo moved on my lap. He looked at the fat noble. His golden eyes shined. "You are loud," Leo said. His small voice was clear. "Mama said be quiet."

The nobles didn't look at Leo. They looked at me with hate. They thought I was a joke. They thought they could break me with a few words.

"Fine," the blue-coated noble said. He turned around. "We leave. Let the Rogues try to run a kingdom. You will be eating your own boots in a week."

"Wait."

Silas spoke for the first time. His voice was a low rumble. He reached into his leather coat. He pulled out a small black book. It had a gold lock on it.

The blue-coated noble stopped. He turned his head. His face went white.

"Is that...?" the noble started. He couldn't finish the words.

Silas walked down the steps. He walked past Valerius. He stopped right in front of the nobles. He held the book up high so everyone could see it.

"I spent five years in the dark," Silas said. He flipped the book open. "While you were eating cake, I was watching. I have the ledgers. I know who stole gold from the poor. I know who killed their brothers for land. I know who was talking to the Iron-Tooth Pack behind the King’s back."

The High Council elders looked like they had seen a ghost. One of them began to shake. The fat noble in the blue coat looked like he was going to be sick.

"You can leave," Silas said. He stepped closer to the fat noble. He was much taller. He loomed over him like a mountain. "But if you walk out that door, I take these books to the town square. I will read your secrets to the hungry people. I wonder what they will do to you when they find out where their food went?"

The fat noble dropped to his knees. Thud. It was a fast, heavy sound.

"No," the noble whispered. "Please. Do not do that."

One by one, the other nobles fell. They hit the floor like sacks of grain. The High Council elders bowed their heads. They didn't look at me. They looked at the black book in Silas’s hand. They were terrified.

I looked at Silas. I should have been happy. He had saved the kingdom. He had stopped them from leaving. But something felt wrong.

Silas was smiling. It wasn't a kind smile. It was the smile of a cat that had caught a mouse. He was leaning over the fat noble, showing his teeth. He looked like he loved the fear. He looked like he was enjoying the way the man was shaking.

He didn't look like a friend right now. He looked like a monster that had found a new toy.

"We will stay," the head Elder said. He was looking at the floor. "We will do what the Queen asks. Just... keep the book closed."

"Good," Silas said. He snapped the book shut. The sound was as loud as a gunshot in the quiet hall. "Now, get out. Go to your rooms. Wait for the Queen to call you."

The nobles scrambled to their feet. They ran out of the hall as fast as they could. They didn't look back.

The Great Hall was empty now, except for us. Valerius was still on the floor. He hadn't moved once during the whole fight. He looked like a statue made of salt.

Leo jumped down from my lap. He ran to Silas and grabbed his hand. "Silas! You made them go away! You are a big wolf!"

Silas looked down at Leo. The scary look in his eyes went away, but not all of it. He patted Leo's head. "I did, little King. I did."

I stood up from the throne. My legs felt heavy. "Silas, where did you get those books?"

Silas looked at me. He held the black ledger tight. "I told you, Elena. I was watching. I have been watching for a long time."

"You never told me you had their secrets," I said. I walked down the steps. I stopped next to him. "You let me worry. You let me think they were going to leave."

"I wanted to see if they would try," Silas said. He leaned in close. I could smell the leather and the rain on him. "It is better this way. Now they are dogs on a leash. They won't bite us again."

He turned and walked toward the door. He didn't wait for me to speak. He walked with his head high, like he was the one wearing the crown.

I looked down at Valerius. He finally looked up at me. His blue eyes were full of shadows.

"Elena," Valerius whispered. His voice was a rasp.

"What?" I asked. I felt tired. I wanted to sleep for a hundred years.

"Be careful," Valerius said. He looked toward the door where Silas had gone. "A man who loves secrets more than truth is not a man you can trust. He didn't just seize the Council today. He seized the palace."

"You are a prisoner, Valerius," I said. I turned my back on him. "You don't get to tell me who to trust."