Chapter 412


    Lanie


    I tried not to be insulted by the way they were ignoring me. An Ancient and a Celestial certainly didn’t


    have to consult me on anything, even if I did have blessings from the Moon Goddess. Even so, I was


    her mother, and Ste had asked me toe along.


    This back and forth between her and Mchi was leaving me in the dark. I waved a hand at them,


    trying


    to catch their attention.


    They finally both looked at me. Ste’s gaze was calm, but my grandfather looked cold and distant…


    and very, very much like an Ancient vampire. I focused on my child.


    “What’s Mchi doing?” I asked her.


    Ste sighed and looked at him. He gave her a familiar flick with his fingers for permission. She cleared


    her throat.


    “The leadership councit is a farce. Brightsky is supposedly built up on the concept of equality, inclusion,


    and democracy, but the truth is-”


    “I’m the only one in charge,” Mchi cut in. He stood abruptly. “It’s all me. Oh, I pretend to give the


    council a say in anything that has to do with running this enve, because everyone likes to think they


    have input. But


    in the end, I’m the only one with any real power.”


    “They all turn to you for advice, and you allow them to believe you take their concerns and desires into


    consideration, when in fact you cast a veil over their minds any time they try to balk you.” Ste


    frowned and


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    shook her finger at him. “That’s quite rude, you know.”


    Mchi rolled his eyes and leaned back in the chair.


    He still looked tense but was rxing at least a little bit. “It’s impossible for an Ancient to be rude, Ste


    We do what we know must be done. This enve cannot run under ording to the desires and


    whimsies of group. We’d be overrun by our enemies within days if I didn’t keep a tight control over


    everything that goes on


    inside these walls. It’s exhausting.”


    I shook my head, digesting everything I’d just heard.


    “I knew you were arrogant, but this is…”


    “Please, don’t tell me it’s shocking,” he said. “You can’t possibly be truly stunned.”


    “I’m disappointed,” I admitted. “You made such a big deal about how Brightsky is this wonderful ce


    where all kinds can mingle and have a say in what happens. After what we had to deal with from the


    wolf High


    Council, it felt so much better to be in a ce like this.”


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    He shrugged. “To you and everyone else who suffered injustice on the outside. What nobody seems to


    understand or at least wants to see is that the old saying is true: too many cooks do indeed spoil the


    broth.”


    “Brightsky isn’t a pot of soup!”


    ??? ??? ??


    His lip curled. “No, but it is a cauldron, bubbling full of ingredients. Too much of this, not enough of that,


    a pinch here or there of something unexpected…salt can ruin a meal with having too much or not


    enough of it, and anymunity is the same. Everyone might think they want an equal say in how


    things run, but in the end, what they truly want is only to feel as though they were heard. So long as


    they have that, nothing else


    matters.”


    “He’s right. As long as themunity is happy, it can seed,” Ste murmured. She put her hand


    over mine, which had clenched into a fist on my knee.


    “And the residents of Brightsky are happy, Mother. It runs smoothly.”


    “Like an oiled set of gears,” Mchi put in proudly.


    “At the end of the day, that is the goal,” Ste exined.


    “So, what’s the problem then?” Mchi asked with an edge of both irritation and relief in his tone. “Are


    you nning on pulling away the curtain to review the big, bad wizard behind it? Should I prepare


    myself for the coronation when I take my crown as king?”


    Sarcasm dripped from his tone so thickly I could almost see it.


    “You could give her the respect she’d due,” I told him.


    “Hear her out. I realize how hard it must be for you to give anyone that consideration.”


    The bright tinkle of Ste’sughter t winkled through the entire room, bright as the stars she’d been


    named for. That brightness filled me and made me want tough, too. She turned her glowing smile


    toward Mchi, and slowly, to my surprise, he smiled in return.


    “Even when I can tell you’re using the powers of the Flora, I still find myself sumbing to it. Flower


    nym phs,” he said to me. “You wou


    have heard of them. Known for their incessantly cheerful natures.


    They can intoxicate you with joy.”


    “That doesn’t sound like a bad thing,” I told him.


    “Forgive me, Mother. I thought it would help with what I have to tell you next. Give a sort of buffer,”


    Ste said.


    Silence fell as we waited for her to speak.


    “The wolf High Council has found a way to exploit Brightsky’s weakness.”


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