Part 35 (1/2)
I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose. ”There has to be another way. We need them to give me control. It's the only way to keep everything from falling apart. Why can't they see that?”
Silence settles over the room. Is this really it? Am I supposed to go sit in a corner and play quietly until the ”adults” decide I'm useful? I bite my lip and allow the stinging pain to grow.
”You can do what Caitlin did,” Oliver says. Excitement bubbles just beneath the surface of his words. ”What she really did, not what the books say.”
”And what's that?”
”Attack them.”
I press my finger against my top lip and lift my eyebrows. ”Tell me more.”
Oliver turns on the wallscreen. A teenaged Caitlin stares back at us.
”How old is she here?” I ask.
”Eighteen. She's announcing a treaty she formed with the Eastern Society.”
It's mesmerizing the way she moves her hands and the tempo of her voice. ”Did she secure the treaty or did Charles?”
”Does it matter? History says she did.”
”So she was in State at my age. How? Was it because there weren't enough leaders?” That would make sense because she came to power at the end of the Long Winter.
Dawson taps the wallscreen. ”Ah. For that, I think you want to see this.”
A newscaster dressed in old-fas.h.i.+oned clothes appears. He talks slowly, drawing out each word, and it takes me a moment to be able to understand what he's saying. The pictures on the screen, however, are easier to interpret: tornadoes, fires, mysterious explosions.
”Did Caitlin do that?” I ask. Pride peppers my words.
Dawson nods. ”I believe so.”
Annalise points at the screen. ”How many did she eliminate?”
Oliver flips his hands over and shrugs. ”My best guess is she started small. Maybe ten minor officials. No one seemed to suspect her at first. She was a just a girl with a strong apt.i.tude for magic. But by the time she took control of the State, at age twenty-two, there wasn't anyone left from five years earlier.”
I exhale loudly. ”I don't have five years. Not with the Splinter group pressing for control.” I scrunch up my forehead. ”I have to go after all of them. Now.”
”Then you need a plan,” Oliver says.
I rub my neck. ”We need to strike when the most officials are together. It would be the easiest way to do it. Like what the Splinter group did when they attacked Kyra's binding.” Out of the corner of my eye, I glance at my friend. She stops picking at her nails and lifts her head just enough so that I can see the flicker of excitement in her eyes. I grin. This is the mischievous Kyra I know.
Dawson checks his wristlet. ”They're in session for another hour.”
I bounce a little on my toes. ”Then we need to move fast. Before they have an idea of what's coming for them.”
”What are you going to do when you get there?” Annalise asks. ”Yell at them? Demand they give you what you want? You need a plan.”
She's pus.h.i.+ng me. She wants to know how far I'll go to get what I want.
I spin slowly, pulling the energy of the room to me, and unleash it on the piano. It turns into a ball of fire. ”I'm going to teach them to never say 'no' to me again.”
Our plan is simple: Kyra and I will enter through the front door of the meeting hall while my other guards transport into the back of the room. The five of us will then hold the Council hostage until they give me what I want.
Outside the door, I pause and wipe my sweaty palms on my skirt. For this to work, I have to show I'm strong, not just with magic, but also in politics. I have to convince every Dark witch in the room I can make difficult decisions. That while I may be young, I'm my mother's daughter, and I'm fully capable of being in charge.
Kyra jumps up and down in place. It's almost hard to believe she was sobbing not even two hours ago. I knew if I could just get her up, she'd be better.
”Ready?” she mouths.
I nod my head once.
With a flick of Kyra's wrist, the door flings open. Heads jerk in our direction, drinks are set down, and silence settles around us.
”Don't let us stop you,” Kyra teases, clearly enjoying the fear I strike into the people in the room. It's nice to hear her happy.
Sun-Wei, Mother's advisor, shoves his chair back and jumps to his feet. ”Lark. What are you doing here?”
”Taking what belongs to me,” I say, keeping my voice light and bouncy.
Annalise, Oliver, and Dawson appear at the rear of the room and between the five of us, we surround the table of advisors and diplomats. Several of them jump to their feet, but Annalise uses her immobilization skills and wraps them up stiffly. All they can do is sit or stand.
Confused and panic-stricken, the various members of State yell at me. They demand I release them and explain myself.
Oliver told me the first thing Caitlin did was show her enemies no mercy. Anyone who questioned her was silenced.
I chuckle. This should be fun.
A waiter stands near me holding a tray in his frozen hands. Fear flashes in his eyes and I walk my fingertips over his arm before s.n.a.t.c.hing a canape from the tray.
”What are we discussing today?” I ask the crowded room. A wall of silence greets me.
”Let me remind you.” I take a nibble of the canape. ”You were voting to allow me to take my mother's-no, my family's-spot in State.”
More silence.
”Annalise, you didn't tongue tie our friends, did you?”
My sister-in-law's crimson red lips part into a sweet smile. ”I did not.”
With a little skip, I position myself at the end of the long table, behind a witch I can't immediately place. Kyra moves to my left and her hand gently rests on the witch's. That's good. Perhaps she can influence this one into helping us.
”Kyra, are you cold?” I eye her sleeveless dress, and keep my voice conversational.
She s.h.i.+vers and runs her free hand over her bare arm. ”I am.”
With a casual toss of my hand, a fire leaps to life in the middle of the table. Smoke, thick and gray, billows above the heads of the members of State. Those nearest immediately choke on the fumes and smoke, and a woman sitting directly in front of the flame yelps, ”Sun-Wei! Stop her. She's out of control.”