Page 33 of My Haven (Bewitched and Bewildered #16)
“Meryn, do you really think finding out where this money went will help us?” Byron asked.
She nodded. “The fact that they couldn’t use their own money screams shady shit.”
Byron strummed his fingers on the table. “Meryn, in your opinion what would be their next move and how can we counter?”
Meryn spun faster. “Hmmm. Y’all are trying to pull rank.
If it were me, I’d undercut the system that put importance on rank.
I see them pushing for an overturn of the Elder Council and putting the Witches’ Council in its place, based on overwhelming public support.
Expect rumors based on truth but twisted to make y’all look bad and possible future scenarios that paint you to look like elitist bullies.
The Witches’ Council will probably emphasize that anyone can become a council member, while Founding and Noble families are hereditary, alienating a lot of people.
Their platform will be decisions made for the people.
To counter, you need to win over public opinion. Feeding the orphans is a great start.”
The silence in the room was deafening.
Alastair looked faint. “Goddess above, she’s right.”
Kendrick, Thane, Aiden, Brennus, and Magnus all looked at each other.
Magnus held up his phone. “I haven’t gotten her treats in a while.”
The other men nodded.
Meryn stopped spinning. “Are you ordering from Peter?”
Magnus nodded. “A reward for keeping us poor political novices in line.”
“Can you get me the low sugar snickerdoodles? I loved those.”
“Of course.”
“Cookies? Hell, give that child an artifact or something,” Lucius countered.
Magnus smiled. “Meryn, darling, do you want an artifact or cookies?”
“Cookies,” she answered immediately.
“Do you think they’ll leave the Founding Family and Noble Family homes?” Alaric asked.
Thane grinned evilly. “They have no choice. That property was never theirs. Each family can claim it when we wish. There’s nothing they can do legally to block this.”
“Hmmm.” Meryn said, from her chair.
“What?” Thane asked.
“Well, if they successfully overturn the ‘outdated’ social construct of an elite few hoarding all of the city’s resources, your homes will probably be the first things they confiscate.”
“But those belong to our families,” Thane refuted, looking shocked.
“For now,” Meryn countered.
Kendrick pointed. “This is what I mean when I say I love her insights and hate them at the same time.”
Meryn stopped spinning. “If you really want control of those buildings, you need to physically take them over sooner rather than later, before they have a chance to build up hate against you. Don’t hurt anyone, that would give them ammo.
But if you wait too long, I feel like you’ll never get them back short of a full out civil war. ”
Lucius turned to Magnus. “Where do you order those cookies from?”
Byron leaned forward. “Legally, would the Elder Council sanction this?”
Genevieve began to understand the heart of the issue. If it were up to these men, they would have moved against the Witches’ Council ages ago, but they had to work within the confines of their own laws and public opinion.
Magnus tilted his head. “Founding and Noble families have always been the structure of how our cities are run. In Noctem Falls, even when they were ruling things badly, they still helped to rule. I think it is also important to point out that our Elder seats are not hereditary. We are chosen, usually based on what our people want. Even our most recent assignments facilitated by Meryn was from an established short list of options the public approved. The Witches’ Council is not only overriding their own Founding and Noble Family members, but they are also effectively erasing their Elder Council.
That goes against everything all our peoples stand by. ”
“Agreed,” Godwyn said, in a firm voice.
Marshall stood and everyone looked to him.
“Today, they kidnapped my daughter and held her away from us. Even if that had been a true mistake and not a calculated move, they crossed a line. The moment Genevieve told them she was mated to Caiden, they should have stopped what they were doing and sent a runner. At no point was my son notified by enforcers that a human woman was in the city claiming to be his mate. If this can happen on the streets of Storm Keep, in broad daylight, to an Elder’s daughter, to a unit leader’s mate, then we can argue no one is safe. ”
Byron stood. “That is the stance we’ll take.” He looked around the room. “All in favor of supporting the Storm Keep Elder Council, and Founding and Noble Families, say aye.”
“Aye!” the word echoed around the room.
“All oppose?” Byron asked.
No one spoke.
Byron turned to Aiden. “Do what you have to do, to support the Elder Council here in Storm Keep.”
Aiden inclined his head. “Yes, Elder.”
“Yes, Elder,” Meryn echoed, causing some men to groan, but most to laugh.
Genevieve reached over and took Caiden’s hand. There would be some hard times ahead, but with this many good men wanting to protect people, she had to believe they would create their own way forward, for everyone.