Silver Mage (Book 2) by D.W. Jackson Page A

himself. When he had visited the council, he had been rash because of the tensions, but now that he was trying for a fresh start, he had to pick and choose every word with care. He started wondering how his mother was able to keep her sanity, considering how many of these meeting she had daily compared to him. For the first time in his life, Bren felt sorry for his sister, who had to take the throne.
    “Would you like something to drink my lord?” Lillian asked, her voice crisp and dripping venom.
    “Please,” Bren replied, trying to ignore the anger in her voice.
    “Are you really going to allow one of the tower’s spies to reside in the palace?” Lillian asked, slamming a large glass of water down on the table next to his throne so hard that a small amount of water splashed onto the dark wood. “A dressed up strumpet whose only job is to get as much information about you as possible.”
    “If I don’t want a hidden war with the tower, then I will have to,” Bren said, letting out another sigh. He had wondered how long it would take for Lillian to voice her objections. In truth, she had been brooding for days and he had expected it long before now. He was just glad that she hadn’t exploded while Karin was in the hall.
    Lillian gave him another stern glare and stormed off. Bren tried his best to hold back a laugh, knowing that it wouldn’t help matters at all, but he had to admit, he enjoyed the fiery look in Lillian’s eyes when she was mad.
    With no other meetings for the day, Bren decided that it would be best if he headed back to his study to get some more work done. With winter full on now, very few reports were coming in, giving him the perfect chance to catch up and get a hold on current affairs within the kingdom.
    To Bren’s surprise, it didn’t take long for him to receive an answer from the tower. Within an hour a letter was delivered, alerting Bren that tomorrow the tower would send over six candidates to be his advisor. “They must have been ready for me to request a different advisor,” Bren mumbled to himself under his breath.
    He had expected the tower to be ready for his decision, but in the end it only changed things a little. A part of him was even a little happy that they were ready. It meant that this business could be over even sooner, though it reduced his chances of finding an advisor to his liking.
    Why don’t you just choose one at random and just keep them far enough away that they can’t learn anything.
    “If I could do that, I would, but it’s not that simple.” Bren replied to Thuraman. For a staff that had been in his father’s care for years, living in the palace, the subtle politics of a palace were lost on it. “If I keep the advisor too far away, it will make the tower curious and they will send more people to watch me. I have to find someone who is malleable to my position, at least in some way, so that they will report what I want, when I want. If I can’t find anyone suitable, I will have to take great care that they only learn what I want them to.”
    Sounds like more trouble than its worth.
    “In a way it is, but that’s life at court…Everything is more complicated than it should be,” Bren answered, chuckling to himself.
    The next day when the mages arrived, Bren didn’t make them wait overly long. He had been given ample warning of the meeting, not to mention his waiting room was a little small to hold six people comfortably for more than a few moments.
    Bren paid close attention as the mages came into the throne room. Four female and two male mages, all much older than him, entered the hall confidently.
    The males Bren quickly dismissed, not because of any desire for a female companion, but because he was sure that the tower had limited the number of males because they were sure he would pick one out of fear of seduction.
    “If you please, each introduce yourselves as well as your magical attributes and skills that I might find useful.”
    Bren