CH318 Reaching the Poisoned Agreement
***
Alex tapped the table as if thinking. He and Esmond exchanged a brief, silent look—an unspoken confirmation passed between them.
He turned back to Earl Kellerman, fingers still tapping against the wood. Then the tapping suddenly stopped as his decision was made.
"Twenty years," Alex said. "We will take a twenty-year lease as reparations for the war. However, for your son's return, the price is the outright cession of the Konradi Barony—nothing less."
"Don't go too far!" Earl Kellerman fumed.
The Earl caught the growing frown on Grand Mage Taman's face and forced himself back into his seat.
"Don't push me, boy. Do you think I won't break the entire basket?" he snapped.
