Mistborn #02 The Well of Ascension

stones—their guide led them out into a large, circular room with stained-glass windows running around the entire perimeter, broken only by columns to support the ceiling. The single room was nearly as wide around as the tower itself.
    A secondary ballroom, perhaps ? Vin wondered, taking in the beauty. The glass wasn't lit, though she suspected that there were clefts for limelights on the outside. Cett didn't appear to care about such things. He had set up a large table in the very center of the room, and sat at its head. He was already eating.
    "You're late," he called out to Elend, "so I started without you."
    Elend frowned. To this, Cett laughed a full bellow, holding up a drumstick. "You seem more aghast at my breach of etiquette than you do about the fact that I brought an army to conquer you, boy! But, I suppose that's Luthadel. Sit down before I eat this all myself."
    Elend held out an arm for Vin, leading her to the table. Spook took up position near the stairwell, his Tineye's ears listening for danger. Ham led their ten men to a position from which they could watch the only entrances to the room—the entry from the stairs and the door the serving staff used.
    Cett ignored the soldiers. He had a group of his own bodyguards standing near the wall on the other side of the room, but he seemed unconcerned that Ham's troop had them slightly outnumbered. His son—the young man who had attended him at the Assembly meeting—stood at his side, waiting quietly.
    One of the two has to be Mistborn , Vin thought. And I still think it is Cett .
    Elend seated her, then took a chair next to her, both of them sitting directly across from Cett. He barely paused in his eating as the servers brought Vin's and Elend's dishes.
    Drumsticks , Vin thought, and vegetables in gravy. He wants this to be a messy meal—he wants to make Elend uncomfortable .
    Elend didn't start on his food immediately. He sat, watching Cett, his expression thoughtful.
    "Damn," Cett said. "This is good food. You have no idea how hard it is to get proper meals when traveling!"
    "Why did you want to speak with me?" Elend asked. "You know I won't be convinced to vote for you."
    Cett shrugged. "I thought it might be interesting."
    "Is this about your daughter?" Elend asked.
    "Lord Ruler, no!" Cett said with a laugh. "Keep the silly thing, if you want. The day she ran off was one of the few joys I've had this last month."
    "And if I threaten to harm her?" Elend asked.
    "You won't," Cett said.
    "You're certain?"
    Cett smiled through his thick beard, leaning toward Elend. "I know you, Venture. I'd been watching you, studying you, for months. And then, you were kind enough to send one of your friends to spy on me. I learned a lot about you from him!"
    Elend looked troubled.
    Cett laughed. "Honestly, you didn't think I'd recognize one of the Survivor's own crewmembers? You Luthadel noblemen must assume that everyone outside the city is a damn fool!"
    "And yet, you listened to Breeze," Elend said. "You let him join you, listened to his advice. And then, you only chased him away when you found him being intimate with your daughter—the one you claim to have no affection for."
    "Is that why he told you he left the camp?" Cett asked, laughing. "Because I caught him with Allrianne? Goodness, what do I care if the girl seduced him?"
    "You think she seduced him ?" Vin asked.
    "Of course," Cett said. "Honestly, I only spent a few weeks with him, and even I know how useless he is with women."
    Elend was taking all this in stride. He watched Cett with narrow, discerning eyes. "So why did you chase him away?"
    Cett leaned back. "I tried to turn him. He refused. I figured killing him would be preferable to letting him return to you. But, he's remarkably agile for a man his size."
    If Cett really is Mistborn, there's no way Breeze got away without Cett letting him , Vin thought.
    "So you see, Venture," Cett said. "I know you. I know you better, perhaps, than you know yourself—for I know what your friends think of you. It takes a pretty extraordinary man to earn the loyalty of a weasel like Breeze."
    "So you think I won't harm your daughter," Elend said.
    "I know you won't," Cett said. "You're honest—I happen to like that about you. Unfortunately, honesty is very easy to exploit—I knew, for instance, that you'd admit Breeze was Soothing that crowd." Cett shook his head. "Honest men weren't meant to be kings, lad. It's a damn shame, but it's true. That's why I have to