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"Ah, yes," Philen said "Well, then I think the title should go to someone who has a little practice with it Someone who has shown skill with leadership Therefore, I no!"

What? Vin thought with shock as Philen turned, gesturing toward the audience Adown the hood, revealing a suit and a face with a bristling beard

"Oh dear" Breeze said

"It's actually hian in the audience

Breeze nodded "Oh, that's him Lord Cett hiht be in trouble"

I had never received ht that er The couldn't see hoork, studying nature instead of religion, benefited the people of the fourteen lands

32

VIN SAT QUIETLY, TENSELY, SCANNING the crowd Cett wouldn't have coht

And then she saw the for Soldiers in the crowd, dressed like skaa, for did not rise, though a young uards, Vin thought Hethe very city you're besieging? It was a bold move--one that bordered on stupidity Of course, many had said the same about Elend's visit to Straff's army

But Cett wasn't in the saer of losing everything Excepthe had a s And if Straff did secure the supposed atium supply, Cett's days as leader in the West would certainly be nuht not have been an act of desperation, but it also wasn't the act of a

And he see it

Cett smiled as the room waited in silence, Assemblymen and audience alike too shocked to speak Finally, Cett waved to a few of his disguised soldiers, and the e Asse to aides or co confirmation of Cett's identity Most of the nobleh of a confirmation, in Vin's mind

"He's not what I expected," Vin whispered to Breeze as the soldiers climbed up on the dais

"Nobody told you he was crippled?" Breeze asked

"Not just that," Vin said "He's not wearing a suit" He had on a pair of trousers and a shirt, but instead of a noble a worn black jacket "Plus, that beard He couldn't have grown a beast like that in one year--he must have had it before the Collapse"

"You only knew noble place, with a lot of different societies Not everybody dresses like they do here"

Breeze nodded "Cett was the most powerful nobleman in his area, so he needn't worry about tradition and propriety He did what he wished, and the local nobility pandered There were a hundred different courts with a hundred different little 'Lord Rulers' in the e its own political dynae front Cett sat in his chair, having yet to speak Finally, Lord Penrod stood "This is most unexpected, Lord Cett"

"Good!" Cett said "That was, after all, the point!"

"Do you wish to address the Asseht I already was"

Penrod cleared his throat, and Vin's tin-enhanced ears heard a disparaging"Western noblemen"

"You have ten

"Good," Cett said "Because--unlike the boy over there--I intend to tell you exactly why you should "

"And that is?" one of the ot an arh

The Assembly looked taken aback

"A threat, Cett?" Elend asked calmly

"No, Venture," Cett replied "Just honesty--so you Central noblemen seem to avoid at all cost A threat is only a promise turned around What was it you told these people? That your mistress had her knife at Straff's throat? So, were you i that if you weren't elected, you'd have your Mistborn withdraw, and let the city be destroyed?"

Elend flushed "Of course not"

"Of course not," Cett repeated He had a loud voice--unapologetic, forceful "Well, I don't pretend, and I don't hide My army is here, and my intention is to take this city However, I'd ive it to me"

"You, sir, are a tyrant," Penrod said flatly

"So?" Cett asked "I'm a tyrant with forty thousand soldiers That's that you've got guarding these walls"

"What's to stop us froe?" asked one of the other noblemen "You seem to have delivered yourself to us quite neatly"

Cett bellowed a laugh "If I don't return to , my army has orders to attack and raze the city iet destroyed by Venture afterward--but it won't matter to me, or to you, at that point! We'll all be dead"

The room fell silent