“One was set for me at the palace.”
“Two were set for you at the palace. I found and destroyed the second one.”
“Who set them?”
“I suspect it was Em Nark,” he replies honestly.
I remember him. I called him “the Narc.” He hated me. He was the pudgy-faced ambassador from Alameeda who tried to negotiate my release from Manus’s custody on behalf of the Alameeda Brotherhood.
“Did you kill him? His trift blew up before he left Rafe territory.”
Kyon shakes his head. “I planned to.” He smiles wickedly. “He would’ve been dead the moment he landed at his estate in Alameeda. I had my people on it, but he never made it there.”
“Then who killed him?”
“Manus,” he says matter-of-factly.
“Manus? Why?” I wonder.
“He didn’t want Em Nark relaying to anyone your specific gift as a soothsayer—a diviner of truth. If others knew you could tell when they were lying, it would make your gift somewhat moot. They would simply refuse to speak in your presence. Manus killed Em Nark so your secret would remain intact. It made your gift valuable. We had a conversation about it—the Regent and I. We both agreed that it was in our best interests that the Brothers knew nothing about it.”
“You spoke to Manus about me?” The information makes my heart lurch in my throat for some reason.
“I spent every single rotation that you were a captive in Rafe trying to negotiate your release from Manus’s custody. That is, until he arrested me and nearly executed me. But, we both know how that turned out for him. Manus was not nearly strong enough to protect you from the Brotherhood.”
“And you are?”
“I’m your only hope. You realize that the Brotherhood is trying to kill you during your claiming? They’re required to respect this time between us as part of the contract that I made with them.”
“My claiming? What are you talking about?”
“It’s the time we are to spend together after a commitment is made,” he struggles to explain, looking at me like I should know what he’s talking about.
I think for a second, my nose wrinkles like I just smelled something bad. “You don’t mean honeymoon, do you?” I look sidelong at him while I frown. That thought is unsettling.
“Honeymoon?” he says the word like he has no idea what it means. “We’re supposed to spend time together—alone—in order to get to know each other as a couple.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “We’re not a couple.”
He frowns. “We are a couple.”
“I don’t want to be claimed.”
“You have no say in the matter.”
He’s primed for a fight. He looks very muscly all of a sudden. I ignore his insanity for a moment, because we can fight about that later if we live. Instead, I ask, “So the Brotherhood didn’t approve of this?” I move my pointed finger back and forth between us.
He frowns. “The Brotherhood promised you to me. We have a contract. They want to void the contract. They always secretly planned to rescind it.”
“Aren’t you part of the Brotherhood?”
“I am,” he says, nodding.
“Then don’t you have a say it what happens?”
“I have a vote. I have some influence, but I can’t always control what they do. They’re a vicious, snarling group of politicians who’ll smile to your face while they’re plotting your death.”
“Super. Nice club you’re in. Why don’t they want you to claim me?”
“Together you and I are exceptionally powerful. They knew I was their best chance of finding and killing you if I was unable to secure you for Alameeda. If you remain with me, they can’t control you.”
“And you knew all of this beforehand?”
“Of course.”
“All their little plots and schemes are going awry. How do you think they feel about that?”
“I’m sure it’s all rather upsetting for them. One might say they feel murderous.”
I blink. Did he just make a joke? I can’t tell. He’s so straight-faced. I rub my forehead. I don’t feel well. It’s as if I died earlier today and have been resurrected. “Okay.” I look around me for a way to help. “So what should I do? Dig holes for land mines? Carve stakes out of bamboo? Make coconut-shell bombs? What?” I’m only half kidding. I don’t want to die tonight, especially not in the way they have planned for me. I’d also like to keep all of my organs, so I’d rather turn this around on them, if I can. “Or we could just leave. We could hide you know—somewhere they’ll never find us. Do you know how to get to Chicago? Because if we could get there, I could hide us—”