The Broken Eye(276)

Andross Guile slapped Zymun across the face, hard.

Zymun’s fists balled and his whole arm tightened. Somehow, Grinwoody went from standing off to the side with a serving tray to being right there, serving tray vanished, ready to intervene.

“One of the things we’ve tried hard to breed out with every generation,” Andross Guile said. “Impulsivity. Those who can’t control themselves are always failures. I see this is a weakness for you. Expect it to be tested again. Seems endemic with the Guile blood, but the best of us translate it to boldness, nimbleness, readiness to seize an opportunity. The rest simply chase the first thing to come along, and lose interest before they run it down and capture it.

“The point is that I have a very good idea what traits are Guile traits, and what traits seem random. Blue eyes with dark skin? Very rare among most peoples. Not rare in my family. There’s a lot of Parian blood in the Guile line. My brother was darker than Kip. Our mother was Parian, as was my grandmother. I was thought to be oddly light-skinned. If there is one of my grandsons whom I suspect might not be a Guile, it’s not Kip.”

“Kip? The bastard?”

“I’ve declared Kip legitimate. Kip does what he’s told.”

In what world does Kip do what he’s told?

But lie though it might be, now, for the first time, Zymun seemed truly aware that his position was tenuous. It was as if he’d made the cornerstone of his identity that he was, secretly, a Guile, that he had all seven satrapies waiting for him, that he was destined. And now his own grandfather was threatening that?

But Kip had told Teia about his own interactions with Andross Guile, so she saw what was happening. Andross hated his new grandson’s arrogance, so he was doing to him exactly what he’d done to Kip, pretended that belonging to the Guiles was something that had to be earned.

It was patently ridiculous to Teia. The Guiles had no children. To whom would the old man give all this wealth? He’d gone on and on about genealogy, but he’d failed to produce a large enough crop of his own to give him the luxury of being picky. There remained only Kip and Zymun. Gavin was gone, probably never to return, and even if he did, where did a marriage to Karris fit into Andross’s book? The threat had to be hollow.

But Zymun didn’t know that.

“You little moron,” Andross said. “You had the Blinder’s Knife, and you used it to try to kill my son? You think you can play the Color Prince? Maybe. You think you can play me? You have no idea.”

“Grandfather, I was trapped. The Color Prince was there and you were so far away. Disobedience would have meant—I failed on purpose.”

“Learn to lie better.”

“I thought you and my father were at odds—”

“You had no way to know how I felt about Gavin. You were ingratiating yourself with the Color Prince.”

“I didn’t mean—”

“I know exactly what you meant. You were on a barge, with Gavin. All you had to do was come back to Little Jasper and bring me the knife. If you’d done so, tomorrow I would have made you Prism.”

“I swear I’ll never disobey again. I’ll do anything you ask. Everything—”

“You think I’m punishing you? I haven’t even begun to punish you. This isn’t my punishment. This is reality’s punishment. I can’t make you the Prism tomorrow. We need the Knife for that, and … other things that you don’t need to know about. Yet. Your incompetence may cost us—it may cost you everything. Had you either killed Gavin or joined him—either way!—if you had brought me the Blinder’s Knife, your own future, not to mention this family’s, not to mention all of the Seven Satrapies’, would be assured.

“Someday, you cretin, you may lead this family and perhaps this world, if you aren’t too stupid to take what I hand to you. But that day is not today. From this day forth, you obey without question, and you prove yourself worthy of this family. I’m giving you one chance. You have a brother, and however much he pretends to oppose me, he and I have an understanding, and he serves me well. If he serves better than you do, I will not hesitate to make him the Guile heir. From Ataea Guile’s time, we have only practiced primogeniture when it suits us. The only way you will inherit is if you please me. And so you know, in this family, the one heir gets everything.”

The ambition on Zymun’s face was as naked as the hatred, but Andross Guile didn’t seem to notice. Zymun said, after a pause that was only a little too long, “Of course, grandfather. How may I best serve?”

Andross Guile stared at him and tossed back his liquor with a grimace. “Tomorrow we make you the Prism-elect.”