Page 48 of The Omega Thief

She’d nodded and kept her eyes on Raz. Benta was thorough, but he tried to be as impersonal as possible.

“Tell me why the Emir is such a coward he sends his daughter to do what he should himself?”

We had them trapped. We’d offered to accept their surrender to save lives, but the Emir was refusing. Tomorrow, a lot of people would die.

“I agree with your assessment,” she’d said bluntly. “But my father doesn’t know I’m here.”

“And you expect me to believe this?”

“No, but I am an emissary. My brother Kamir feels the same, but he has taken a sworn oath.”

Raz didn’t react, as he still wasn’t convinced this wasn’t a trap.

“Many of our people will die tomorrow. Kamir didn’t even want this war. Half our people starve while the other half bathe in riches, but while ever he is the heir and not the Emir, he is trapped.”

“I see,” Raz said in a bored tone. “So what you’re actually asking is if I would pretty please help to kill the Emir so his son can take over?” His father was about to annex Rajpur. He had no other choice.

“No,” Veda whispered. “As I said, Kamir is sworn to an oath of loyalty to the Emir, which is why he isn’t here. I, however, as a female, was never asked to take it.”

Raz knew that. He knew in Rajpur females were treated worse than the poor. They were considered property, first of their father’s and then of their husband’s.

“But then, if he has an oath, how can he agree to anything we say?”

“All I ask is that if the Emir dies tonight, you will stop the invasion tomorrow.”

“I would need proof.” This was officially one of the strangest conversations Raz had ever had. But he understood why Veda had tried to get to him. An invasion itself wouldn’t have succeeded in getting anywhere near his father.

“My brother would be named immediately and would offer surrender. I imagine that would be proof enough?”

Raz had agreed with the proviso that Kamir outlawed fever white immediately.

He’d known his father’s annexing of Rajpur was simply because he didn’t have a better alternative, and he would trust him with this decision. They’d often talked about an alternative, but had never been able to find one.

“I cannot make other promises,” Veda had said bluntly. “Fever white is a scourge, but we have more pressing problems. I can promise my brother won’t import it either directly or indirectly.”

So he agreed. He’d met Kamir to sign the surrender, which had been quickly altered by Raz’s father’s agreement. It had taken two months for them to fully withdraw, but then the murders had happened, and the problem with the bonding.

Apparently, the Emir had died from having his throat slit. Raz had known that the only two people allowed in his presence without him being guarded were his children.

And as Veda had said, she hadn’t taken an oath.

RazsummonedBentaandtold him he required a personal guard to meet the Emir, and they walked to his sitting room. Kamir, two personal guards, and Veda, accompanied by a maid, arrived a few seconds later. Kamir immediately dismissed everyone except his sister, but Raz had reason to believe she was more deadly than any guard he had.

They both knew Benta and allowed him to stay.

Kamir smiled and strode towards him, extending his arm for him to grasp. “Congratulations.”

Raz smiled, but Kamir’s all-too-seeing eyes saw too much. He waited until refreshments had been served. “How can we help?”

“What do you know?” Raz countered, and Veda snorted.

“That you’ve been challenged by the Angzar,” Kamir said solemnly.

Raz sighed. Angzar meant evil, but he meant an individual, a devil.

They’d agreed all those months ago that Kamir had his hands full with his own kingdom, and Raz, his. Neither of them coveted the other’s. And he was sure he was one of a very few people trusted with Kamir’s sister’s secrets. So he’d told him. There’d been witnesses in the throne room anyway.

“I am aware of Attiker Lynch,” Veda said. “He’s an honorable man and will be a great asset.” She cocked her head to the side. “Does he have a brother?”

---