Page 7 of The Ruler
“Is that it?”
“Yes, there’s only one other thing.”
“And what’s that?”
“I won’t eat meat or any food that has involved slavery of animals.”
Khan rolled his eyes. “Fucking Momsies and your soft hearts. Animals are meant to be eaten.”
“No, they’re not. That’s speciesism!” I exclaimed, outraged by his claim.
“Speciesism –that’s not even a real word.”
“Of course it is. It’s no different from racism or sexism. Animals aren’t just put on earth to feed humans. All species have rights and should be respected for their uniqueness.”
Khan gave another eye-roll. “Spare me your lecture – we’ll make sure you get some carrots to munch on but that better be all your conditions.”
“It is.”
“Good. Let me think about it,” he said and stood up.
“Think about it?” I cried out in a high-pitched voice. “What is there to think about? We’re offering you a council member, to let our priestess go. Surely, even you can tell that’s a good deal.”
“Even I?” He scrunched up his face. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
I swallowed hard. Khan was a proud man and I shouldn’t have used that word.
“Are we making the exchange or not?” I asked and stood up to mirror him.
For a few seconds we faced each other and I wondered if he was truly this tall in real life. He looked intimidating with that scowl on his face, but I was a leader and my people relied on me to stay brave and strong.
“No sanctions,” he muttered. “If we do this, you’ll tell them to let all trade continue as usual. We give you Athena but keep you here until Laura is returned to us. If you’re lucky it’ll only be a day or two.”
“Yes, let’s hope that,” I said, knowing full well that it was unlikely.
“How fast can you be at the border?”
“Tomorrow at noon.”
“Good.” He turned halfway, signaling that he wanted to end the meeting. “My brother Magni will pick you up and bring you here.” Khan pursed his lips in a smile. “Until then, Councilwoman.”
I didn’t return his smile or greeting. I ended the call and focused on the hard task in front of me.
CHAPTER3
White Lies and Chess
Pearl
It was an awful thing to do, but I had no choice but to lie to my friends and staff. If I’d told them the truth they would likely have tried to physically keep me from going.
I’m not a dishonest person by nature but the news outlets would surely have made a big deal out of this, and I couldn’t allow it.
The council had managed to keep Athena’s kidnapping quiet to avoid panic among our people – we wanted to keep them unworried.
My other concern was that Laura would return to the Northlands out of guilt, if she knew Athena had been kidnapped. The poor woman had found a sanctuary here in the Motherlands, and we all wanted Laura to enjoy her life in freedom.
The vid-messages I left to my friends and staff were short and told about a rare opportunity that had come up at the last minute with a secret project for the council. I managed to smile and seem excited about the chance to be part of this project, which made it my best acting performance so far.
