Page 77 of The Heir
“Was she useful?”
“Who?”
“Linea. That thing about her reading minds. Did it work?”
“She helped me understand the French better. And it was her idea to expand the Northlands to become an empire.”
My dad froze and blinked his eyes. “Excuse me?”
The thrill that ran from the bottom of my spine and up to my scalp was like a zap of electricity. This was a moment I had waited for my entire life. Taking my time, I soaked up his expression as I explained, “Since you and Uncle Magni always complained that we don’t have access to warm beaches, I figured you would welcome the idea of expanding our territory to include prime beach locations.”
“But Europe is still too polluted to live in.”
“For the most part, but there are pockets that are clean enough for habitation and others that are close to being safe. On your behalf, I laid claim to a large area down south. It will be our responsibility to clean it and if everything goes well it could be ready for use in twenty or thirty years.”
“I’ll be dead by then.”
“I hope not. Think about the day when your grandchildren can go on vacation and swim in the ocean in the Southeastern part of the Northlands.”
My dad’s excitement was palpable. “How did you convince the French to sell you the land?”
“As you predicted, they asked for a loan to expand their territory. I offered them a trade instead. Technically, the wasteland in Europe doesn’t belong to them. They are merely a colony of survivors and there’s no way they would have the resources to care for that entire continent. We’re giving them the money in return for their assistance and know-how when it comes to cleaning the land.”
“How much money?”
“I kept within the budget. I’ll send you a breakdown of the negotiations later today.”
My father was quick to project a map of the world between us. “Show me the area that is ours.”
“The deal isn’t final until their parliament approves it, but this is the area we’re talking about.” I used my finger to mark the long coastline of the countries once known as Italy, Croatia, and Greece.
“What about all the other areas? Can we lay claim to more land?”
I swiped my tongue across my front teeth and thought about it for a moment. “How much do you want?”
“All of it.” Khan’s eyes were large as he watched the map.
“We have plenty of land here,” I reminded him.
“It doesn’t matter. If there’s a way for us to expand then why wouldn’t we? The Motherlands exiled our forefathers to the north and built a large wall to keep us out. If I become the ruler who took the Northlands from a country to a massive empire, I’ll go down in history as the greatest fucking ruler of the Northlands.”
With a light chuckle, I said, “Your place in the history books is already secured, Dad. You’re Khan the progressive, who brought women to the Northlands and put men on the council of the Motherlands. Your long reign will be remembered forever.”
“Hmm…. I would certainly be remembered the first time the Northlanders can go on vacation to Southern Europe. What did the Motlanders say?”
“Not much. They have more than enough land and they didn’t object to us taking over a polluted plot of land that is owned by no one. They aren’t afraid of us any longer and people are crossing the border between our countries daily anyway. Honestly, I think they’re impressed with your generosity. Sending Northlanders to work as Explorers was a great move that earned you a lot of respect with the Motlanders.”
“Thank you.”
We both knew that it hadn’t been his idea, but my father liked for people to believe he was brilliant and so I didn’t point it out to him.
“When will we know if their parliament gives us their green light?”
I moved my chair back and stood up with a satisfied smile. “I’m not worried. The French and the Motlanders don’t have grand visions for the future like we Nmen do.”
My father looked up at me and for a second, I soaked up the pride in his eyes. “You did well, my son. I hope to live long enough to see our people benefit from using those warm beaches.”
“I hope you do.”
