Page 26 of Return of the Vengeful Quee

Jhi opened his mouth, but Charis wasn’t done.

“No, you remained silent. And then you tried to turn us away. I can only think of two reasons for that. First, you’re scared of the Rakuuna coming to your shores. Or second, you’re already aligned with them and hope to benefit from the destruction of my kingdom.”

The chancellor drew back as if deeply offended. “We have nothing to gain from Calera’s troubles.”

“But you do have everything to lose.” She met his gaze, the fire of her rage burning through her veins as the answer to making him give her what she needed came to her. “I don’t believe you’re scared of the Rakuuna. Why would you be when you alone have a supply of the poison that kills them?”

He shifted in his chair, his gaze darting momentarily away. She’d struck on the truth, and he didn’t like it.

“They must know that you can defend yourselves against them.”

“Our affairs are no business of yours.” Jhi made as though to stand. “You are not granted entry into our kingdom, and therefore you must leave.”

“If I leave without getting what I came for, you and your kingdom are as good as dead.” Her words sliced the air like a weapon, and she let him see the fire that burned in her blood. He’d assumed he was dealing with a child playing at ruling a lost kingdom. It was time he understood that the girl before him was a queen, forged in war and ruin, willing to obliterate all who stood in her way.

“You can’t defend yourself against the Rakuuna if they decide to attack in overwhelming numbers, and they will, Chancellor Jhi. They will.”

He paused, halfway out of his chair. “That’s absurd.”

She ignored his response. “The Rakuuna invader who currently holds the throne in my kingdom is intercepting every palloren sent to Calera. When I send a message to my contact in the palace that you willingly gave us your entire supply of moriarthy dust in the hopes that we would destroy Te’ash so you could have its resources, what do you think will happen?”

Jhi slowly settled back into his chair, his short fingers gripping the edges of the table as though holding on for dear life. “You won’t reach out to Calera. There’s a bounty on your head.”

“I’ll do better than that. I’ll send every palloren in my possession except one, just to make sure the Rakuuna intercept the message.” She lifted her chin and stared him down. “Their queen will believe that Embre is now defenseless and that you also handed their enemy a weapon that can destroy them. How long do you think you’ll have before they come for you?”

He waved a hand in the air as though her words were of no consequence, but a muscle along his jaw was tight as he said, “We can defend ourselves.”

“Can you?” She infused her tone with sympathy. “They won’t politely sail a ship into the harbor and use the dock to enter your city. They will anchor their warships all around your island and swim ashore. They’ll come at you from every direction, and they’ll tear everyone they meet into pieces. I’ve seen it firsthand.”

She gave him a cold smile. “You’ll kill some of them, certainly. But you won’t kill them all. Not by a long shot. And do you know what is coming for you once the Rakuuna leave here?”

He frowned, glancing at his guards as though one of them might have the answer.

“Me.” Charis stood, her hand on the hilt of her sword, though she kept it sheathed. Fear and fury warred within her until she couldn’t tell the difference between the two. “I will send my armada to Embre, and we will take every last bit of moriarthy dust for our battle on Caleran soil. You couldn’t defend yourself against us even without the Rakuuna wiping out half your people. What chance do you have of turning us away once those monsters get through with you?”

Jhi lunged to his feet, sending his chair flying. “How dare you threaten us!”

Her voice filled the mess hall with icy rage. “How dare you refuse to help when it is in your power to do so! You could easily sell us enough moriarthy dust to serve our purposes while keeping some back for your own defense. Te’ash would never know you’d done so, because they wouldn’t believe you’d share your weapon and potentially weaken yourselves against them. And because they wouldn’t believe it, they wouldn’t come for you. Not when they are so singularly focused on destroying my kingdom instead.”

She held herself utterly still, a fierce, immovable opponent he had no hope of beating. “You could have helped us willingly without cost to yourselves and gained staunch allies in Calera, Solvang, Verace, Montevallo, and Thallis. Instead, you chose the destruction of your kingdom, and I will still get what I came for. I just have to wait out the bloodshed.”

Turning on her heel, she snapped to her retinue, “Tell the captain to ready the sails. I want us out on the open water within the hour. Lord Farragin, send ten identical messages to our contacts in Calera that Embre has been most generous in selling us all their moriarthy dust, believing Te’ash will never attack. Captain, send a palloren to the admiral—”

“Stop!” Jhi slammed his fist on the table.

Charis paused, one eyebrow raised as though mildly curious. Vicious triumph blazed in her chest, sending her heart pounding. She’d backed him into a corner so fast, he’d had no time to think. No time to sort through her words, hunting for cracks in the show of strength she’d presented. He was going to acquiesce. He had to. In his eyes, she was already setting in motion the chain of events that would ruin Embre.

When he glared at her and said nothing for a long moment, she shrugged and turned away. “You all have your orders. Get this ship moving and get those palloren into the air.”

“You can buy some moriarthy dust.” Jhi sounded furious.

Charis pivoted back toward the table. “I will buy enough to fill the barrels we brought for that purpose. I suggest you deliver it disguised with a shipment of food and water so that in case we are being watched, it appears as though all you did was reprovision us and send us on our way.”

He looked as though he wanted to spit in her face, but instead, he said, “And if I do this, you will protect us from rumors reaching Te’ash, and you will call off your armada?”

“I will.”

Slowly he nodded, his expression carved with bitterness, his chest puffed out in a last display of pride. “This will be our one and only dealing with Calera. Do not attempt to contact us again.”

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