Page 48 of Conspirators' Kingdom

The first bump in the road occurred moments after the wedding party came to a close. He and Taisiya were brought to his chambers by blushing servants. When the doors closed, Mereruka looked to Taisiya, whose icy fury was barely suppressed.

“What a fucking joke,” she cursed as she kicked off her shoes and fell into one of the chairs in the sitting area, tossing her crown away as if it were infested with lice. “I hope you’ve had a good laugh at my expense, Mereruka, because it’ll be the last. Now, sit.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to make it up to you?” he asked, his eyes drifting towards the bed. He was more than confident he could pleasure her senseless if she let him.

Her cheeks flushed, but her eyes narrowed.

“I’ve never gelded a man with a blade of lightning before. How kind of you to offer to be the first.”

Mereruka, perhaps unwisely, laughed. Sitting down across from her, he smiled.

“You’re perfect.”

“If that were true, you’d be honeymooning with Chloe,” she retorted.

“She was too sweet for my purposes. I find I prefer a woman with lightning in her veins.”

He reached across the table, his fingers caressing hers. Unimpressed by his flattery, she yanked her hand away from his touch with a scowl.

“I expect you to be entirely honest with me, without resorting to lies of omission. I refuse to work with you otherwise. Tell me who Bas is.”

“He’s my adoptive son and my right-hand in training. I prefer to keep his existence a secret so that he won’t be targeted,” Mereruka answered.

“And how many mistresses do you have?”

“None.”

“Keep it that way. I refuse to be forced to compete with another woman for your loyalty.” She propped up her chin with the heel of her palm, her elbow resting on the arm of her chair. She tapped the finger of her free hand on the other lacquered arm. “How many stand in my way once we get to Maat?”

“Discounting the ones here in Lethe?”

Taisiya nodded.

“Six, including the king.”

“Does he have children? Heirs?”

“No, thankfully.”

“Good. I refuse to kill children,” she said as she sighed. “I expect you to tell me everything you know about your… siblings?” At his nod, she continued, “As well as any cultural differences that will make my transition to Maat’s court easier. Do you have any allies?”

“A few, though none that are expected to be brazen about it.”

“So we can’t rely on anyone within the court to favour us?”

Mereruka shook his head.

“We won’t need it. Khety wanted to lower my standing through my marriage to you, a supposedly cursed barbarian. You should know that everyone outside Lethe considers your lands cursed. We don’t even force our worst criminals to set sail for your shores. Be that as it may, when I return with a woman such as yourself by my side, I expect that attitude will change quickly.”

Taisiya seemed to mull that revelation over.

“Cursed how?”

“The land itself is poisonous, cannibalism is rife, any children born here will be weak and sickly, magic doesn’t work here, the list goes on.”

“It’s not much different from what we believed about the peoples outside the empire, that you’re all uncultured barbarians, too busy killing each other to be worth our time…”

“If I may-”

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