Page 75 of Conspirators' Kingdom

“I’ll look away while you enter.”

“F-fine. Turn around.”

He did just that. If only he could memorize the sound of her peeling off her sweat-slicked gown. It took all he had to hold back a groan as it slapped the floor. Gods below, she was finally naked and in his presence.Don’t fuck this up. She slid into the pool and sighed. Wading away from her, he sat down on his bench opposite hers, hoping the rippling water and a few strategically placed flowers concealed his arousal. He had a sneaking suspicion the evidence of it would scare her off.

“Do you expect a great deal of resistance in Shedet?” Taisiya asked.

Her expression said she was caught between timidity and business. Mereruka smiled. He could play this game with her. He simply needed to coax her out.

“If the nomarch is intelligent, yes. But I don’t believe he is. I’ll have a solid fighting force accompany us nonetheless.”

Taisiya paused to mull it over. Damn water was rippling too much to see her form beneath it.

“And if we sent a number of the soldiers ahead, disguised as commoners? Would that be noticed?” she asked.

Right, he needed to keep his wits about him. She would notice if he were distracted.

“What do you have in mind?” His curiosity was piqued.

“He’ll know we’re coming. We don’t plan on making our trip there in secret, right?”

“Correct. Royalty in Maat always travels ostentatiously.”

“Then we should send a force ahead of us, disguised to avoid suspicion, and have them placed to quell a military conflict before it has a chance to organize. It will also have the added benefit of making our approaching caravan appear peaceable.”

He sipped his wine. It was a good plan. If the soldiers were discovered, he could easily excuse their presence as protectiveness over his new wife.

“We’ll speak to Qar in the morning and organize the soldiers accordingly.”

Her smile was dazzling.

“Do you think any of your siblings share your hatred for Khety? For killing your mother?”

Gods, if only. Mereruka shook his head.

“No. Our mother wasn’t the warmest sort. Nefertnesu, being heartless, is entirely untrustworthy. As for the twins Itet and Inkaef, I don’t believe they have any real love for Khety, but things are good for them with him in charge, and neither is fond of change. Serfka and Radjedef, as you know, would side with Khety.”

She frowned. Disappointed?

“Ah, and under what pretext will we be seizing the nome?”

“Any pretext we like. In Maat, though the hatyas and professional classes have wealth and land, there is a vast chasm between them and royalty. If we didn’t need to worry about Khety using this against us, we could simply slaughter the nomarch’s whole family for the insult of his son’s invasion of my palace. No one would bat an eye.” Mereruka waved his hand. “Ah, except maybe Radjedef, since he and the nomarch of Shedet are friendly, both being military men. But I suspect our list of grievances against them will be more than adequate as a pretext. They invaded my home, stole from my treasury and harassed the people of my nome. Even Radjedef, hot-headed prick that he is, would have a hard time defending that. We will offer them their lives in exchange for their territory and settle them elsewhere in Maat. It’s more than fair.”

“And you don’t believe we need to be cautious of their resentment?” she asked.

Mereruka shook his head, sipping his wine. Now that he had returned, any who acted against him and who possessed any sense would be running for the hills. It was how things should be.

“I think that’s unwise. Fae live an inordinately long time. Either kill your enemies, or co-opt them. Why not install one as the first scribe of the nome and find prestigious but not especially powerful positions for the nomarch’s family within Shedet’s administration? We would keep them in our sights, and their knowledge of the nome could prove valuable. Any children unsuitable for administration could be married off to neutral parties without ties to real power,” Taisiya suggested.

“Is that how you would have neutralized the threat of your own family?” he asked, curious.

Taisiya smirked.

“It only would have worked if they’d acted quickly, and only for a single generation. Any true Dragonsblood who visited the graveyard would know the second they stepped foot in there that the territory was theirs to rule and protect, that the heart’s resonance was the marker of a hallowed home. How else could a family hold the same territory with the same conviction and purpose stretching back beyond written memory?”

Is that what the descendants of dragons felt when they found the graveyards of their kin? Perhaps she really did have a drop of monster’s blood in her.

“Very well. We can be generous in this instance. It will deny Khety anything to foment trouble with, too.”

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