Page 53 of Conspirators' Kingdom

“Yes, they swore an oath of silence in return for a modest sum. You’ll find that many fae from the lower class fail to share the views of their supposed betters. And before you ask, they know they’ll be paid only after we arrive safely in Maat,” Mereruka answered.

“How many more do you expect to be a problem?” she asked, her expression tight.

“Not many,” he answered. She looked like she might be ill. His concern began to grow. “Are you well?”

“I will be,” she answered through clenched teeth. “Vasilisa, be prepared.”

“Yes, Princess Consort,” Vasilisa replied from the vicinity of Taisiya’s shadow.

“Where is Bas?” Taisiya asked.

“Ensuring no one gets the idea to hide and bide their time,” Mereruka replied.

Bas was busy scouring the decks, sniffing out any who might try to take cover in a pocket realm or cook up a spell against him. It was a task uniquely suited to a shapeshifter and their keen senses. Any such individuals would find themselves locked in the cramped iron cell that Mereruka had spent his initial voyage trapped inside.

It wasn’t long before everyone, save the crew, was gathered on the deck before him.

“Kneel before your prince and princess consort,” Mereruka commanded.

The few who had seen the deaths of Itu and Raemka were quick to do so. A few from below deck, who had noticed his corpse, did likewise. The rest hissed and spat at him. Soldiers fingered their weapons.

“Vasilisa, take your pick,” Taisiya said.

A soldier with saffron-yellow skin and closely cropped blue hair was grabbed from behind and dragged into the shadow cast by the mast, screaming. The fae nearby leapt out of his way and shrieked in terror as Vasilisa, coated in her dark flames, slowly dragged him into the void. Once his head was subsumed, only the scrabbling, scratching of his nails on the deck could be heard from him, and soon, that, too, disappeared.

Taisiya raised her voice.

“I believe my husband ordered you lot to bow.”

Another soldier, this one with skin a cool grey tone, blue hair and a hateful glare, rushed towards her. She unleashed another bolt of lightning and he was tossed at the mast, breaking his spine with an audible crack from the force of the blow. Taisiya’s expression turned ashen but her back remained stiff.

“Whichever fools wish to die, please separate yourselves from the intelligent ones by standing,” Mereruka hissed.

All bowed, except for a single scribe, a woman with a proud bearing and a look of disgust on her face. The fae man beside her put a hand on her ankle and pleaded softly, but his hand was kicked aside.

“Only filthy dregs would ever deign to bow to a marked, sullied man and his degenerate wife. None of you deserve the noble blood you were born with! None of you deserves the title of hatya!”

Mereruka struck out with his own magic. She screamed and dissolved, dripping and shrinking until she coalesced into a solid form. He had turned her into a fish. As she flopped around on the deck, gasping, he approached her with a leisurely step. None of the other fae dared move, either to attack him or aid her. Being able to forcibly transform another was the kind of spell usually reserved for the most powerful of practitioners. It only succeeded if you could overwhelm your opponent’s magic to a frightening degree. Thanks to his tattoos, few in Maat who eschewed the magical marks could ever match him—or counter his spell.

He pulled the enhanced bronze blade from his belt and hacked her nearly in half. While she was still in the process of dying, he scooped her up and tossed her overboard. He wiped his bloody blade and gore-slick hands on the clothes of the shaking scribe nearest him and then sheathed it. He stepped over to Raemka’s body and heaved it overboard before rejoining Taisiya.

“I’m impressed by how many intelligent fae want to survive the trip back to Maat,” Taisiya said aloud. “I thought we’d have to slaughter the lot of them.”

Mereruka laughed. “As did I, wife.” He looked around at the cowed noble ministers and smiled. “Now that we’re all peaceably assembled, I would like to present you with a choice: vow never to communicate, in any way, with anyone, ever, regarding my tattoos, and I’ll spare your lives.”

“If not, my attendant will be happy to feed you to that which hungers in the void,” Taisiya finished.

After that, the vows came quickly and without further incident.

Chapter 24

Assoonasthedoor to their cabin was shut, Vasilisa was waiting, bucket in hand. Taisiya clenched it in her hands and threw up. Every time she relived the sickening crack of the soldier’s spine or the horrifying sight of a woman disintegrating before her eyes, her stomach heaved.

“Are you ill, Taisiya?” Mereruka asked, shocked.

“She has an aversion to gore,” Vasilisa answered him. “I hope you’ll take that into account the next time you melt a woman in front of her.”

Taisiya heaved.

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