Page 49 of Grulen

“Why the secrecy, Heggar?What aren’t you telling me?”

An unhappy grumble left the Orkite’s lips.

“The ambassador is my daughter, Niksen.Two attempts on her life have occurred in recent weeks.I don’t know if the threat is to her personally or because of my position.Publicly, I named another to travel to Ladorta to negotiate in a month.I’m hoping to discover who is behind the attempts on her life while she is under your protection.”

“Is she qualified to handle the Ladortan contingent?”

“Absolutely.While she can be headstrong, she knows the intricacies of our position and is well-versed in political maneuvering.There are those who fail to acknowledge her intelligence and worth, but she is my heir and extremely capable.”

“Any chance the Ladortans are behind the assassination attempts?”

“Unlikely.”

“So we proceed as if she’s in danger until you inform us otherwise.”Makai paused.“The three accompanying her—do you trust them?”

“Yes.The guards have been with her since birth and conducted most of her warrior training.The assistant is another guard experienced in covert operations.”

“How will you explain her absence?”

“We’ll have a public fight tonight during last meal about her safety.I’ll order her to a secure location immediately.That’s where you need to retrieve them.”

Crax murmured, “We’ll be obvious if we land anywhere else on Arona.”

Makai and Heggar looked at him.

“Do you have a better idea?”

Crax leaned forward.

“Yes.”

Stalad listened and his lips lifted slightly as they added important details to Crax’s plan.This should work.

“How will you let theFortitudeknow what to expect?”Heggar asked.

“We have secure ways of communicating.”Makai’s expression bordered on smug.“We need to add items to the cargo list to create confusion.Ideas?”

“Morgan said something about more breads,” Yaz said.“I bet she would love to have Orkite spices and foods to work with.Recipes.”

“You just want to get out of cooking.”Crax crossed his arms and smirked.“The females could benefit from additional fabrics.”

“Do we need luxury items for your people?”Makai turned to Heggar.

“No.”

“We should have larger items that can be sold on Nulorn to account for some of the crates.”Stalad added quietly.

A crafty smile rose on Heggar’s face.

“Some Orkite furniture should work.”

“Let’s finalize the list so I can send it to theFortitude.”Makai tapped on his tablet.“They’ll prepare on their end.”

Chapter 14

“Everyonetothebridge.We’ve got a job.”

Morgan’s head lifted at Rain’s announcement.She dried her hands before leaving the kitchen.What’s going on?I’m not normally involved in the jobs.

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