Page 46 of Prima
“I’m sure I haven’t told you anything you don’t already know,” he continues, his breaths ragged. “But the next part you must know particularly well.”
Her other hand moves down his back. When she lifts the hem of his shirt and presses her hand against his skin, flame sears him. Her hand climbs up along his spine and he burns everywhere.
She says softly, “You refer to Prince Six’s claim that the Sea Witch, the greatest power the region has ever known, will make him into her consort—and therefore he does not need the support of any Dawani generals?”
“He divorced his wife of fifteen years in anticipation of that day,” he answers with difficulty. “You can’t say he’s not sincere in his distaste for polygamy.”
Lady Sun snorts. Her next kiss lands at the juncture of his shoulder and neck, a light bite that nearly kills him outright.
He wants to fall upon her, meld into her, pulverize her. He separates them and takes two steps back, grateful for a cooling breeze. “I’ve a confession to make.”
"I’m listening,” comes her answer.
For all that she’s been making love to him, those two words are intimidating. He has some idea now how she conducted herself while serving on the Secretariat.
He exhales. “When Six shocked all of us by going through with his divorce, I saw an opening. I had Five put out a rumor that the Sea Witch wasn’t going to marry Six on his say so, but was open to wooing from all the factions.”
She snorts again. “If only your ancestor knew that the myth he created would affect his descendants more than anything else.”
At least she doesn’t sound displeased with him.
“We wanted Four distracted. To that end, we posted letters to all parties, purportedly from the Sea Witch’s representatives, stating the Prima’s willingness to receive envoys. This injected enough excitement and uncertainty into the situation that preparations to flee on Five’s part could be passed off as action in anticipation of being chosen.”
He advances enough to take her hands into his and wants nothing more than to never let go again. “Of course I also took my own desire into account. Just before the Noble Consort died, we learned that my brother Eighteen, Five’s full brother, didn’t die in childhood but was sent away to Offshore Queensland Coalition. So Five was always going to go there to find Eighteen. I gave my spot in his entourage to my cook, becauseIwas headed to New Ryukyu.”
“But when you reached Dragon Gate,” she says, “you encountered New Ryukyu border patrol, ordering you to surrender all weapons and communications equipment.”
He presses her fingertips to his lips and is gratified to feel a tremor beneath her skin. “That was not shocking—New Ryukyu is always informed about what is going on in Dawan. What astonished me, other than being told I’d meet with a representative of the Prima Inter Pares, was that I was eventually allowed to sail past Dragon Gate.”
He thought he’d have to leaveThe Blue Sampanbehind at that point.
“You mean, after they removed the explosives onboard?” she comments drily.
He leans forward and kisses her on her cheek, her skin so soft it’s like kissing flowers. “I didn’t want it known that I absconded to New Ryukyu: The Potentate’s Palace could made demands for my return; it could also affect my mother and sister in unpredictable ways. Much better that my boat blows up—everybody in Dawan will assume that it’s my Brother Four again, getting rid of those standing in his way.”
“Except the sub behind usissent by your brother Four, isn’t it?”
He casts a glance upon the starlit sea behind them. The submarine, of course, is nowhere in sight. Her raft, on the other hand, remains nearby, advancing quietly.
“Last time I saw Four, I taunted him about our brother Eleven’s death. I haven’t the slightest idea how Eleven died, yet I outdid myself in my recreation of the scene for Four. It’s one thing for everyone else to believe that Four killed me; but forhimto believe it, he has to participate in my demise.”
She allows one of her hands to remain in his and slides the other up his arm, stopping to rub her thumb against the inside of his elbow. The sensation lights up neural pathways he didn’t even know existed.
“I like how you’ve set it all up, Prince Nineteen,” she says softly. “Let’s get on with it then. Time for you to die.”
ChapterFourteen
The present
Ren stows his supply of Jasperdew tea leaves, the remaining mooncakes, and his sketchbooks in his bag. To his surprise, Lady Sun returns to him his small pack of explosives.
“In case the torpedoes miss,” she explains. “I don’t have the greatest confidence in the sub’s crew.”
The endemic corruption of Dawan does make it likely that the competent are sidelined while the obsequious advance.
The current wind condition is fine for sailing south, but requires repeated tacking, not something he can do if he’s not on board.The Blue Sampan, however, has an auxiliary electric motor. He starts it, points the boat’s bow toward Dragon Gate, and sets the autosteering.
“Five gave me this boat.” He takes one last look at the blue interior, which he painted by hand, before he follows Lady Sun onto her raft. “It deserves a better fate than becoming a shipwreck.”
