Page 75 of Company of Thieves
Zand’s shoulders slumped in relief. Safie mouthed a thank-you to Alan, before leaning back against her husband.
“I care little how you arrange your forces, so long as you are able to do what I need you to do.”
“Then we are agreed,” Octavia said, nodding. “The Company of Thieves will undertake to assist the empire for the purpose of dismantling the Black Hand, and stopping the imperator from breaching Bohemia.”
“I think it’s going to take rather more than simply stopping the breach,” William said, his gaze touching lightly on Alan. “I believe that the imperator’s son will need to rise from the dead and take his place.”
Alan looked in horror at the emperor.
Next to him, Hallie gasped. “Is he serious?” she asked him in a whisper. “He wants you to kill your own father?”
“Not kill, depose,” Alan said softly, then continued in a louder voice. “I do not seek the position of imperator. I neither want nor need power. I am content with my life as it is.”
“And you get bonus brownie points for that,” Hallie told him softly.
“You do not seek it, no, but it is the only solution,” William insisted. “The imperator must be removed from the throne, else he will continue to be a thorn in my side. How you do it is your own business, but you are the likeliest person to not only remove him, but to rally the Moghuls to your side and lead them to a future less fraught with destruction.”
They went round and around for a half hour before Alan reluctantly agreed that he would attempt to remove his father from the throne, although he refused to promise that he would claim it once that had been done. “I have seven other sisters, any of which would be perfectly fine to rule in the imperator’s place.”
William waved that away, too. “We will leave that discussion for another date. Have we come to terms? I wish to be away before the sun rises, since this news about Bohemia means I must stop my fleet from flying to the Hungarian empire.”
After the delicate question regarding financial remuneration had been settled to everyone’s satisfaction, maps were shared, and Alan was given a specific set of instructions, while the others made plans on how best to tackle Etienne.
“My spies tell me he’s headed to Prague,” William said as they were about to part. “That is where you should focus your attention. Cut off the head of the organization, and the rest will crumple.”
Alan said nothing as they made their good-byes, and received a list of codes used to communicate with imperial ships, before they all returned to their respective airships.
Octavia and Jack departed almost immediately. Alan hurried his crew into readying theNightwing, after which he joined Zand in getting theFalconready to fly.
“Leave theFalconoutside of Prague, where it will be safe,” he told Zand. “Safie and you will join us on theNightwing, and then we’ll tackle my father.”
“One ship, even theNightwing, isn’t going to be able to bring your father to his knees,” Zand pointed out.
“Which is why we’re going to find an alternate method to seeing to his downfall,” Alan said.
Safie appeared in the double doors of theFalcon, looking pointedly at her husband.
“You’d better go before she decides to ensure I am unable to enjoy my own wedding night,” Alan said with a nod toward his sister.
Zand laughed, punched him on the shoulder, and hurried off to get the airship on its way.
“It’s almost midnight,” Hallie said when he arrived at theNightwing. “And you look exhausted. Please tell me you don’t have to stay up all night.”
Hallie bore black smudges beneath her eyes, but her face glowed with love for him that made him feel nigh on invincible. “Just long enough to make sure we’re under way without problems. Go to bed, dove. I’ll join you as soon as I can.”
“Just so you know,” she said, heading for their cabin, her hips swaying in a deliberate attempt to lure him, “I have a long list of things I want to do to you. With my tongue. And for every minute you make me wait, I’m crossing off one of them.”
They were aloft and headed off through the moonlit night in record time.
