Page 47 of The King of Koraha
Ah, theplink, plink, plink. “The fakes were good enough to pass a casual inspection,” Shyla said, which was the truth.
“Then you should be interviewing all the Water Princes and Princesses,” he said. “They’re the ones who paid the taxes with fake coins.”
“All of them? That’s quite a conspiracy.” And he was trying to distract her. Did that mean he had something to hide? Or was he just defending his monks? At this point, she wasn’t sure.
“The King’s been unresponsive to the cities’ needs. Perhaps they took matters into their own hands. That scenario is more likely than monks stealing. You were raised in a monastery. You should knowthat.” He added heat to the last word. “You needto interview the King’s guards.Theyprobablyexchangedthe real coins for the fakes.” Each word he stressed pushed on her, commanding her.
Scorching sand rats, the man had magical abilities!
She fought the magical directive to leave the monastery as it pulsed through her body. With effort, she regained control. “The guards were exonerated.” Either her statement or the fact she didn’t obey him caused him concern. “You can see why interviewing the monks is imperative.”
“It’s awaste of time. My monkswouldn’t steal.” This time he put extra power into his words.
No, of course not. She nodded in agreement before realizing what she was doing. Again she struggled to ignore the command. It was so very strong. And he spoke the truth, which meant someone else had stolen the taxes. “I’d also like to talk to Barika. She was in charge when the thefts first started.” She used the power of The Eyes to seek the magic inside him.
“Youdon’tneedtotalk to anyone. It’s time foryoutoleave,” he ordered.
When he responded, magic glowed inside him, but it wasn’t a crack, nor did it fill him completely. Instead it was a bright ball of light around his heart and it pushed on her. Hard.
She was half out of her seat to comply before coming to her senses. Lonato stared at her in amazement.
Not waiting for him to command her again, she gathered all her magic, including the power of The Eyes, and aimed it at him. It was time to put an end to this charade.
“You can stop influencing me now.”
“I’m—”
“Using magic, I know. Do you know who I am?”
His confidence ebbed, replaced with confusion. “The King’s emissary.” And that sun-kissed who overthrew the people in charge of Zirdai.
She leaned closer. “Yes, I’mthatsun-kissed. And you’re going to tell me everything you know.” Shyla pushed magic into her words, forcing him to speak.
“I…” He clamped his mouth shut with a snap, pressing his lips together. The man was resistant to her commands.
She increased the pressure. “Go on, Lonato,confess.”
“The King of Koraha is no longer needed!” The words exploded from his mouth. “He’s expensive. And there’s nothing he does that the cities can’t do for themselves. If they keep their tax money, they can all have their own special elite forces and take care of their own problems without having to wait on the King to send help.” Appalled by his outburst, Lonato covered his mouth with both hands. But then he surged to his feet and flung his arms wide. “You know this firsthand. Zirdai was struggling under corrupt and power-hungry leaders with no help from the King. Even when he was lucid, he didn’t care. It’s just like what you’ve done in Zirdai—we’ve taken matters into our own hands.”
Shyla couldn’t fault his logic. She had taken matters in hand. But they had to act because innocent people were dying. Lonato had other options. He could have waited for the old king to die and present his ideas to the new King.
“So you stole the taxes and hired mercenaries,” she guessed.
“Yes.”
“Did you hire the mercs to intercept me before I reached the King?”
“No. Someone else did. Although I admit being glad when I heard about it.” He gave her a nasty glare. “Too bad it failed.”
She ignored the dig. “Who else?”
“I don’t know. But I’m not surprised. You were part of a major upset in Zirdai’s leadership. Many people died. That’s going to make you plenty of enemies.”
She hadn’t thought anyone beyond Zirdai would be affected. But now that she did, there was bound to be relatives, business associates, and friends who were upset and might be plotting revenge. A chill raced along her spine, but she clamped down on her emotions. That was a problem to be solved later.
“And you’re planning to set up mercs in every city in Koraha?” she asked.
“Yes. Each city will have mercenaries.”
