City of Wonders by James A. Moore

Author:James A. Moore [Moore, James A]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Epic, Fantasy, heroic, imperial power, invasion, Seven Forges, war
ISBN: 9780857665058
Publisher: Watkins Media
Published: 2015-09-06T23:00:00+00:00

“We haven’t spoken much of late.” Nachia’s voice was soft and bordered on cautious. That meant she was worried about him, so Desh put on his brightest voice and smiled reassuringly.

“No, we haven’t. That pesky business with the Sa’ba Taalor keeps getting in the way.”

She smiled obligingly. The problem with people who are close to you is that they can often tell when you’re lying, whether or not that lie is made with words. She could tell. There was nothing he could do about that.

Rather than dwell on the obvious, Desh deflected the worry with a question. “Has your Inquisitor discovered the guilty party yet?”

“Oh, he knows. He’s known for quite some time. He just wants to give my dear cousin every chance to confess before turning him over to me.”

“And what do you intend to do about the situation?”

“Laister was planning to have me assassinated. I know that’s a traditional manner of handling the internal problems in my family, but I don’t particularly appreciate it in this case.” She walked around Desh’s private chambers as if she owned the place, which to be fair, was technically true.

Nachia plucked an apple from a bowl of fruit and commenced eating it. “I believe I’ll have him executed properly.”

“Really? What a novel idea.”

“Do you disagree?”

Desh smiled. It was the sort of smile that had made more than one person pale when dealing with him.

“You have an interesting quandary. On the one hand, you have every reason to have Laister executed. Doing so could, depending on who you talk to, even cement your position as a ruler who will tolerate no nonsense. On the other side of this debate, many would argue that solidarity within the Imperial Family is a must in times of war.”

The expression she fired his way was pure venom. “And what would you have me do, old man? Should I promote him to First Advisor?”

“Look carefully at my contract. You don’t have the right.” He smiled.

“I can’t very well let him go free.”

“Of course you can. He is guilty and you know it and I know it and he knows it – and more importantly he knows that we are very well aware of his actions. The likelihood is that he’ll be worrying over every little sound he hears for the next year. You already have his man in custody and can certainly make an example of him if you feel the need.”

“I don’t like it and I don’t trust Laister. He’ll try again.”

“Strip him of all that he owns and he’ll never do anything of the sort again. Remove him from the family by Imperial Decree. No name. No title. No property.”

Nachia chewed at the apple for a moment, obviously intrigued. She was not known for her kindness. She could be kind, she was ruling as well as he’d hoped she would, but she was not always the kindest of souls.

She shook her head. “He still has information and influence. Too much of both. Even if he is stripped of everything, he has enough knowledge to cripple half the family.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.