Inkiri clicked. “You were not drooling on any pillows, Sadir, and no. I would not have let him go to you then. But he came to suggest how well House Livim would take care of you and our sentenmen. Or if we chose to stay in the Raiken, how well you’d be cared for there.”
“Okay? You sound like I should be putting something together here, but I’m not.”
Inkiri sighed. “Undoubtedly, you’d be taken care of very well in either place. But there are politics involved with such a choice, and if there’s a powerful mage who takes advantage of status in a House or in the Raiken, they are expected to do magic as needed.”
I jerked again, only to be reeled in closer by Inkiri all over again. “I don’t—wait. You had me signed up though? When we got married? Does that mean?—”
He clicked. “No. What I did was make your status clear to all who would doubt it. It has nothing to do with what Zeddira is wishing for. You see, mates get to live with a Raikenga, that is not a question. A part of the Raikenga’s pay is used for housing and such, a lot like taxes here on Earth. Also, should anything happen to me, the Raiken would make sure you get to keep your housing rights and have access to all my funds, and you would receive a regular sum if I died in service, all of which you deserve. That assumes you take up no office or other position in the Raiken.
“If you did—which is what Zeddira hopes you will do—you would be holding office yourself. You would be expected to perform that office, perform your magic. Zeddira likes the idea because you are clearly powerful, but also no doubt because you’re related to him through the mate call.”
“Didn’t you say there were tests? Back at the wedding?”
Inkiri grunted. “For power such as yours, there would be an exception, or minimal testing to see that you can perform some basic magic and know to warn protectors with you not to get too close to you when you’re doing magic. That sort of thing. But also, Zeddira would want to know how much more magic you can perform. He’d want to know the breadth and depth of your skill.”
I wiggled my legs, but Inkiri kept me still. I’d never thought about being able to make money with magic, but that was what it sounded like. I’d never thought about money to begin with.
That really was an inconsiderate thing of me to do. I was a gold digger after all. Vergis had called it, and he’d been right.
“Well, I mean, I’ll do my share.” I didn’t like the thought of having to figure out what the depth and breadth of my magic was. I’d still have preferred to just go live somewhere, and perhaps I could’ve done something like waiting tables wherever we ended up. After all, the dream of becoming an actor prepared a person for that career path like nothing else, and with any luck, a human server on Aër would make me something like an attraction and get me lots of tips.
“Your share? I’m not sure exactly what you mean. Do you want to position yourself in the Raiken? I will support you if that’s the case, but, sweet thing, I don’t think you will be happy doing that. While the choice is yours, I’d rather you didn’t.”
“Mmh. I mean, like, the past two years have made life before seem almost surreal, but I know that things cost money. I’m willing to do my share. Earning said money. Especially if we go live on Aër where life is still normal.”
Inkiri clicked. “Sweet thing, this is not at all what you should be taking away from this conversation. It’s not even something that you need to be worried about. Our sentenmen—we’ve been very well paid given that we’ve worked in the border region ever since we graduated, and on top of that, my fathers pay all their children in the Raiken an allowance. Or a stipend? I’m not sure what the best word is. Money isn’t something you should be concerned with. If it were, it would be the House that would offer you the most of that.
“No, what my brother wishes of you is power, and what you would gain from it is influence. But such things—like magic itself—live in a delicate balance, and they require constant maintenance. Again, if you want that, I will support you, but from all you’ve told me, from how much more relaxed you are here at Kinnek’s House, it would not bring you happiness.”
I considered that for a long time, so long I felt Inkiri’s barb relax and slide free of my body with that delicious spike of arousal that always came with it. Inkiri cleaned me up with one of the small hand towels we kept in our room specifically for that purpose.
“What about the House? That’s not something you want me to do either?” I asked when he’d settled back on the bed with me, this time sitting up against the headboard. He pulled me against his chest, and I relaxed into his firm body.
Inkiri clicked at me and stroked my cooling skin. “What I want doesn’t matter all that much, Sadir. I’ve thought about it, ever since Zeddira first mentioned it.”
“So you’ve done a pro and con list already? Why don’t you share?”
I wasn’t sure whether I should be annoyed Inkiri hadn’t told me about any of this or not, but to be honest, I loved that my greatest worry over the past few weeks had been the cola ash dude in the bunker. It was a good, solid worry with clear solutions ranging from messy to less messy, and in a wicked way, there was something comforting about the clarity of that. But politics and influence? I was out of my depth all over again at just the thought. I was still surprised and impressed with myself for not doing anything embarrassing in front of Zeddira.
“I have no list like that. It’s a very human idea to decide with a list, as if you could measure the decision in that way.”
“Hey!” I turned to him and kissed his warm chest. “Humans are very advanced when it comes to making decisions, so don’t be like that. I think my parents decided to get divorced after making a pro and con list. Maybe they also asked their financial adviser about it.”
“Hmm.” He looked down at me, one of his inky eyebrows raised.
“Okay, so maybe we could make better decisions than my parents and their financial adviser.” I settled back against him. “Seriously though, what have you been thinking?”
“That you would like House Livim. You’d be treasured, cosseted. According to Zeddira, the sentenmen would be welcome as well. They would want you to perform magic to serve the greater good of the House, but they certainly wouldn’t endanger your well-being. Hmm. They might try more aggressively to set you up with a hangu than Zeddira is currently attempting.”
“Huh?”
Inkiri tilted his head. “Isn’t it obvious? I missed his intent the first time around, but then you were not well, and I was distracted. He’s clearly trying to catch your eye, and the interpreter he brought along is dressed in finery that isn’t suitable for a mission to Earth. It’s not suitable for any mission that might entail battling monsters. Likely, he is someone very trusted by Zeddira and here to present you with yet another option, someone who speaks your language.”
I gaped. “Your own brother…is trying to seduce me? Or set me up with the interpreter? What for?” The information processing team in my brain submitted another question. “Was that why you needed me to scream so they could all hear it?”
My mate clicked, a pleased and very smug expression on his beautiful face.
“I always like it when you scream. They’re trying to seduce you for influence, of course. Also because it’s well understood that a hangu and hangu pairing would mean your young have magic as well.”
