I gaped at Bantar. His words and demeanor summoned the memory of my attack. I saw him standing over me, grappling with a masked man. He shoved the man back, lurched close to him, and said something. I hadn't heard what it was, but the man had sliced Bantar's chest with his sword, sending him stumbling back. Then he left. He just left after wounding Bantar. That's what had been bothering me about the attack. Now I knew why. He was Bantar's soldier, and Bantar had told him to give him that wound. It helped to sell the story. Then I remembered the expression on Bantar's face that first morning he dined in the hall with the Sea Dragons. He felt horrified to be there, sitting with the people he was plotting against.
Holy. Fuck.
“It doesn't matter how nice he is.” The man shoved Bantar's shoulder. “He's from Zaru. Killing him would start a war faster than anything else.”
“But I said no! Damn you! Now, I either have to kill him or let him go and never return to Kansu.” Bantar looked over and met my stare. “Damn it all!” He stormed over to me. “I'm sorry about this, Nadar.”
“Oh, you don't have a problem with my name now, eh, rebel leader?” I stood up and faced him, my hands angled across my chest, thanks to the ropes. “So, you're the ones behind the attacks and the magic disruption. All to start a war? Why?”
“You know why.” He grimaced. “I couldn't tell you while I was there. I had to pretend I was willing.”
I nodded. “I sensed your unhappiness despite what you said. So, are all slaves as unhappy as you?”
“Not all, but the longer it goes on, the more people weary of being abused.” He sat down on one end of my bench and waved for me to sit as well.
I sat down. “Is this a revolution, then?”
“We want to abolish slavery.”
“Jucai told me that the undersea races offer slaves on five-year contracts.”
“We do. It was once out of love for them. We would do anything to be close to the Sea Dragons. They were beautiful, powerful, and brave—heroes of the sea. But when they awoke, they were different. They took us for granted and demanded more subservience. Once, they romanced those of us whom they wanted to take as lovers. Now, they crook their fingers or simply grab us.”
“So, you can't refuse? Jucai said you could.”
“We can refuse, yes. But what if all of us refused them? Would they stop protecting us? What if we stopped giving slaves as tithes? Would they demand other forms of payment?”
“When I first arrived, I despised the practice of slavery. Then I spoke to the Sea Dragons, and I learned that they care for all of you. They think they're offering you a good life in return for your service. They send you home with gifts. I didn't think that was enough until I spoke with slaves who swore they wanted to serve. I saw things as Jucai did—willing and grateful servitude. It's hard for them to resist such offerings, especially in their current states.”
“Current states?”
“Their hungers have gone unsatisfied for centuries. Now that they're awake, they have needs that they must satisfy, or they experience physical pain.”
Bantar rolled his eyes.
“Yes, I thought it was an excuse as well. Until I saw Jucai suffer because we didn't have sex for a day.”
Bantar frowned. “This is why they've grown more licentious?”
“Yes. But needs or not, I believe if you spoke to King Jucai, he would release all of you from service. Have you not spoken to him?”
Bantar glanced over his shoulder at the men who had come up behind him. “No, we didn't think that would help. They are so arrogant. We expected to be punished if we asked to be released from service. As I said, we feared they would stop protecting us.”
“How could they protect you if they were busy fighting a war with Zaru?”
“They would have to protect us. We'd be their soldiers,” a Kaikeyo man said.
I looked from him to Bantar. “Do you hear yourselves? You're trading slavery for war. I thought the reason you continued to serve them was a fear of being killed by frellen?”
The Kaikeyo muttered to each other. All but Bantar, who watched me.
I leaned forward. “How did you disrupt Fire Magic all over the city without affecting the tower lights?”
“We rode through the city in a carriage, affecting small zones at a time. We've also been disrupting their Sea Dragon Magic.” He shook his head. “We thought it might dampen their lust, but it has done nothing.”
“Oh, it's done something all right,” I muttered.
“What do you mean?”
