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Aside from the bloodshed and torture and dread of Madame that underlies our every interaction.
“I’m sure I’ll manage,” I tell her.
Remy and Zaina take the remaining seats. I raise an eyebrow when it’s my wife who deals, though I shouldn’t be surprised. She already acknowledged spending time with Aika at the tavern.
Once play begins, Zaina starts to talk.
“We need to find out what Madame wants, which is where you come in.” She looks at Aika, who salutes her sarcastically before throwing down a card.
“In the meantime, we’ll work on destabilizing her empire.” Zaina turns to Remy. “Which is whereyoucome in. Presuming you want a role in this?”
“Obviously,” he says, playing his own card. “But why go through that trouble when we could just cut off the head of the monster? Literally and figuratively. She may be strong, but surely she can’t combat an entire army.”
“No, but she could run if she sees one coming,” I say, remembering how easily she got away before.
“We could call her to the palace and trap her here,” Remy suggests.
“We could,” Zaina allows. “But it would still have to be a last resort, and only after we’ve taken out the key players. As it stands, she has too many allies here, many of them unknown, and even those who don’t side with her are afraid of her.”
“It would turn into an all-out war,” I agree.
Aika refills our glasses before playing her next card. “Besides which, we don’t actually know how to trap her.”
Zaina nods. “Until we have more information, it would be a guessing game.”
“A guessing game that would get any number of my people killed.” Remy’s expression is solemn as he considers this.
It’s a sentiment I understand well. How many of my people died while I tried in vain to find a cure?
“All right,” he finally concedes. “So, what do you need from me?”
Aika’s face tightens, but she doesn’t object.
“You’re the only one who can be seen in the city, asRemy, obviously. All of Madame’s people know Aika, I’m supposed to be dead, and Einar…” Zaina trails off, looking at me with a smirk. “Doesn’t exactly blend in.”
“No,” Aika speaks up this time, the word laced with finality.
Remy plays his next card.
“I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself on the streets.” He sounds more placating than offended, but his wife doesn’t look reassured.
She folds her hand, turning the full effect of her glare on him.
“Really? Is that why you waltzed up to me and flat out asked me about Madame? Do you realize that if you had beenanyone else, that would have landed you on her list?”
He arches his brow, his lips tilting upward. “Well then, it’s a good thing I had the foresight to sleep with the enemy.”
“You aren’t funny,” she tells him.
“No one likes a liar, Aika,” he taunts, playing his final two cards.
He’s won this round.
Aika scowls, taking a long sip of her whiskey before gathering the pile of cards and reshuffling.
Remy turns to my wife. “What do you need to know from the city, and what do we already know about her motives?”
Zaina holds up a finger, indicating that she’s responding to his first question. “We need to know who her main sources of revenue are these days. You can figure those things out as Remy, then start to take care of them as Francis. We’ll move in strategically, so she doesn’t suspect that we’re targeting her until the last minute. And we need to eliminate—”
