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Resven opened his mouth. Kosandion tapped his armrest with his index finger, and the chancellor’s jaw clicked shut.
“You pursued me,” Kosandion said. “I agreed to meet with you to discuss it. I was honest with you, and you assured me that what I offered was enough. You were not forced. As I recall, you were enthusiastic.”
A muscle jerked in Vercia’s face. Her control slipped. Caldenia would’ve never allowed herself a lapse like that.
“Before we slept together, I was a rising star,” she squeezed out. “After, I became an incompetent fool who had access to the Sovereign for 5 months and failed to garner any political advantage from it. You’ve turned me into a laughingstock. When Parseon and you were over, he became a Third Rank Minister.”
“That promotion was in place before their relationship started,” Resven said. “Minister Parseon petitioned to delay his confirmation, because his duties would preclude him from visiting the Capital for the first two years. You can find the record of it in the governmental archives in Section—”
“Oh, shut up.” Vercia grimaced. “It’s too late to play nursemaid to the orphan, Resven. Your little boy is fully grown. He is capable of speaking for himself.”
“You’re an uncultured woman. You bring shame to your family,” the chancellor spat out.
“Not for much longer. Soon my family and everyone in the Dominion will know that brushing me aside comes with a price.”
I had many partners over the years, male, female, humanoid and not, yet none of them remain by my side. Poor Kosandion.
Vercia tossed her hair back with an impatient jerk of her head. “Let’s cut to the chase. You can do nothing to me. I’ve covered my tracks, and you have no proof. Only the accusation of incompetence might stick, and once this beautiful mess becomes public, everyone will see my actions for exactly what they were: a deep, calculated stab to the heart. My career will soar, while you’ll nurse your wound and try to recover some semblance of respect in the public eye.”
“A pirate,” Kosandion said. “A despicable criminal. You allowed him to enter the selection and then you passed confidential information to his associates, endangering everyone here. Do you even know what he has done?”
She smiled. “Every single bit of it. Mass murder, rape, slavery. He has done everything a man can do when he’s given weapons, fast craft, and money without any strings of moral guidance. He is reviled even by his peers. That’s why I picked him. It had to be sickening, Kosandion, otherwise it wouldn’t have the necessary impact. I’ve dropped enough hints to the right people. Go ahead. Try to hide it. It will explode in your face. Every gory detail of his atrocities will be splashed over the Dominion’s screens. The tower of your pitiful arrogance brought down low in one swift cut. I’ll cherish it.”
Orata took a step forward. “I can fix it.”
Kosandion glanced at her.
“Please, Letero. She is my subordinate. Let me fix it.”
Kosandion considered it. “You have till tomorrow’s elimination.”
Orata nodded, her face sharp, and tapped her earpiece. “Selerian, wake everyone. Yes, everyone.”
Kosandion turned his head slightly. Miralitt nodded to the guards. “Confine Public Servant Denoma.”
“On what grounds?” Vercia demanded.
“Breach of protocol. Failure to greet the Sovereign, failure to call the Sovereign by title, and interfering with a Public Servant with intent to disrupt his duties.”
“What?” Vercia drew back.
“The Office of Chancellor is responsible for maintaining the record of the Sovereign’s life and must provide that record on demand to public,” Miralitt said. “You accused a public official of improper conduct in front of the Sovereign, which constitutes a demand for information. Chancellor Resven is duty-bound to immediately disclose where that information can be found. By telling him to shut up, you prevented him from performing his duty, which constitutes suppression.”
“That’s absurd!”
“Take her out,” Miralitt said.
The guards marched Vercia back to the portal. I watched them vanish into the glow.
“Dismissed,” Kosandion said.
Orata and Miralitt left the room, the PR chief all but running to the portal and the security chief heading to her quarters. It was only Kosandion, Resven, Sean, and me.
Kosandion’s expression cracked. An emotion twisted his face, a mix of resignation, dull ache, and deep intense loneliness. A bitter fatalistic acceptance.
The older man knelt in front of Kosandion and took his hands in his. “I am so sorry, Letero. So sorry.”
Sean took my hand. We withdrew quietly and went upstairs to our bedroom. We took off our robes, and then I crawled into bed next to Sean and hugged him. I didn’t want to feel alone.
Sean wrapped his arm around me. For a little while I lay awake, reassured that we were okay by the warmth of his body, and then I slipped into my dreams.
20
When we last left the inn, we learned that Kosandion’s former lover betrayed him. Oh Kosandion. So considerate, so handsome, so lonely. If only he had someone to comfort his troubled heart. Now Orata, his PR chief, is trying to put out that fire. But breakfasts do get cold, and even innkeepers have to eat…
