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Anyway… before this guy can get even creepier toward my daughter, me, or anyone else here, I do my best to remain polite as I thank him for his time and take our leave. Anvar, not the least bit bothered by our exchange, continues painting as if we’d never been there.
We walk far enough into the orchard to get out of sight from him.
“It’s fine, ma. I expected something like that.” Tammy hugs me. “He’s not as creepy as he seems.”
“Well, that seemed pretty darn creepy to me.” Kingsley shakes his head. “Was he propositioning us to pose nude for paintings or something a little… spicier?”
“Both,” says Tammy. “Anvar almost got disowned by his father for his hedonistic lifestyle. I mean, by modern standards, he’s not much worse than basically Hugh Hefner.”
Kingsley raises an eyebrow. “Pretty sure ol’ Hugh didn’t look at dudes the way that guy looked at me.”
I sigh. “Anyway... thoughts? Is this guy Nesanth or not?”
Tammy fidgets. “Quentin said on a Reddit AMA a few months ago that Anvar wanted to destroy the other houses as revenge for the deaths of the king and queen—Thae’s parents. He might be responsible for the assassins. Not to take the crown but to get rid of the pressure of being noble. Kill all the other nobles and he no longer has to worry about all of high society looking down their noses at him... or trying to kill him first.”
“Wow. Was he super loyal to the former monarchs?” I ask.
“Umm.” Tammy blushes. “You could say that…”
I stare at her. “Young lady, what kind of books do you read?”
“Hah.” Tammy fakes an innocent face. “It’s not that bad. Anvar was, uhh, romantically involved with both of them. Like, at the same time.”
I rub my forehead. “Okay, wow. So…”
“I’m not five anymore.” Tammy rolls her eyes.
Kingsley squeezes my hand. “It could be relevant. If he had a relationship like that with two people who were both recently murdered, it gives him a revenge motive.”
“He also does not seem at all worried the assassins would go after him again.” Allison frowns. “He seems guilty.”
“And he’s also on his way over here…” Kingsley glances to his right, past the rows of grapevines.
Anvar’s plain brown robe hangs off his fairly skinny body. This dude doesn’t look like he’d be any threat in a fight. Heck, Tammy could probably kick his ass without magic. He stands there, fists on his hips, looking at us like half of a depraved Caligula, half an art school nerd trying to act cool.
“Is this where he pulls out a dagger and tries to kill us for knowing his plan?” asks Kingsley, sounding as far from worried as is possible to sound... and also not bothering to lower his voice.
“No.” Anvar folds his arms. “This is where I ask how you know so much about me.”
I catch myself doing a Kingsley head tilt at him. “You heard us from all the way over there?”
Anvar smiles. “One does not survive long in certain circles without developing the ability to infer what people are saying by watching their lips.”
“So, it’s true?” Tammy blinks. “You really are the one sending out the assassins? The attack on you was staged, wasn’t it?”
Anvar shifts his gaze to her. “Answer my question first and then I will tell you the truth.”
“The true answer to your question is not going to sound like truth to you,” says Tammy, folding her arm over her chest. “Just so you know, it’s going to be weird.”
Kingsley nudges her. “Shouldn’t you reframe it in a way he’d be able to understand? Like magic or something?”
“I could…” Tammy smiles. “Figured I’d tell him the actual truth as a gesture of good faith.”
Anvar raises an eyebrow. “No one knows about my relationship with the former monarchs.”
Lindsey snickers. “Oh no, no one at all. Just half the castle servants, your older sister Vidara, oh, and Sansha Galahir.”
“Sansha?” Anvar blinks.
