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“Bullshit.”
I passed her the storage drive full of pictures of my progress without giving away its secret location.
“You know I have no way of confirming this now. So let us speak as if this proof is real. What would tracking down that structure do?”
“You know I was the one who built the shield to house the rune. I know that the shield is far too powerful to break over an explosion. But, I’ve allowed forgeries created by Felman to sidetrack me. I will trust my own skills now, and I’m sure that shield is still in the station with the true rune inside.
“Do you have an idea where it could be?”
“For the longest time, I suspected the abyss, though I’m unsure. But the instability of the rune’s power could be the reason why that place is so difficult to map and dive.”
She stood. “Come with me.” She said, leading me out the balcony through a door behind us. We traveled down an insanely long corridor until we found ourselves inside a room full of tech, ours and the dwarves. She called on a titan with braided brown hair and a neatly trimmed beard and passed him the storage device.
We waited until he called for her, and she was able to look at my evidence. I waited until she returned.
“I won’t be foolish enough to ask where this portal of yours might be.” She sighed. “You are further along than I am. Don’t look so shocked, or did you believe you were the only one desperate to return home.”
“You know what will happen if the others find this.”
“I am well aware. I have friends who also desire to leave this hellish realm behind. I’m not alone. We now have a common goal.”
“I came here hoping to use your more advanced tech to find the station. How come you haven’t done that yourself?”
“I had my own personal dive team, but someone killed them not too long after they reported finding the rune.” She looked at me knowingly. “Now I know they died for a fake, like so many of my other teams.”
“I had no direct cause in that. The divers I bargained with for the rune had stolen it from what I now know are your people. I didn’t think they would resort to murder.”
“Losing them was a major setback for me. It’s not every day you come across talented dwarves who are also trustworthy and not in some other noble’s back pockets.” She huffed. “But I still have my equipment, the best of them all. No other noble has acquired my wealth in tech. I just need the people to use it.” She led me from the room, and we came up to the ballroom area, a little away from the ballroom.
“It will be difficult to find untainted dwarven divers, but I’ll probe the area. Since it’s both location and retrieval, we would need a damn excellent team. And I will use every connection I have to keep your house safe. I know Felman wants your power for his own.” She hushed and looked about. “We are being followed.”
“I apologize, Madam.” Gio approached from the shadows with a bow. I wanted to kick his ass out the window. But I couldn’t allow her to see I had no control over my own man.
“No, it is I who needs to apologize,” I said with a bow. “One can never be too safe here.”
“And here I thought you possessed some integrity.” She spat. “And you wonder why I never leave my rooms. He’s not much of a spy.”
“No. I am mostly just a servant, but I also made myself known because I have a solution to my mentor’s and your problem.”
“Oh, this is lovely. I won’t even ask how much you’ve heard. I will make arrangements to ensure every word out of both of your mouths are rendered false.” Her demeanor grew cold.
“Please, Madam. This man is Gio, my heir. He’s here for protection, both of ours and nothing more.”
She seemed to settle down, but only slightly. I could tell she was still tense and ready to act if needed. “How could you solve our problem, assuming you know what it is?”
“I assure you, I have only followed you around the ballroom and here in this room. You mentioned the need for dwarf divers you can trust. My mentor has such a diver, a very talented young man who cannot betray him. He is here. The thrall you saw earlier.”
“Gio.” I wanted to tear his fucking heart out and eat it.
“Perfect,” Madam whispered. “Bring the thrall to the poolroom for an interview.”
“Now?” I asked, shocked.
“Well, he can either put his mouth to good use for an interview or out there sucking on some stallion’s cock.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
KAL
