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“Not really. I was just going to get some things to prepare for my routine rounds. You need something right now?”
“Just wanted to talk to you for a moment if you don’t mind. This might take a while, so if you’re busy…”
He raises his brow bone. “Why the urgency? Has something come up?”
“Not in particular, but it’s important I talk to you about this. In private.”
He looks at me incredulously. “Alright then. What did you want to talk about?”
I gesture for him to walk with me, leading him away from the other naga. I don’t want to rile up the soldiers and create a rebellion too soon. It might not go well for me if King Kriseri finds out that I’m causing an uproar in his palace.
I lead him away from the barracks, close to the slave cells just out of the palace grounds. I look around to make sure we weren’t followed. Dransa still looks at me with doubt and keeps his distance from me.
“I’m planning to go down to Lodra soon. I’m taking four other soldiers with me,” I start.
He jerks his head back, perplexed. “What for? Does the King know about this?”
“He knows some of my plans. I didn’t tell him everything since I wanted this to be as discreet as possible. Besides, you and I both know he would want to ignite a war on his own.”
“That’s true. But I have to tell you that I feel uncomfortable moving without his orders,” he points out.
“I know, but trust that this mission will be an absolute secret. I don’t plan on starting a fight over there. We’re going to be undercover as peasants so no one will know it’s us creating panic.”
“Hm, so you're going to make drama for the naga there? What exactly is your goal here, though?”
“I have some ideas, but primarily we need to spread rumors about incoming war, humans from Yadat suddenly spreading disease, or that humans have begun to rebel against us. Anything to create uncertainty with those vile creatures,” I explain.
He smirks. “I've never seen a male so passionate about getting rid of humans. You're not even interested in using them?”
The slave sent to me yesterday pops into my mind. Her large brown eyes and the cascade of red curls that fell over her shoulders…
I frown. “I’m not. It makes me wonder why you haven’t thought of this in the first place.”
“I have, trust me. King Kriseri wants all the humans in Nagaland to be more worthless than dirt. But Lodra is still a powerful territory. That’s why I’m reluctant to go with your plan.”
“To put your mind at ease, I plan on going to the smaller towns. It won’t cause much of an uproar, and rumors spread like wildfire there. It’ll reach the whole region in days.”
Dransa takes a moment to think about it. He sighs and folds his arms, his expression still looking unconvinced. He’s the most important asset to this plan. If I can’t get him to agree, I’ll have to rethink everything.
King Kriseri knows how fiercely loyal Dransa is. Having him in this plan will make it easier to convince the King to wage war on Lodra. If every soldier in Yadat pushes for a battle, the King will have no choice.
“It feels as if there’s more to this than your hatred for humans, Captain,” Dransa suddenly says.
I grunt. “It’s a coincidence that revenge is also part of this plan. But don’t worry about that. My time will come.”
He smirks. “Fine. When do we leave?”
“I’ll let you know later. Some soldiers are coming here,” I say, noticing some naga exiting the barracks to leer at the slaves.
“I guess today’s training was pretty tough on them. Had anything to do with it?” he asks, looking over at me.
“I guess you would know if you were there,” I say with a shove.
“I was put on guard duty today. You should read the charts, you know.”
He looks over at the stone building housing the human’s cells. “I’d probably do better work if I got to take a run at one of those bitches in the cell before I go,” Dransa says as he nudges me. “The one you got looks good enough for a night.”
Suddenly, there’s a tightening in my chest at the mention of her. I find myself clenching my fists and jaw at the thought of her being with someone else.
