“If we may get back to the matter at hand before Captain Er-Ha’sen voiced his… objections,” said Ba’shea, gazing sternly down his long nose at them as if they were misbehaving school children.
Shi’chen rolled his eyes, and A’bbni flicked his hand. “Please, proceed.”
Mii’ra gave them another of her kind smiles. “We have contacts within the palace, including several members of the imperial guard who will support you if you return to challenge the Emperor. We would have you both return to Er’hadin. Once there, we have contacts in the city who will meet with you. Many people are troubled by the Emperor’s stance on slavery. We believe that, with you there to lead them, the people will rise up to overthrow the Emperor.”
Shi’chen gritted his teeth. “That is not much of a plan, Var An-Sha’kri.”
“We understand that, Captain, but, as you said, time is of the essence if we wish to mitigate as much damage as possible before the Emperor’s decrees fully spread,” Jin’fen said.
A’bbni glanced over at Shi’chen, then back to the Council. “We need time to discuss this.”
“Of course,” Mii’ra said with a soft smile. “If you can send word tomorrow, Lord Kella knows how to reach us.”
“We will send word once we have reached our decision,” Shi’chen said firmly, closing off any further discussion. All he wanted to do now was escape this room and the three Council members eyeing them like they were a prize to be won at the end of a race. He stood, and A’bbni stood with him, signaling to the Council they were dismissed. He turned and strode from the room, A’bbni on his heels, until they were up the stairs and closed securely in Shi’chen’s room.
The meeting had put them both in a foul mood, he already could tell as they settled onto the bed. For him, playing the strategy of court politics was exhausting and frustrating, and even more so knowing that their very lives depended on trusting in a group of aristocrat strangers. And A’bbni’s empathy always made him susceptible to the emotions around him. Shi’chen could already feel his own agitation working its way into his brother, and he took a deep breath, trying to bring his roiling thoughts under control. “I don’t like this plan.”
“Do you have any better ideas?” A’bbni asked, raising a brow at him.
Shi’chen glared at the comforter. “No.”
“I don’t like it either,” A’bbni said softly, hearing the front door open below and voices departing. “But I do not think we have many options.”
“I could go back,” Shi’chen offered, taking A’bbni’s hands and giving them a gentle squeeze. “You stay here and be safe, and then I will send for you when it is done.”
A’bbni glowered at him. “Absolutely not. You are not going back to Er’hadin without me!”
“I am not letting En’shea and Hi’jan get their hands on you again,” Shi’chen replied firmly, giving his brother an identical glare back.
“No, you would just go alone on a suicide mission, so I do not know what happened to you,” A’bbni snapped.
“You think it is a suicide mission?”
“I don’t know,” A’bbni said with a frustrated sigh. “I just know that I am not letting you go alone when we already have misgivings about the situation.”
“I just want you to be safe.”
“While you put yourself in danger.”
“Yes!” Why would A’bbni not see that was his point? “I am willing to take the risk.”
“As am I,” A’bbni said firmly. “Do you think me such a coward?”
“You are not a coward,” Shi’chen said. “I never said that. I just do not want to put you in a position where you could be harmed.”
A’bbni’s eyes held a fire that Shi’chen rarely saw, and it made his stomach clench uncomfortably inside him. “I would risk everything to help. You know that.”
“And I cannot let you be hurt again, i-sha!”
“You do not get to make that decision for me.”
“Yes, I do,” Shi’chen said firmly. “After what Hi’jan did, do you think I would let you go back there?”
“I know what he did,” A’bbni said, and Shi’chen had never heard so much spite in his gentle brother’s voice. It sent a chill through him like an icy blast of wind. “I think about it every day. But that is my choice to make. Would you sit here if I went back to the city alone?”
“No, but I am less likely to—” Shi’chen cut himself off, realizing too late that A’bbni knew exactly what he could have said.
“You are less likely to what? Cry? Get arrested? Have someone fuck you over a table?”
