“One of the best I’ve ever had,” Lai replied, rubbing the towel over his short ears. A’bbni noticed he had undone the braids that were usually there to mask their shape, all his blond hair flowing over his shoulders. “I suppose it’s nothing new for you, though.”
A’bbni shook his head. “We have hot baths at the palace, as well as steam rooms.”
“Are you looking forward to being home again?” Lai asked, squeezing the ends of his hair with the towel.
A’bbni was silent for a moment before looking up at him. “To be perfectly honest, no, I’m not.”
“Why not?” Lai asked curiously.
A’bbni sighed and toyed with the hem of his tunic. “My Cousin killed my Father. They were the only family I had there besides my brother. And now, the rebels will want my Cousin dead. I do not know whom the guards are loyal to, or whom they will defend if it comes to a fight. I do not want to see bloodshed in the streets because of us.”
Lai watched him for a long moment, then slowly said, “I don’t know the Emperor, but if there are so many who don’t want him on the throne because of how terrible he is, knowing that to rise up could lead to many deaths, it must be worth their lives to try to remove him.”
A’bbni glanced up at Lai through his lashes. “I suppose that is true,” he ventured softly.
“Shi’chen never told me what happened that made your Cousin so bad.”
“He has never been seen favorably,” A’bbni admitted, shifting to tuck his legs underneath him on the chair. “Even as a young child, he gave many signs of being ruthless and cruel. If it were simply foolishness, I do not think it would lead to the reaction it has. Foolishness can be culled with strong advisors. Cruelty cannot. But it is not just about slavery.” He looked up into Lai’s eyes. “Even before he murdered my Father and the Imperial Senate, we knew he was dangerous. He has killed before. I don’t think my Father realized how quickly he would act against us, though.”
“What do you mean, he’s killed before?” Lai asked, running his fingers through his hair to comb it out.
“It started when he was twelve,” A’bbni said slowly, staring down at his hands. “One of his attending women was found in his chambers with her throat slashed. En’shea claimed that she attacked him. There was an investigation, but no evidence of any wrongdoing was ever found about her. But with no witnesses, no one could prove it was murder, so the whole thing was swept aside.”
Lai frowned. “Because he was a prince?”
A’bbni nodded. “Yes. But there were more.”
“More than that one?” Lai asked in surprise.
A’bbni couldn’t stop a snort of cold laughter. “Yes, more than that one. After that was one of the stable hands, a young boy not much older than En’shea. That could have been an accident; the official story was that he was struck in the head by a horse, but my Father suspected otherwise. Then there was a servant girl who was found after having fallen from a window. People were saying it was suicide, but we knew that En’shea had tried to seduce her only a few days before, and she had told him no. And her injuries were not consistent with a fall from only two stories.” A’bbni rubbed at the bridge of his nose as a headache formed at the memories of all the deaths En’shea had ‘not been responsible for.’ “And then there was his sister.”
“His what?” Lai asked, dropping the towel at the unexpected statement.
“His older sister, Prii’sha,” A’bbni replied.
“Wouldn’t… wouldn’t an older sister of his have been the crown princess?” Lai asked with wide eyes.
“Yes,” A’bbni said. “So, you can understand why what he’s done is not all that surprising.”
“Wait, wait, back up,” Lai said, holding up his hands. “How did he get away with killing the crown princess of Hanenea’a?”
A’bbni sighed and rubbed at his forehead again. “You remember the fevers?”
“Hard to forget,” Lai said softly. The fevers had decimated the populations of Hanenea’a and Kendarin for almost three years. Amongst its many victims had been A’bbni’s Mother, and his Uncle, the reigning Emperor I’jjen.
“Well, just when the fevers had died down, our Cousin Prii’sha, the crown princess, suddenly became very sick. Within days, she was dead. Her symptoms were similar to the fevers, so many people blamed it on that.” A’bbni met Lai’s eyes. “My Father knew better. He suspected En’shea of poisoning her somehow, but he could never prove it. I… I would guess that is why he thought that it would be better to overthrow En’shea when Shi’chen and I came of age but kept it secret from us. Obviously, he did not anticipate En’shea poisoning the entire Imperial Senate to stop him.”
“Fuck,” Lai said breathlessly. “Your Cousin is all kinds of fucked up.”
A’bbni couldn’t stop a laugh. “I do not disagree with you on that.” He sighed and stroked his fingers over the smooth surface of the desk. “That is why we must go back. He has never been held responsible for anything, and I can only imagine what he could do to those who oppose him now that the Senate and the Regent are gone. Reinstituting slavery is just the beginning, I am sure.”
Lai flinched, tossing his damp towel aside. “Would people actually accept that?”
“I have no idea,” A’bbni said softly. “I wish I could say no, but some of the nobility seem to think it is their right, and they would not stand against the Emperor.”
“And what do you think?”
“I think it’s barbaric,” A’bbni said firmly. “No one should be treated like that.” He cleared his throat, glancing down at his hands that had suddenly started to shake. He twisted his fingers into the fabric of his pants. “I… I know that I would have rather died than live as a slave to Captain Hin-Ve’ssa, but that is why En’shea did it. That’s the sort of cruelty he is capable of. He had me tortured because he knew it would hurt Shi’chen. Even when he knew we didn’t know anything, he still let it continue.”
