"So, what do we do now?" Annani asked finally. "How do we retrieve Khiann from that chamber?"
"First, you vow to set me free once Khiann is safely in your hands. A binding oath witnessed and sealed. Then I tell you everything you need to know."
"Your release is not on the table," Kian said. "Make a more reasonable demand, and we will talk terms."
Navuh smoothed his hands over the blanket. "It's freedom or nothing. I don't intend to live out the rest of my immortal life in a prison cell, no matter how nicely you decorate it."
Annani was silent for a long moment, her eyes fixed on some point in the distance. Navuh could almost see the wheels turning in her mind, weighing the costs and benefits, trying to find a way out of the trap he'd laid for her.
There wasn't one. Not as long as he stayed firm in his demand.
"Tell me this," she said at last. "The other sons you mentioned, the ones who received your alert. If they eliminate Losham, how likely are they to excavate the chamber and claim its contents for themselves?"
An astute question.
"It's very likely," he admitted. "I didn't keep my fancy glass enclosure a secret, but I didn't advertise it either. I never told any of my sons what was inside. They will all assume there is something extremely valuable in there. But in the meantime,while Losham is still in charge, he might not prioritize excavation because he will have his hands full protecting his position."
"We need to act quickly." Annani rose from her chair, her decision apparently made. "Before any of your sons get to the chests."
"Does that mean you agree to my terms?"
She looked down at him, and for a moment, Navuh saw something in her eyes that he hadn't expected. Not hatred, not fear, not even resignation.
Pity.
"You trapped yourself with your own schemes," she said quietly. "You hid Khiann away as leverage, thinking it would protect you. Instead, it has made you dependent on my mercy. If I refuse your terms, you lose your only bargaining chip. If I accept them, you go free—but only because I chose to let you."
"That's one way to look at it, and it really does not matter to me what I have to do to reclaim my freedom." He smiled. "I'll take freedom over pride any day."
Annani straightened her shoulders. "I will consider your terms." She turned and walked toward the door, Kian falling into step beside her.
"Wait." He stopped her at the threshold. "At least tell me what's happening on the island. I can't help you retrieve Khiann if I don't know what's happening over there."
Annani glanced at him over her shoulder. "You will know what I choose to tell you. Nothing more."
The door closed behind her and Kian with a soft click, leaving Navuh alone with his thoughts.
Could it be that she and Kian were bluffing and they had no idea what the situation on the island was?
But then how could they have known about the booby traps being triggered?
What if they hadn't, and this was all an elaborate trick to get him to reveal more?
Navuh stared at the ceiling, running through the conversation in his mind, analyzing every word and gesture for hidden meanings. On the one hand, Annani had given away the existence of their spy, but on the other, he doubted she was that good of an actress.
The fear and desperation he had seen in her eyes had been real.
Kian, who wasn't nearly as good at hiding his feelings as his mother was, had also seemed agitated, so the booby traps getting triggered must have been true, but the method of obtaining the information might not have been a spy.
Perhaps satellite surveillance?
Kian had mentioned that part of the backyard had collapsed. What if their satellite imaging was that accurate?
The question now was how to turn this situation to his advantage. The booby traps had been triggered, and his adopted sons would soon start tearing each other apart, fighting for a throne that he had no intention of surrendering.
He was trapped in this bed, in this clinic, in this enemy stronghold, with nothing but his wits and his words to protect him.
The truth was that he didn't actually know how to retrieve Khiann from the buried chamber. Hell, he hadn't known how to retrieve him before this had happened. Not without returning to the island first.
