"That can't be done." Lokan's voice was tight. "Kian, please tell me you're not seriously considering this."
"I'm not. But my mother is."
"Annani is actually thinking about returning Navuh to the island?" Lokan's composure cracked, revealing raw emotion underneath. "I finally see hope for the place, hope that thepeople trapped there might one day be free, and she's willing to throw that away to get her mate back?"
Kian didn't want to point out again that Lokan's dream for the island was never going to materialize.
"None of us wants to set Navuh free," Kian said firmly. "And my mother doesn't want it either. But she's desperate."
Lokan shook his head. "Please talk her out of this. You are the only one who can."
Kian sighed. "Using Navuh is a last resort. Right now, we have other options. We have access to Losham, we have your knowledge of the Brotherhood, and we have the EMP plan and the extraction team. We're going to pursue every possible avenue before we even consider involving Navuh. Although, to be honest, if you are really concerned with the lives of people on the island, they are safer with Navuh there than with the brothers waging a war of succession that will paint the island red. We both know that Losham can't hold on to power forever, and if one of the other senior commanders wins the war, they will not be any better than your father. Probably worse."
Lokan deflated, slumping in his chair. "Talk about a Catch-22. The island is doomed either way."
"We'll figure something out, but we need to consider everyone involved and determine which action yields the least disastrous results."
After a long moment, Lokan let out a breath. "In moments like this, I feel like my only option is to pray to the Fates."
"I know what you mean." Kian picked up his coffee, giving them both a moment to reset. "Now. Let's talk about the call to Losham."
Lokan nodded. "What do you want me to tell him? Or rather, what do you not want me to tell him?"
"He must have figured out that you joined us."
"I'm sure he did. Who else would have a compeller powerful enough to reach through a phone line?"
"Does that matter?"
"It might. Losham and I were never close, but we had a relationship. Now I'm a traitor who's allied with the enemy."
"You said Losham's ultimate loyalty is to himself. If he sees an advantage in maintaining a connection with you, he might play along regardless of how he feels about your defection."
"That's possible. Losham likes to keep his options open."
"Then we use that. We offer him something he desperately wants, which is help to maintain his position, and in exchange, he gives us what we need."
"Khiann?"
"Eventually, yes. We need him to excavate the ruins with care, so we need to tell him that we are looking for immortals in stasis. He doesn't need to know that one of them is a god. Even Navuh didn't know which one was Khiann, which is why he took all five."
Lokan nodded. "Losham is an accomplished chess player, and I don't just mean literally, though he is that too. He's been manipulating Navuh for centuries despite our father's paranoiaand his compulsion abilities. Toven needs to watch out. If he leaves any loopholes, Losham will find ways to technically comply while subverting our intentions."
This was concerning but not surprising. Compulsion was an amazing tool, but it wasn't perfect. "Toven is smart as well, and he has thousands of years of experience. I think he can handle Losham."
Lokan nodded. "He might have also figured out that we have Navuh. How else would we know about the booby traps? Or the glass enclosure? That information wasn't public knowledge. Losham is smart enough to put the pieces together even when he's under tremendous pressure."
It hadn't occurred to Kian that their knowledge itself might be a giveaway. "If he knows we have Navuh, how does that change things?"
"It could go either way. On the one hand, it might make him more willing to cooperate. If Navuh is truly out of the picture, Losham might see an opportunity to reshape the Brotherhood in his own image, which is good because he will make it less violent. But also bad because he is very effective at planting seeds on foreign soil. He must have hundreds of home-grown spies and operatives in all key countries."
"Then he's just as dangerous as your father. Perhaps more."
Lokan shrugged. "He's the brain behind Navuh. The question is how motivated he is by Navuh's ideology of conquest."
Kian had a feeling that he was very motivated. Power was a drug, and Losham seemed like the type who enjoyed playing the long game just to score a win, regardless of purpose or who got hurt in the process.
Perhaps the other brothers would be easier to deal with. Brutes usually were.
