The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms - By N. K. Jemisin Page 0,83

few months.

Is that why youve decided to form this alliance? I asked, stepping forward. A few of the men tensed, but most did not. I am not very intimidating. I cant see how that makes much sense. If Im so unimportant to the Arameri, then Darr is no threat.

Darr is always a threat, growled another man. You man-eating harlots

Enough, said Gemd, and the man subsided.

Good; not wholly a figurehead, then.

So this is not about the Arameri adopting me, then? I eyed the man Gemd had silenced. Ah, I see. This is about old grudges. The last war between our peoples was more generations back than any of us can count. Are Mencheyev memories so long?

Darr claimed the Atir Plateau in that war, Gemd said quietly. You know we want it back.

I knew, and I knew that was a stupid, stupid reason to start a war. The people who lived on the Atir didnt even speak the Mencheyev tongue anymore. None of this made any sense, and that was enough to make my temper rise.

Who is it? I asked. Which of my cousins is pulling your strings? Relad? Scimina? Some sycophant of theirs? Who are you whoring for, Gemd, and how much have you charged to bend forward?

Gemds jaw tightened but he said nothing. His men were not so well-trained; they bristled and glared daggers. Not all of them, though. I noted which ones looked uncomfortable, and knew that they were the ones through whom Scimina or another of my relatives had chosen to work.

You are an uninvited guest, Yeine-ennu, Gemd said. Lady Yeine, I should say. You are interrupting my business. Say what youve come to say, and then please leave.

I inclined my head. Call off your plans to attack Darr.

Gemd waited for a moment. Or?

I shook my head. There is no alternative, Minister. Ive learned a great deal from my Arameri relatives these last few days, including the art of wielding absolute power. We do not give ultimatums. We give orders, and those are obeyed.

The men turned to look at one another, their expressions ranging from fury to incredulity. Two kept their faces blank: the richly dressed man at Gemds side and Gemd himself. I could see calculation in their eyes.

You dont have absolute power, said the man beside Gemd. He kept his tone neutral, a sign that he was uncertain. You havent even been named heir.

True, I said. Only the Lord Dekarta holds total power over the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. Whether they thrive. Whether they falter. Whether they are obliterated and forgotten. Gemds brow tightened at that, not quite a frown. Grandfather has this power, but he may of course choose to delegate it to those of us in Sky who have his favor.

I let them wonder whether I had earned that favor or not. It probably sounded like a sign of favor that I had been summoned to Sky and named a fullblood.

Gemd glanced at the man beside him before saying, You must realize, Lady Yeine, that once plans have been set in motion, they can be difficult to stop. We will need time to discuss your order.

Of course, I said. You have ten minutes. Ill wait.

Oh for This was from another man, younger and bigger, one of the ones I had marked for an Arameri tool. He looked at me as if I were excrement on the bottom of his shoe. Minister, you cannot seriously be considering this ridiculous demand!

Gemd glared at him, but the silent reprimand clearly had no impact. The younger man stepped away from the table and came toward me, his whole posture radiating menace. Every Darre woman is taught to deal with such behavior from men. It is an animal trick that they use, like dogs ruffling their fur and growling. Only rarely is there actual threat behind it, and a womans strength lies in discerning when the threat is real and when it is just hair and noise. For now the threat was not real, but that could change.

He stopped before me and turned back to his fellows, pointing at me. Look at her! They probably had to call a scrivener just to confirm she came out of an Arameri cunt

Rish! Gemd looked furious. Sit down.

The manRishignored him and turned back to me, and abruptly the threat became real. I saw it in the way he positioned himself, angling his body to put his right hand near my right side. He meant to backhand me. I had an instant to decide