Chapter 19
Roksana
Boyan’s office was designed to intimidate. Exotic weapons decorated the bare marble walls, while the dark stone highlighted the polished crimson striations that almost pulsed like veins. The room left many Brotherhood members trembling in their boots.
On my first visit, I’d been a novice waiting for the Grand Master’s judgment, standing there, head low and heart beating faster than a sparrow’s.
Now I got to experience a side of his personality that few knew existed.
A side that furnished his private suite with a subtle, cosy opulence, filling the space with velvet curtains, soft furnishings, and a collection of glass figurines.
Boyan was a man who lived life to the fullest, but ruled this group of murderers, thieves, and smugglers with an iron fist.
Despite knowing his softer side, or perhaps because of it, I was once again the scared child who’d stood here all those years ago, hoping to survive my first encounter with the ruthless killer.
Boyan leant back in his leather chair, fingers tapping restlessly on the oak surface of his desk.
He looked ghastly, and his servants told me he was using stimulants, no longer caring about the toll they took on his body.
After I’d spoken about Tivalaran and detailed all I knew about the void cubes and the Tangra invasion, he hadn’t said a word.
I shuffled uncomfortably in my seat. In the past, I would’ve broken down, rattling off excuses and explanations.
Today, I simply waited, cursing the uncomfortable, cushionless chair I was sitting on.
‘Are you sure this is the only way? Tymon will be dangerous if cornered,’ Boyan finally said after I’d spent the time thinking up ways to persuade him to support me.
‘Yes. While you planned to get rid of him quietly, I think that would be a waste.’ The drumming of Boyan’s fingers intensified, and I braced myself for rejection.
‘If I keep him alive, he’ll threaten Irsha’s position and split the Brotherhood into warring factions,’ he finally said.
‘Not after I’m done with him. Please, I need Tymon’s help. We both know he’s as stubborn as the Mules he leads, but he’s not stupid.’ I swallowed hard, thinking about the risky plan I’d concocted. ‘Let me push him into the corner, question him… then offer him a way out, for a price.’
‘And you think your offer will outweigh Jagon’s? Even if Tymon tells you how to get into Tivala’s castle, what guarantee do you have that you won’t be walking into a trap?’ Boyan’s reasonable objection made me clench my teeth.
‘If I am, then I’ll deal with it. Look, Jagon won’t hurt me.
Don’t ask me how I know this, but his obsession with me…
He asked me to come with him; if he catches me, I’ll use his offer as my excuse.
He isn’t the only one who can manipulate the truth,’ I said, earning a flash of pride in Boyan’s eyes.
‘You are very sure of yourself, Daughter, but there’s a lot we don’t know.
Jagon’s schemes are never simple; even I didn’t know about his involvement with the fanatics of Tangra.
I’m afraid you’ll overestimate your value.
’ Boyan’s gentle reprimand was a stark reminder that while I dabbled in politics, Jagon lived for them.
‘Do I?’ I asked, tilting my head. ‘He always wanted two things: to lead the Brotherhood, and me. He can’t have me if I’m dead or in Tivala’s hands.’
My father shifted uncomfortably in his chair, his knuckles whitening when his fingers tightened into a fist. ‘Roksana…’ The warning in that one word was difficult to ignore, but I forced myself to stay still.
‘I’m not easy to kill. I’ve thought this through, and I’m going to do it, but my chances are lower if I can’t get to Tivala’s castle.’ I finished with a smile, shifting on the gods bedamned chair until my bones popped. ‘Just give me Tymon, and I’ll handle the rest.’
‘And you’ll let him live?’ Boyan said in resignation. ‘The first lesson I learned in the Brotherhood was that the best enemy is a dead enemy. Think about Irsha. His transition to becoming the new Grand Master will be difficult enough without men who wish him dead lurking in the shadows.’
‘Irsha will handle anyone who comes, and he has me to fix anything else,’ I said, playing my last card. ‘We can ask him, if it makes your decision easier.’
‘No, I’m Grand Master, and will be the one making this call.
’ Boyan huffed, offended by my suggestion.
‘Fine. Interrogate Tymon. See what he says, how he behaves, then I’ll decide on his fate.
’ The decisiveness in his voice tightened my throat.
I’d gotten what I wanted, but this victory felt flat when I noticed how tired our verbal sparring left him.
I have so much to learn from you, yet we have so little time left, I thought when he tried to hide the red stain on his handkerchief after a coughing fit.
Boyan reached for a bottle hidden under the desk, and I sighed with frustration.
He was killing himself to ensure a smooth transition of power, and I worried that the time to say goodbye was coming sooner rather than later.
My father smiled at me, unaware of my morose musings, and reached for the bell. I calmed my thoughts, exhaling slowly, hand patting my leather vambrace with its hidden needles, Tova’s latest invention, as if I wasn’t already a walking arsenal of poisons.
Boyan straightened in his seat, unwilling to show weakness to anyone but me. A servant opened the door and bowed. ‘Call for Tymon. Tell him I want to talk,’ he said, his voice weary. When the attendant left to fulfil his order, I used the only phrase I knew would bring a smile to his face.
‘Thank you for indulging me, Father.’ I stood up and walked around the table, leaving the uncomfortable metal chair for its next victim. Boyan’s gaze trailed over me as I positioned myself beside him. When I placed my hand on the chair, he tapped it gently with his own.
‘Don’t make me regret it, Daughter,’ he said, his expression hardening, shifting into the ruthless visage we’d all learned to fear.
Then Tymon walked in, and after one look at Boyan’s face, he paused mid-step, uncertainty written all over his features. He glanced at Irsha’s assassins manning the door, and his lips tightened. With a short huff, he strode deeper into the office.
‘So, that’s how it ends. How will I die? Blade from behind or poison from your bitch?’ His words were bold, but if he thought arrogance could mask his fear, he should learn how to act. Sweat beaded on his temple, filling my nostrils with the sharp stench of panic, eyes fixed not on Boyan but on me.
‘Tut, tut, tut…’ He flinched at the sound I made, playing right into my hand.
‘Bitch? There’s been no order to kill you, but calling me names…
really? You’re tempting me to go against the Grand Master’s wishes,’ I said, disdain dripping from every word.
‘Stop sweating and sit down, Tymon. You’re here to answer our questions.
My presence will be but a shadow if you answer them truthfully. ’
‘You’re threatening me? You wouldn’t dare–’ Tymon started, but Boyan raised a hand, stopping him mid-sentence.
‘Yes, she would. One word from me, and you’ll be on the floor foaming at the mouth. You’re not my daughter’s favourite person, Tymon. And you disappointed me.’ Boyan’s statement was so matter-of-fact that Tymon sat heavily on the chair, nostrils flaring.
‘Disappointed? I was ripping my veins open to help us survive. You lost control, and I saw what was happening in the South. Fuck, why am I…? If you don’t want to kill me, just tell me what you want.’
‘Two things. Tell me what Jagon’s plans were, and arrange a safe route to Tivalaran.’ I said, and the Master of Mules looked at me sharply.
‘You want to go there now? Why?’ He scoffed, but I didn’t take the bait. ‘Please don’t tell me Jagon’s little apprentice is going against him.’
‘That’s none of your business. Now, stop stalling.’ My calm, emotionless tone brought a sneer to his lips.
In a show of disdain, he looked down, examining his nails. ‘I don’t know Jagon’s plans. Ask him yourself if you can. When you do, tell him how much I appreciate being left to answer for his crimes.’ The anger in his voice rang true, but I knew better than to take his answer at face value.
‘And safe passage?’ I asked, moving from behind Boyan’s chair and rolling my shoulders.
‘I can give you a map, but nowhere’s safe. Not anymore.’ He sprawled on the chair, chin up and cracking his knuckles. ‘The swamp is crawling with starved monsters, and the roads are full of Tivala’s guards, but be my guest and try your luck.’
That complicated my plans, but I wasn’t stupid. Tymon knew routes that guards didn’t dare to patrol. ‘And yet you’ve been in and out undetected. How much did Tivala and his Tangrean masters pay you to work for them? I can beat their offer,’ I asked, testing the waters.
‘Tivala? Jagon hired us to transport the ore. That’s what Mules do; we smuggle, no questions asked.’ Regret flashed in Tymon’s eyes, brief yet visible. It seemed Jagon hadn’t told him what the ore was for. As if confirming my suspicion, the Master of the Mules hammered his fist on the armchair.
‘I wasn’t working with that vicious old bastard, and certainly not for the Hierophant’s men. Fuck, if you know this, you know what Jagon is doing.’ Tymon sounded genuinely surprised by my discovery, and if anything, this gave me a deep sense of satisfaction.
‘Of course I do – much better than you. I understand greed, but how could you be so stupid? Your recklessness could cost us the covenant with Dagome,’ I said, coming closer.
‘You think you know it all, little girl? Have you seen Hierophant’s armada? Have you seen the men, their weapons?’ He was breathing hard, knuckles white from his grasp on the chair.
‘And that gives you the right to betray us?’ I asked quietly, looking him in the eyes. ‘I never thought you a coward.’