86: Treacherous Dealings (Patreon)

He's the prince!? Vir thought, appraising the man. He certainly had the orbs to back that assertion up.

Vir thought back to Maiya’s ramblings about the princes and princesses, regretting that he hadn’t paid more attention back then. If he recalled, there were two princes and one princess in the Hiranyan royal family. Mina was the middle child, with an older and younger brother.

She’d mentioned that the older brother, Sanobar Hiranya, was noble and gallant. He couldn’t even recall the younger brother’s name.

Now that Vir looked closer at the black-haired, clean shaven man, he looked to be only a couple of years older than Vir. Possibly twenty at most. Vir noticed he wore makeup, though not enough to drastically change his appearance. Just enough for anyone who knew him to pass him by.

“You’re Sanobar Hiranya?” Vir asked, his voice nearly a whisper.

“Call me San,” the young man said with a nod.

“Is this a trap?”

“Do you think I would risk coming out here alone, if it was? Betraying the Brotherhood has its consequences, even for me.”

“I see,” Vir replied.

“So, what is it about Mina you wish to know?” San said openly.

“You’ll tell me anything?

“Anything about her, yes. Don’t expect me to divulge state secrets. I am here because I believe this meeting will be in the best interest of my kingdom. Do not mistake me for a traitor.”

Why ‘would’ he be here? Vir thought. Why’d he be willing to give up his sister's details?

On the one hand, Sanobar would likely know more than anyone what his sister was like. But would he be honest? What if Sanobar was working with Mina?

Vir realized he could spend all day questioning and postulating, but he’d get nowhere. He’d ask his questions and analyze Sanobar’s responses later. It wasn’t like he had to believe whatever came out of the prince’s mouth.

“You’re not going to ask me why I want to know?”

“Oh, I have plenty of suspicions. I expect the nature of your questions will reveal all. I need not ask you for such a thing.”

Fair enough. No matter how much Vir wanted to beat around the bush, he was eventually going to ask the hard questions. Questions that could land him in hot water if he wasn’t careful.

“Mina comes across as a generous, kindhearted princess. Is that true?”

“Oh boy,” San said, chuckling wryly. “We’re starting from there, are we? Alright, if we’re doing this, I’m going to need a drink.”

He flagged down a waiter, who brought over a mug of beer.

“Anything for you?”

Vir shook his head. “I don’t drink.”

“A beer for my friend here, on me!” San said.

“It’ll look suspicious if you don’t order anything,” he muttered after the waiter had left. “At least look like you’re enjoying the drink, even if you don’t drink any of it.”

Vir nodded. He hadn’t noticed any strong prana signatures nearby, but then, spies didn’t have to be mejai. Prana Vision didn’t give him omniscience.

“I know you didn’t come here for a history lesson, but to understand Mina, we must travel back in time first. To one fateful day. The day she was kidnapped. My little sister had once been an ordinary child. Spoiled rotten, yes, but innocent and somewhat pure. She always had a devious side to her.”

San gazed into the distance, reminiscing on some precious memory.

“Then a royal retainer betrayed us. Royal ransoms could set a person up for life, and the temptation was too great for them. They took Mina to some… let’s say unsavory men who had a gripe with the kingdom. Who felt as though Hiranya had not treated them well.”

“Isn’t that everyone?” Vir asked. “Look around. Your capital’s not exactly a paragon of wealth and prosperity. Do you have any idea what it’s like in the Warrens? At least your sister sneaks out of the castle. She’s seen the slums and the sewers.”

San’s expression hardened. “Oho? You know about that quirk of hers, do you? Impressive. But yes, I do know, Neel. I am not the sort of spoiled child you think I am. I fully understand the sorry state of this kingdom, and that my father is partly to blame. But you do not understand the full picture, either. You do not know how the safety of our citizens hangs by a thread with the Altani on one end and the Kin’jal on the other, waging a never ending game of tug of war.”

The prince cleared his throat. “I digress. Mina was kidnapped, and… subjected to sights no child should ever see. She watched as her captors killed innocents in front of her eyes. By the time our forces took down her captors, it was too late. When she returned to us, she had changed. She’d grown introverted and reclusive. She kept her thoughts to herself, and she never smiled.”

It was a sad story, but Vir understood why the prince had narrated this tale. A knot formed in his stomach as he guessed where this was going.

“Over time, she changed. She became outgoing again. She even smiled and laughed, and while my mother was only too happy to see her dear daughter healthy again, I knew better. Are you aware, Neel? That there are different smiles? Smiles for greeting aristocracy. Smiles reserved for loved ones, and smiles of genuine happiness? Mina’s smile was different. Corrupted. Sadistic.”

“A fake persona?” Vir guessed.

“Exactly. A farce. Which isn’t alarming in and of itself. As royalty, we are used to wearing different faces. But she mastered the art at an early age. She… she was not normal. I began to question what it was she hid under that mask.”

“I take it you didn’t like what you found?”

“Indeed,” the prince replied. “It was small things, at first. I’d find dead rodents in her wake. Some birds. I wasn’t happy, but I kept quiet about it. Perhaps it was a phase. Maybe she needed an outlet for her trauma. But as she grew older, it got worse. The bodies became more and more mangled, as if the mere act of killing them wasn’t sufficient. She had to break them in grotesque ways as well. And then…”

Vir gulped. He’d nearly forgotten about the din of the tavern and its raucous crowd. Right now, his entire world was just him and Sanobar. “And then?”

“Then one day, I caught her in the middle of the act. I realized I had been wrong the entire time. Mina didn’t enjoy killing those poor animals. She enjoyed breaking them. She wanted to hear those screams. To prolong their agony until their dying breath. My sister would be heartbroken when they passed—not out of concern for the animals, but because her brief joy had ended.”

Vir’s palms started to sweat. “That’s…”

“You wanted the truth about my sister? This is who she is. But these days, instead of rodents, it’s human slaves. She keeps a stock of them, torturing them for her own sick pleasures. Gods help anyone who crosses her. Commoner or Sawai, it matters not. She has slaughtered children using the most grotesque methods, all just to enjoy the looks of agony on their parents’ faces.”

“You sound like you’re talking about a demon rather than your own kin.”

“Do I?” San said blankly. “I suppose that is true. She is no sister of mine. She’s a monster in human skin. My sister died that day, years ago, when she was kidnapped. I swear on my name, Neel. Everything I have told you is the truth, and the unembellished truth.”

Vir suddenly recalled Riyan’s words. Of how Mina had killed his wife and child. Had she done the same to their bodies?

He purged the dark thought from his mind. No wonder the man wanted Mina dead. That said…

“How can I trust you?” Vir asked. “Mina poses a threat to your ascension, doesn’t she? It only makes sense for you to spin tales to paint her in a negative light.”

“You are right, of course. As her brother, ridding her would rid me of a threat. This is true. But you do not know me, Neel. I would abdicate my right to succession in an instant if I thought Mina would be a better ruler. This I swear to you. I fear for our future, Neel. For the future of this household, and for the future of this entire country. A future with Mina in it is not one I wish to be a part of. Her rule would spell the end of Hiranya as we know it.”

“Why are you telling me all of this?” Vir asked. Thus far, he hadn’t let one word slip about his plans to assassinate her.

“Help me, Neel. Help me eliminate my sister.”

Vir’s eyes went wide at the prince’s bold declaration.

He fell silent as conflicting emotions raged within him. On the one hand, he felt he could trust Sanobar. The prince came across as a straight shooter. Yes, it may have been a front, but Vir had some experience at the art of subterfuge himself. Either San was a master actor, or he was telling the truth.

But it wasn’t just Sanobar. Riyan was many things, but on this, Vir felt he could trust the man. Mina had wronged him. Riyan himself said nearly the same thing as Sanobar.

“Tell me, what is Riyan Savar to your sister?”

San raised his brow. “Now, that’s an interesting question.”

“Humor me.”

“General Savar was one of our most decorated military commanders. Known for his aggressive, sometimes brutal, tactics. Some would say the country is weaker without him.”

“Your sister took an interest in him?”

“Actually, for reasons you wouldn’t suspect. Savar was good at his job. Too good. He was becoming a thorn in Kin’jal’s side, and many in our government grew worried. Mina included. Except, in her case, she saw an opportunity. For years, she tormented Savar, first killing off his mounts, then acquaintances. All to break him.”

“Surely there were faster ways of removing him from power,” Vir said.

“Oh, he’d been stripped of his position by then. No, this was just Mina being Mina. Ripping the wings off a butterfly just to watch it writhe in agony. Finally, she had his family slaughtered in front of his own eyes. Then she burned his home to the ground. General Savar hasn’t been seen after that. Some think him dead. Others say he’s just broken, living out his days as a hermit somewhere. You asked what Savar was to Mina? Another toy. That’s all.”

Vir fell silent. To think Mina had done all that for such a stupid reason. He’d thought there would’ve been more. Something deeper. To slaughter someone’s family for one’s own sick desires?

Vir’s blood began to boil. Yes, she’d been subjected to trauma at a young age. And yes, Riyan had blackmailed him to assassinate her. But he’d also sheltered and trained Vir. And right now? He wanted nothing more than to see Mina’s head on a pike.

Even so, the risk was too great. If Vir was going through with this, he needed something more. Something that would benefit himself.

Sanobar continued on. “Look, I understand your position. You worry that one wrong word and I could have you executed. And you’d be right. But I will not. I know not what your intentions are, nor do I wish to know. You came recommended by the Brotherhood, and that is not to be taken lightly.”

“That's a lot of trust on your part.”

“It is, but the Brotherhood’s influence runs far deeper than you can imagine. They transcend the bounds of countries and are beholden to no one. And the one thing they prioritize above all else is trust. Trust and reputation. If the Brotherhood recommends you, it may as well have come from the lips of my own father. My trust in you is sound. The question is, do you trust me?”

“I think I might,” Vir replied. “But there’s one thing I don’t understand. You’re a prince. Surely you have access to skilled soldiers. People who’d do anything to get in your good graces. Yes, I might come recommended by the Brotherhood, but don’t you have people of your own for this task?”

“I do. And both myself and my brother have tried to take action against Mina in the past. But my little sister is more than merely sadistic. She’s unbelievably intelligent in the art of subterfuge and intelligence gathering. So much so that it shocks me at times. If I were to use one of my men, and if they were to fail, it would be the end of me. Mina would expose me to the world, and I’d be done for.”

“And because I have no link to you, that makes me useful. It makes me disposable.”

San leveled his gaze at Vir. “Yes. I will not lie to you. You are disposable. You are useful to me because we have no connection. If you fail, it is no sweat off my back. But if you succeed… you can ask of me whatever you wish. Money? I’ll shower you with seric. Fame? I’ll anoint you Sawai. If it is within my power, it shall be yours.”

Seric!? Vir did his best not to gawk. That was an incredibly tempting offer, but he wasn’t a fool. “If it’s ever revealed that I killed Mina, I’ll be a fugitive. I doubt even you could protect me from that fate.”

“I will certainly try,” San fired back. “And if I cannot, I can guarantee you sanctuary in the Rani Queendom.”

“What exactly are you suggesting, San?” Vir asked.

“I will arrange an ambush. Getting Mina into the Commons will be difficult, but I can—”

“No need,” Vir replied. “I haven’t agreed to anything, but I can make my own way there.”

“That’s… Are you certain?” San asked. For the first time, he looked surprised. “Can you infiltrate her quarters?“

Vir nodded. “I have my means.” San seemed trustworthy, but there wasn't any need to divulge the details of Mina's secret passage unless absolutely necessary.

“I see. Very well then. This simplifies things. You will eliminate her in her sleep, but I can assist. I can ensure she sleeps soundly, if you catch my meaning. There will be no chance for her to resist.”

“Poison?” Vir asked, cocking his brow.

“Nothing so drastic. The entire royal household has taste testers who sample food and drink. Any potent poison would be immediately detected. Besides, if I killed her that way, I’d be a prime suspect. My campaign is based on honor and integrity. If the world finds out… I’d be done for. My sister knows this. She has contingencies in place.”

“Then what’s your plan?”

“Poison might be going too far, but sedatives that take hold hours after? That can work. I can ensure Mina sleeps like a log. Use this secret passage of yours. Slit her throat as she sleeps.”

“I can do that,” Vir said, nodding. “But there’s something else. The royal priest, Harak. Who is he, really?”

San waved his hand. “Appointed by my sister. He’s one of hers. A real thorn in our side, but he hasn’t done anything to justify ousting him… yet. Why do you ask?”

“I’ve got some history with that man. I’ll do this,” Vir said, barely containing his anger at the man who’d executed Maiya’s parents and caused Rudvik’s death.

“On one condition. Harak must die.”

NOTE: Question: Does anyone care if I keep doing the chapter header icons? I figure it's just more of the same at this point so was thinking of omitting them. If you have strong opinions, please drop a comment.