No, the political route was safer and less convoluted in the long run.
He’d made the right choice.
“The Queen-Consort of the Sixth Grand Clan is here, Your Highness” Borg’gorn said.
Ksar opened his eyes and straightened in his chair. “Let her in.”
The door opened and Queen-Consort Zeyneb’shni’waari strode in confidently.
Ksar didn’t stand up. It would be the polite thing to do, but it certainly wasn’t required or expected of him. As the Crown Prince of the Second Grand Clan and the future king of his clan, Ksar’s social standing was higher than Lady Zeyneb’s and they both knew it. Lady Zeyneb was neither a friend nor an ally—yet—and any false courtesy would only make her suspicious. He couldn’t appear too eager.
“Ksar’ngh’chaali,” she said with a smile. “I was pleasantly surprised to receive your message, given that you declined to support my bill last time.”
“Were you?” Ksar murmured, looking her in the eye. A quick look into her thoughts revealed nothing he hadn’t expected: she was curious and eager to use this opportunity to further her political goals. She was also wary of him. She didn’t trust him.
Good. She wasn’t completely foolish. He didn’t need foolish allies.
“It’s actually the reason I requested this meeting,” Ksar said. “I’m willing to reconsider my stance.”
Zeyneb cocked her head to the side. “And what changed your mind?”
Ksar smiled.
She shifted, looking a little uneasy.
“You adopted brother is the Lord Chancellor of Planet Kiwufhi,” he said. “I have heard that he’s going to propose a bill in the next session of the Ministry.”
She frowned, looking confused but intrigued. Ksar knew she wasn’t interested all that much in intergalactic politics.
“What kind of law?” she said.
“Repeal of the 156th Ministry law,” Ksar said.
She stared at him. “I’m sure you must have heard wrong,” she said slowly. “That would be a political and social suicide. It would never pass.”
“Just like the bill you want to propose in the Council,” Ksar said amicably. “But politics can be so unpredictable. You never know.”
Her eyes narrowed. She gave him a long, assessing look.
“Perhaps,” she said at last. “Perhaps we should speak plainly to avoid confusion.”
Ksar smiled and leaned back in his chair. “If your adopted brother proposes the bill I mentioned in the Ministry’s next session, the Queen will support the bill you intend to propose in the next session of the Council.”
Her nostrils flared. Ksar didn’t need to read her mind to know that she was interested.
“Your mother the Queen is very influential,” Lady Zeyneb said slowly. “But even that won’t be enough for the bill to pass. There are too many telepathically null cowards in the Council.”
Ksar looked at her steadily. “Let me worry about it.”
She studied him. She did seem a bit skeptical, but she knew better than to question him. That would give her plausible deniability if he was caught.
And she wanted the bill to pass too much. It was hardly a secret. Lady Zeyneb had been pushing for the amendment to the Bonding Law for years. Her motives were transparent: she was acting on behalf of her son, who was bonded to the former heir to the Fifth Grand Clan. The match had been perfectly eligible, except her son’s bondmate had disappeared decades ago, presumably kidnapped by renegades. However, nothing was confirmed. Although the lost prince’s identification chip had been deactivated, the bond to Lady Zeyneb’s son remained, suggesting that the lost prince was alive…somewhere. In any case, Lady Zeyneb’s son needed to get rid of the bond if he were to marry the King of Planet Zicur, whom he had met at the off-planet school he had studied at and who had been courting him for years, which was the source of endless gossip in the society. If the King of Zicur weren’t such an eligible bachelor, the situation would have been far more scandalous, since technically Lady Zeyneb’s son was bonded. It was no wonder Lady Zeyneb wanted to break her son’s bond to the absent prince and marry him off to his prestigious suitor. Ksar would do the same.
So he waited patiently for her to accept his conditions. She would not refuse.
At last, Lady Zeyneb nodded and stood. “Very well. I will contact my brother. I’m looking forward to hearing good news from you.”
“You will,” Ksar said, getting to his feet out of politeness.
She smiled at him and left.
As the door slid shut after her, Ksar sat down. Closing his eyes, he reached with his mind toward the woman’s. Since she was alone now and supposedly safe of any telepathic prying, her mental shields were down and her mind was an open book.
He seems too interested in repealing the 156th law. That’s a weakness I can exploit. Perhaps I should demand more things from Ksar in exchange for my brother’s support. Hmm.
If Ksar had any lingering doubts—not that he had any—over what he was about to do, they would have been gone now.