“With patience and time. My being here and your being here represents a great opportunity to shine a beam of enlightenment, wouldn’t you say?”
“But then why did you come instead of Athena? If anyone is enlightened it should be a priestess.”
“True.” She tapped her lower lip. “But Athena didn’t choose to come and we worried about her.”
“Have you met her?” I asked.
“Only when I crossed her by the border.”
“She’s a strong woman and very wise,” I said.
“I’m glad to hear it; maybe she has planted a few seeds in the time she was here.”
“Maybe.” I paused. “But how will you get access to the people on the bottom as you talked about? Seems to me you’re dealing with the highest point of the pyramid.”
“For now. But I’m sure Lord Khan will get tired of playing my host and hand me over to some guards that I can influence.”
“No. He’ll find a protector for you. Probably one of his powerful friends.” I sighed with frustration. “Let’s just hope you get a nice protector and that Khan won’t pester you too much.”
She smiled. “Remember what I said. Powerful people tend to underestimate you if they see you as inferior.”
“If you planned to make him believe you were inferior, you shouldn’t have beaten him in chess, Khan would be a fool to underestimate you now.”
“He would,” Pearl said with a soft smile. “But he’s a man blinded by greed and pride, and I can work with that.”
“So you don’t want me to free you?”
“No, I don’t,” Pearl answered firmly. “I have important work here.”
I sighed and raised the teacup to my mouth. “Well, in that case, welcome to the Northlands. I’m glad to have you join me here.”
Pearl raised her own cup and we respectfully looked into each other’s eyes when we drank.
“Thank you, Christina. And now, tell me about your project.”
CHAPTER 22
The Ruler’s Headache
Boulder
I watched the women drink tea and talk. Bloody hell, that councilwoman used a lot of sugar. I saw her dig into the sugar bowl at least ten times.
After I’d stood in the sun for half an hour Magni and Khan came out to join me.
“Are you going to be her protector?” I asked Magni with a hand shielding my face from the sun.
He scoffed. “I would be happy to. That would give me a chance to pressure that woman like a grape until she admits that they know where Laura is.”
“Which is why you’re not going near her,” Khan said in a low, grumpy tone. “She says they don’t know.”
Magni hissed back, “And I told you that it’s a fucking lie. Of course, they know. Give me an hour alone with the blonde and I swear I’ll get her to talk.”
I got the feeling that my brothers had argued about this before coming here.
Rolling my shoulders and neck, I asked in a nonchalant tone of voice, “So, if Magni isn’t her protector, then who is? Finn?”
Khan crossed his arms and straightened up to his full height, which was only a tiny bit shorter than me. “I am.”
