Two Eyes Cenote sand & lapis

She stands in quiet consideration. Khusobek was right, she realized. They did not know Machiavelli- not truly. He was a target, or otherwise a weaver of lies. Perhaps it was only the naïveté in her heart that had seen herself in him.

But her stomach falls away at the idea of exchanging flesh; at the suggestion of poison. How many nights had she lain, darkly livid in her room and fantasized of passing final judgment? And still she could not sanction such an act as fathomable. She needed distance. She needed to see them as game pieces on a board. It was too difficult to think of them as flesh and blood.

“We will look to you and Stark to guard all access points. Muat-riya will present a trade first. The palace is filled with riches. Rare ones. If we should fail to find an agreement-” her voice falls away, concluding only with a stiff nod.

“I do not believe the others will need to adapt how they live in the meantime. We will extend an invitation to the Medeiros family and host a welcoming feast in their honor.”

But there was another thing. “Will you trust me, Khusobek?”