jackal-among-snakes-16091326
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chapter-559
Argrave once again stared upon a figure he’d hoped to forget. It was Sophia’s creation, Castro—the dim echo of the man that he’d taken the name from. Even today, he repeated things.
“I have a robust succession plan, Argrave,” her creation said.
Argrave looked upon his form with some unease. Anneliese was here as well, standing off to the side. But today, this thing’s creator joined them—Sophia. She stood just beneath him, hiding behind his legs in utter fear of what she’d made alive. Argrave kneeled down to look at Sophia in the eyes.
“Does he frighten you?” he asked her.
Sophia nodded.“I’ll admit… he scares me, too, a little. Do you know why that is?” Argrave looked at Sophia, but she only tilted her head without an answer. “Let me put it this way. Do you know why he makes you uneasy? Say what you will, but he looks like a walking, talking person.”
“But he’s… he’s not,” Sophia said quietly. “He’s just… what I remembered of him. He can’t… he doesn’t have a voice inside his head. And he can’t hear us, understand us.”
As Argrave nodded, ‘Castro’ continued to repeat some of his final words he’d given before his death. Sophia managed to look at him. “I don’t know… I don’t know how to fix him, Argrave.”
Argrave nodded. “Honestly? I don’t, either.” He picked her up. “But that’s why we came here, today. To think about what needs to be done. To think about how we can do it. And then, to make everything right again. One day, each of us can look upon the life you made and think it belongs. We have to change this so it can be a point of pride, rather than something to forget.”
Sophia gazed at ‘Castro’ thoughtfully, then buried her head in Argrave’s shoulder. “What if I can’t think of anything? What if he stays like that? What if I can’t fix him?”
Argrave comforted her. “Anneliese and I are here. You don’t need to do all the thinking. But I can guarantee you this—you can fix him.”
Sophia looked up at Argrave, then flicked her gaze to Castro again. She looked at Anneliese, too, who gave her an encouraging nod. Sophia tightened her grip around Argrave’s neck and declared, “Okay. I’ll try.”“The emperor is a brute!” Governor Zen shouted gutturally in a rage, but his next words were eerily calm. “He cannot be trusted to sit upon the throne again. If he assumes his position, there will be no court, no governor that can check him. And that man, with absolute power over the Great Chu and all its armies… I can’t stomach it. I won’t stomach it. Use him, I will. But welcome him back as emperor? Never again. There needs to be change, and you people give me the opportunity to enact it,” Zen insisted, tapping his finger against his desk loudly. “I’m willing to work something out. But like I said, I need to meet with King Argrave and all his family. I’m talking about his father-in-law Patriarch Dras, his brother Orion, his sister Elenore and her husband, the King of the Burnt Sands… all of them, everyone. Except his niece—Sophia, I think her name was. I have no need of her presence.”
Even Stain was shocked as Governor Zen rattled off names there was no good reason he had to know.
“You look shocked. Do you think you’re the only ones with skills?” Governor Zen leaned back. “If you’ll notice, I never asked for the emperor to be here—matter of fact, I’d prefer he wasn’t. Why? I’ll put it simply—there’s a lot that the emperor doesn’t know about what I’m capable of. There’s a lot the court doesn’t know. These things run deeper than you possibly know. Even if the emperor hadn’t gone off like a fool attacking your lands, I had some rather… different, shall we say, plans for the future of this nation. I’m not opposed to playing a supporting role, so long as what I want can get done. You say you can speak for your leaders, so I ask again—will they agree to a meeting?”
Silence stretched as Stain waited for word from Elenore. It came in the form of one word—a simple command for Stain.
“Agree.”
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