“You fucked with our product, which was bad enough. But you also fucked with our reputation. This is the cost of fucking with our reputation. So two hundred million marks, in our accounts, in three days.”

Amit looked like he was going to say something else but then thought better of it. “Number two,” he prompted.

“You might be aware we signed a letter protesting your sister’s seat on the executive committee,” Huma said.

“She mentioned something about that.”

“Then it won’t be a surprise that we want her to resign her seat.”

“To be replaced by a Lagos, no doubt.”

Huma shook her head. “No. But literally anyone else would be better than your sister.”

“I’ll tell her you said that.”

“Please do. Three, you tell Emperox Grayland you’ve had a change of heart about the marriage.”

“Come on,” Amit protested. “You’re already claiming my sister’s head. Let me keep mine.”

“This isn’t a negotiation,” Huma and Kiva said, simultaneously, and then looked at each other and grinned. Huma turned her attention back to Amit. “Let’s not pretend that once you’re the consort you won’t still be your sister’s hand puppet.”

“That’s right,” Amit said, sarcastically. “I have no will of my own.”

“No, you don’t,” Huma agreed, not sarcastic at all. “You can work that out with a therapist if you want. But in the meantime, you give up marrying into the imperial family.”

“What if Grayland wants to marry me?”

Huma laughed. “You poor dear. Just, no.”

Amit seemed to deflate a little at that. “And what do we get out of these demands?”

“Nothing,” Huma said. “As in, we say nothing about what you did at End. And we say nothing for what you have planned at End.”

“Really,” Amit said, and Kiva felt a rush of blood to her head. If she had any remaining doubts that the Nohamapetans were up to no good on End, they ended right there. She felt a hand on her hand and recognized her mother was warning her off the outburst she was about to have. She held it in.

“Really,” Huma said.

“And what assurance do we have of that?”

“You want a fucking written contract on that, Amit? Are you that stupid? Understand something here. You hold no cards. Thanks to your appallingly careless brother we have more than enough to bury you, your sister, and your entire fucking house. At the very least you’ll spend the next decade fighting off lawsuits and investigations. At worst, you’ll be in prison and your house will see its monopoly auctioned off. No matter what, it’ll be bad for your business, Amit. And your sister will lose her seat on the committee, and you won’t marry the emperox anyway. This way all you lose is money, and take a gut punch to your ego. And you’ll survive both, I’m sure.”