Yisaoh shrugged. She looked at his sister’s portrait on the wall. “An interesting question,” she said. “Perhaps this was done by someone who knew that times in Dhai are about to become very dire, and we needed someone of strength on the seat.”

“Someone like you?”

“I would offer you a seat as my Catori, my consort, but really, a boy not of the Kai’s womb has no right even as consort.”

“You’re less charming than I supposed, based on the amount of courtesy Kirana showed you.”

“Should I be charming? No. I hold the might of clans Garika and Badu in my fist. What do you have but the backing of some nattering old Oras?”

“Oras who can call on the power of the stars? I’d say I have a great deal.”

“You’d threaten me with the power of the gods? You’d use Oras against your own people? Are you truly so monstrous?”

“If this is about power for Garika, I’ll marry Rhin and Hadaoh and Meyna. But if this is about you, I cannot help.”

Yisaoh was rubbing her fingers again. “They are the weakest of my brothers. You think I’d stand for some honey-headed sheepherder in this seat?”

Ahkio heard a clatter from the waiting room. Elaiko entered carrying a tea tray. “I’ve brought cinnamon-orange tea,” she said. “My family’s most popular blend.”

“Ah, yes,” Yisaoh said. “Elaiko. My father buys your family’s tea. That’s my favorite blend.”

“Oh, is it?” Elaiko said.

“But of course you knew that.”

“Thank you,” Ahkio said. Elaiko placed the tray on the table.

Elaiko pressed thumb to forehead. “I’ll be just outside if you need anything,” she said, and left them.

“That is a coy little bird,” Yisaoh said.

“A gentle description,” Ahkio said.

“You misunderstand my intent with this meeting,” Yisaoh said.

“Do I?”

“My father seeks to give power back to all clans, not just Garika. Assuming–”

“Your father, if you’ll pardon, is a liar,” Ahkio said. “I know precisely what your father wants, and I’ll burn down the temple before I see your father pronounce you Kai of Garika and rename our country after one of his children. You’ve been trying to get this seat into your family’s hands for decades. I’m offering you a fair compromise.”

“My father said you would speak of tradition and history and say only, ‘It’s always been done this way.’ He said–”

Ahkio quoted from The Book of Oma, “Our country could see a thousand years of peace before the rising of Oma. That peace does not forfeit our strength but disciplines it. We must rely on that peace and our lines of kin to survive. When Oma calls us to defend–”

“And he said you would quote the Book at me,” Yisaoh said.