I made a mental note to side with Nurlie and moved on.
Next was a breach of contract complaint from Gaard about the purchase and supply of antimicrobials. A large company based in Gaard had been providing antibiotics and antivirals to Surrvul, but Surrvul had canceled the contracts in favor of an innovative new company in Krug. Surrvul claimed their reasoning was a supply shortage. Gaard denied it. I was recommended to side with Gaard, forcing Surrvul to continue purchasing through the Gaard company.
When I read the third case, I began to see a pattern. Surrvul had lodged a complaint against Shondur. Surrvul needed phosphorus for fertilizer and the production of steel. The main source of phosphorus was in Shondur, and Surrvul claimed the Shondur government was being stingy. They wanted easier, ampler, and fairer access to the mineral. The recommendation was to rule in favor of Surrvul and force Shondur to give them what they wanted.
At this point, I made a mental note to speak with Lady Shiru and have a long discussion about what exactly the Ava-Surrvul and their rulers wanted. They seemed to be at the heart of every conflict.
I skimmed through and memorized the rest of the complaints and cases until I finally made it to the last one. I was wondering why Roki hadn’t shown up yet. I had hoped he would massage my feet while I did my deliberations. A foot massage wasn’t outside the realm of friendship, right?
The last case was a plea from Gaard, Lodden, Shondur, and Krug to commemorate Lordin formally. The idea irked me, and I skimmed through most of it. Basically, the Crown of Crowns recommended that I ask all clan leaders how they wanted to keep Lordin’s memory alive. It made me wonder, Why does everyone still care? She was just a woman!
I closed my visin and sat back, glad to be done with the day’s dealings. But where in the name of Geniverd was Roki?
“Roki?” I called out. I thought maybe he was waiting for me beyond the illusion of Papa’s study.
I was surprised when an unfamiliar girl walked through the illusion like a phantasm and stood a few feet from me.
“Hello, Kaelyn,” she said.
“Uh …” I didn’t recognize this girl at all. “Who are you?”
“It’s me, Lordin.”
It may have been the first time in my life that my tongue had literally slithered into the back of my mouth. I gaped at her in horror. I had no words. I wanted to scream at her, “Have you been seeing my husband?” But I also wanted to wrap my arms around her and thank Lordin for all the good she had done. It was a real quandary.
“I got a new body,” she said, showing no signs of reading my mind. “That’s probably why you don’t recognize me. I know, I’m not as cute. But hey, I’m younger. And I have all the perks of a Min. Everything I do feels a thousand times better than it used to. Life as a Min is great!”
She was bubbly, petite, still pretty even though it wasn’t Lordin’s original body. Maybe it was her personality that made her so attractive.
“That’s great. I’m glad you’re doing well.” It was all I could say. I didn’t have the strength to confront her. I also didn’t have the strength to apologize for stealing her fiancé. I’d never felt like more of a fraud! I thought I was the queen of Geniverd. Where had my confidence gone?
Lordin hung her head and took a step closer to me. “I actually came here because I have some sad news.”
Oh no, I thought. Is she going to confess?
“What sad news?” I asked.
“It’s about Roki.”
“Roki?” A thousand more questions bubbled in my head. How did she know about him? Had she been following us? Did she know about Roki’s secret visits? Was I the villain here?
Lordin said, “Yes, your friend Roki.” The word friend sounded sarcastic. Then Lordin came up beside me, held out her wrist, and activated her visin. The holographic screen bloomed in front of us. “You’d better see for yourself.”
Lordin brought up a carousel of photos on her visin. Every one of them was of Roki. But not just Roki—not even just Roki and another woman. The photos were of Roki and other women! Plural! She showed me ten photos of him kissing other girls, all the while my heart hammered madly in my chest. I was getting angrier by the second.
Lordin pointed to the last photo and said, “That was taken today. I’m sorry, Kaelyn, but Roki has been playing you. That’s why he’s late for your date.”
I was seething mad. Lordin turned off her visin and stepped back, leaning on Papa’s oak bookshelf. It was so weird to be talking to a Min in the illusion of my old house.
“I just had to tell you,” she said. “But I am sorry. Min are jerks. When you live for so long—”
“Exactly how long?” I asked. I needed to know how long Roki had been messing with girls’ emotions.
“Min live for a thousand years,” Lordin told me, “an extra three thousand if you get promoted to Crown of Crowns. We’re basically indestructible. Other Min can kill us if they try hard enough, but that’s rare. The only thing that can kill us instantly is the Seeing Water.”
“The what?”
“Never mind,” she said. “I have to go. Roki’s coming. Remember, Kaelyn, trust no one.”
Lordin vanished through the hologram of Papa’s study just as Roki materialized in front of me. “Who was here?” he asked,
