Jasnah's rage burned like the fire of a thousand stars. Looking down at the pages of proof—statements from witnesses, purchase histories, death records from the Devotaries—she wanted to rush out into the darkness, summon her Blade, and kill the man behind this trail of misery.
“Darling, you look like you’re about to Soulcast that desk to oil, Soulcast the oil to fire, then find a way to explode the fire. Can I help you in any way? Massage? Draw you a bath? Murder?”
“Murder it is,” he said smoothly, unperturbed by her intensity. He got up from the sofa where he’d been lounging and leaned over the desk. He rested his hands on the pages, but looked at her. “I could help you bury– ah, hells, how do they say it on Roshar?”
“I could help you burn the body,” Jasnah muttered, shuffling the pages uselessly.
“Of course! Although you wouldn’t actually need my help to do that…” He trailed off, following her with his eyes as she stood, then started pacing.
Her anger burned from within. “I have, I can, and I will work with murderers and liars. I understand the necessity of it, particularly among the Highprinces, and I recognize the inclusion of myself within those labels. But I draw the line at the abuse of women and children. Ruthar has made an enemy of me today.”
Eyebrows raised in interest, Hoid perused the pages as Jasnah continued to pace. “If only I could challenge him to a duel!” she spat. “I would tear him open from asshole to forehead!”
“I see I’ve started to rub off on you,” Hoid said with a smirking tone. “Vulgarity doesn’t suit your queenly alter, but it certainly does alter the fit of my suit.”
Jasnah didn’t have to look at him to know he had winked and/or gestured towards his crotch. She rolled her eyes and sighed loudly. Then, letting her anger get the best of her, she swung around, summoning Ivory, and pointed the Blade at his heart. “What you need to alter is the proportion of time you spend anciently wise, clever, and unfathomably inappropriate. That would suit me. Or perhaps I should practice my swordsmanship on you, one limb at a time, which would also alter the fit of your suit.” Angerspren pooled at her feet.
He fell to his knees with his hands over his heart, half in awe, half mockingly, which was as disarming as a well-placed joke. Storms, he was a well-placed joke.
She allowed her face to relax, and the angerspren faded on their own.
Hoid smiled back at her, unmoving.
“So, my dear Wit, how can I destroy this man without killing him in a duel?”
She met his eyes, searching their ancient depths for answers. Was there a way she could solve multiple problems at once? She knew that he knew that she was not as respected as she should be among the Highprinces. They both knew the mess the laws were currently in. They both knew the importance of developing an image, a reputation. Perhaps she could banish the man, as Dalinar had done with Roshone all those years ago?
She dismissed the idea. She also knew Stormblessed’s side of that story. An abuser banished was an abuser who could act with impunity.
Hoid shifted on his knees, resting his hands on his thighs. He knew she liked him in that position, and she knew he was placating her right now. She could almost accept that. “What if you did challenge him to a duel?” he asked.
Jasnah raised an elegant eyebrow. “He’s an experienced duellist and I’ve hardly mastered the basics. I don’t believe winning would be a reasonable possibility. Although…” She caught on to what he was really saying, and felt her anger Soulcast to excitement. She started to pace again, accentuating her point with Ivory. “If I challenged him to a duel, he would likely refuse, on the grounds of how demeaning it would be for him to fight a woman.”
“He’s arrogant and vile, and his lack of Alethi honour would shine through in a moment like that, particularly if he were in front of the other Highprinces at the time,” Hoid added.
“But if it were set up properly, he would have no legal recourse to refuse, and then I could burn his soul from the inside out!” She stepped in the practiced moves of a kata, swinging Ivory, then stopping at Hoid’s neck.
He just smiled, his deep eyes sparkling with something between admiration and worship.
Jasnah dismissed Ivory, feeling pleased. This could work. She could galvanize her power as Queen while dispatching a monster.
Fondly, she stood in front of her Wit, and reached out to bury her hand in his carefully coiffed black hair. “So very clever,” she preened, petting him. “You’ve pleased me.” He closed his eyes and hummed sensually, smiling.
Pleasure for pleasure. What a wonderful arrangement. She didn’t mind offering parts of herself for him to kiss and get off to, if she could picture Ruthar’s eyes burning, and work out the details of how quickly she could organize it.
She might actually get to relax tonight.
