Hilo’s face moved in a brief contortion, but he answered without sympathy. “What message is it going to send to the clan if I let Niko get away with this? A Kaul, joining a foreign private military company? The Mountain will throw a fucking party. They’ll go to town poaching our Lantern Men and our politicians and our public support. We’ll be eviscerated in the press. Even Shae agrees with me. And other Fingers will think that if the Pillar’s son can turn his back on the clan and use his jade to pad his own pocket, then what’s to stop them from doing the same?”
“Then do what you have to do publicly. Condemn Niko’s decision. Tell everyone that he doesn’t represent No Peak with his actions, and he has no clan status or privileges so long as he works for Sunto. Say whatever you have to as Pillar. But at least talk to Niko. Don’t turn your back on him.”
“Why does it matter so much to you?” Hilo retorted, his patience visibly fraying.
“Because it’s what Lan would’ve done!” Anden had not meant to shout. He’d meant to come in and lay down his case with calm and unassailable surety. He closed his shaking hands into fists and leaned them on Hilo’s desk, pressing the knuckles against wood. “Lan would never turn his back on any of us. You executed Niko’s mother when he was a baby. Everyone in the clan knows it, even if we don’t talk about it. He deserves the chance to hate you and leave No Peak, if that’s what he needs to do. You owe it to him.” Anden drew in a hard breath and let it out again. He straightened. “If you disown Niko, then I’m gone too. I’ll leave, Hilo.”
Hilo stared at him as if he were holding a match over kerosene. “You wouldn’t.”
“Am I lying to you?” The Pillar could Perceive Anden’s resolve, would know if he was bluffing. Hilo did not say anything.
“From the minute Lan brought me into this house, all I ever wanted was to be a Kaul,” Anden said roughly. “I hated my Espenian blood on one side, and I was afraid of being the Mad Witch’s boy on the other. But I’ve learned something over the years. I don’t have to be a Kaul if I don’t want to be. You and Shae will always be Kauls. Niko, Ru, and Jaya—they don’t have a choice either. But I do.” His voice landed with certainty, though it seemed a hole opened in the pit of his stomach.
“I’ve been No Peak’s man in Espenia for years, you’ve said so yourself. I made the alliances we needed in Port Massy and Resville. I’m the one overseeing the clan’s stake in healthcare, training Green Bone doctors and certifying clinics. If I leave, you’ll lose all of that. Maybe you could replace me, but it won’t be the same and you know it.”
“Are you threatening me, cousin?” Hilo’s words were more astonished than angry.
“I’m asking you, Hilojen,” Anden said, “to prove to me that this is the family I still want to be a part of.” Anden turned and went to the door. “If you decide you want to speak to your son after all, he’s staying in the guest suite in my apartment building. In two weeks, I’m giving him a ride to the airport.”
CHAPTER
36
A Fresh Start
Jon Remi took all of his meals at one of three Kekonese restaurants in downtown Resville. His favorite was the Feast of Janloon, not because it had the best food （Kekon Delight, two blocks away, was better）， but because it was the most secure. The restaurant took up two floors of a narrow building. Remi always ate at a reserved table near the back of the second floor. Before he arrived, he sent two of his men ahead to make sure no threat was lying in wait for him. Bodyguards kept watch while he ate facing the stairwell, which was the only way up to the second floor. The blinds were always kept shut on the one large window, which led out onto a fire escape that could be used to exit the building in an emergency.
Although the Bad Keck wore enough jade to feel confident he could handle most ordinary threats, he had an uncommonly large number of enemies, and he was not stupid enough to think that just because he had jade abilities he could not be killed by a well-planned ambush. Every Crew Boss in the country was offended that a Kekonese had risen so meteorically in Resville’s underworld and now controlled so much of that lucrative city. A number of them had already made attempts to eliminate Remi and retake the parts of the gambling and prostitution businesses that they saw as belonging rightfully to them. One of Remi’s cars had been ruined by a drive-by shooting, and recently two men had gotten close enough to try to murder him at his favorite nightclub, the Blue Olive. He was alive only because years ago, he’d been trained by Green Bones straight from Janloon. The two crewboys who’d taken a run at him were delivered back to their Boss in body bags.