“Jio-jen,” Jaya said, walking up to the table with a smile and saluting respectfully. “My name is Kaul Jayalun, and I’ve been sent on behalf of my father, the Pillar of No Peak, with an important proposal for the Six Hands Unity clan. May I join you?”
Jaya could see that Jio Somu had been handsome in his youth. Now in his midforties, the color in his hair was fading, but he still possessed a strong jaw and taut skin around shrewd eyes shielded by amber-tinted glasses. Plenty of people had tried to kill Jio over the years, and the paranoia he’d developed had paid off. As one of the only Pillars not in the KJA meeting on the day of the Janloon bombing, he’d been in a position to strengthen Six Hands Unity in Lukang while other minor clans had struggled and collapsed.
Jio pulled his glasses down and regarded Jaya and her two associates with a mixture of suspicion and amusement. “Since when does No Peak send its children to make business proposals?”
His eyes moved up and down, taking her in from head to toe. Jaya was wearing fashionable sneakers, a patterned summer skirt, and a red top with flared sleeves and a scooped neckline under a customfitted leather vest that suggested a modern, feminine twist on the traditional Green Bone fighting attire. Artfully arranged jade pieces gleamed from her gold torque necklace and armlets.
“Jio-jen, my words are for your ears only.” Jaya glanced meaningfully at the other people in the club—the gamecock trainers, the waiters, the few other patrons.
Jio raised his eyebrows with curiosity and distrust. Then he spoke to his two Green Bone subordinates. “Get those people to clear out and then wait by the door and stop anyone else from coming in.” Jio considered the two young Fists standing to either side of Jaya. He did not feel especially threatened—he was more heavily jaded than either of them, but he said to Jaya, “If your bodyguards stay, then so do mine.”
“Whatever you like,” Jaya said without concern. As the Pillar’s lunch companions reluctantly departed, she slid onto the cushioned bench next to Jio. The man’s bodyguards shifted closer, but he waved them back to their spots. Kaul Hiloshudon would not sacrifice his own beloved daughter in an assassination attempt. “May I have some of that cool tea?” Jaya asked him. “It’s terribly hot in your city today.”
Jio poured Jaya a glass of the citrus-infused tea and slid it toward her, watching her pale throat bob as she drank. When she was done, she wiped the half circle of lipstick from the rim of the glass with a finger. “Jio-jen,” she said earnestly, looking the man in the eyes, “Six Hands Unity has been a faithful tributary of the Mountain clan for many years. But you’re obviously a practical man who puts his own interests first. After all, you betrayed your uncle and watched him murdered in front of you, so you’re willing to be flexible with your loyalties.”
The bemused, tolerant expression on Jio’s face vanished. “Is Kaul Hilo so deluded that after all these years, he thinks he can bribe me for my allegiance?”
Jaya’s eyes widened and she said vehemently, “I swear on my jade that my father wouldn’t insult you by offering any sort of bribe! He understands that you’re genuinely loyal to Ayt Mada. Some would say you’re an even better ally to her than the Kobens. He’s simply, out of courtesy from one Pillar to another, offering you the opportunity to switch allegiance now and save yourself from sharing the same fate as the Mountain.” Jaya gave him a winning smile. “He’s sent me to tell you that old hag Ayt Mada will soon be on her way out, and he would be pleased to put any enmity with Six Hands Unity in the past and to accept your oath as a tributary of No Peak.”
Jio blinked at Jaya before letting out a rich, throaty laugh. The smile returned to his face. “Jaya-jen,” he said, using her personal name as if they were friends, “your family’s been trying to take down the Mountain for decades. You’ll forgive me if I’m quite confident Ayt-jen will be Pillar for many years to come.”
“I’m sorry I can’t give you the details of how exactly No Peak is going to bring Ayt down, only my father’s assurance that it’ll happen soon,” Jaya said. “Ayt will be succeeded by the Koben family, and from what I understand, they don’t like you all that much. You’re southerners and they’re northerners, and also they look down on the barukan immigrants in your clan. So you can’t expect to get the same sort of favored tributary status under Ayt Atosho that you enjoy now.” She called out to Asha and Kain standing a short distance away. “Is there anything else I’m forgetting?”