Ambassador Suleri watched them sardonically. Jainan said, through a dry throat, “I do.”
“Mm,” Suleri said. “Your Highness and Your Grace understand, I assume, that though Thea is small, our relationship as an allied province requires a delicate touch and significant attention from both sides. You will also be aware”—and now he looked from Jainan to Kiem and back again—“that the current arrangements have not been ideal, from our point of view, for quite some time.”
Kiem frowned. This conversation must seem very odd from where he sat, Jainan thought. “You mean, you’re getting pushback?” he said. “Look, I don’t know what you’re expecting from me, but to be honest with you, I’m not very deeply involved in politics.”
Lady Fadith inclined her head to Kiem in a half bow. She was rubbing her finger and thumb together in a nervous tic down by her side, where she probably thought nobody would notice. She should be nervous, Jainan thought distantly. She and the Ambassador were bordering on rudeness to an Imperial Prince.
“It is difficult,” Fadith said, “when we don’t have any communication at all with our treaty principal.”
Jainan thought of trying to explain, felt sick, and looked at the floor.
“Um,” Kiem said. “If he doesn’t want to talk to you, then I’m sorry.” There was an odd note in his voice. When Jainan looked up, Kiem was sitting up straighter, almost bristling. He looked ridiculous in his plastic canteen chair. “But if he doesn’t, he probably has a good reason.”
“Does he?” Suleri said. “Your Highness?”
“What?”
The Esvereni had never scrupled to point out what was wrong with other prominent clans, but Jainan had no idea why Suleri would do something as rash as needling Kiem. The last ambassador had been a diplomat. “I hesitate to imply it,” Suleri said, “but some would say it might be quite convenient for your side for Thea to have no representative in the palace.”
“Wait,” Kiem said. “What are you saying? That I’ve stopped Jainan from talking to you? That’s ludicrous. How would I do that? I’ve only known him a week.”
The Ambassador merely lifted his shoulders. Everyone in the room was now looking at Kiem. “All I can say is that my staff tell me Count Jainan has disengaged with everyone in this room over the last—”
“No.” Jainan forced himself to unclench his jaw, which felt like it was locked in place. If he didn’t explain this now, it would poison the entire bilateral relationship, when in fact this was Jainan’s personal problem. “It has nothing to do with Prince Kiem. Your staff know it doesn’t. It’s the security clearance issue.”
“Ah,” Ambassador Suleri said. He didn’t sound greatly convinced, though his staff must have told him. “Yes.”
“What security clearance issue?” Kiem asked.
“My security clearance was revoked a while ago,” Jainan said. His voice was level and only a little hoarse. He could get through this.
“What? Why?”
One of the other diplomats leaned forward: the cultural attaché. She was one of Ressid’s friends. “And your security clearance stopped you from speaking to us about anything?” she asked. “Even a message about the weather? You spoke to Lady Ressid for a while after the issue was raised.”
Jainan shut his eyes briefly. There was no easy way to put this. “I was encouraged not to.” That was true, but it wasn’t the whole story. He’d become tired of being cross-examined over what he’d said; he’d become tired of the arguments; he’d taken the easy way out.
Kiem pushed back his chair. “Encouraged not to? Who by?”
“Your Highness, please sit down,” Lady Fadith said.
Jainan hadn’t even bothered to look up; he recognized Kiem’s I-can’t-sit-still jitters. “Security,” Jainan said. “Internal Security. It was a routine matter.” He took a breath and stopped himself before he said anything else.
“So,” Ambassador Suleri said, before Kiem could say anything. “Can I take it this will be easily resolved?”
“No,” Jainan said.
“Yes!” Kiem said at the same time, then looked at Jainan and amended it to, “Somehow. Maybe not easily resolved, but—what the hell, they told you not to talk to your family?”
Jainan had pressed a finger to his temple again. This time he didn’t take it away. “Prince Kiem—” he said. He didn’t even know what he was going to say to him, but dragging everyone through his dirty laundry in public—excruciatingly in public—was more than Jainan could stand.
But even the name seemed to have an effect. Kiem raised both his hands in front of him and said, “Sorry. We’ll talk about it.” He turned back to the Ambassador. “Thank you for raising it. No, really. We’ll look into it.” There was still an odd note to his voice.
“Please do,” Suleri said, his voice sardonic. “I look forward to our closer collaboration.”
Lady Fadith murmured, “Jainan, if you would like to have a word in private…？” Her gaze on him felt uncomfortable.
“No,” Jainan said for the third time, more desperately. “I am feeling slightly unwell, still. Excuse me.” He stood. “Thank you for the invitation.”
“Yes, very much!” Kiem said, shaking the Ambassador’s hand heartily. “Hope to see you at many more!”
Jainan wouldn’t have believed it was possible to extract themselves from the room and the reception in less than five minutes. But somehow Kiem did it by clapping shoulders and grabbing hands and making loud comments about the next reception, and they made it out before the pain in Jainan’s head had time to grow any more. Jainan led them down a back staircase to the foyer. Kiem was unusually quiet until they reached the entrance. Then he took a breath, but he was interrupted by Gairad barreling out of the main room and nearly crashing into him.
“Count Jainan!” she said. “Sweet God, I thought you’d gone and I’d have to trek to the palace. Here.” She passed him the thumb-sized silver circle of a secure data coin. “Professor Audel asked me to give you this. It’s got the files the military let us have from Operation Kingfisher. She says to go through it and see if you can work out what extraction methods they’re using. I’m trying to make a refinery plan.”
Jainan stared down at the data coin. His mind was so far from Audel’s project that it took him a moment to even process what Gairad had said. “Thank you,” he said eventually, and slipped it into his pocket.
Gairad didn’t move. “I wanted to say,” she said, “I didn’t know about the security clearance thing.”
“No,” Jainan said. He tried to think of something else to say, and couldn’t.
“So, I’m sorry,” she said.
Jainan blinked. “What?”
Gairad drew back uncomfortably. “I’m not saying it again,” she said. She half turned, looked back over her shoulder, and said, “I’ll tell Lady Ressid.”
“Wait—” Jainan said reflexively, but she was already lost in the crowd.