No different

Vennius struggled to contain his glee re-entering his shop. He had been right! The girl had gone to Isemalrocath. It had been the only place that made sense, if you want to hide from Malies you go to his brother. Preparations had been hurried but he had tried to be thorough. He had even paid a great deal of money to learn how to win a thief’s confidence. He had been worried it was a waste of money but the way she had lit up and relaxed immediately proved it was money well spent.

His father’s death had put all of his lands and wealth into Vennius’ hands, and he knew better than to expect Malav to allow him to keep it. Vennius had taken everything he could and left Luzoron. He had barely purchased the shop and begun to look around when the girl had practically fallen into his lap. He might have been able to invite her in and put his plans into motion if the Light Bringers had not come looking for her.

As it stood, she would come back to visit ‘Nyvor’. And he could decide how he wanted to go about repaying Malav for what he had done. The girl had been prettier when he’d seen her before, at Malav’s war councils. With her round belly and hair that looked as if someone had cut it off with a knife, the thought of bedding her to spite Malav held less appeal. But he would still, just to be able to hold it over her head for as long as he allowed her to live.

Using her to get close to Malav, to make her take that sword from him so that Vennius could cut off his head would be the sweetest revenge. Malav’s wife and child would live only long enough to see Vennius crowned King.

All that needed to be done now was to wait and prepare. Charyic wanted salty sweet or sour sweet confections, he would have something made and kept ready for her return. If Malav had been able to seduce her, she was probably easy to impress and grateful for the attention. A generous gift of confections coupled with flattery and a display of wealth should do the trick. Vennius had never had difficulty getting any girl he wanted into his bed, this one would be no different.