Born Of Fire And Darkness (Book 2) by India Drummond

found it incredibly funny. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been treated so rudely. Despite his weariness, it tickled him. He was so weary of people either being afraid of him because of who his father was, sucking up to him, likely for the same reason, or being so unsure of how to treat him that they avoided him completely.
    He stood and thanked her, his wooden chair scraping loudly against the floor. Back in the hall, he watched as, one by one, each of the other Talmorans were taken back. Some came out very quickly with thunderous looks on their faces. Likely they hadn’t been impressed with Octavia’s trainee and, as he had, refused to state their business to an underling.
    A few took longer, and by the time the last person had been taken back, darkness had fallen and the dirty oil lamps fixed on the walls were barely enough to illuminate the room.
    After a while, that final petitioner, an older woman who looked, judging by her clothes, like a merchant, emerged looking thoughtful but not displeased. A moment later, he heard the clacking of shoes rushing through the building. Octavia appeared at the door, her brown eyes wide in astonishment. She shook her head when she saw him. “I’m sorry. You’ve been waiting all day?”
    “It’s not a problem.”
    She turned a chair and sat across from him. “Why didn’t you just come to the house?”
    “You haven’t been answering my letters.”
    “I’m sorry.” She smoothed her long, dark hair. The dim light of the room made the circles under her eyes more pronounced. “I’d be annoyed with Liara for not telling me immediately you were here, but she’s under strict instructions to not give in to Talmoran noblemen. I’m afraid there are quite a few who think wealth or a title will give them preference over everyone else.”
    “Perhaps I shouldn’t have come here, but I needed to see you.”
    “I promise I will come to dinner soon. Everything’s just so—”
    “It’s not about dinner. It’s about that letter from the emperor.”
    She gave a puzzled frown. “I never received another message as I feared I might, so I put the incident out of my mind.”
    Korbin doubted she even bothered to carry her new identity token marking her as a citizen. “You might not have heard from the emperor, but I did.”
    “He wrote to you?” The lines on her forehead deepened. “About me?”
    “Well, about both of us. Octavia, I don’t know how to say this, but we must go to Durjin.” He reached into a pocket and retrieved the envelope he’d received the evening before and handed it to her.
    Her eyes scanned the page once, then again. He knew the words well, as he himself had read it countless times since it arrived. The tone was polite, but the intent clear.
    “Am I understanding this right? If we don’t go, you’ll be made a senator?” she asked, her tone incredulous. “Is that so terrible? It sounds like a veiled threat, but I don’t understand why it should be.”
    “This is a notice reminding me I am beholden to the emperor and owe him obedience and loyalty. I have no choice. I must do as he asks, one way or another. The intent is so much more than me becoming a senator or not.”
    “You may not have a choice, but I do,” she said and handed the letter back to him. “Unless you think he’ll have me arrested.”
    “As the letter said, my father is trying to have Seba released into his custody. You know what that means. This doesn’t worry you?”
    “It does,” she said. “Which is why you should go to Durjin and tell the emperor why allowing this would be a bad idea. He’ll listen to you. You’re a Dul.”
    “And you’re a conduit. It’s your advice he wants, your words he wants to hear.”
    “My people need me.”
    “Talmorans are your people now too, and we need you to help protect us from Seba.”
    She stood and spun, turning her back to him. Korbin thought she might walk away, but she started to pace. After a moment, she turned to