Even those who disagreed with the decision to spare the life of the X-class found themselves firmly in Ashwin’s corner. After all, he’d risked his own life to try and kill the terrorist, to ensure that justice was served. If not for Ruban’s intervention, that X-class would certainly have died at Ashwin’s hand.
“When did you first find out about Prince Shwaan’s true identity?” Viman Rai asked, yanking Ruban out of his musings. His eyes bored into Ruban, as if trying to scrape his thoughts directly from his head.
Ruban schooled his expression into one of bland neutrality. Viman Rai had always had a confrontational interviewing style. One he enjoyed quite a bit, when it wasn’t directed at him.
“I was informed by the Cabinet,” Ruban said, his tone impassive. “About a month after I first met him. That is to say, after I first met the man I thought was Ashwin Kwan, a Zainian emissary.”
“And this was…” Viman glanced down at his notes. “On Emancipation Day, three years ago?”
“Yes.”
“Did you share this information with your team at the South Ragah Division?”
“I shared it with my partner, Simani Vaz, as I was instructed to do by the IAW.”
“By your uncle Subhas Kinoh, you mean?”
“By the IAW,” Ruban repeated, offering no further explanation.
Raizada, the IAW Director, had already gone on record claiming to have always known of Ashwin’s true identity. So Viman was simply needling him, trying to elicit a reaction. Well, he’d have to try harder.
“Did it not occur to you that your failure to share this information with the other Hunters in your division could potentially endanger their lives?” Viman asked, his voice a fraction louder than before.
“Of course it did. But I could’ve just as easily been endangering them by sharing the information. I didn’t know Ashwin as well as I do now.” He clapped the Aeriel on the shoulder, making him jump. “For all I knew, he might’ve blown them to bits to maintain his cover.”
“Hey!” Ashwin protested.
“I know now you’d never have done that,” Ruban soothed. “But I didn’t know it back then, did I? Couldn’t take the chance, when it came to the lives of my subordinates. So I chose to place my trust in the wisdom of the IAW and the Cabinet. Fortunately for us all, it turns out their judgment was impeccable.”
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Viman hummed, noncommittal. “Would your partner, Simani Vaz, be willing to corroborate this?”
“Absolutely.”
Viman’s eyes narrowed, and Ruban bit back a smile. The man wanted controversy, some hint of scandal to latch on to. To prove that Ruban’s judgment was impaired, that he’d been enthralled by the Aeriel in human guise. And unlike other newscasters, he was quite transparent about it.
Well, Ruban didn’t plan to give him the satisfaction.
Perhaps discerning the direction of his thoughts, Viman switched gears. “Mr. Kinoh, you’d been well-known in Ragah for a few years before the prince’s arrival. Particularly after the Parliament attacks, your fame had soared, making you a household name across the nation.”
Ruban remained silent, waiting to see where this was headed.
Viman leaned forward, elbows on his desk and fingers entwined, the picture of earnest curiosity. “Could it be that Vaan chose you for this…partnership with the prince.” The words were ordinary, but his tone twisted them into something more sinister, more unsavory than their dictionary meaning. “Precisely because they knew of the influence you have over the Vandran public? The love and admiration they harbor, not only for you but for the entire Kinoh family?”
“That and the fact that I was one of the few Hunters who had a chance of successfully killing Tauheen.” Ruban gave another nonchalant shrug. “Certainly that might’ve been a factor they considered. You’d have to ask them.” He glanced at Ashwin. “Or the IAW, since they were the ones who assigned me to the case. Either way, I don’t think I’m the right person to answer that question.”
“Perhaps not. But only you can answer my next one.” Viman sat back in his chair, posture relaxing slightly. “Given your family’s history with Aeriels. Given the fact that both your father and uncle – perhaps even your aunt – were killed by Aeriels.” His gaze flicked to Ashwin, then back to Ruban. “How can you trust an Aeriel enough to work with him? To willingly share sensitive information and allow him to participate in your Hunts? Don’t you see it as a betrayal to your family? If not to the country as a whole.”
“Of course not.” Ruban frowned. “If a human attacked you or your family, would that stop you from associating with any other human for the rest of your life? The responsibility for a crime sits squarely on the shoulders of the criminal, not his entire race. I killed Reivaa and Tauheen, the two Aeriels that’d murdered my father and uncle. My revenge is complete. It’d be silly to hold a grudge against every other Aeriel, merely for belonging to the same species as those who killed my family.”
“A very enlightened mindset, indeed.” Viman smiled thinly. “One wonders if you always were so magnanimous. After all, when you first learned of Prince Shwaan’s identity, both Tauheen and Reivaa were still alive. The son of your father’s murderer stood in front of you. Even shared your home for a while, if I’m not mistaken.” Once again, he glanced down at his notes. “And it never crossed your mind to seek revenge?” He sighed. “I’ve no shame admitting this on national TV. You’re a greater man than I am, Mr. Kinoh. Had I been in your shoes, no number of high-minded principles would’ve kept me from plunging my sifblade into his heart, the moment I discovered the truth of his identity.”
Ashwin chuckled, before sheepishly pressing a bandaged hand to his mouth.
Viman turned to him, a flash of annoyance crossing his features, there and gone within half a second.
“What makes you so sure he didn’t try?” Ashwin held up both hands in a gesture of surrender. “I’m sorry to interrupt, I am! But I can’t, in good conscience, let Ruban take all the credit for my continued survival. Not when he sliced my wing open with a sifblade the first time he saw me without colored lenses and hair dye.”