The Usurper's Gambit

"You're really going to keep playing games at a time like this?"

Maya made a cold sound. "I gave you a chance. If you've got nothing to say, then I don't see any reason to keep you alive."

She started reaching for him again. The man remembered the feeling of being lifted off his feet, and his voice cracked with panic. "I'll talk. I'll talk."

"Oh?"

Maya paused. "Go on, then. Who sent you?"

"It was—