With that he turned and swept away leaving, me to fume in silence.
22
Amy
Once I'd agreed, everything happened in a rush. A carefully coordinated rush, one that danced around me like a delicate ballet. I would never have imagined that a wedding on this scale could be arranged so quickly. It helped that the plan was already in place, I realized — Xeraxis had intended to wed someone as soon as the Red King's Revenge delivered her. It just happened to be me.
Fortunately, no one seemed to want my opinion on anything. I wouldn't have been able to say anything constructive, and the servants seemed to know exactly what was needed. It was strange to think that my wedding would happen without any input from me, but there was nothing normal about this ceremony.
The dress was assembled around me by robots, and even now I couldn't help being amazed by it. The fabric floated in the air, literally weightless, and the way it fitted me was unlike anything I'd ever experienced. Even the dress I'd been given earlier seemed like rags in comparison to it.
If only I could have enjoyed wearing it. Instead, I let the robots fit it to me as I stood stock still and miserable. Somewhere Kadran was imprisoned and if I didn't do this, he'd suffer for it. I remembered the horrifying displays of Xeraxis's 'justice' we'd seen when I came aboard the Lament. The thought of Kadran in one of those torture pits was too much for me to bear.
Xeraxis will keep his word, I told myself, hoping that was true. He doesn't gain anything from hurting Kadran so long as he's getting what he wants from me.
"Please remain still, mistress," one of the robots said. "We are still calibrating the dress to your nervous system."
"I don't even know what that means," I complained. No explanation was forthcoming, though. The robots were beautiful machines, looking like statues made of porcelain and gold in a shape that suggested a woman without being close enough be mistaken for human. They answered questions about as well as statues, too.
The momentary distraction helped a little but it didn't last long. Moments later I was back to thinking about Kadran, worrying about him. I couldn't get the image of him suffering in one of those torture pits out of my head.
Or worse, he could be dead. It wasn't as though Xeraxis had any use for him except as leverage.
"Lament," I called out, ignoring the robot dressmaker's protest.
"Yes, my lady?" the ship answered, sweet and happy.
"I need to see Kadran. Prove he's alive and well." I swatted the porcelain hands away from my waist, trying to think of a threat that might work. Violence was out, what could I possibly hurt here? There was only one thing I could try. "Do it or I'm going to start crying, and fuck up the dress."
That managed to get an outraged noise from the robot dressmaker, which was a good start. Lament stayed silent for a moment, then sighed. "That's not very princess-like of you, my lady."
"You're the ones who want me to be a princess," I said. "I don't care. Come on, what can it hurt?"
"As you say, my lady," Lament said, sounding amused and tolerant. "Your wish is my command."
My laugh was bitter, but at least I was getting what I asked for. That was better than being mocked and refused.
The robots continued to work around me as a hologram shimmered into existence. A cell, small and dark, bare metal walls and floor — and sitting on a bunk built into the wall, Kadran. He sat still, cross-legged and with his hands resting on his knees. So motionless that for a moment I thought it was a still image but then I realized that his chest moved as he breathed. He was alive.
Or had been, when this was recorded.
"This doesn't prove anything," I said. "I need to speak to him so that I know this is really him."
"Of course, my lady," Lament said. I thought I detected a hint of irritation in her sunny voice and took a little bleak comfort in that. Petty of me, perhaps, but right now any victory was worth celebrating.
Kadran's eyes flicked open, looking up to meet mine. With a sharp intake of breath he leaped to his feet, reaching out for me.
The hologram hand passed through me and his face fell.
"I'm sorry," I told him. "This is just a hologram."
"Better than nothing," he said, though his smile was forced. "Much better than nothing. I wasn't sure when we'd have the chance to speak again."
"There was no way I'd go through with this without talking to you," I said firmly. "Kadran, I owe you so much. I'm going to keep you safe whatever it takes."
"You owe me nothing." The force of his words took me by surprise, and it looked like he'd shocked himself too. "Amy, I tried to keep you safe but I failed. You don't have to do anything for me."
I felt tears welling in my eyes and blinked them back while the robots fussed around me.
"I'll decide what I owe," I told him. "You risked everything to get me to safety. I can't, I won't, abandon you to horrors when I could save you by taking up a life of luxury. What kind of a person would do that?"
The thought of what I was really agreeing to kept intruding. Sure, my cage would be beautiful and luxurious — but it would be a cage, and an unhappy one. I'd be married to a monster who conquered star systems for sport, and I'd be condemning Earth to that fate.
He'd do it anyway, I told myself. The next woman they kidnap for him won't have a Kadran to protect her. If I say no, all that will change is that Kadran dies painfully.
Me too, I suppose. That didn't seem as important somehow, though I knew that Kadran would disagree.
His gaze bored into my soul. Even through the hologram it felt like he was closer to me than anyone else I'd ever met. "If you are set on this course, Amy, then I will not mar this conversation with a fight. Your fate is yours to chart. Just know that I will support you."
I hadn't expected that, and there was something in the way he said it that made me straighten up. For a moment I wondered if this was a fake image, but surely even the Silent Empire's technology couldn't do that kind of thing in real time?
"Thank you," I stammered. It was hard to know what to say to that, and Kadran's gaze bored into my soul. Reaching out, I tried to touch him, my fingers sinking into the light of the hologram.
There were questions I wanted to ask, more that I wanted to say, but something in his gaze warned me not to. It was all either of us could do to keep our emotions under control as it was.
His hand came up to mine, and we stood there touching but not feeling each other until the image faded away.
"It is time," Lament's voice said from the doorway. I blinked, looking up. The dress moved as though it was part of me as I walked out to meet my fate.
* * *
The great hall was ostentatious even by the standards of the Lament for Battles Unfought. It seemed to go on forever, a vast vaulted chamber filled with a mostly-human crowd that cheered my entrance. The sheer force of that noise nearly made me back out of the room.
High above, the vaulted ceiling was decorated with scenes of battle that came alive as I watched, lasers glittering and missiles slowly crossing empty space. Somehow that display seemed to match up to the music that filled the hall, ships moving in a deadly dance. Below them, the hall was held up by more statues, each of a different alien race, all holding up gifts and offerings.
This was a place for celebrating war, conquest, and death. And now it was the cathedral that would celebrate my wedding. Great.
It was fitting, though. My wedding was just another conquest for the Prince and his ship. I stepped out into the room.
Fortunately I wasn't expected to walk up the aisle. A disk of light rose under my feet, lifting me and carrying me above the crowd as they cheered again. All too quickly, I approached the altar at the far end of the hall.
Prince Xeraxis waited there, watching with cold eyes and a warm smile. He wore an outfit nearly as resplendent as mine, a long coat of deep blue with golden threads woven through it in intricate patterns. A silver crown circled his head and, lest anyone forget that he was a warrior
prince, a sword hung by his side.
I couldn't deny that he looked amazing, but none of it made him more appealing to me. The cold smile on his face as he watched me approach made me shiver.
Beside Xeraxis stood another of the robot servants, this one more ornate and wearing a crown of her own. Lament, I realized, choosing to wear a body so that she could attend the ceremony in person. An elderly man in heavy purple robes waited with them as I was carried closer. The priest, I presumed.
Behind them, a vast mural covered the wall. The Silent Empress, reclining in a glass coffin, rose petals scattered around her and her children gathered in sorrow and prayer. A morbid backdrop for a wedding, perhaps, but it suited my mood.
The disk came to a halt before the altar and I stepped off it reluctantly, looking up at the serene face of the frozen Empress. We were both women trapped without a voice in our future. I shouldn't pray to you. I don't know how. But if you can help me, then please, save me from your son.
It was a foolish hope. She couldn't even save herself, let alone me. But it gave me something to think as I walked up to the priest and offered my hand.
He smiled at me, the picture of a kindly old man. Maybe he even was, but right now he was the one finalizing this awful bargain. I felt a surge of anger at him, at Xeraxis, at his whole damned situation.
At the priest's urging I turned back towards the crowd. The hall was divided by a forcefield, keeping the commoners back from their lords, and only the closest benches were inside. It didn't say anything good about Xeraxis that he couldn't trust any but his most trusted allies to be close to him on his wedding day.
Not just his allies, I saw. There, sitting at the front where I could see him clearly, was Kadran. He wore a splendid suit, cut and fitted to show him off to best effect, but it couldn't hide the fact that he was a prisoner. Beside him sat Athazar, his captor, and behind him Lord-Commander Bergot. My heart fell at the sight, a calculated reminder of what was at stake if I didn't cooperate.
"All you need to do is say the words," Lament said sweetly, too quiet for anyone else to hear. "No harm will come to him."
Her perfectly serene white mask of a face looked at me, and I knew it was my imagination but I thought I could see triumph in her black glass eyes. At least that gave me somewhere to direct my glare.
The priest began to speak, his sonorous voice booming out and quieting the crowd. A sermon about the union of the Silent Empress and her spouses, I gathered, but the details were lost on me. I didn't even try to follow it, looking back to find Kadran's face in the crowd.
Something was wrong. Or, perhaps, right? He looked almost hopeful as he met my eyes. Again I wondered if it was an impostor, but no. No one could fake the mix of emotions in his eyes, or the way they looked straight into my soul.
Is he trying to tell me something? He looked relaxed, calm. I'd expected him to be vibrating with rage, or possibly crushed with despair. But no, Kadran looked as though he was bracing himself for something. Waiting.
It was ridiculous. He was surrounded by foes, watching me marry myself into slavery. He was only here as a hostage, to force my cooperation, and he couldn't fight back for fear of me being harmed. Yet he seemed calmer than I'd ever seen him.
I frowned at him, and he nodded. Encouraging me? Surely he hadn't changed his mind.
The priest droned on, his sermon building to some kind of a conclusion, and I tried to understand the message that Kadran was trying to send me. What was it he'd said? My fate is mine to chart.
That phrase echoed in my mind, and I knew that Kadran would support my choice. Whatever I did, he had my back, but I was running out of time. The priest guided me closer to Xeraxis. The prince raised his hand to take mine, vicious triumph on his face as his ringed hand closed on mine.
"Do you, Amy Kelland of Earth, daughter of the Silent Empress, wed this man?" the priest's question echoed in the vast hall, and all was silent as they waited for my answer.
I took a deep breath. Held it for a second and committed myself to my fate.
"Fuck off."
Xeraxis recoiled in shock at my crudity, and before anyone else could react, I moved.
My hand balled into a fist at my side and I twisted as I threw it forward, exhaling sharply and putting all my weight behind it like Kadran had taught me. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Xeraxis's eyes widened and he tried to dodge. Not fast enough though.
My knuckles connected with his sternum, every ounce of strength I had behind them. The force of the blow drove the air from his lungs and he doubled over, face purple and hand scrabbling for his sword. So presumably that wasn't just decorative.
I reached it first, my hand closing on the hilt and pulling it free as I stepped away from him. The blade shimmered in my hand, energy crackling around the thin frame of metal, and I brandished it high.
Maybe I didn't know how to use a sword, but I did know one thing — I was better off with it in my hand than the prince's.
An outraged roar filled the cathedral and chaos erupted behind me, but I didn't have time to look. Lament's robot body rushed at me with a scream that seemed out of place coming from that serene face, her porcelain fingers grabbing for me. A desperate cut from the sword drove her back, sparks flying, and we circled each other.
"You idiot," Lament hissed, her usual cheer gone. So I guess she only likes fights that she's going to win. Typical. "We offered you everything you could ever desire and you throw it away in a childish fit."
"This was never what I wanted," I countered, aiming a slash towards the prince as he staggered back gasping for air. Lament leaped between us in a flash, taking the blow to her arm, and the sword carved a deep gash into the golden framework.
She couldn't keep this up for long, but she didn't have to. I was already surprised that the guards hadn't cut me down. This wasn't a plan that I'd intended to survive, but it was better to go out fighting rather than let Xeraxis and Lament dictate my fate to me.
That had been the message Kadran had tried to send me. That, and the fact that he'd back me whatever course I chose. I glanced back, past the outraged priest, and looked into the crowd. Kadran was there, trying to block the nobles, to keep them away from me. Buying me time.
A shiver ran through me at the sight of him. He was outnumbered, outgunned, and surrounded — but still he fought for me, even though he was doomed. My heart was torn between an upwelling of love for him and horror that he was about to die.
But he, too, had picked his own course. And if we died together, well, that was better than living as slaves, no matter how pretty our chains.
The distraction nearly cost me the fight as Lament lunged for me, knocking my sword out of the way with her damaged arm and punching with the other. Kadran had taught me to roll with an attack, and her fist bruised my cheek rather than smashing my skull, but god she was strong. I should have expected that from a robot.
Leaping back, I slashed wildly. The glowing blade connected at an awkward angle, shearing off some golden decorations from her shoulder but doing no real damage. She pressed me, and if my wedding dress hadn't been made of magical fabric I'd have had no chance of defending myself.
As it was, though, the dress didn't hinder me at all. Every move I made, it floated out of my way, and that allowed me to retreat and catch my balance. The energy sword hung heavy in my hand and I wondered how anyone ever lasted through a battle. It was hard enough to keep fighting for five minutes!
"Kill her," Xeraxis gasped, getting enough breath back to speak. The rage in his voice made me shudder, and the venomous look he shot me was almost physical in its force. He staggered towards the back of the cathedral as more guards blocked my path.
Looks like I don't get to kill him. I felt both disappointed and relieved — I'd never killed anyone before and I didn't like the idea of starting now. But if anyone deserved to die it was the prince who planned to strip-mine the Earth and enslave everyone living there.
Lament blocked my path as I
tried to follow him. Her calm, motionless white face belied her the feral intensity of her body language, but her robot body was failing. I'd left a dozen deep cuts already, oil and stranger liquids leaking from them, and faint haze of smoke rose around her.
"You will not have him," she said, a little of her poise recovered. "You will die, and everyone you know will suffer for your treachery. I will make sure of it."
Her hands reached for me, grasping at my throat, and all I could do was fall back, tumbling to the floor to avoid her hands. She launched herself after me, heavy metal falling to crush me, and with the last of my strength I braced the sword against the deck beside me.
The point swung up between us, and Lament landed on it. Her own weight drove her down the sword blade, the hilt shuddering in my grip, and she let out a terrible screech. Sparks and smoke shot out of her body as it stilled, landing on top of me with a bruising thud.
The robot might be motionless, dead, but she was too heavy for me to move. Pinned, I waited for the guards to finish me off. At least I got some measure of revenge, I thought as they closed in. I'm sorry, Kadran. Sorry that you got dragged into this.
23
Kadran
Amy's attack on Prince Xeraxis stunned the crowd around me, and that gave me the chance I'd been hoping for. The guards' attention had been on me, not her, and the idea that she might attack their lord and master didn't seem to have crossed anyone's mind.
Serves them right for underestimating my mate, I thought, driving an elbow back into the face of the Lord-Commander seated behind me. It connected with a satisfying crunch, and as I jumped to my feet he tumbled backward. Lunging after him, I caught the cyborg's throat in my hands and drove him to the floor. Something snapped in his neck and he spasmed under me.
Bergot was by far the most dangerous of the humans here, and with him out of the fight I might stand a chance. The forcefield, intended to keep out assassins, would also limit the security response to people who were already inside.
Stolen by the Alien Raider: A Novel of the Silent Empire Page 14
