After the Crown

by K. B. Wagers

  “To what end, Majesty?” Emmory’s question was cautious, his face guarded.

  “To stop the war before it happens.” There were times I felt like I was talking to my father instead of my BodyGuard. “You know we can’t stand up to the Saxons for long in a straight fight.” I leaned against the desk. “I’ve been told I’m a pretty good negotiator.”

  “What are you going to offer him?”

  “Honestly? I have no idea, and while I’m sure I can make a final decision I’m not about to go up against the Matriarch Council on this. What I really want, Emmory, is to see his face, or more accurately to be in the same room with him. I want to be able to learn what I can from him before this thing implodes on us. At least then I’d have a halfway decent chance of beating him.”

  “I’ve underestimated you again, Majesty,” Emmory said with a smile.

  “I hope that’s a compliment.”

  “It is.” He waved a hand at the door, still smiling. “Let’s go meet with Toropov.”

  I’d picked the library, which seemed to be fast becoming the new default place for informal meetings, since even I wasn’t crazy enough to try to convince Emmory to let the Saxon ambassador into my rooms.

  I curled up in the chair by the fire reading an old-fashioned book. There are three ways in which a ruler can bring ruin upon her army. I looked up from the ancient writings of Sun Tzu with a smile when Zin leaned down.

  “Majesty, Ambassador Toropov is here to see you.”

  “Let him in.” Closing the book, I put it aside as I stood. “Ambassador, thank you for coming to see me.”

  “Thank you, Majesty, for making the time. It’s quite an honor and a pleasure to see you again.” Toropov took my outstretched hand in both of his scarred ones and squeezed gently. He was dressed in a deceptively casual outfit, but I caught the faint sheen on his shirt as he sat in the chair across from me. Only silk looked like that in firelight.

  Which meant the shirt he was wearing cost almost as much as the book I’d just put down.

  “Majesty?”

  I blinked and laughed. “Sorry, Ambassador. I was ruminating on how easily fortunes change. I’ve had food prepared.”

  “Fortune is fickle.” Toropov followed me to the table in the corner, nodding his thanks at Alba as she set a cup on the table. “Would you like to hear the story of how I got here?”

  Picking up my cup of blue chai, I gave Toropov a nod. We ate and I listened as he spun a tale of a boy born to poverty who ended up in trouble and was given the choice between jail or service. He chose service and spent nearly forty years with the Saxon Marine Corps before retiring.

  “Ten years ago, I was offered the chance by His Majesty to come here. I’m glad I took it. You have a fascinating empire, Majesty.”

  “Thank you.”

  Toropov leaned forward in his seat. “But you didn’t agree to see me to listen to an old man ramble about his past. Especially since I’m sure your BodyGuards already knew everything I just told you.”

  I smiled at him over the rim of my cup. “True, but it was a good story nonetheless. I need to speak with Trace.”

  Toropov didn’t bat an eyelash. “I can set up a com with him, Majesty, but you don’t really need my assistance with that. Your chamberlain could have just… ah.” He stopped and smiled. “That’s not what you mean, is it?”

  “I am willing to let him choose the meeting spot. I believe there is a list of neutral planets for just such a purpose.”

  The hesitation on Toropov’s face was fleeting, gone so fast I thought I must have imagined it. “Does Your Majesty have a reason I can pass on to the king? It would help facilitate matters.”

  I held in my laughter at the ambassador’s careful phrasing as I rose from my seat. “Let’s call it a discussion of the issues that concern both our peoples.”

  “Very well, Your Majesty.” He gave me a sharp nod and walked with me back to the fire. “I will see what I can do.”

  “That is all I can ask.” I set my cup down and reached for my book.

  Toropov smiled, canting his head to the side as he read the title. “It has been years since I read that, Majesty. Though it was a translation, not the original Chinese. I’m most impressed.”

  “I get through it,” I replied with an answering smile. “It is not the same as Cheng, but there are quite a few similarities.”

  “Have a good afternoon, Majesty. I will send your chamberlain a message as soon as I have news.”

  I nodded my thanks and settled back in the big chair after Toropov excused himself. I’d probably just stirred up a hell of a hornet’s nest, but if it worked out, it could stop this headlong slide into war.

  And I had to stop the war. We would fight if we had to, but I knew Indrana wouldn’t survive, not by herself.

  I picked the book up again, returning to the page where I’d left off.

  There are three ways in which a ruler can bring ruin upon her army. The first is by commanding the army to advance or to retreat, being ignorant of the fact that it cannot obey.

  10

  I took the handkerchief Alba handed me and wiped the tears from my face. I’d gone for so long without music from home, and now it surrounded me, carried on the high, clear notes of a young boy’s voice. According to my chamberlain, the singer had lost a cousin in the recent bombings, yet he’d insisted on performing.

  Now he sang a prayer to the gods more ancient than Indrana. A prayer that forgave the killers. A prayer that said good-bye to loved ones. It broke me open, broke open the whole audience. Only my BodyGuards had dry eyes.

  The silence that settled on the audience lasted for several heartbeats before I broke it with the tapping of my left foot on the floor. It rippled out around me, filling the auditorium with the sound. The young man pressed his hands together and bowed low, his shoulders shaking with tears that were finally released.

  I finished wiping my face and tucked the handkerchief into the deep green sleeve of my shirt as I stood. My BodyGuards formed up around us as we made our way out of the auditorium into the chaos of the waiting press.

  “Your Majesty! Is it true you’ve come to an agreement with the Upjas to fight these recent attacks?”

  “Majesty! We’ve heard reports Abraham Suda is no longer in charge of the Upjas. Is this why Tazerion Shivan was at the palace the other day?”

  “Your Majesty, any plans to visit the wounded you’ve been chatting with on Hansi?”

  “Your Majesty, Tazerion Shivan was once your mother’s choice for your husband. Is there still a chance you’ll consider him for the consort position even though he’s the new leader of the Upjas?”

  “Excuse me?” I whirled on the reporter who’d asked the question, and the woman backed away. The crush of her companions around her prevented her from gaining the distance she suddenly decided she wanted. “Who are you?”

  “Eljia Yulin, Majesty, Pashati Daily News.” She swallowed hard. “We were just curious about—”

  “I heard the question the first time.” I didn’t bother to stop the snarl in the back of my throat even though more than a dozen cameras were sure to pick it up. “We just got done at a memorial concert, Ms. Yulin. A hundred and forty-three Indranans have been killed in the last few weeks and your first thought is gossip.” I leaned in, surprised that Emmory didn’t stop me. “Shame on you.”

  “Majesty, I—”

  “Shame,” I repeated, turning around and walking away. The other journalists melted from my BodyGuards’ path in stunned silence.

  “It’s not a primary news source, ma’am,” Alba said once we were back in the aircar. “She doesn’t have palace access.”

  “Make sure it stays that way. If I see her again I promise it will result in a public relations nightmare.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  We rode back to the palace in silence. By now my people could read my moods well enough to know when to be quiet, and they left me alone to stew over the incident.

  I
was still angry the next morning. With some difficulty, I shoved it away before my scheduled call with Trace. I met Ambassador Toropov at the door of my office with a smile, but he raised an eyebrow at me.

  “Is everything all right, Majesty?”

  “Well enough.” I was sure he’d seen the coverage; it had been all over the news this morning. Settling into my chair, I nodded at him to proceed and he threw the screen up onto the far wall.

  I had seen my fair share of news reports about the king of the Saxon Alliance in my years away from home, but it was a testament to my self-control that my mouth didn’t fall open when Trace appeared on the screen.

  “Empress.” He dipped his blond head, his smile reaching up into his eyes.

  The last time I’d seen him in person, he’d been a gawky eleven-year-old. Now Trace Gerison was a tall, broad-shouldered man with short blond hair. I couldn’t deny that he was attractive, but he wasn’t my type. He was also, thankfully, married. So I wasn’t going to have to answer any infuriating questions in that regard.

  “It’s good to see you.”

  “We’ve both come up in the world, haven’t we, Haili?” Before I could reply, he continued. “I was sorry to hear about your family. We’d been concerned about the declining state of your mother’s health for some time but never considered it could be something so horrible.”

  “I’m sure you didn’t, Your Majesty,” I murmured.

  Trace blinked and started to protest, and then I watched as that all-too-familiar mask of leadership dropped onto his face. “I know there have been rumors, but I can assure you that Saxony was not involved in the recent events. I am committed to keeping the peace treaty between our people.”

  “As am I,” I replied, even though I wasn’t entirely sure how I was going to make it happen. There was a moment of tense silence as we stared at each other.

  “Well.” Trace cleared his throat. “Jaden said you wanted to talk about meeting. I have plans to look over the list of neutral planets with my head of security. As a gesture of good faith we’ll pull three and you can go over them with your Ekam to choose the final spot?”

  I nodded, unable to find any suitable reply among the mess in my head for several moments. “That’s very generous of you.”

  He shrugged uncomfortably. “Saxony doesn’t want a war. I figure you and I have seen enough death in our lifetimes, and we’re not interested in starting something up so more young men and women will see the same horrors.”

  That was true enough at least, and I felt relatively certain he believed what he was saying. However, of the two of us I was also certain I was the only one who’d ever seen anything close to combat. It still didn’t answer the question of Canafey, but I couldn’t ask about it here. Not when he’d just offered to let me pick the meeting spot.

  Instead I smiled. “Very kind of you, Trace. I appreciate it.”

  “We’ll talk soon.” Trace disconnected, leaving me staring at the blank spot on the wall.

  Ambassador Toropov cleared his throat. “With my apologies, Majesty. His Majesty can be very abrupt at times; it was nothing personal.”

  I laughed and stood. “You seem to have forgotten I’ve dealt with far worse.”

  Toropov laughed himself and rose with a fluid bow. “I seem to have done just that, Majesty. I will pass along the list as soon as I receive it.”

  “A pleasure as always, Ambassador.”

  He nodded and left my office.

  “Well, that was interesting,” I said, tapping Zin on the shoulder. “It’s been a long time since I’ve talked to Trace. We met briefly when I was seven. King Geri visited Mother the year before the war broke out. It was a last-ditch attempt to stop the growing tension. He was a cute kid, all gangly and awkward.”

  “He’s grown up, ma’am,” Zin said.

  “Both of us have.” I laughed again and then rubbed a hand over my face. “In very different ways.”

  “What I meant was he’s confident, sure of his right to rule. It’s an advantage. You’re still—”

  “Wondering if I belong here?” I waved a hand before he could apologize. “No, it’s the truth.”

  “Majesty.”

  “Emmory.” I turned to my Ekam. “I was wondering when you were going to speak up.”

  “King Trace kept looking to the left. My guess is at someone standing behind the recorder.”

  “Do you think he was being coached?”

  Emmory tilted his head in thought. “That short an interaction, it was hard to tell. I’ll know better when I see the people around him. I’d recommend caution here, Majesty.”

  “I’m in agreement with you.” I replayed the conversation, this time catching the quick flick of Trace’s eyes to the left of the camera. I wondered who he’d been watching and just what it meant.

  Matriarch Desai wasn’t happy about my decision to include Taz in the morning briefings, but I insisted, mostly because it saved me from having to sit through the same information three times in a day.

  She was coolly efficient as we moved through the details of the official negotiation process with the Upjas, and turned the floor over to Taz without protest.

  “Your Majesty, we’ve made good progress cleaning up Christoph’s cells. However, as Captain Gill has no doubt informed you, we’ve still been unable to locate Christoph himself.”

  “He’s still on planet though?”

  Taz nodded. “Still in the capital, we think, but he’s constantly on the move and changing his face. Captain Gill has the legal body modification centers under close supervision, but there’re a lot of chop shops out there.”

  “Keep after him. Make sure you get some sleep, Taz, you look tired.”

  A smile flickered to life, but Taz didn’t call me on my hypocrisy in front of everyone. “Yes, Majesty.”

  “Your Majesty, are we getting some kind of verification for the information this rebel is presenting us?” Prime Minister Eha Phanin, by contrast, had been less than pleasant to Taz since he’d joined us.

  “Captain Gill has been our liaison with the Upjas since this started.”

  “Captain Gill also has several family members who are sympathizers.”

  That was news to me, and I stopped myself from glancing at my Ekam. “Captain Gill is trusted by us,” I said.

  “I’m sure, Majesty. I’m just suggesting we cover all avenues rather than trusting a single source of information.”

  I stared at Phanin, but he didn’t flinch. I didn’t have a good reason to tell him no and we both knew it. “Fine. We will find a second source to verify, Eha. Will that satisfy you?”

  The annoyed expression was only on his face for a second, but it was enough to make me triumphant. Phanin nodded. “Of course, Majesty. I am only concerned for the safety of the empire.”

  “As are we.”

  Clara cleared her throat. “Moving on to the next item on our list, Majesty, I have a list of potential suitors for you to interview. I’ll pass the list on to Alba so she can get them slotted into your schedule.”

  Taz raised an eyebrow but wisely remained silent.

  I looked away from him, feeling my cheeks heat. “Clara, now is not the time for this.”

  “You insisted he be here for the morning briefings, Majesty. Perhaps you should have looked at the topics beforehand?”

  I couldn’t punch her in the throat. I’d get in trouble. Folding my hands into my lap, I took a deep breath. “Matriarch Desai, I dislike being pushed and prodded. If you haven’t figured it out, you soon will. The more you try to get me to make a decision, the more I will resist. Since I am the empress, there is very little you can do to actually force me. I will look at your list and fit this relatively minor issue into my schedule as it allows. This is the last I want to hear of it. Am I understood?” I stood and there was a lot of noise as everyone else in my office rushed to do the same.

  “Yes, Majesty.” Clara bowed, her eyes unrepentant.

  “Have a good day, everyone.” I remin
ded myself again that I couldn’t punch her and left the room.

  My BodyGuards were silent as we headed back to my rooms. I flipped the news onto the screen of the far wall as we walked through the door and unwound my gold sari, tossing it onto the back of the couch. I flopped down and took the cup of chai Stasia handed me.

  “You can’t punch Matriarch Desai,” Emmory said.

  “I know,” I replied with a tight smile. “Doesn’t mean I don’t want to though.”

  Gita and Kisah settled into their spots by the door. Zin appeared to be having a silent conversation with Emmory as they both looked out the window at the bay. I drank my chai and picked at a stray thread on my cream-colored pants.

  “More rumors continue to swirl about the empress’s relationship with the Upjas’ new leader, Tazerion Shivan. A source inside the palace confirms they’ve met in private several times and that Shivan is now part of Empress Hailimi’s inner circle. He’s attended several daily briefings and is no longer being subjected to searches when he enters the palace.”

  “We’re still searching him, Majesty, that part isn’t true.”

  “What do you mean ‘that part’? None of it is true,” I snarled in return.

  “Of course, Majesty.”

  Before I could say anything, the bubbly newscaster continued. “There’s been a great deal of speculation about the empress’s necessary search for a Prince Consort. Is Tazerion the front-runner for the position? Our viewers weigh in on the issue.”

  The screen died as I abruptly cut the feed and got to my feet. “Source inside the palace?”

  “There are a lot of people around you, Majesty,” Emmory replied. “They do sign nondisclosure contracts when they come to work, but the press is offering a lot of money for information about the new empress. We can’t follow them all to make sure they’re not talking.”

  “Your Majesty could make worse alliances,” Zin said with a shrug.