by K. B. Wagers
“Your pardon, Your Highness,” he replied with a bow that was surprisingly elegant given his blocky frame. “But our job is to keep you alive, not to give you advice.”
“Your job is what I say it is. Besides, it makes me happy.”
“That’s not our job either, Highness,” Jet said with a trace of amusement in his accented voice.
I slid off the couch with a smile and crossed the room. “Jet, if you’re not going to keep me happy, you’re going to want to keep a closer eye on your weapons.”
Confusion flashed through his eyes and was quickly overtaken by surprise. I gave him a broader smile and flipped his knife over my fingers.
He studied me for a moment, tilting his head to the side as he spoke. “Her greeting was strained, Highness. Too high-pitched to be genuine. She was surprised by your controlled reaction to her insult and confused by how calm you were. I take it you weren’t always so cool around her.
“She could be dangerous given how her influence has grown in the short time since Princess Cire’s death. But she’s worried by your return, which means she hasn’t consolidated enough power yet to challenge you outright for position as Heir Apparent.”
The knots in my stomach released themselves so abruptly, I almost collapsed in relief, but I hid it and handed Jet’s knife to him with a wink.
“I like you.”
“I’m terrified to hear it, ma’am.”
I punched him in the shoulder. Everyone froze. “Uff,” I muttered, seeing no graceful way to move on from my decidedly gunrunner behavior. “Alba, your thoughts?”
“With apologies, Highness.” My heart sank at my chamberlain’s reply. “But Ojayit has stolen my answer.”
Jet raised an eyebrow in her direction, and Alba only allowed a tiny smile to peek through in return as she dipped her head in his direction.
“That’s my girl.” I clapped my hands and grinned at her. “Okay, Alba, you stay. I’m sure we have things to go over. BodyGuards can go now.” I winced at the awkward dismissal. My BodyGuards weren’t the only ones who needed to get used to things apparently.
No one seemed to mind. Emmory merely gave me a look as he headed for the door. As soon as we were alone, Alba jumped right into my schedule.
“Matriarch Desai sent me a message, ma’am, saying they’d keep Ganda on the schedule for the week and give you a chance to get your feet under you. She would like to meet with you when it’s convenient.”
I nodded. Clara had copied me on that message as well as attaching a file summarizing the current political climate. “Who’s the head of the Ancillary Council right now?”
“Juna Saito has held the spot for several years now.”
The AC was made up of the daughters of the matriarchs as well as daughters of several other noble houses, and the head was elected by majority vote. I remembered Juna; she was several years older than me and had been a friend of Cire’s. She was a tiny thing with curly black hair and pale skin. I wondered if she was still quiet and serious or if time had changed her.
“When’s their next meeting?”
Alba’s eyes unfocused as she checked her calendar. “Right now, I’m afraid, ma’am. Just their normal weekly meeting, though I suspect things aren’t the least bit normal given recent events. There’s nothing else scheduled until next week.”
“Make a note that we should stop in and say hi if we have time.” Cire wouldn’t have had much to do with the AC. Her duties as heir would have kept her too busy, but they were her social peers, and Pace probably had sat on the council. It would be important for me to get to know these women as many of them would end up in the Matriarch Council during my reign.
Look at you, Hail, settling right into this.
“I also have a message from Admiral Hassan requesting a meeting as soon as possible.” Alba had moved on to the next item without realizing my distraction and her announcement pulled me out of my self-pity.
I pulled up the files Alba sent to my smati. Inana Hassan was Mother’s age, a graduate of the Naval Academy who’d worked her way up through the ranks until her appointment as Admiral of Home Fleet five years ago. Her elevation also garnered her control of the Raksha—the military council for Indrana.
This woman had power, and the fact that she wanted to talk to me was a good sign. I knew my priorities. Hao used to go on and on about how there were three things a gunrunner needed to pay attention to before entering into a deal with anyone: their politics, the cost of the deal—not just financially but everything else—and the mood of the locals.
It wasn’t much of a stretch for me to translate that into my situation here. The top three pressing issues were politics, the economy, and the state of my people.
I wasn’t even close to being caught up on everything that had happened in the last few months, but what little information I’d scraped together in the hectic hours since my return was all bad news.
Economics wasn’t my strong suit, and I was reluctant to involve myself and potentially make the mess worse. But the political situation—specifically the mounting troubles with the Saxon Kingdom—and the growing popular unrest? Those I could handle.
I remembered Hao’s favorite saying: Concentrate on what you know. The rest will sort itself out, or it’ll kill you. It had always been delivered with a grin and a wink, typical of Hao’s easygoing attitude.
“Make her a priority, Alba. If she can’t make a meeting today, schedule something for tomorrow. I’ll meet with Matriarch Desai tomorrow morning if that works for her.
“I’d also like to talk with Fenna Britlen. Emmory may have already sent her a message.”
“Fenna retired last year, Highness. Caspel Ganej is the new head of Galactic Imperial Security.”
“Interesting. Is Fenna still in the capital?”
“No, ma’am.”
“I’ll compose something myself then, if you’ll get me her contact information. No one else gets audiences, but if you aren’t sure about someone, feel free to double-check with me. I want to spend the next two days getting up to speed on the situation here.”
And start figuring out who killed my sisters, but I wasn’t going to share that with Alba just yet.
11
Admiral Hassan was able to meet with me later that evening. It hadn’t occurred to me that people would scramble to rearrange their schedules on my account.
“You’re the heir, ma’am,” Stasia reminded me with a smile as she deftly looped my hair into a massive braid. “Of course they’re going to do what works best for you.”
I’d changed from the white silk dress I’d worn to see Mother into a dark blue sari. The slubbed fabric had a slight sheen to it. The pants and choli were black and the whole thing was far more comfortable than my earlier dress.
I waved off Stasia’s attempt to put jewelry on me. This outfit was the best I could find to mimic the naval uniforms and I wasn’t about to ruin it by jingling every time I moved.
“Highness, the admiral is here.” Emmory’s voice was soft over our private comm line. I let Stasia have one more moment to fuss over my outfit before I headed into the main room.
“Your Imperial Highness.” Admiral Hassan was several inches shorter than me but not at all intimidated by it. The dark-haired and dark-skinned woman saluted me, her uniform immaculate, and I felt a strange pang of jealousy as I nodded at her in return.
I’d wanted to join the Navy for as long as I could remember. My father’s Saito bloodline had granted him entrance into the Naval Academy, and his marriage to the heir furthered his career in ways Indranan society never would have allowed otherwise.
He was a brilliant strategist, my father, and it was because of him that we’d taken as much territory in the war with the Saxons as we did. After his death it was all we could do to hold back the Saxon tide until the peace treaty was signed.
“Allow me to introduce my aide—Commander Cole Hamprasade.”
“Admiral. Commander.” I returned the nod. “Have a seat, w
on’t you? Would you like something to drink?”
“I’m fine, thank you. I thought Commander Hamprasade could meet with your chamberlain. There are several important briefings I think you should attend, with the empress’s permission.”
“Of course.”
“We’ll be in my office, ma’am. Call if you need anything,” Alba said.
Hassan smiled tentatively a moment after Alba left. “Welcome home, Your Highness. I was relieved to hear you were uninjured in the attack this morning.”
“Join the club.” I jerked a thumb at Emmory as I sat down and picked up the cup of chai that always seemed to appear when I needed it. Stasia had figured out my dislike of coffee with surprising speed. “Thankfully Emmory is on the ball. So, Admiral, I don’t need a detailed breakdown of what we’re looking at just yet. How about you just hit the highlights on the state of our military?”
Hassan blinked at me and I felt a little sorry for her. No doubt she was used to Cire’s quiet demeanor. My sister had had a fine knack for politics, but where military matters were concerned, I think she’d been more willing to let others handle it.
“Admiral, is my sister’s husband still in the capital?”
She blinked again, but recovered more quickly this time. “He left, Your Highness, with Admiral Shul’s fleet. Just this morning. We offered him bereavement leave, but Shul’s fleet is going to the Saxon border and Major Bristol felt it would be better for the empire for him to do his duty.”
“My nephews?” Cire had had two boys, one older and one younger than Atmikha. I didn’t know what kind of reaction I was going to get from them. They might not want to see me.
“Laabh recently graduated from the Academy and was posted on his first ship. I am considering transferring him to my ship, Your Highness, so he can stay in-system and be close to his brother.”
“Where is Taran?” Laabh had just turned twenty-two if my records were correct and his younger brother was only eight.
“With Leena Surakesh, ma’am.”
I nodded. My older nephew had married into the Surakesh family less than a year ago. It wasn’t common practice for Leena to take Taran in, but I was grateful for her kindness. “Give me a chance to talk with Laabh, Admiral? I’ll see how he feels about it.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“All right, back to the issue at hand.” I leaned forward, resting my forearms on my knees and watching Hassan closely. “How is Indrana’s military?”
“We are stable, ma’am. Recent budget cutbacks and concerns over the last five years have cut into our research and development as well as some of our operational capabilities.”
“What kind of cutbacks?”
Admiral Hassan named a figure that made me whistle. “It hasn’t affected our ability to carry out our mission, ma’am,” she hastened to add.
I heard the unspoken “yet” at the end of her sentence. “Tension with the Saxon Kingdom?”
“Trade disagreements mostly and the occasional small skirmish on border worlds they lost in the war. King Trace seems the cautious sort. I think he wants to keep the peace. Lately it’s gotten worse, though.”
“Do you think the Saxons are responsible for my sisters’ deaths? Mother claimed the Upjas responsible had already been found and punished but I’m having a hard time finding any arrests or legal action in the system.”
Hassan froze, swallowed, and then answered me with extreme care. “I can’t say for sure, Your Highness. I would recommend speaking to Caspel Ganej, Director of Galactic Imperial Security. He would know better.”
Translation: My mother had interfered, and if I wanted answers, I was going to have to either go to her or find someone else.
“Yes, Alba mentioned Fenna had retired. I’m surprised they named a man to the position.”
Hassan smiled. “Your sister talked your empress-mother into appointing him after Fenna’s retirement, ma’am. Caspel is good at his job.”
“Interesting.” I settled back against my couch with my cup cradled in my palms. Hassan mirrored my posture, yet somehow kept her military bearing. She studied me with her brown eyes and just the slightest hint of a smile on her narrow face.
I smiled back. “Are you loyal to the throne, Admiral?”
The admiral, to her credit, didn’t even blink.
“I am, Highness. To the death and after if necessary.”
I gave her a nod and leaned forward to set my cup down on the table. “It’s obvious even to an idiot that things are circling the drain around here. I’m not an idiot.”
“Of course not, ma’am. Am I correct in assuming you don’t believe the princesses’ deaths were accidents or terrorism?”
“Terrorism, yes. Just not the kind the palace announced. The Upjas are the easy answer. Until I have a chance to talk to them, they’re nothing more than one more name on the list.”
“You’re in contact with the rebellion?” Hassan arched a dark eyebrow.
“I am not,” I replied carefully. At least I hadn’t been since I’d gotten home. I knew I was treading very closely to the edge of treason, a treason the admiral would be forced to report if I wasn’t careful. “We don’t know yet who’s behind this, Admiral. I need to know if you’re going to be on my side when this explodes.”
Hassan steepled her fingers. “If I say no?”
I let a smile flicker to the surface. Emmory didn’t move, but Admiral Hassan inhaled. I watched her tense like a karegosh spotted by a panther. “There’ll be an unfortunate attack tonight. Another assassination attempt on the heir. I’ll survive, of course, thanks to the sacrifice of a very brave naval officer.”
I’d talked this over with Emmory before the meeting. He hadn’t liked the idea of threatening an officer who was possibly loyal to the crown, but in the end had seen my reasoning for it.
Hassan didn’t react, didn’t move a muscle, and kept her hands well in view.
“I wondered how true the rumors were, Highness.”
“Gunrunner,” I replied, spreading my arms wide and smiling. “Someone killed my sisters. My mother is dying. I don’t have a good temper at the best of times, Admiral, and all this is straining my limits.”
“You ran away from your duty.”
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Emmory stiffen.
Picking up my cup, I took a sip out of it to hide my smile. The admiral was willing to play hardball. I liked her.
“I did,” I admitted, not willing to tell her the truth just yet. “I wasn’t interested in spending the rest of my life being useless and playing dress-up at social functions. I was only the second daughter, Admiral, not fit for much besides a backup, and an unwanted one at that. Cire was supposed to be empress, not me.” It was as good as I could do without sounding like a whiner, but from the expressionless look on Hassan’s face, my explanation wasn’t worth the effort.
“The day you ran away, Highness, I met with the empress.” A strange look of sympathy crossed the older woman’s face. “She was concerned for her second daughter. Afraid you couldn’t see your place in the empire, because she had let her emotions overrule her reason.”
I choked back the bark of laughter at Hassan’s words. My own reply chilled the room. “My mother never let emotions get in the way of her duty, Admiral. That was one of her major issues with me.”
“The empress was afraid her actions had prevented you from seeing what good you could bring to the empire. She regretted forbidding you from joining the Academy and asked me if I would sponsor your entrance. Take you under my wing, so to speak.”
I almost dropped my glass in my lap. “The Naval Academy? But she’d—”
Hassan’s smile was almost kind. “The empress was trying to protect you, but she realized it was strangling the life out of you. You have a great talent for the military side of things, Highness. You always did have a better grasp of how to keep the empire safe than your sisters did. Princess Cire was too kind for her own good, if you’ll forgive my bluntness.”
; I shoved to my feet, startling both Hassan and Emmory, and threw up a hand before Emmory could open his mouth. I needed to move—it was that or scream.
All this time. All my life I’d thought staying away was the only chance I’d have to live my own life. Now I was finding out that my timing was as shitty as my judgment. No fucking wonder Mother had let me go in the end.
Military service was traditional among the noble families, and as the second daughter I’d been well prepared to follow my father into the Imperial Navy.
When he died, everything fell apart. I did everything I could think of to make her proud of me, to show her I was capable enough to handle the Academy. She shot me down, and more than anything, I had to admit that was the reason I hadn’t come home when the trail went cold. There wasn’t anything left for me here because she’d taken the only thing that still connected me to Father. Now I find out that she’d changed her mind?
In a flash, a whole other life played itself out before my eyes. I saw myself standing straight and tall in the same uniform Admiral Hassan wore, commanding respect from nobles and troops alike. I saw myself in a better position to protect my sisters, to protect the empire from the worms wrapped around her heart.
“‘There is neither this world nor the world beyond nor happiness for the one who doubts.’” Emmory’s quoting of the Gita broke me out of my daze. The words shattered the life that never existed and I blinked away tears before I turned to face my BodyGuard.
“We’ve been down this road already. It’s over and done, Highness. There is no changing it, and you are just as well suited for the task at hand as that other you would have been,” he continued.
“Why did Mother let me go?” I couldn’t stop the desperate whisper from slipping out. “She didn’t say a word about it. If she’d told Ven, he could have had Portis tell me. I could have come home. My whole life could have been different.”
“You are not the only one, Highness.” Emmory’s reply was gentle, almost startlingly so. “We all live with such a burden.”
I dragged my hands through my hair, disturbing Stasia’s carefully constructed hairdo, and turned back to the fireplace. Admiral Hassan was on her feet.
