Behind the Throne

by K. B. Wagers

  I choked back the laugh, remembering some of the foolish escapades I’d been involved in over the years. “Portis apparently had a slightly different definition of the word safe than you.”

  Emmory gave me a smile that I thought was the first genuine one he’d shown since this whole thing started. “I know he left a lot out of his reports. He was there to keep you safe, but it was as much because of his feelings for you as his duty.” He dusted off his hands and got to his feet. “I miss him, too. For so long I thought my little brother had betrayed our family, this empire, everything I believed in.” Emmory’s smile was quick, filled with a regret I’m sure was echoed in my eyes.

  “Zin could tell you how I cursed Portis’s name every night for that first year he was gone. Then the pain faded. My initial rage dulled to a bitter ache in my chest. I couldn’t forget him, though, no matter how much I tried. I kept dreaming about him, would think of him at odd times. Part of me couldn’t believe he’d really—” Emmory broke off and forced a smile. “Four months ago, Zin and I came home from a job and Tefiz was waiting for us. I didn’t recognize her, but Zin did.

  “She told us who she was and said that my brother had specifically suggested us to the heir. I couldn’t figure out what she was talking about. Tired, dirty, and still stinking of gods know what, we went to meet your sister, Ven, and Ofa.” Emmory’s laugh sounded like he still couldn’t quite believe it all. “I was so angry. Thank the gods for Zin, who kept me from saying something I’d regret when I saw Portis’s face.

  “Portis told us everything. Then Princess Cire told us the rest. The rising tension with the Saxons, the factions in the government who were too busy fighting with each other to notice the problems outside, the growing unrest of the people. Everything you’ve learned since you came home, Highness.”

  “And things have only gotten worse,” I murmured.

  “Somewhere in the middle of all that, I realized that little piece of me had been right all along. My brother wasn’t a traitor. He hadn’t been stripped of his service and banished, he’d just walked away from all of us to keep you safe,” Emmory said. “That’s how I knew he hadn’t tried to kill you, Highness. He wouldn’t have, because you were everything to him.”

  “He was everything to me, too,” I murmured, holding my hand out. Emmory took it and I squeezed his fingers with a smile of my own.

  “Whoever poisoned me fucked up.” I changed the subject abruptly. “They are desperate. They’re on some sort of timetable here. Otherwise they could just sit back until we got complacent and then strike. Eventually someone would get a lucky shot off. I’m not questioning your ability, that’s just the odds, Emmory.” I ignored the Look from him. “They tipped their hand. Now we have somewhere to really start looking because whatever they poisoned me with had to come from somewhere.”

  Emmory studied me for a long moment. “You would have made a good Tracker, ma’am.”

  I was saved from gaping foolishly at him by Zin, who appeared in the doorway.

  “Highness, the prime minister has had Ambassador Toropov taken into custody.”

  “What? Why?”

  “He’s accused Toropov of poisoning you.”

  I sat up too fast and the room swirled around me. “Oh, bugger me. Emmory, did he just say what I thought he said?”

  “He did, Highness.”

  I tossed back the blanket and got slowly to my feet, waving off both of them as I made my way toward the bed. “I’ve got it, Zin, I’m not an invalid. Go get Stasia. I want out of this damn dress. Call Clara and Phanin. I want the ambassador in my main room in five minutes or heads are going to roll. Emmory, you fetch him yourself if you have to.”

  “Yes, Highness.” Zin obeyed.

  Emmory, of course, did not.

  I probably should have been grateful for it, since his disobedience kept me off the floor. “Damn it, Emmory.”

  “If I’d thought you could walk yourself, I would have left you alone. The doctor said the weakness would affect you for several days.”

  “If this damn dress didn’t weigh three stone, I could. Don’t pick me up, Emmory, it’s embarrassing.” I slung my arm around his neck. “Just help me over to the wardrobe.”

  I could barely walk, but Emmory—thankfully—was kind enough not to point it out and instead helped me across the room. I sank down onto a chair with a muttered curse.

  “Ma’am, I’m sorry.”

  “It wasn’t your fault.”

  “I’m not doing a very good job of keeping you safe.”

  “If you think for one second that I’m letting you abandon me here, Ekam, you’re mistaken. I’m still alive and that means you’re doing a good job. Sometimes you have to count your blessings where you can find them.” I patted his arm. “Now stop wallowing and go rescue the ambassador before some idiot starts a war.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  My smile faded when Emmory left the room and I retreated into my thoughts, only murmuring a word or two to Stasia as she stripped the dress off me. I tugged on a pair of black pants and a tank top and tried to ignore the trembling in my limbs that wasn’t all a residual reaction to the toxin.

  I’d almost died.

  It wasn’t the first time. Hell, I couldn’t even count the number of close calls we’d had out there in the years I was away from home. There were a handful of memorable ones—the bank job, the backwater ambush, staring down one of Po-Sin’s rivals with a gun shoved up under my chin.

  I shuddered a little at the memory. I still didn’t know how I’d made it out of that one alive. That bastard had been fucking insane. The only reason I didn’t have a hole the size of a planet in my head was because he’d liked the color of my hair.

  It wasn’t the almost dying part that was causing my hands to shake. It was the fact that Emmory had saved my life.

  You can’t fool yourself anymore, Hail.

  I snarled at the voice in my head, burying my face in my hands, but it wasn’t going away. I was in this and in it deep. I had fully put my trust in Emmory and Zin to handle things I wouldn’t be able to almost without realizing it.

  And to keep me alive.

  At Stasia’s insistence, I bundled up in a robe and let Emmory help me out into the main room. I was settled onto the rose-colored couch talking to Alba when Ambassador Toropov was brought in.

  “Your Highness, a joy to see you safe.”

  “Ambassador.” I held out a hand to him, smiling when he took it. “I apologize for the overzealous response from my people. We are all a little jumpy given the circumstances.”

  “Understandable, my dear. I take no offense. I hope you realize the Saxon Kingdom wants nothing more than peace with Indrana.”

  “Oh, of course.”

  Toropov was a consummate politician and didn’t even bat an eyelash at my tone. Given all the recent tensions, I couldn’t rule out that the Saxons could be behind this plot. The loss of Indrana’s ruling family would throw the empire into a state of chaos that would make it even easier for the Saxons to swoop in and get back a lot of the territory they’d lost in the war.

  I didn’t think Toropov was so foolish as to have tried to poison me in full view of everyone; however, I also couldn’t rule him out simply because of a gut feeling.

  “Let’s talk after the holiday. I’ll have Alba get with your people?”

  “That would be lovely, Highness. Thank you.” Toropov bowed and left the room.

  I waited a beat before raising a hand and signaling Zin to open the door again so the prime minister could come in.

  “Highness, a blessing to see you well—”

  “What in the fires of Naraka were you thinking?” I sliced a hand through the air before Phanin could finish. “Never mind that you acted without any orders whatsoever from the Crown. But you just yanked a diplomat into custody in the middle of a state function, Phanin. I couldn’t have blamed his bodyguards for completely losing their shit. You’re lucky we didn’t have a shoot-out in the palace.”r />
  “You passed out after dancing with him, Highness.”

  “Actually, I passed out after talking to you,” I countered and watched him swallow. “If we’re using that logic, what’s your defense?”

  “Highness, surely you don’t think—”

  “You’ve overstepped your authority, Phanin. I realize Mother’s been ill and others appear to have relied heavily on your advice.”

  He flinched a little at that and I stared at him impassively. From what Emmory had discovered, the only reason Phanin now enjoyed so much influence in the palace was because my sister had invited him into her confidence.

  “There’s been some fluidity in the chain of command around here, but in the future all decisions will go through either me or my mother. I will remind you only once that you are merely the prime minister and the amount of say you have in the politics of this empire is right about here.” I held my hand down by the floor. “You are not a council member, nor a member of the royal family. Next time I catch you making decisions about matters of the empire without some kind of approval, I’m going to take you out back and shoot you myself. Is that understood?”

  “Yes, Highness.” He bowed. “My apologies, Highness.”

  “Get out of here.” I tapped my fingers together, trying to get my foggy brain to cooperate.

  “Highness, perhaps you should rest?”

  “In a minute, Emmory. Alba, will you send a message to Admiral Hassan? Let her know I’d like to talk with her when it’s convenient.”

  “It looks like she’s back on the Vajra, Highness,” Alba said. “I’ll send her a message.”

  “Thank you.”

  “We can go over the rest of your schedule in the morning. I’ll make adjustments as needed until the doctor clears you.” Alba smiled. “Good night, ma’am. I’m glad you’re all right.”

  “You and me both, Alba.” I pushed to my feet, ignoring Emmory’s frustrated sigh, but didn’t try to move until Alba was out of the room.

  I made it to the door of my bedroom and leaned heavily on the jamb with a few choice curse words.

  “Highness.”

  “I have my pride, Emmy.”

  “Is it worth passing out for, ma’am?”

  “It wouldn’t be the first time.” I shot him a look and gestured. “Come on, help a girl out, would you? I don’t want to pass out, and you and I need to talk.”

  With a silence both concerned and frustrated, Emmory helped me to bed and then retreated back to the doorway.

  I let him go.

  “Do you think Toropov tried to kill me?” My stomach was twisted into edgy knots.

  Or that could have been the poison.

  “It would be an incredibly bold move, ma’am.”

  “More or less than stealing our border worlds?”

  Emmory wiggled a hand, his shoulder shifting under the black material of his uniform in a half shrug. “The Saxons are on our list, Highness. Toropov is high-profile, but it doesn’t remove him from suspicion.”

  “So you do have a list. Let me hear it.” I raised a hand, stopping his protest. “People are trying to kill me. I tend to take that personally, so don’t bother with the holy cowshit line of ‘We’ll handle it.’ Give me the list.”

  19

  The few people out at this hour hurried back and forth on the streets, bundled up against the early morning chill. Most likely, shopkeepers and others who benefited more from working through the monthlong break the rest of the capital took during the holiday. I wondered how much they worried about the possibility of renewed war or if they were consumed by their own lives.

  “Highness, move away from the window.” Emmory’s tone made it clear it wasn’t a request, so I moved because I was pretty sure otherwise he’d pick me up and do it himself.

  Because I was still weak and shaky from the aftereffects of the toxin, I wasn’t in much of a position to fight with him, even if I’d wanted to. Three attempts in two weeks made me nervous; I couldn’t imagine how my Ekam felt.

  “All they’d really need is a rocket launcher,” I said, still unable to resist the tease. Matriarch Desai’s house was well defended, but I could pick out at least three decent vantage points beyond the redbrick wall that lent themselves well to the weapon’s range.

  I got the Look in reply, though it was a bit more pained than normal and followed with, “I wish you would stop that.”

  “Humor helps the nerves,” I murmured and settled down onto the cream-colored couch in Matriarch Desai’s study.

  “I would think that doing what your Ekam asks will help calm his nerves more, Your Highness,” Clara said with a smile as she passed me a cup of chai.

  “Emmory enjoys being nervous.” I hid my grin behind the rim of my cup.

  “Highness, Director Caspel and Admiral Hassan just pulled up.” Emmory turned from the window. “Stay put.”

  “Little more than nervous,” Clara said as Emmory left the room.

  I shrugged a shoulder. “Given the circumstances, I find it hard to blame him.” It had taken an hour of fast talking and agreement to two BodyGuard teams shadowing me inside the palace and no less than four outside it before Emmory had agreed to this meeting.

  He’d also flat out told Nal to mind her own business and spend the day reviewing the Pratimas schedule when she’d asked where we were going.

  “I appreciate your flexibility with this, Ekam,” Caspel said as they came into the room. “At present it is challenging to figure out whom we can trust.”

  “It’s understood, sir.”

  “Ah, Highness.” Caspel’s face creased into a smile. “Good morning.”

  “Morning, Admiral. You’ll both forgive me if I don’t get up,” I said, extending my free hand to Caspel.

  “Completely understandable. It’s good to see you well.” He squeezed my hand rather than brushing his lips over my knuckles.

  “Ma’am.” Hassan nodded her head at me.

  “What was so important you had to give my Ekam gray hair by insisting I left the palace this morning?”

  The smile that flickered over Caspel’s face was drowned by the worry in his eyes. “We have two more visitors, Highness. I think once you hear what they have to say, you’ll understand the need for as much secrecy as we could muster.”

  “They’re at the back door now.” Emmory’s lack of surprise meant he must have known about Caspel’s plans ahead of time, and when Kisah appeared at the door with Matriarch Gohil and General Saito, I knew why he’d been so agreeable. General Kaed Saito was the head of the Tracker Corps. She was tall and blond with distinctive Cheng features and her bow to me was as perfunctory as Alice’s curtsy was elegant.

  “Your Highness, welcome home.”

  I nodded at the greetings and sipped at my chai while beverages were prepared and everyone took a seat. My BodyGuards were spread out around the room, which was done up in rich brown leathers and pale cream. They all looked a little awkward among the finery. Emmory took up position just behind my left shoulder.

  “To the empress. Long may she reign.” Caspel’s salute was without mockery, but he was looking at me and we were all too aware that my mother’s reign was fast coming to an end.

  “Early this morning, Lady Alice approached me,” Caspel continued after the murmured declarations of loyalty had died down. “After last night’s incident, she’d received a rather frantic message from Lady Zaran Khatri requesting a meeting. I’ll let Lady Alice recount the details of that meeting.”

  “Her mother was quite vocal in her objections at the council meeting,” I murmured with a raised eyebrow. “Leena mentioned that her mother was very unhappy about it.”

  “She has been Ganda’s foremost supporter, which I found a bit odd. I didn’t think they had much contact before Princess Cire’s death. No formal objections were, of course, presented to me about you taking the throne, Highness.” Clara frowned, then waved a hand at Alice. “Go on, dear. I’m curious to hear what she had to tell you.”
/>   Alice wrung her hands, a nervous gesture I found at odds with her calm demeanor in the council meeting. “Zaran is a loyal subject, Your Highness. She is young and rather sheltered. Her mother can be very overbearing and I think it led to Zaran looking for an escape.”

  “Stop making excuses for her decisions, Alice. Tell me what happened.”

  “Yes, sorry, Your Highness.” She dipped her head at my rebuke and swallowed. “Zaran fell in love with a young man who is a member of the Upjas. She saw him just before Princess Cire was murdered and he confided in her that a violent offshoot of the group was claiming responsibility for the death of Princess Pace under the Upjas’ name. He was afraid it was an effort to discredit the more levelheaded leaders and turn the rising tide of public support against their cause.

  “It was no secret that the Crown Princess was sympathetic to the Upjas’ message,” she said.

  I raised an eyebrow at Alice and she ducked her head slightly.

  “She’d made several comments during interviews and council meetings, Highness. There were also more than a few arguments with the empress about her views.”

  “Did you agree with Cire?” I asked.

  “Your pardon, Highness. I did not. I do not think men are capable of the kind of responsibilities your sister wished to place on them. Our ancestor-mothers took over when their men could not cope with the stresses of space travel. This method has worked for thousands of years, and I see no reason to change it now.”

  “Well, I like the honesty,” I said. “Continue.”

  “Zaran says in the last few weeks there have been a lot of late-night visitors to her mother’s house. Or that her mother has left the house in the dead of night with only a single BodyGuard. She gave me several names of people she recognized and I passed them on to Caspel. Last night, after you collapsed, Zaran came home with her mother, who claimed to be so upset by the incident she was going to bed. However, Zaran said her mother left the house shortly after and she followed her to a shop in the Back District.”

  The Back District was a dangerous place to be after dark, especially for a noble. I kept my surprised whistle from escaping and simply nodded at Alice to keep going.