I didn’t blame little one for speaking out—it’s very difficult to be silent when someone is lying about you or your people. But I did worry about her if something happened to me. I should have left more specific instructions for Captain Tau’rex, I thought to myself. But of course, I hadn’t anticipated that this appearance at Court would end in a duel.
Maybe I should have, though. Perhaps this was Gra’multh’s plan all along. The new Sovereign, who had only come to the throne a solar year before after the death of her older sister, was still so young and inexperienced—she didn’t know how to take the Court in hand yet and Gra’multh had probably counted on that. Probably he had planned to twist my words into an insult and then challenge me to a duel.
In that way, little one had played right into his hands—not that it was her fault. If she hadn’t said a single thing, Gra’multh would still have found a way to claim insult.
I touched the cool circlet of metal around my temples, feeling my Mental muscles flex. My Mental Abilities were a large part of me and I had been training and exercising them almost from the time I was born. My father had been adamant about it and now I was glad he had been.
But would I be strong enough to defeat a male who had much more experience and the added benefit of age to boost his own Mental strength?
I didn’t know, but I had the uneasy feeling I was about to find out.