Maximillius the Fourteenth, heir to the throne of the Empire, pulled the door closed behind him. He caught the medic's eyes, holding the man where he stood.
"No one can know of this," he said.
"We can't lie," the medic protested. "Already they ask questions about him."
"You tell them he's dying and the Empire will fall all the faster."
"It's the truth," the medic insisted.
"He's ill. He will recover. Tell them he's recovering from a bout of stress." Max moved closer to the medic. The man looked away from him.
"He is dying. Three more months, perhaps. You have to face the truth. You of all people." The medic snapped his case closed. "If I were you, I'd be preparing to take the throne."
"Is that what you think? That I'm just waiting for him to die?" Max slammed his hand on a nearby table. "I don't want the throne. I don't want what's left of the Empire."
"Want it or not, it's soon going to be yours. Despite everything I can do for him."
"You never found a cause," Max said accusingly.
"Blame it on stress, all of his tests showed nothing more than that."
"Stress does not kill people."
The medic didn't answer. He picked up his case of medical supplies and opened the door.
"You can't tell the truth," Max said.
"It will be worse if I lie."
"At least give me a week."
"You may not have a week. You should tell the Council of Worlds tomorrow. Give them time to prepare."
Max leaned on the table, his eyes closed. The medic walked out, closing the door behind him.
"What am I going to do?" Max asked out loud, though there was no one to hear him. Or so he thought.
"Take the throne," the woman said behind him. "Make your father proud."
Max turned to face her. "Help me, Sonja. I'm not strong without you."
"I know, my love." Her skirts whispered as she crossed the room to him. He gathered her into his arms and held her. She stroked his hair and kissed him.
"You should marry me," he said, catching her face between his hands. "Be my Empress."
"Don't be silly," she said. "They would never accept me. And think of the scandal. I am your cousin."
"And the woman who has utterly bewitched me with her beauty." Max ran his hands through her hair, loosening it. Pins scattered across the floor around her.
She shook out her blond hair. She smiled at the heir to the throne of the Empire, running her silver nails across his lips. He closed his eyes, his breathing ragged.
"Sonja." He reached to pull her closer. She slipped easily out of his hold.
"Patience, my love. This is not the time nor the place."
His eyes snapped open. "That's what you've said, every time since that first night."
"Max, my love, you must be patient. We are not ordinary people. We must wait."
"Until when?"
She glanced at the door behind him. "Tomorrow night," she said. Footsteps sounded outside, coming quickly. "Come alone to the garden house. I'll be waiting." She pressed a quick kiss on his mouth. "They can't know I was here, Max. They can't know about us. Not yet."
"Sonja," he reached for her.
She was gone, disappearing into one of the many secret passages that riddled the Imperial palace. Max was left holding nothing but the lingering scent of her perfume. It reminded him of mountain glaciers, ice and snow and air so cold it hurt to breathe. He shivered as the door behind him opened.
"My lord?"
"Lord Seneschal," Max said, not bothering to face the man. "What is it this time?"
"There are matters of state that must be attended to. The medic has said that the Emperor is—"
"Dying?" Max whirled on the man.
The Lord Seneschal's face went white. "Then it is true?"
Max silently cursed himself. It couldn't have been avoided much longer. But he had tomorrow night to look forward to.
"Yes, my father is dying," he said.
"Then you must assume his responsibilities," the Seneschal said.
"Don't tell me my duty," Max snapped. He straightened and glared at the man. In that moment, he almost looked like an Emperor should.
"They are waiting for you in the formal tea room," the Seneschal said. His eyes strayed to the bedroom door behind Max.
"Send in his man to care for him," Max said. "The medic said there was nothing more he could do."
"My lord," the Seneschal said, bowing his head.
Max lifted his chin and marched out of the room. Whether he wanted it or not, the day had finally come when he would have to live up to his birthright.
As he walked through the palace halls he promised himself that he would find a way to have Sonja openly at his side. Cousin or not, scandal or not, he wanted her and he was going to have her.
He was unaware of her watching him. Sonja stood in a secret room, smiling to herself as she watched his figure through a tiny camera. He had been the easy part of her plan. It was almost time for the final act. She had only a few more pieces to move into place. She brushed dust from her silver skirts and pulled her veil back over her face before she left the room. Max was one of very few who knew the face under that veil.
Tomorrow night she would make certain he would not betray her secret. She felt the tiny pouch of drugs tucked into her sleeve and smiled behind her veil.