Ganda was predictably angry the next morning. I could hear her coming down the hallway, though the closed door muffled whatever raging she was doing to something unintelligible.
I crossed my legs underneath me on the couch and picked up my mug. It was tempting to let her stand outside the door and shout for a bit, but I nodded at Emmory to open it instead.
“Do you want to explain to me why I can’t get in to see Aunt Divya?” Ganda’s cheeks were flushed and her carefully done hair was slightly disheveled. “We’ve been having breakfast for years. Now she’s all alone and you’re cutting off the one thing she enjoys—that she looks forward to every day? You’ve been gone, Hail. I’m doing the job you gave up to go running around the universe with some commoner.”
That struck a nerve, but I was careful to keep a grip on my temper, even if it required that I bite my tongue. Ganda was too busy waving her hands in the air to notice.
“You have no right to keep me from her. None at all, and—don’t you have anything to say?”
I took a sip of my chai, keeping my eyes on hers the whole time. “My empress-mother is very ill. Dr. Satir thinks it’s best not to stress her too much.”
“Dr. Satir isn’t here.” Ganda licked her lips.
“She left the instructions before her departure.” That was a bald-faced lie, but I was better at it than Ganda was. I set my cup down and stood, pleased that Ganda took a step back. “We are grateful for the kindness you’ve shown her over the years, but I’m home and I’m the heir and you will do as I say.”
“You can’t do this,” Ganda hissed, her eyes narrowed.
I arched an eyebrow in reply, determined not to show my shock at her unbelievable boldness. “You know, I didn’t miss you at all, Ganda. How surprising is that?”
“Likewise.” This time she stood her ground when I advanced on her.
“Well, you can file a complaint with Mother. Though it’s hard to say what kind of reaction you’ll get.”
“You would have done better to stay away, Hail.” Ganda’s girlish voice became suddenly menacing as she stepped forward and stabbed a finger into my breastbone. Zin’s eyes widened at the enormous breech of protocol, but I just bared my teeth in a lazy smile and stopped Emmory with a surreptitious elbow in his stomach.
“You know, I was going to, but these two insisted I come home,” I said. “And I’d keep your hands to yourself.”
“Too bad for you. I’d suggest you find a way to do another disappearing act and go back to that pitiful life of yours before you lose it.”
Did she really just threaten me? I blinked at Ganda, too stunned for a moment to register Emmory’s hissed exhalation, then the point of her nail dug into my sternum again. I grabbed her finger, bending it back sharply until the bone cracked from the pressure.
Ganda let out a cry of pain and tears appeared in her eyes. I let her go and she staggered back toward the door. I could see her Guards hovering just outside, unwilling to cross mine to get to their charge.
“I’ve been out in the world, cousin. I know the value of wheat and lentils. That’s more than you can say, having never worked a day in your life. You overstep your bounds. I’d suggest you find somewhere else to be and that you stay away from my mother.” I waved a hand at her Guards. “I think Lady Ganda might need to see a Farian. It appears she’s injured herself.”
The woman nodded, not about to argue with me. Ganda shook off the hand she cupped around her elbow and stalked off, hiding her hand within the sleeve of her purple dress.
“That was worrisome,” Emmory said.
I kept the smile pasted on my face and tried to shake the chill that Ganda’s words had sent running down my spine. “Tell me about it. She always was an annoying bitch, but direct threats from her are something new. Usually she just liked to whisper and connive behind my back.”
“I can’t believe she threatened you.” Admiral Hassan shook her head with a frown.
“Me either, but that just goes to show how much things have changed around here.” I stopped in front of Bial and smiled at my mother’s Ekam. “Good morning. How is she today?”
“Well, Highness.” Bial exchanged a nod with Emmory that was just a shade frostier than the one he’d given me, and I made a mental note to ask him what the fallout had been from Nal’s dismissal.
Admiral Hassan and I headed into the room. Mother was standing with Caspel, studying the projected worlds hovering above the massive table in the War Room.
“If we move the 107th and the 33rd from the Cerulean System, we could put them here and here.” Planets lit up as Mother moved forces around with her fingertips.
“It leaves us awfully exposed on the backside.” Caspel frowned. “Admiral Hassan, thoughts?”
“Good morning, Majesty.” Hassan bowed and crossed the room. “It does leave us exposed, but the likelihood of the Solarian Conglomerate attempting anything is extremely small. However, I’d suggest moving the 81st from here to cover some of the gap left behind.”
I circled around the other side of the table, staring up at all the planets as memories drifted through my head.
“You used to love coming in here with your father.”
I bowed. “Good morning, Mother.”
She smiled. It erased some of the exhaustion on her face. “I hear I have you to thank for me finally getting some peace and quiet in the mornings?”
I was so shocked, all I could do was blink at her and Mother snickered. Finally, I found my voice. “You’re welcome? If you didn’t want her around, why didn’t you do something about it?”
“She’s family, even if she does chatter like a schoolboy. And in all honesty, I was pretty out of it for a while.”
“You seem much better.”
“I’m still dying. Just a little more aware of it now. Dr. Ganjen is trying some experimental new treatment to counter the effects. It might kill me, but I figured since I was going out anyway, I may as well do one last thing worth noting.” She fisted her hand when it started shaking and gave me a rueful smile. “Enough about my tragedy. What do you think?”
“Ma’am?”
Mother gestured at the table. “What do you think of all this? It’s going to be your show, Haili. You may as well learn how to run it.”
Forty-five planets spun around twenty-eight stars. Three of them by Admiral Hassan were red, the three that the Saxons had claimed. In the center of it all was the Ashvin System and home. Blinking designations hung in the air above the naval vessels and I continued my path around the table, studying them intently.
Two of the worlds the Saxons had claimed—Hanmas and Interia—orbited the same star, but the third was farther out and a reasonable distance away from both home and the border worlds. “Why did they take that one instead of this one?” I gestured at a reddish planet closer to me. “This would have made more sense.”
“ITS training world, ma’am,” Hassan replied. “There’s no civilians.”
“Ah, yeah, that probably would have been a little more obvious than they want at the moment.” Clicking my tongue on my teeth, I stared at the pair of planets for so long that my vision blurred. I blinked and froze. “Bugger me.”
“Highness?”
“Have you looked at this?”
Caspel arched an eyebrow and I grabbed Hassan by the shoulders and dragged her in front of me.
“Look past those worlds, Admiral, not at them.” I sped up the time scale. The planets moved along their paths, opening up a corridor that led straight to home, and I heard Caspel’s quiet curse behind me as it sank in. “I’m only paranoid because people are trying to kill me, but there’s an awful lot of empty space leading right up to Pashati in the next few months.”
“They would never,” Mother said, shaking her head. “To strike at us here, to strike so deep into the empire, would take a force greater than they have.”
“Plus they’d be cut off from supplies, support, everything once they got past Canafey. We’d grind them up from the front and the back,” Hassan agreed, though her brows were knitted together as she contemplated the possibilities.
“I take it you don’t agree either?”
Caspel wore a deep frown, but he, too, shook his head. “It’s risky. Bold, though, and King Trace is known for that. I need more intel before I’m willing to accept it.”
“Speaking of Canafey, can we pull the 44th from there and send them back to support the ITS troops on New Vesa?”
“I wouldn’t, Mother,” I said. “Even with the Vajrayana Initiative docks there, they wouldn’t be able to get them up and running fast enough if the Saxons hit us.” I wasn’t going to say it out loud, but I didn’t know why she was suggesting it when I’d just shown her that taking any troops away from Canafey was a very bad decision.
“I can take into advisement your concerns, Hail; however, I’d caution you to not jump to conclusions on this, and remember that we’ve been following what the Saxons are doing for quite a bit longer than you have.” Her smile took some of the sting out of her words. “Admiral, send me an action plan by the end of the day for approval.”
“Yes, Majesty.”
Mother squeezed my forearm with a second smile. “I’m going to go lie down for a bit.”
I smiled back and watched her as she carefully walked to the door, then turned back to look at the map again.
“Highness, whatever your empress-mother says, I will keep an eye on this. If I come across more information, we can perhaps change her mind.”
“Thank you, Caspel. Let’s hope we have time for that.” My gut was screaming at me, and after all these years, I’d learned to listen to it.
The GIS director bowed and left the room.
“Admiral, I’m having dinner tonight with Leena Surakesh and my nephew. If you’re free, would you care to join us?”
“Of course, Highness.”
“Good.” I laughed. “To be honest, I’m not entirely sure I trust myself not to grab him by the throat and shake him until he confesses.”
“Understandable, ma’am.”
“I’ll see you this evening then.”
She took the hint and left me alone to stare at the map and wonder just what in the fires of Naraka Trace was up to. I was tempted to just call him up and ask, but I was pretty sure it wouldn’t go over well.
As uneasy as I’d been earlier, it multiplied itself tenfold by the time my aircar pulled up outside Shivan’s later that evening. Convincing Emmory that having dinner with a man we were pretty sure was trying to kill me had taken some doing.
“I realize the security risks here. Believe me when I say I’m not being reckless. I need to look Laabh in the eye again now that I know for sure. See what he’s made of, and maybe if I drop a few hints, we can shake him up enough that he’ll fold. Shivan’s is one of the few restaurants in the city the media can’t get into, and frankly I’d rather no one overhear this conversation we’re about to have.”
“I realize that, Highness.” Emmory gave me the Look.
“Hey, I haven’t killed Nal, have I? I think you can trust me not to kill my nephew.”
“I’m still getting out of the car first,” Emmory said, stopping me with a hand when I moved forward. “Jet, you’re with me.” The big man nodded and followed Emmory from the car.
Shivan’s was an exclusive restaurant buried in the heart of the capital’s warehouse district. The building was a narrow, three-story structure covered with unassuming gray brick and surrounded by warehouses that bustled with activity day and night.
I stayed in the aircar with Zin and Cas, not arguing with Emmory about the need to check out the restaurant. Our enemies had been given plenty of warning if they wanted to try something, and I didn’t want anyone hurt because of me.
Several moments later, Cas tilted his head to the side and said, “We can go.” The door to the aircar slid open and Zin stepped out as a roar of sound hit us again and the bright snap of digital camera lights filled the air.
Oh, bugger me. The media.
Taking Zin’s offered hand, I plastered a smile on my face and lifted my heavy skirts as I stepped from the car. The multihued fabric looked like the ocean after a storm, shimmering with color and light in the entire spectrum of blue.
“Your Highness, what can you tell us about the accusations you were involved in the killing of children?”
“Princess! Is it true you were a hitman for Po-Sin?”
I didn’t know any of the people shouting questions at me. The media events at the palace were more controlled, with carefully selected members of the press allowed in for an audience. My interview with INN had been the third carefully orchestrated one since my return.
I turned toward the crowd of reporters and released my skirts to give them a wave.
“Dinner at home might have been easier,” Zin whispered out of the corner of his mouth.
“I know,” I muttered back. But this was safer, as weird as it sounded.
“Princess Hailimi, do you have any response to these accusations?”
I looked at the young man who’d shouted the question. “You’ve seen my interview with INN. I hope that answered all your questions about the incident. If not, feel free to put in a request with my chamberlain about another interview. I will reiterate that the accusations are false, though I think you’ve all figured that out for yourselves. The venerable Po-Sin is not the sort of man who handles dishonorable employees well.”
Nervous laughter answered my reply.
“Your Highness, why are you having dinner with your nephew and the admiral?”
My reply slipped out before I could stop it. “Because I’m hungry.”
Laughter echoed up from the cluster of media personnel and I tossed the crowd a wink. “Not now,” I said in response to the deluge of questions. “I really am hungry. Hang around and I’ll answer a few questions after dinner.” Grabbing for my skirts again, I headed up the short stairs toward the orange double doors of Shivan’s.
Emmory had come back out of the restaurant and was scowling at the crowd. “Hang around?” he said shortly.
I grinned at him. “They’re harmless.”
“The media?” He snorted with another sweeping glance. “Maybe. But I’m not worried about them. All they can damage is your reputation.”
“I think we’re far past that concern, Emmory.”
He spared me a look. “Inside, Highness.”
I resisted the urge to give him a salute because I knew the cameras would pick it up immediately.
“There’s the admiral. You did realize this whole dinner is probably going to tip off our enemies, Highness?”
“I’m counting on it,” I replied. I wanted to wait for Admiral Hassan, but instead I let Emmory direct me into the restaurant. Adail, Jet, and Salham stood just inside the door. They fell into step behind us.
The doors shut, closing the jarring roar of the media outside, and I sighed a little as the soothing sounds of the restaurant wrapped around me. Quiet music floated in the background, slipping among conversations without drowning them out.
The interior of Shivan’s was quite different from its outside skin. The entryway opened up into the wide reception area, and beyond was the first floor dining area. The interior of the building had been hollowed out, and a tower of a glass elevator stretched up through open air toward the ceiling. The second and third floors were sectioned off into private rooms ringing the exterior of the building.
Orchids and other exotic plants dangled from the balconies, spilled from carefully stacked displays, and filled the air with subtle scents intended to enhance rather than compete with the food.
“Fasé.” I smiled at the Farian and the other two members of Captain Gill’s squad as we came through the doorway. “It’s good to see you again.”
“Likewise, Your Highness.”
“Do you have plans for the holiday?” Farians tended to assimilate into the cultures they were living in, somehow seamlessly blending their own beliefs into Indranan holidays and celebrations.
“No, ma’am. We’re on duty.”
A rotund little man bustled through the crowd toward us.
“Your Imperial Highness, you do me a great honor.” Avan Shivan bowed low, popping up before he overbalanced and landed face-first on the polished wood floor. His round face was dominated by a pleasant smile, and he held out both hands, palms up.
“So formal,” I teased, taking them without hesitation. I ignored Emmory’s pained noise of protest, and leaned down to press my cheek to Avan’s. “It is very good to see you again, old friend. You haven’t changed at all.”
Shivan’s was a haven for the rich and powerful. Not only was the food excellent, but Avan’s grandfather had fought for—and won—an injunction keeping the media from being allowed on the property. That ruling had instantly made his restaurant the preferred place for people who wanted more than the usual privacy, for whatever reason.
Avan kept up the tradition of his grandfather and father—great food, and a little peace for those whose lives were constantly in the spotlight.
He’d also taken in one restless royal princess. I’d spent a large chunk of the year before and the months after my father’s death hiding in the kitchens of Shivan’s.
Avan smiled even wider, a feat I wasn’t sure was possible without damaging his face. “I’m afraid I can’t say the same about you, Princess,” he teased, pulling away with a quick apologetic glance at my BodyGuards. “You’ve made quite the transformation since I saw you last.”
“Evidence of my misspent youth.”
Avan barked a laugh that sounded very much like a pure Earth sea lion. “So I’ve heard. Please, come this way. I have a room ready for you on the third floor.” He waved a hand over his shoulder, heading not for the glass elevator that dominated the center of the building, but for the stairs. “Your Ekam requested we avoid the elevator.”
“Of course he did,” I murmured.
“If your Highness would rather—”
“No, Avan,” I replied with a wave of my hand. “I’ve upset my BodyGuards enough tonight. Let’s not push our luck. Two flights of stairs won’t kill me.”
We wound through the crowd, diners rising to greet me as we passed. I spotted Alice in the corner having dinner with her father and gave her a brief smile. We’d set her up in the main room to see if there would be any buzz about my dinner plans.
Pezan and Willimet stood at attention in the hallway outside our room. “Lady Surakesh and her husband are already here,” Pezan said. “I showed them in. Kisah and Rama are in the room.”
“Thank you.” I spotted the admiral and her aide approaching from the other direction. “Oh sure, she gets to take the elevator.”
Admiral Hassan’s brown eyes widened in shock at my comment and Zin’s muffled laughter. Emmory didn’t even bat an eyelash as he replied, “No one has tried to kill her lately, Highness.”
“No one’s tried to kill me for several days now either,” I muttered. “Though, Admiral, you’ll probably want to sleep a little lighter. If you stay at my side for much longer, they might decide you’re a target.”
“I always sleep lightly, Your Highness.” Admiral Hassan bowed, her short black hair shifting with the movement. “You remember my aide? Commander Hamprasade.”
“Admiral,” I replied with a nod of my own. “Commander.”
The woman at Hassan’s side bowed to me with a murmured “Highness.”
“Avan, it’s good to see you again,” Hassan said to the proprietor, who beamed at her. I stepped behind Avan so he could say his hellos, heading through the dark green door Pezan held open.
The room within was small but well lit, with walls covered in rich green fabric. A table for five was the centerpiece of the room, its dark wood surface gleaming under the lights.
“Your Highness.” Leena dropped into a perfect curtsy, her silver-blue dress looking like a pool of liquid mercury. Laabh was dressed in uniform and his perfunctory bow wasn’t fast enough to hide the surprised confusion when he’d spotted Admiral Hassan.
“Leena. So good to see you again.” I took her hands and urged her to her feet, kissing her cheeks. She was the puzzle. Either up to her neck in the whole plot or totally innocent, and I hadn’t figured out yet which it was.
“You, too, Highness. I am very relieved you are feeling better.” Her face was open, dark eyes filled with hesitant delight.
“You and me both,” I quipped and her surprised blink seemed genuine. “This is Admiral Hassan and her aide.” I passed Leena off to the admiral and turned to my nephew. “Laabh.”
His smile was brief and filled with nervousness. “Your Highness.”
“I think in private we can be a little less formal. Have you met Admiral Hassan yet?”
“No, ma’am. It’s a pleasure.”
“Highness.” Emmory handed me a glass of wine and I took it with a smile. After the poisoning debacle, the only way to get my Ekam to agree to this meeting was to allow him to set the rules for food. Everything I got to eat tonight had been checked and rechecked, analyzed together and alone, until Emmory was certain it was clean.
The report from Dr. Ganjen had been both enlightening and disturbing. An innocuous substance in my drink—in all the drinks at the party, in fact—had reacted with another that the doctor thought had been introduced through contact absorption. What we couldn’t pinpoint was if that had been from what I was wearing or the long list of people I’d come in contact with that day. Given how fast my reaction had been, I was sure it had to have been something—or someone—I’d touched in the moments right before I collapsed. That narrowed the suspects somewhat, but the only thing I knew for sure was that Emmory’s quick response was the reason I was still alive.
I smiled at Zin when he pulled my chair out for me, and I settled into my seat, letting the bustle of the BodyGuards and Avan’s silently efficient staff flow around me.
Admiral Hassan and Commander Hamprasade took the seats on the left side, leaving the ones for the right for Leena and my nephew, and a few moments later quiet descended as Avan bowed his way out of the room.
Emmory and Cas took up positions on the inside of the door, their hands tucked behind their backs and masks of disinterest plastered over their faces. Zin and Jet were on the far side of the room, and the rest of my BodyGuards were outside.
I closed my fingers around the delicate stem of my wineglass and lifted it slightly. “My empress-mother, long may she reign,” I said, impressed that I managed to keep the irony out of my voice.
The others echoed the toast and we started in on the spread of appetizers Avan had provided. I easily slid into casual conversation with the commander, who, it turned out, was from the same coastal town of Tible where Emmory and Zin had grown up.
I grabbed for an asparagus spear wrapped with cheese and meat and bit the end off. A happy sigh escaped me, and I saw Admiral Hassan smother a smile, but I was too blissed out by the smooth Earth Havarti to care. I took a sip of my wine. The deep rose vintage was from Shallot with the same dry finish that characterized all the wines of the arid planet. It complemented the food perfectly.
We continued the pleasant, if useless, conversation through dinner. As the last of the plates were cleared and Avan vanished with a promise of coffee and dessert when I rang for it, a silence descended on the room.
“It’s a terrible business, all this,” I said, leaning back in my chair. “Nice to know I still have family left and people I can count on.”
Laabh’s hand tightened almost imperceptibly on his glass. Leena didn’t flinch at all; instead she smiled. “Times have been rough. It is our great hope to see Indrana strong again, Highness.”
“She will be. We’re closing the net on those responsible. It won’t be long now.”
There’d been a lot of discussion as to just how I should phrase the sentences I was going to poke my nephew with. It needed to be vague enough not to startle Leena, but direct enough to make him nervous. I kept my eyes on him as I said it and felt a little thrill of vindictive joy when he looked away first.
“I thought the Upjas responsible were already executed,” he said, his voice strained.
“Some Upjas were executed,” Hassan interjected. “However, we are still looking into things.”
“Cleaning up some loose ends, so to speak.” I hoped my easy smile didn’t look forced.
“It’s an awful business,” Leena said with a shake of her head. “Taran spent so much time with the empress before his mother died. The empress made time in her schedule specifically to see him. He would bring her the lokum she loves so much. I’m sure he would love to see you also.”
“I would like that very much.” I smiled, surprised that I felt no bitterness at all that Mother went to such lengths to spend so much time with her grandson when it seemed like she’d never had time for us. Bribery with the sticky candy probably helped convince her. “All this will be over soon. Once things have settled down, I’ll let you know when he can visit.”
“Speaking of, we really should get home before his bedtime.” Laabh rose and I debated for a moment staying in my seat to drive home the rudeness of his behavior, but judging by the look his wife gave him, he’d get an earful on the way home.
Instead I got to my feet and said my good-byes.
“That was fucking awkward,” I muttered to Admiral Hassan as the door closed behind the pair.
“Tell me about it.” Hassan swallowed and added, “Ma’am.”
“What’s your opinion on Leena?”
“I doubt she’s involved. We should be able to tell here shortly, though. Some of General Saito’s women are following them. If Laabh drops his wife off at home and goes back out, we can be pretty sure she’s not involved.”
“I hope so. I like her.” It would be bad enough that she’d lose her husband and the disgrace that was likely to follow. From what I could tell, she’d been very kind to Taran and I hated to repay that kind of loyalty with the death of her husband.
“Highness, we’re leaving. Now.”
I blinked at Emmory. “What? Why? I haven’t had dessert yet.”
“They just found Dr. Satir’s body in her home.” Emmory had both of us moving before he finished the sentence and Admiral Hassan’s gasp of surprise echoed my own.
“How—”
“She’s been dead since the night of the celebration, Highness.”
“Does that necessitate us rushing out of here?”
“I’m not taking any chances. Move, please.” Emmory propelled me out the door and my other Guards formed up around us as we hustled for the stairs.
“My car is at the back door, Ekam.” Hassan didn’t flinch from the look that Emmory gave her when we hit the landing. “You need to trust me. We have no idea if they’ve planned all this. Your charge could be dead the minute you walk out the front.”
“Or dead the minute I let her go with you,” he replied.
“Emmory.” Zin’s quiet voice cut through the chaos. “Out the front. I’ll go.”
The grip on my arm loosened as Emmory passed me wordlessly off to Zin with only the briefest of glances at his partner. Cas and Jet handed off their weapons to Commander Hamprasade and the admiral. I held a hand out for the gun that Zin was already passing my way and he allowed a smile to flicker.
“I’ll watch your back.” My heart was pounding in my throat as I said it and Zin nodded. Half a second later we burst through Shivan’s kitchens. Zin was in front with me right behind. I could feel Admiral Hassan’s hand on my back as we made a mad dash through the startled employees and emerged out the back door.
I was shoved into the back of the aircar. The others piled in after me and we took off at a speed that threatened to ruin the meal I’d just eaten.
Coming off the adrenaline rush left me with a wicked headache. I took the cup of chai from Stasia with a grateful smile and looked over at Emmory. “Okay, we’re safe again. Now tell me what the hell is going on?”
“Dr. Satir is dead, Highness. Presumably from an overdose of AVI.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “That’s a lot of AVI.”
“A contact of mine with the police messaged me the scene photos and the doctor’s alleged suicide note.”
“Emmory, she never would have—”
“Desperation, remember?” he replied, pushing away from the windowsill to pace the room. “Time of death is the evening of the celebration. Dr. Satir must have known something. Maybe she was going to talk. Whoever is trying to kill you had to take her out of the picture also.”
My cup rattled on the table when I set it down and got to my feet. I ignored Admiral Hassan’s curious look and hooked my hands behind my neck as I wandered to the windowsill Emmory had just vacated.
“What did she know?” I voiced the question even though I didn’t expect an answer from anyone in the room. “We need to find out, Emmory. Are they—” I broke off, the grief slamming into me, and pressed a hand to my mouth as I tried to hold it back. “Are they going to download her smati?”
He nodded. “My contact promised me a copy. Once we’re done sifting through the information, I’ll let you know what we find.”
“If anything,” I murmured. It was likely that most of the files would be corrupted given how long she’d been dead. I should have pressed about her absence, but it hadn’t crossed my mind that something could be wrong.
“We’re already reasonably sure your cousin and nephew are behind this, Highness,” Admiral Hassan said.
“We’re missing something. I can feel it.” Shaking my head, I tapped myself in the stomach. “Right here. I don’t deny Ganda and Laabh are up to their necks in this whole thing, but they couldn’t have pulled this all off on their own.” I looked at Emmory with a frown. “Wait, you said alleged suicide note?”
“She confessed to poisoning the empress.”
“Holy cowshit,” I countered.
Hassan attempted to cover up her laughter, failed miserably, and settled for a reproving look that I met with a grim smile.
“If Dr. Satir had wanted to take out the royal family, she could have done it a lot sooner than the last six months.”
“She had the access, ma’am, and timing is everything. We already suspect the recent tensions with the Saxons are part of this plot. It makes sense that they’d have to wait to put certain parts of their plan in motion until the right moment.”
“You said alleged.”
Emmory shrugged one shoulder. “Only because I don’t think she killed herself, Highness. I’m not discounting the possibility that she was involved.”
“She loved my mother, Emmory. I don’t believe it.”
He looked at Hassan and then back at me. “With respect, ma’am, you’ll believe your nephew is responsible for the deaths of his sister and mother without any proof? Why? Because he’s a man?”
Emmory’s comment dropped on the room like an LCT into a combat zone, leaving a stunned silence in its wake. Hassan half rose out of her chair, gaping at my Ekam in appalled shock.
“Ouch,” I said, waving Hassan back down into her seat. “Point taken, Emmory. And even though that was a rhetorical question, I’ll give you an answer. I’ve seen the depths people will go to when they think power is in their grasp. I’ve seen the lengths they’ll go to get it and keep it and it’s always worse when it’s someone who doesn’t have the power to begin with. So yes, to a certain extent I’m able to believe that Laabh is more likely to do this because he’s a man, but—bugger me.”
Several ideas collided at once in my head and I turned on a heel.
“Ma’am?”
I held up a hand at Emmory, snapping my fingers. “Hang on, I need to think.” The thoughts crystallized as I paced. “Oh, bugger me. What do we know about this whole thing so far? One, my cousin managed to insinuate herself rather quickly into position to become heir when Cire was killed. It would have stood to reason; she’s not my mother’s issue, but she’s the eldest daughter of the eldest son of my grandmother. She’d still be in line for the throne after the rest of us were dead.”
I walked a circuit from the window to the fireplace and back, throwing up fingers as I rattled off points. “Two, somehow the people behind this whole mess managed to convince a radical sect of the Upjas to join forces with them. How do you do that if you’re still going to put a woman on the throne?”
Hassan frowned.
“I suspect Ganda wouldn’t be on the throne for long, Highness,” Emmory said. “If it were me, I’d tell the radicals that Laabh would rule.”
“While telling Ganda she’s the one who’s going to be in charge just to get her support?” I shrugged. “It would make sense. Who had the initial idea, though? My cousin?”
“And then Laabh decided to double-cross her.”
“What happened to him to make him so heartless?” I rubbed my hands over my face with a sigh.
“Sometimes people are born that way, Highness.”
We fell into an uneasy silence for several moments.
“Number three, you prove the empress incompetent.” Hassan got to her feet and started pacing also. “Which would be enough to sway certain members of the military to your side when the princesses are suddenly removed from the picture?”
“It would have been perfect if they’d managed to kill me, too.”
“It’s close enough even with you alive.” Hassan dragged a hand through her hair. “Your pardon, Highness, but your past has apparently still been enough to convince members of the military to support Ganda in this foolishness.”
“True enough,” I said after a moment. “I wonder if they will continue to support Ganda when they realize she’s killed three members of my family to get to this point.”
“They might,” Emmory said thoughtfully. “If they’re supporting Laabh instead of Ganda. Remember that his father left with Admiral Shul the same day you returned home, Highness.”
“This is a Shiva-damned viper’s nest.” I rubbed both hands over my face. “And they’re on some kind of timetable that I’d bet a good chunk of ravga has to do with that corridor we saw this afternoon on the map, Admiral.”
“I already sent the empress my report, Highness. She approved it and orders went out. I can message the commander at Canafey and let them know to be on the lookout, but that’s about all I can do.”
“Do it,” I said. “It might be enough. I need to know what else they’re planning and when it’s supposed to go down.”
“Hit the weak link and the chain will shatter.” Zin, who’d been quiet up to this point, shifted away from his spot near the door. “We can find out, Highness. I just don’t know if it will be in time.”
“We’ll deal with it if it happens. Go.”
“No protests about coming with me?”
I stuck my tongue out at the tease. “I have plenty to deal with here and this is your job. Who are you going after?”
Zin shook his head with a slight smile. “Sorry, Highness. It’s better if you don’t know.”
“Zin, I can’t leave her.” Emmory’s voice was low and edged with regret.
“I know. I’m a decent enough Tracker on my own, Emmory. I think I can manage.”
“Admiral, why don’t I see you to the door while these two hash it out,” I said with a grin and headed across the room. I’d seen the way her jaw had tightened at Zin’s remarks and pinned her down with a curious look when we reached the door.
“I’m not questioning your judgment, ma’am, but can you trust them?”
“With my life, with the empire. I know their methods might seem a little mercenary. Dark Mother, I know my methods probably seem that way.” I laughed briefly and then sobered. “We’re not up against people who are willing to play by the rules, Admiral. They’ve killed my sisters, my niece, and my mother—your empress—and too many other innocent people. They’re pushing this empire to the brink of a war you and I both know we can’t win. If that means I must take the slightly less civilized road to protect the people of my empire, I will do it. If you have a problem with it—”
“I don’t, ma’am.” She dipped her head. “I understand the necessity.”
“Good. I’d like you to take Zaran back to your ship with you. I’ll feel better if our sole witness to my cousin’s treachery is somewhere with very few access points.”
Of course, if they really wanted to remove her, all they’d have to do is blow up the admiral’s ship. I could tell by the look in Hassan’s eyes she’d thought of it, too, but neither of us wanted to say it out loud.
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll see you after Pratimas.”
I nodded in reply and closed the door behind her. When I turned, Emmory and Zin were standing silently, their foreheads pressed together and their eyes closed. “Did you two finish your argument?”
Emmory gave me the Look. Zin grinned. “We’ve got five days until Pratimas, Highness,” he said. “I probably won’t see you until then, so try to keep your head down and stay out of trouble?”
“Likewise,” I replied, my cheeky salute ruined by the unexpected yawn. “Good night, gentlemen.”
“Good night, Highness. Sleep well.”