Everyone filed into the Grand Dining Hall, their places assigned to them. Tadessa anticipated sitting at one end of a gigantic table with her parents. Instead, her parents led her to a head table on a raised dais where her House, her mother’s House and the new Imperial House were assigned together. Everyone else sat at smaller tables throughout the Grand Dining Hall.
Salettin looked splendid in a white satin suit with golden lapels and a cascading tie of B’anu silk. His hair seemed as golden as the accents on his suit.
Tadessa gave her head a mental shake, upset at how dreamy-eyed she felt when around him.
To her dismay, she had been placed next to Salettin. As if it was his fault, she glared at the Imperial Prince.
He kept his voice barely above a whisper. “I had nothing to do with the seating, but I think we’d best not make waves.”
She couldn’t agree more.
Tadessa glanced at her mother for a clue, but her mother avoided her gaze and adjusted one of the golden ruffles that covered all but her fingertips.
Her eyes traveled toward Salettin’s mother, Alrenn, whose thin arms were bare and her beautifully rounded bosom was not even covered with sheer cloth. Furthermore, she seemed unaware of how unacceptable her clothing was to Upper Third Level society. Alrenn, a pale blonde with a porcelain complexion, sat with practiced ease in her own form of seductive beauty. Her exquisite chiffon and satin gown hid none of her slender frame.
General Del A’nden, gave a short welcoming speech directed mostly at His Imperial Majesty Orvinet ba Tir. His words were gracious. His body language was rigid and icy. Emperor ba Tir did not seem to notice. The Emperor’s brocade vest seemed puff out with pride as he accepted her father’s words.
Tadessa’s mother gave a similar speech to Her Empress Alrenn ba Tir, but her body showed a stiff hostility, even though her words dripped with platitudes. What was happening?
Tadessa hoped she wasn’t supposed to give any kind of speech. She had nothing good to say to anyone, certainly not Salettin.
Salettin rose next, and said a few pleasant words to no one in particular and sat down.
K’arrala stood and bowed low to the Imperial family, inviting her guests to partake in the celebratory meal.
Everyone applauded.
Servants brought around the first course of food, a luscious soup that smelled terrific. Tadessa was very hungry. It was already past her bedtime, so she was sleepy as well. She had been warned that the Imperial couple expected to be entertained all night.
Just as Tadessa reached for her spoon, someone’s probe touched her mind. She snapped her shield into place. At first she thought Salettin was playing some kind of prank, but when she traced the probe back to its source, it wasn’t the ba Tir son. His father gave her a nod and a smile, and tried again, this time with more force.
“Is your father a Discipline Master?” Tadessa whispered to Salettin.
“Yes. Why?”
“He’s trying to invade my mind.”
“You should let him. Life is easier on all of us when he gets his way.” But his face was pale, and he looked shaken. He would not meet her eyes. For some reason he found his water glass very fascinating.
Tadessa faced the Emperor, furious. Stop it!
His smile broadened. So you can use mind speech.
Of course I can.
My son tells me you’re a Null.
Yes. What else has he told you about me?
Not as much as you will tell me yourself. Those tests I insisted your father place before you, on the pretext of you being your mother’s next page, revealed too little. I want to know far more. I especially want to know about your people, the Krindarwee.
Never! While she might have allowed him to know more about herself, she absolutely refused the Intergalactic Faj to access anything about her people. It was at their insistence that her people were enslaved in Sector One. She hadn’t been completely forthright with Salettin when she told him about her purpose. But there were no words to explain that she was the one destined to liberate the whole planet from domination by the Faj.
Let me strengthen you, Zilla said. The Promise of Khaadi does not fight her battles alone. She has the strength of her people behind her.
The next moment she found his probe trying to penetrate her thoughts like a white-hot needle trying to lance a boil.
Tadessa grimaced and allowed Zilla to strengthen her shield, breaking his needle. She did not exhale in relief, although she wanted to.
That grimace you gave a moment ago fed his desire to dominate you, Zilla warned. His kind take advantage of weakness.
Tadessa nodded internally. As the strength of his probe increased, Tadessa smoothed her features and began a conversation with Salettin, keeping her shield as solid as a rock wall.
“So what was it like growing up? What were some of the things you used to do as a boy?”
“Actually, my favorite times were when I was away at school. I’m sure you understand.”
“I’m beginning to.”
Salettin’s hand shook slightly as he reached for his glass of water. “He’s still trying to get past your shield, isn’t he?”
She gave a light laugh, as if it was no matter, but fighting Salettin’s father was getting difficult, even with Zilla’s help.
“He’s trying, and not succeeding. So what did you do at school, then?”
“How can you resist him? I never could.”
Without Zilla’s help, Tadessa knew she would be unable to resist him much longer. “Please, let’s talk about something else. What did you do for fun? Did you swim in an ocean, race air cars, climb trees, run foot races, build snow forts and have snowball fights? I kind of wish I could swim in an ocean, just once. The pool at the academy was hardly an ocean, and I can’t believe how frightened I was of the water, especially at first. I was never a strong swimmer, but I did manage to pass my class.” She was babbling, and she knew it, but she had to get Salettin talking, quickly, before her face betrayed her struggle with his father.
Salettin gave an indulgent chuckle. “All those sound like so much fun. I can’t say I had the pleasure of doing very many of them, especially anything to do with snow. To tell you the truth, I hate snow and this whole northland. I lived on a tropical coast when I wasn’t away at school, so I was able to swim in an ocean. And since aircars were always available, some of us did choose to race them, and wave skimmers too. What about you?”
“I’ve run foot races, built snow forts, competed in snowball fights, and climbed trees. Do you know what my favorite childhood memory is?”
“No.”
“I was living on the First Level with my biological father, Snake.”
“The one you so affectionately call ‘Daddy Snake’?”
“In my child’s mind, that was to differentiate him from ‘Daddy Del,’ my adopted father. Snake still lived when I was taken to live with my new father. I couldn’t bring myself to call Del ‘father’ at first.”
“You were adopted before your father died?”
“He was killed soon afterward.”
“General A’nden killed your father?”
“Colonel Motz killed my father. I was already adopted, although I didn’t know it at the time. The Colonel was under orders to take me, and not to inform Snake that I had been taken, but Motz felt it more honorable to tell Snake anyway. Daddy Snake never gave him a chance to explain. If he hadn’t still been under the influence of the drug Motz had given him to steal my mother and me away, the Colonel wouldn’t have survived. Snake came at Motz with a knife. Motz fired his gun. I had a very difficult time accepting Daddy Snake’s death.”
She regarded Salettin with curiosity. “I don’t know why you needed to hear that, Prince.”
“Then, please continue with your favorite childhood memory.”
??
?We, my father, my mother, and Aunt Berita were hiding from Mama’s brother at the time.”
“The one who gave you that scar on your cheek?”
“Yes. There wasn’t anywhere we could go to escape him. He was determined to kill my mother and abduct me.”
“Why?”
“His Moloch wanted to control me. My uncle wanted to control Sector Five, so he invaded our home with assassins. This is not a favorite childhood memory, Prince Salettin.”
He waved his hand for her to continue.
“Aunt Berita was posing as my mother. We were pretending to be Illegals. I had made some Legal friends who went to the local school. While pretending to be an Illegal I couldn’t go to school, but I did enjoy twine cycling with my friends.”
“What is twine cycling?”
“A twine cycle is a lightweight contraption consisting of a frame, wheels, string and elastic bands. It takes a lot of concentration and balance to ride one of them. The best part of it is, once a child gets to a certain weight, he becomes too heavy to be a very good twine cyclist. So it’s a sport only for children, and I was a small child. I received special permission from the school to be part of the twine cycling team. The last year we could play, our team won the tournament. That was so much fun!”
Dots of sweat beaded on the Emperor’s upper lip. He was no longer smiling. A lock of his auburn hair hung over his brow, and a snarl of grim determination had replaced his mocking grin. If he ever looked friendly, nothing about him appeared so now. The challenge of battle lit his eyes. He renewed his attack with ferocity.
Zilla!
I’m here, My Heart.
To distract herself, she turned her attention to his wife. Alrenn ba Tir stirred the food on her plate, but not even a nibble reached her mouth. Every so often she glanced at Tadessa, a frown gathering at her brow.
“Your mother isn’t eating,” she said, curious.
“Xantis Tey women don’t eat very much in public. It’s considered rude and gluttonous. And they never eat dessert, especially in public. Some refrain from eating any dessert even in the privacy of their own homes. Others, however, allow themselves a few slices of fruit as a substitute. If they ever do, Xantis Tey women wait until they are in the privacy of their own apartments if they would like to indulge in a bite or two of something sweet.”
A bite or two. How strange.
Not at all. Nothing is considered more unattractive than a fat woman.
Your father is huge.
He’s a man. He’s considered robust.
Robust, is it? He’s just plain fat, Salettin.
He laughed into her mind. You, my dear, would be considered chubby in my culture. I notice you aren’t eating much.
She glared at him, wondering how she could eat when his father’s mental attacks were leaving her nauseous.
“You’re still fighting him. Chalatta, he’s a Discipline Master. He knows it’s his right to examine the thoughts of others, especially when those others affect me. He has always been protective of my position, and has destroyed those who…”
“So what is your favorite childhood memory?” She hoped she could get him talking about something else besides his father. If the severity of the probes increased, ba Tir’s next assault would soon be taking all her attention, and she wanted no evidence of her struggle where the Emperor could see it.
He must believe you are completely unaffected, or he will never stop trying, Zilla reminded her. You know his kind from living on the streets.
She did. With deliberation, she forced her attention back to Salettin.
“I… Well, I was part of my school’s Raska Team. A raska is an eight-legged creature with extreme flexibility. It can twist and turn upon itself. Learning how to ride one is a skill most never master. Those who qualify for the Raska Team can compete with other schools all over the primary galaxy. The competition is extraordinarily fierce…”
Tadessa kept her face calm, but she could no longer listen. Emperor Ba Tir blasted her with flaming probes, icy probes, razor probes, battering probes, until she thought she might start whimpering from the pain of them. But she held her shield firm, and kept her face pleasant.
If you’re so determined to resist him, you should return the attack, Salettin said in hardly more than a whisper of mind speech.
She felt his fear for her.
I was trained never to use threads that way.
Threads?
Later. Please keep talking.
Please, my dear, Alrenn ba Tir said. Chalatta hadn’t expected for the Empress to speak to her at all. Don’t resist him so. It will only get worse for you.
You’ve tried?
But she didn’t answer.
The assault lasted through the whole meal. Tadessa ate little. Her stomach threatened to toss every bite back up with each swallow.
With a suddenness that startled her, the assault stopped, and Zilla withdrew, offering the equivalent of a mental pat on her shoulder. The Emperor mopped sweat from his red face. The lock of hair, now damp, had darkened to brown.
Maybe Orvinet said something to his wife in mind speech. The Empress Alrenn stroked his arm as if concerned. He shook his head, and managed a fake chuckle, but when his eyes fell on Tadessa, only hatred remained.
Tadessa tried not to shiver. Your father is a monster.
He was more than a monster, she discovered when she sent out her own thread. A Zocassari darkness hovered around him briefly, and the next instant it was gone. She wasn’t sure how that could happen, that one of those beasts could hide its presence. She had never seen one hide before. She doubted if anyone knew the Emperor was infected, not even his son.
You won. Salettin was surprised. I’ve seen him bring hardened warriors with exceptional Talent to their knees sobbing, begging for mercy. My father does not grant mercy.
I haven’t won. He’ll find another way to attack me. She knew the tenacity of a Zocassari, which was the real reason behind the Emperor’s attack, or his first question would not have been about her people. Aside from Blades, who were physical, no one hated the Krindarwee more than these incorporeal entities. She touched the scar on her cheek. Her uncle’s beast had been at least as powerful as the Emperor’s. But the strength of the beast never mattered. It was the strength of the host that provided a Zocassari with its power. Salettin’s father, as a Discipline Master, was extraordinarily Talented.
The prince regarded her with serious eyes, but he offered no advice. Perhaps he had none.
After dessert, which Tadessa ate regardless of a glare from Salettin, General A’nden rose to his feet, bowed to the Emperor, the Emperor’s wife, and Salettin. The room quieted.
“As you know, I have spent my life in service to the Intergalactic Faj, first as a loyal soldier, later as the High Commissioner for this Sector, and more recently as the advisor to the current High Commissioner.” He bowed to his wife. “But now I wish to serve my empire in another way. If he will have her, I offer my daughter as betrothed to the son of Orvinet ba Tir, His Eminence and Prince of the Imperial House, Home and Holdings, Salettin ba Tir.”
Tadessa stared, appalled at her father, who gave her a nod in addition to a sympathetic smile. Then she stole a glance at the Emperor, who grinned in triumph. This time she could not hold back her shiver of fear.
As if he had already rehearsed this, Salettin rose from his seat, bowed first to his father, then to General A’nden. “Having reached my majority years ago, I do not need permission from my father to choose the daughter of any of the Houses on this planet. But out of respect, I have consulted with my father and General A’nden in this matter. I do accept your offer, General A’nden. Your daughter is to my liking.”
Rise with me, Chalatta. It was not an invitation.
Too stunned to argue, Tadessa rose. Her face felt bloodless, her hands like ice,
and she trembled visibly. She had been betrayed by everyone. She glanced at her mother, who returned her stare with a fixed expression that indicated nothing. Was even her mother a part of this?
The room erupted in cheers.
“Then let us celebrate in the Grand Ballroom,” A’nden announced, taking his daughter’s arm as he led the way. As they entered the ballroom, the orchestra struck a dance tune, and A’nden danced his daughter onto the floor. “I am pleased you did not rebel this time,” he said into her ear.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“As I indicated this morning, very often we are not given what we want, but what we must do. The Emperor’s son was looking for a wife. He did not find one he liked in any of the other four Sectors. I thought you had offended the royal family by your misbehavior today, which would have been disastrous.”
“Disastrous? How?”
“Your rebellion would have been detrimental to all the Krindarwee.”
“But that’s…”
“Were you about to imply that it wouldn’t be fair to your people? People like the ba Tirs rule whole worlds. Being fair is not a part of their vocabulary. For the sake of your people and the peace of this planet, you are required to marry Prince Salettin, Chalatta.”
“Did you arrange this?”
“No.”
17
beginning the absorption process