After the Crown Read online

  For Emmory and Zin, it improved upon a relationship already honed by years of working together.

  I let it drag on for a minute or so. “Are you two finished talking about me?”

  “Zin objects to Po-Sin’s teaching methods, ma’am.”

  “He wouldn’t be the first,” I replied, and sank back down on the arm of the rose-colored couch. “Hao was furious and I thought for sure Portis was going to kill him. The pain was—” I fumbled for words to describe it. “I’d screwed up though and almost got killed because of it. It was a good lesson to learn. I’ve never made that mistake again. I’m a gods-awful noble, Emmory, more comfortable in drinking contests and tavern brawls than I am at court.”

  “You are the Empress of Indrana,” he said quietly.

  “More’s the pity,” I shot back. “Right now I’d rather go back to being a gunrunner.”

  “No, you wouldn’t.” And just like that, the man I’d known for less than an Indranan month read me so easily and so completely that all I could do was stare at him.

  I’d made my choice to stay, and whatever liquor-fueled words came off my tongue didn’t change that. “Fine. I wouldn’t.” It was the closest I’d come to admitting he was right. Getting to my feet, I debated the wisdom of having another drink before deciding I really didn’t want to be hungover tomorrow. “I’m going to bed.”

  “I’ll send Stasia in, Majesty.”

  “I don’t need her,” I replied. My maid was too kind and the thought of exposing her to my sharpness didn’t sit well with me. I closed my bedroom door, stripped out of my clothes, and crawled into bed. Within moments I was asleep, but my dreams were filled with death and pain and I woke in a pool of moonlight and sweat.

  I got out of bed, wrapping myself in my robe, and leaned against the windowsill. The moon was high in the sky, beaming through the stained-glass windows.

  “Come in,” I said to the expected knock on my door.

  “Majesty?” Zin, as usual, was the one to check on me, and I didn’t look away from the moon as I waved him into the room. “Are you all right?”

  “Just another dream. I’m getting used to them,” I lied.

  “You shouldn’t have to, ma’am. We could see if Dr. Ganjen can give you something to help you sleep.”

  “I’m fine, Zin.” I turned from the window with a smile.

  “Do you want me to send Stasia in with something to drink?”

  “I want to know what Laabh was talking about when he said ‘our plans.’” I grabbed the poker and jabbed at the coals before throwing another log on them and sitting in my chair. The flames crawled along the edge of the wood, gaining strength as they found more fuel. “This isn’t over, Zin. It might never be over.”

  “We all signed on for the long haul, Majesty, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

  I laughed but didn’t look away from the fire. “I’m not worried about you, or Emmory, or any of the BodyGuards who survived.” Thoughts of Jet and the others brought a sharp pain in my chest and fisted a hand against my stomach. “I don’t know who to trust, Zin. If this spreads as far as Laabh claimed, who can we trust?”

  “I don’t know, Majesty. I promise we’re looking into it. Every contact he had, every meeting and com link, every single person who came within two meters of the man is on our radar.” Zin knelt next to my chair. “If they truly do have a plan, they’ll have to move on it and we’ll be ready for them.”

  “I need something to do.”

  “Right now? Sleep, Majesty. You need the rest.” He got to his feet and offered me his hand.

  “Dhatt. You’re as much a bully as Emmory.” I sighed but took it and let him usher me back to bed.

  “Good night, Majesty. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  2

  The biggest problem, Your Majesty, has been the distance. Given the importance of the mission, my operative obviously—”

  “Caspel, if you don’t get to the point I’m going to shoot you,” I warned with a raised eyebrow.

  Caspel Ganej, Director of Galactic Imperial Security for the Empire of Indrana, didn’t flinch at my words. A smile curved under his beaklike nose. “Your pardon, Your Majesty, but you are unarmed.”

  I kept my eyebrow up as I glanced over my shoulder. “I’m sure Emmory will let me borrow his gun. Won’t you, Emmory?”

  “Of course, Majesty.”

  Caspel grinned at me. “Your Majesty, the area is unstable and we cannot trust Admiral Shul. All I know at present is that Governor Ashwari made it off the planet. I am sure my operative is bringing her back here with all haste.”

  “Thank you, Caspel. Was that so hard to say?”

  “No, ma’am.”

  “I want to know immediately if you hear from your operative.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Caspel nodded as he rose. “Majesty, I will need to speak to you in private about Admiral Shul.” Caspel’s stride toward the door didn’t slow and I had to stop myself from turning around to stare at his retreating back.

  “Our usual meeting place?” I replied over the dedicated line of my smati.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Who’s next, Alba?” I reached for my cup. “I’ll see you at first song then, Caspel, and you owe me. I’m going to be dead tired tomorrow.”

  “I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t important, Majesty. And we both know you haven’t been sleeping anyway.”

  I wasn’t going to ask how he knew that.

  “We’ve got half an hour before you need to head for Shivan’s. Matriarch Desai needs five minutes, and Matriarchs Gohil and Khatri have asked for a moment of your time if you can spare it.”

  “Really?” I paused with the cup at my lips. “I’m interested enough to squeeze them in, Alba. Tell them they have fifteen minutes, so I hope they’re nearby. Have Clara come in while I’m waiting.” Taking a sip of my blue chai, I shared a look with Emmory.

  “I have no idea, Highness,” he said in answer to my unasked question.

  Matriarch Clara Desai had terrified me when I was a child. She was one of the few people besides my father who could get me to behave. Now I counted the older woman as one of my closest allies in the palace.

  She entered the room, a woman my height following on her heels. A person would have to be blind not to see the family resemblance. Clara dropped into a curtsy, while the woman in the gray uniform bowed low.

  “Good evening, Majesty. May I present my daughter—Major Gita Desai.”

  “Majesty.” The woman bowed again.

  “A pleasure, Major. You’re with the army?”

  “At present, Majesty, yes.”

  I eyed Clara’s daughter. “Well, my curiosity has been piqued. What does that mean, Major?”

  Major Desai dropped to a knee. “Your Imperial Majesty, I know you are in need of BodyGuards. I would offer my life to that end, should you desire it.”

  Matriarch Desai’s face was perfectly neutral, betraying nothing about her personal feelings on her daughter’s decision. I raised an eyebrow at Emmory. He responded with the barest shrug of his shoulder.

  “A very generous offer, Major Desai.” Getting up off the couch, I grabbed her shoulders and lifted her to her feet. The memory of doing the very same thing to Jet rushed through me, and I had to close my eyes for a moment before I drowned in my grief. “One I will gladly entertain, but with the reminder that my Ekam has the final say on replacements and I wouldn’t think to countermand his judgment where my safety is concerned.”

  “Of course, Majesty.”

  “Major, if you’ll go with Alba, she’ll take you to Cas and he can get you started with in-processing. Have you spoken to your commanding officer about this?” Emmory asked.

  “I have, sir. She is in full support.”

  I watched Matriarch Desai watching her daughter as she left the room. Some of her sadness slipped through the mask and I laid my hand on her arm. “Clara, I could tell Emmory to—”

  “Please don’t, Majesty. She�
�s no safer in the army than she would be at your side, and it would devastate her if she knew she missed her chance to be your BodyGuard because I wanted to keep her safe.”

  “It would,” I murmured. “It took me twenty years to forgive my mother for it.”

  Matriarch Desai curtsied again. “With your leave, Majesty. I know Alice and Zaran are anxious to speak with you and your schedule is full.”

  I waved a hand and shook out the deep blue skirt I was wearing. Taking the heavy white sari from the back of the couch, I wandered to the bank of windows in my reception room. I’d worn my customary uniform to Nal’s execution this morning, but afterward I’d felt the need to change into something with a bit more protection from the cold. I wrapped the sari around myself, understanding a little better the struggle my mother must have experienced—knowing I’d wanted so fiercely to join the military, but wanting so desperately to keep me safe, especially after my father’s death.

  The sun was setting behind the waters of Balhim Bay, throwing streaks of gold across the rippling sheet of navy that stretched in an arc to the south of Krishan. The white caps of the waves were the only other break in the darkness. Frost crawled across the panes of glass as the temperature continued to drop with the setting sun. Magh was a bitterly cold month, the short days still struggling to grow longer in the wake of Pratimas.

  It suited the mood. I’d been home barely four weeks now and had seen more death here than my whole time away. This was saying something, considering gunrunners dealt out an awful lot of violence.

  The door opened and I heard Emmory’s murmured greeting but didn’t turn around even though I was extremely curious about the requested meeting. Whatever it was, it was important enough the pair had hung around the palace hoping I’d say yes.

  After a sufficient number of heartbeats had passed, I faced them and both women dropped into curtsies. “Your Majesty.”

  Alice Gohil had been one of the first matriarchs after Clara to acknowledge my claim to the throne and offer her support. And her companion was the newly appointed Matriarch Zaran Khatri, whose testimony would likely convict her mother of treason in absentia.

  “Alice. Zaran.” I nodded at them as they rose, noting with quiet amusement they both wore the salwar kameez that was coming back into style. It was as close as the noble families were willing to get to my own simple style of dress.

  “Majesty.” Zaran dipped her blond head again when I didn’t say anything else. “Thank you for seeing us.” She was a good head taller than her darker companion, and apparently the reason they were there at all, judging from Alice’s silence. “I understand you are meeting with Abraham Suda, and I realize I have no right to ask you for a favor—”

  “Who told you that?” I softened my raised eyebrow with a smile when she blanched. “Not the information about the meeting, but the idea that you have no right to a favor. If not for you, Zaran, it would have taken us a lot longer to figure out who was involved in the conspiracy, who was responsible for the murder of my family. A lot more people could have died. We owe you a great deal.”

  “Yes, Majesty. I know, but my mother is—” She stopped, swallowed, and then straightened her spine as she looked at me with a strength that surprised me. “A traitor, Majesty.”

  “You are not.”

  “I am not. I love Indrana. I am loyal to the throne and to you. I want to make this empire better.”

  “You want to be there when I meet with Abraham and the Upjas. Granted.” I grinned at the shocked look on her face.

  “Majesty, I—”

  “Were you expecting a debate on the subject, Zaran? You’ve been in contact with them. More recently than I have, I’ll add, and likely are more in tune with their actual plans. It would be helpful to have you there. Alice, too, I think, even though I know she only came with you for moral support.”

  An idea had already taken root in my brain and I waved a hand at them with a smile. “I’ll have Alba message you tomorrow with the time and location of the meeting. Good night.”

  “Good night, Majesty.”

  I braced myself against the back of the couch as the room spun. Emmory was at my side in an instant, his arm around my waist holding me up.

  “I’m fine.” I pressed a hand to my forehead. “Just dizzy.”

  “You’re exhausted. We should cancel dinner.”

  “I can’t. I need to see Taran. I wouldn’t sleep anyway.” I leaned against him as we moved around the couch and then dropped onto it with a curse. “I’ll be fine, I just need to get my breath.” I closed my eyes, opening them when Emmory crouched beside me.

  “Here,” he said, holding up his gloved hand. I leaned in and inhaled the mist that spiraled upward.

  My head cleared as the Phrine hit my system and everything around me sharpened like it was cut from crystal.

  “Better?” he asked.

  I nodded and smiled, hoping it would ease the frown on my Ekam’s face. Phrine was bad news. The adrenaline-based drug had its uses during battle and things like hostage situations, but long-term use was asking for heart failure and other less fatal but still nasty complications. Emmory and I both knew we couldn’t keep using it, but I also couldn’t seem to get a decent night’s sleep and there was just too much to get done.

  I blew out a frustrated breath. “Do you have a list of younger nobles who are involved with the Upjas?”

  My Ekam waited a beat before responding. “Possibly, Majesty. May I ask why you’d like to know?”

  “Curious, mostly. I’m too close to this to really be involved. We all know it. Abraham and I can meet and exchange pleasantries, but if we want any actual discussion to happen it’s going to have to be out of our earshot.”

  “You’re talking about negotiations?”

  “I am.” I nodded, tapping a finger on the window. “Alice doesn’t believe in the Upjas’ cause and would provide a critical eye in counterpoint to Zaran’s youthful idealism.”

  “It could work, Majesty. You really don’t have the time in your schedule to personally oversee negotiations with what’s still technically a terrorist group,” Alba said, handing me my chai. It was hot again, and I sipped at it as Emmory mulled over my idea.

  “I have a list, Majesty,” he said finally, his dark eyes thoughtful.

  “Fantastic. Message Abraham then, and tell him to come to the palace and see me.” Smiling brightly when my BodyGuard gave me the Look, I handed my empty cup back to Alba. “We’d better get going, or we’re going to be late and Leena will fret.”

  I was surrounded by familiar faces as we headed up the steps into Shivan’s. I was trying to keep my outside appearances to a minimum since I knew Emmory hadn’t approved more than a handful of new BodyGuards and didn’t want any of them on duty when we were out in the open.

  Funny, Hail, you make it sound like you’ve been coming here forever. I’d only been once since I’d been home, back when Jet had still been alive. Rama had worn a look of nervous concentration as he’d ushered me past the clamoring media, and Adail’s face had been blank as he waited inside the door of the restaurant. Now they were both dead, too. Adail turned traitor on me and killed Rama, and Emmory killed him in turn.

  “How does a week and a half feel like a lifetime?”

  “Grief stretches out our hearts, Majesty.” Zin pushed the door open for me. His gray-green eyes were gentle with shared pain. We’d all lost and grieved as we counted the dead from the failed coup. I missed them all, but Jet’s absence was a painful hole I knew Zin felt. He had grown close with the BodyGuard who’d sacrificed himself for me in Garuda Square during their short time together. I’d survived and stayed on my throne, but some days the cost didn’t feel like it was worth it.

  Offering up a halfhearted smile, I went through the doorway of the gray brick building and left the noise of the outside world behind.

  “Majesty.” Avan Shivan took my hands and pressed kisses to my cheeks. The rotund owner of the restaurant had remained a dear friend des
pite my time away. I’d spent many hours hidden away in the kitchen in the days after my father’s death. This restaurant was still a haven, free from media surveillance and anyone whom Avan deemed unsuitable. “Your nephew and sister-in-law are waiting for you.”

  “Thank you. It’s busy tonight.”

  “We’re out to a six-month waiting list, Majesty.” He smiled. “Everyone wants to eat here on the off-chance you’ll stop by.”

  I laughed. “I’m glad I’m good for business.”

  “Elevator, Majesty?”

  “You mean I have a choice, Ekam?” I teased.

  The last time I’d been in Shivan’s, Emmory had been so paranoid I’d had to take the stairs. Granted, people were trying to kill me at the time, so it wasn’t wholly unfounded. Stairs sucked regardless, so I headed for the elevator before Emmory changed his mind.

  I had no way of knowing what Taran’s reaction would be. He’d loved his brother, idolized him, and he was old enough to understand what was going on despite Leena’s attempts to shield him from the worst of it.

  I’d ordered everyone to silence about the fact that it had been Taran’s weekly visits to my mother that had allowed the traitors to poison her. We’d gone to great lengths to keep that information secret. There were things an eight-year-old boy didn’t need to know, and if I could protect him from the worst of the fallout it was worth the lies.

  “Nervous, Majesty?”

  I shot him a sideways look. “I don’t know anything about kids, Zin. What am I supposed to say?”

  “My aunts always started with ‘Hello, so good to see you.’”

  I punched him in the shoulder as we exited the elevator. “I hate you.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He exchanged a nod with Indula and Willimet, the latter opening the door for me with a smile. For whatever reason, Indula had passed Emmory’s test and was out in public with us. He was the only one of the new recruits I’d seen with us outside the palace—possibly because he’d been my mother’s BodyGuard and had proved his loyalty when he’d turned Bial over to us during the fighting.