Chapter 1
Contemplatively, I stared out at my city. As evening approached, lights turned on to keep the darkness at bay, but they also hid the multitude of stars above. A trade-off for modern society I supposed, but I still mourned the fact that here, I could never see the true beauty of the night.
Strato gliders—flying vehicles—and strato liners—flying trains—took my subjects from one part of Pandrax to another, some just took them home from work, some were on pleasure journeys, some out to run unavoidable errands. Whatever their reasons, they were living free, bountiful lives, depending on me to keep them safe, fed, and happy.
To my left, the last rays of the sun reflected off the Tarron Ocean, where mostly darkness ruled once the sun vanished completely for the night. Except for the lights from boats, pleasure cruisers, and fishing drones, it was the only place where I might, if I got lucky, catch a glimpse or two of a star.
This was my favorite time of the day, when quiet finally reigned, where all my duties for the day were done, or they could wait for the next. Where I didn’t have to listen to the incessant whining of the Cryons about my superior commander Xandros supplying their conquered world with weapons, taking their conquered people from their clutches.
As of yet, the Cryons hadn’t gone so far as to call it stealing, but it was coming; their accusations gained intensity with every passing day.
My mood fouled. Here I was at the favorite time of my day, but instead of relaxing, I thought about this frygging new species the Cryons had discovered and conquered, as was their right, and yet somehow they had become as important to my people as the air we breathed.
I would have never involved myself in this affair had my two best friends not insisted, after having found their revered mekarry bonds with two merrilies of that species. I might have even then not allowed myself to get involved, but they weren’t the only ones.
All over the Pandraxian Empire, mekarry bonds were being formed with this new species.
Mekarry bonds were special, holy, spiritual bonds. Something we had thought lost for many centuries. This wasn’t something I could simply overlook or ignore. I had to involve myself even if it meant going to war with the Cryons.
A war I wasn’t convinced we would win, especially if the Galactic Treaty Union—GTU—inserted itself. They would sanction us, outlaw us.
Us! The Pandraxian Empire, one of, if not the strongest system in the universe.
Peace, it seemed, was not in the cards for me tonight and I turned away from the window. I might as well get some more work done if I wasn’t going to get the mental calmness I deserved.
“I beg your forgiveness, Your Imperial Highness, but Lady Madeema wishes for an audience.” One of my guards entered.
With a sigh, I waved him on to invite Lady Madeema in who was—next to Garth and Xandros—my closest advisor, and intelligence chief.
“Good evening, my Emperor.” Lady Madeema entered, bowing deeply.
Impatiently I waved her to her feet. She knew I didn’t care for these kinds of etiquette when we were alone, especially not this late in the evening.
“Lady Madeema,” I greeted with a barely contained sigh in my voice. Her appearance here, now, meant this evening would take another turn for the worse.
“I have bad news,” she came straight to the point, one of the traits I liked about her. Contrary to other merrilies, she was direct. “The ship taking Sir Priough to the GTU summit was shot down, there were no survivors.”
Anger bubbled up inside me, churned my stomach, and whirled through my mind until it turned into a burning fury that made me see red.
“What?” I cried out, just to give myself a second to get a hold of my burning emotions, but I already knew I would lose that fight.
Sir Priough had defected from the Cryons. A very valuable defector since he was King Crough’s second-in-command. His testimony was imperative to making our case against the Cryons at the GTU summit, without him…
“Not all is lost, I have his confessions on holovids and—”
“You and I both know that holovids mean frygging nothing. The Cryons will contest that they were manipulated. The only thing the holovids will prove is that Sir Priough was in our possession, something I have denied until now!” I exploded.
Lady Madeema didn’t flinch, she was used to my temper eruptions. Too used to them? Some semirational part of my brain cautioned me.
“How?” I barked out.
“I don’t have that information yet,” Lady Madeema confessed, looking contrite for the first time since she entered my chambers.
“You don’t have…” I took a deep breath, tried to keep the rising fury at bay.
Too much depended on Sir Priough’s testimony. It would have uncovered all the atrocities the Cryons were committing, including the possibility of making a power grab throughout the universe, creating a galactic war of unprecedented proportions.
“I will get it.” Lady Madeema’s eyes met mine, they were determined, burning with fervor. She was as pissed off as I was, just better at keeping her emotions checked.
“Who would have wanted the ship shot down?” I asked the obvious question, while my stomach raged.
“The Cryons would benefit the most from it,” Lady Madeema pointed out.
“But how would they have known Sir Priough was aboard that ship?” I managed to hold on to enough clarity to mull this over, even through the red fog growing stronger inside my brain.
Lady Madeema didn’t reply, she only stared at me. Her silence gave me the same answer she had before, I don’t have that information yet.
“Frygg,” I yelled, my hand swiped out against a vase on one of the many pedestals decorating my chambers. “This is unbelievable!”
The vase flew across the room and shattered against one of the larger pillars so loud, I nearly didn’t hear the small scream coming from behind it.
However, Lady Madeema had. Controlled, she called out, “Guards!”
With a few strides, I reached the pillar, pulling out my sword, and moving around it, to stare into the face of one of the members of the species that had been weighing so heavily on my mind. Terrified, she cowered away from me. “Frygg!”
Guards entered, blasters drawn, “Your Imperial Highness!”
The merrily stared at me through strange, sapphire eyes. They were large on her face, giving her an innocent appearance.
“What are you doing here?” I snarled, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her up from her knees.
“Arrest her,” Lady Madeema ordered in a cold voice.
The merrily shook in my grip, her eyes beseeched me, and something strange happened inside me. The fire of fury that had been burning inside me cooled, instead a different anger grew, anger directed at Lady Madeema for giving orders in my chambers.
“Out!” I yelled. “All of you.”
I kept my grip on the merrily. “What are you doing in my chambers?”
“I—I—” she stuttered.
“Speak.”
Furtively she held up a violet scarf. “Lady Natoi left her scarf here earlier, she sent me to pick it up.”
She wasn’t lying about that. Lady Natoi had indeed been in my chamber earlier, in a valiant, but unsuccessful effort to convince me that mating her would benefit both our interests. Mostly hers, but I had refrained from pointing that out and had, I thought, rather nicely declined her offer and requested she leave.
“And you are?”
“Hea—ther. Heather Seymour,” she stuttered.
“How did you get in here?” I continued my interrogation, determined not to acknowledge the fact that this merrily had just accomplished the unthinkable: nobody had ever stopped one of my temper fits. Granted, it hadn’t fully broken out yet, but I had experienced it often enough to know when I was on the cusp of losing myself.
“I-I the guards let me in—but then you entered and I didn’t—I didn’t want to disturb you, so…”
“So you hunkered behind the pillar trying to figure a way out,” I concluded, slightly amused. I didn’t think the merrily had done anything nefarious, still, she overheard things she shouldn’t have.
“What did you hear?”
“I swear, I don’t know. I was so—nervous. Something about a ship and—” She interrupted herself and looked me in the eyes. “I’m so sorry your friend died, that’s terrible.”
That’s what she got out of this? I searched her eyes for any clue of deceit, but they were wide, and honest, and oh-so blue. So deep. Like a pool I could get lost in.
“It’s alright, he wasn’t really… a friend,” I amended, stretching the truth, well, lying. I had hated Sir Priough just as much as I hated King Crough. Still, his loss was a hard hit—just for a different reason than she assumed.
“You better return that scarf to Lady Natoi,” I finally said when we had stared at each other long enough.
She sent an uncertain, sideward glance at me, as if she worried I would call the guards in to have her arrested after all. I gave her an encouraging nod and something I hoped would pass as a smile. Smile? When was the last time I smiled?
By the door, I stopped her. “Heather Seymour of the humans.”
She turned once more, looking questioningly at me, clutching the scarf to her chest.
“I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t say anything about what you overheard here.”
She shook her head. “Cross my heart and hope to die,” she swore in a curious oath.
The door closed behind her. I would have to talk to the guards, but later, right now, my heart was too light. I frowned. Light? I shook my head, it would wait until my usual glum mood returned. Otherwise I would let the guards off too easy for allowing a stranger into my chambers, even if she was a merrily. At the very least they should have followed up and made sure she left my quarters before I got there.