Thwack! Karis winced as Narin’s foot connected with his ribs. “Not fast enough,” she panted.

Karis dodged her follow up blow and dropped down to sweep her feet while she was still off balance. She jumped back and aimed a blow at his face. Karis rolled backwards and kicked up back onto his feet. She rushed him, and he dodged again, aiming a blow for the back of her head. This time he connected, and she stumbled a little. He swept her feet again and this time she went down.

“Very good, Your Imperial Highness.” She rolled to her feet. “You’re improving, though you’re still leaving your left side open.”

Karis grimaced. Four years of training with her and he still had problems leaving his left side open too much. Vespasian would not be pleased with that. Then again, he still wasn’t pleased with anything regarding his son, so Karis wasn’t too worried about it.

“I do not know why. I am still practicing in my free time,” he told her.

“You’re tired. It’s bound to happen. Walk to cool off and then go back to your rooms. We’ll try something different tomorrow,” Narin told him with a sympathetic smile.

Karis walked a few laps and then returned to his room and called for Adem. “You’ve got dinner with the court tonight, Your Imperial Highness,” Adem reminded him

“I know, and I am running late. Pull out the amber outfit while I go sluice off. No sense on going smelling of sweat.” Karis started towards the bathroom.

“You wore the amber a few days ago, Your Imperial Highness,” Adem told him.

“I did?” Karis frowned. It was so hard to keep track of what he had and hadn’t worn. Adem nodded. “Pick me something then. I will be out in a few minutes.”

Karis took his shower and cleaned himself up. He dried off and wrapped himself in a robe before walking out into his room. Adem had a medium blue outfit. “You haven’t worn this one in months, not since you first had it made.”

“I forgot I even had that one. It will do. Thank you, Adem.” The servant helped him dress. Karis styled his hair back, put on the coronet, and then joined his guards.

The guards escorted Karis to the antechamber outside the great hall. Vespasian was already there. Vespasian scowled at his son. “Could you not find something more appropriate to wear?”

“This is perfectly appropriate, Father,” Karis replied coolly. “It is in style, not garishly colorful, and in good condition.”

“I see you still have done nothing about that ridiculous growth on your face,” Vespasian muttered.

“There is nothing ridiculous about it.” They were let into the great hall and took their seats. Karis watched as the rest of the court filtered in and took their seats.

“When are you going to cut your hair?” Vespasian snapped.

“I am not.” Karis knew his cool, neutral answers were annoying his father, but he’d learned that was the best defense to these constant attacks on his appearance. If he got heated his father would escalate and it would get out of hand quickly.

“Excuse me, Your Imperial Majesty, but His Imperial Highness is cutting quite a swathe through the young ladies of the court,” Vasco commented from his position a few seats down from the emperor. “I have heard quite a few of them favor his current appearance, though he has never spoken a word to any of them.”

“At least he exercises good sense in something.” Vespasian scowled. His father never could maintain the neutral mask that was required of courtiers. It was something remarked on often in the court.

“I have no interest in the young ladies of the court.” Karis shook his head. “I am too busy.”

“At least your priorities are straight.” Vespasian gave his approval grudgingly. “You put your duties above your personal life. That is how it should be.”

“Yes Father.” Karis squashed the impulse to roll his eyes at his father. It wasn’t because he was prioritizing his duties. It was simply because he really was too busy to pay attention to anything other than his studies and his training.

Karis stayed quiet as the adults talked around him, listening and only speaking if someone asked him a direct question. He kept his answers vague as he’d been taught so nothing he said could be used against him and his father.

“Tell me, Your Imperial Highness,” a gaunt high lord asked. “What do you think of your studies? Do you enjoy them?”

“I take great satisfaction in my studies.” Karis felt relatively safe being honest there.

“I see.” The man nodded as if Karis had given him the wisdom of the universe.

He brushed off a few more questions as the courses went on, and then the dinner ended and he was dismissed. His father didn’t make him stay and mingle with the court afterwards. Karis knew that as emperor he would have to sit through at least some of the gossip and power maneuvering, but his father didn’t want him to deal with that right now. When he was a little older, he’d be expected to take his place in that deadly dance, but Vespasian felt he was too inexperienced to manage it right now.

Karis escaped from the dining hall, which had become quite warm due to the press of bodies. To his surprise, his guards weren’t waiting for him. He felt a little uneasy walking back to his quarters without them. He waved down a servant and sent him in search of his missing guards.

As he stood there, a man approached him. Karis’ hackles went up and instinctively he shifted his position. The man lunged forward, a blade in hand. Karis dodged out of the way, his hand flashing to his back. His own vibroblade came out and was active immediately. The assassin blinked in surprise but lunged again. Karis dodged and slashed at the assassin, taking him by surprise again. He managed a cut on the man’s arm.

The assassin snarled and made a flurry of attacks. Karis had been trained for this and dodged or blocked all of them. He saw his opening and rammed his knife into the man’s ribcage. The assassin gasped and fell to the floor just as Karis’ guards came up.

“Your Imperial Highness, what happened?” one of them asked.

“I was attacked.” Karis was angry. This shouldn’t have happened. His guards should have been there to deal with it, not him.

“His Imperial Majesty will have to be told.” The second guard scanned the hall, looking for further assassins.

A servant was sent into the great hall to fetch Vespasian. He came out and looked down at the dead body. “It is a good thing you two were there to protect my son,” he commented coldly.

“We weren’t here, Your Imperial Majesty,” the first guard told him. “No one came to get us to tell us the meal was over. His Imperial Highness defeated the assassin on his own.”

“My son? He killed the assassin?” Vespasian asked, somewhat startled.

“Yes Father,” Karis snapped. “I killed the assassin. That is what you have had Trainer Wil beating into me for the past four years, is it not? The ability to defend myself when my guards are not present or are incapacitated? I have learned my lessons well.” He cleaned his blade off on the dead man’s shirt and sheathed it.

“I see.” Vespasian looked at another Imperial guard who stood in the hall. “Why did you not step in to help my son?” The man did not move or speak. Vespasian walked up to him and looked him over. “Dead. How could an assassin take him out and be beaten by my son?”

“He was taken by surprise. I was not.” Karis’ heart was racing, and his hands were shaking.

“You are telling me you recognized an assassin when my trained Imperial guard did not?” Vespasian asked with some heat.

“The assassin could have come in cloaked, Your Imperial Majesty,” the first of Karis’ guards pointed out. “He wouldn’t have known what hit him. The man who attacked His Imperial Highness might not have been working alone.”

“Where is the other guard that should have been standing watch with this man?” Vespasian demanded.

“Here, Your Imperial Majesty.” He came limping down the hall dragging a body with him. “I was chasing the man who killed him.”

“There were two assassins, and one of them killed one of my Imperial guards while the other attempted to kill my son.” Vespasian’s voice was cold and hard as he glared at everyone. “I am not pleased by this turn of events. You two, escort the prince back to his chambers. Do not leave his side.”

“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.” The guards stepped into place beside Karis.

“I will find out why you were not notified the meal was ending,” Vespasian told them. He turned on his heel and strode back into the great hall.

“Your Imperial Highness, were you injured?” the first of his guards asked.

Karis checked himself over. “No, I seem to have escaped injury this time.”

“Then you’d better come with us.” The guards led him away from the great hall.

Karis followed his guards back to his room. He waited until he was inside before collapsing onto the couch and burying his face in his hands. He had just killed a man. Granted, that man had wanted to kill him. But Karis had never taken a life before. He’d never really fought before, just sparred with Narin in their training sessions. He felt nauseous.

Over and over again he replayed the scene in his head until at last his stomach rebelled and he ran for the bathroom, losing all the contents of his stomach. He heard someone at his door but couldn’t answer it.

A pair of hands steadied him. It was Narin. His guards must have let her in when he didn’t answer. “Easy, Your Imperial Highness. Take slow, deep breaths.”

Karis did as she said and soon the nausea subsided. She got him a glass of water, and he rinsed his mouth out. He blew his nose and went and sat down. “I take it you heard?” he croaked.

“Your father sent me to see if you were all right.” Narin looked at him with some concern.

“Not really,” Karis admitted. “However, I would appreciate it if you did not tell him you caught me throwing up. I would probably get a lecture, and possibly a beating, for being too soft.”

“I won’t say a word, Your Imperial Highness,” Narin promised. “You’re not injured though, correct?”

“No, I managed to keep my left side from going wide open in that fight for a change and did not sustain any injuries,” Karis assured her.

“That’s good to hear.” Relief suffused her features. “At least what I’ve been trying to teach you came through when you most needed it.”

“I killed a man, Trainer Wil.” Karis looked up at her with haunted eyes. “I know he was trying to kill me. I know it was him or me. But still, I killed a man.”

“It’s never easy the first time you take a life,” Narin said softly. “I threw up the first time I killed someone. I won’t tell His Imperial Majesty how it’s affecting you, because he’d probably just give you a lecture, and possibly a beating, on how soft you are. That’s not what you need.”

“I will not believe my father was not adversely affected the first time he killed a man.” Karis glowered at the door. “He just will not admit to it.”

“No, he won’t.” Narin shook her head. “And he expects you to be the same way. He expects you to bottle it up, to hide your feelings and to never show them. I don’t understand that way of thinking. I never have. I would recommend hiding those feelings around him, but feel free to express them to me if you need to since he’s stopped watching our practice sessions so closely.”

“He might start again now that I have actually had to use what you taught me,” Karis pointed out. “Not to mention the servants might talk.”

“True.” Narin frowned. “I didn’t think about that. If you need to talk to me about it, send your servant to get me. I can always tell His Imperial Majesty we’re discussing tactics in the evening if you need someone to let loose on about this.”

“Thank you, Trainer Wil.” Karis knew she was one of the only people he could rely on to not betray him to his father.

“You’re a good person, Your Imperial Highness” Narin rested a hand on his shoulder. “That’s a liability in your father’s world, but not in mine. I hope you understand that I’ve been hard on you because I want to keep you alive.”

“Your lessons kept me alive tonight.” Karis looked up at her. “I appreciate everything you have taught me.”

“Now, I know you don’t want to think about it but tell me what you can remember about the fight.” Narin sat down in a chair near him. “If you feel nauseous again, stop and take some deep breaths.”

“All right.” He told her about the series of events from the time he walked out of the dining hall to the point his guards had arrived, stopping for deep breaths a couple of times. “Then father came out and that is when we found out one of the Imperial guards at the door to the dining hall was dead and the other one had gone after his killer, which was why there was no one in the hall to defend me when the second assassin arrived.”

“I see.” Narin looked thoughtful. “You did very well, Your Imperial Highness. I think His Imperial Majesty was impressed, though you’ll never hear him say so.”

“I know he will never say so.” Bitterness dripped from every word as Karis spoke. “He will probably have some scathing comment over how I fought or what I did. I know you do not like criticism of my father, Trainer Wil, but it is the truth. He will find any excuse to criticize me.”

“I’ll overlook it tonight because you’re probably not far off.” Narin sighed. “The fact that you not only took on an assassin but survived unscathed should be enough for him to accept the fact that you are not the incompetent young man he seems to think you are.”

“I am not the perfect copy of him that he wants. I will never be anything but incompetent in his eyes,” Karis reminded her.

“I don’t think any of us want you to be a perfect copy of him, Your Imperial Highness,” Narin told him with a wry grin. “One man like your father is more than enough. We’ve had two, him and your grandfather. Having a third would have been one too many.”

“Then I am glad I am nothing like my father.” Karis closed his eyes and willed the nausea to end.

The door slid open, and Vespasian walked in. Karis opened his eyes. “Is he injured?” he asked.

“No, Your Imperial Majesty.” Narin stood and bowed. “We were just going over his performance this evening.”

“I see.” Vespasian gestured. “You may go, Narin.”

“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.” She gave Karis a sympathetic look from behind Vespasian’s back before striding out the door.

“I find myself surprised that you were able to take on an assassin and win, boy,” Vespasian began.

“Why? Has Trainer Wil not been keeping you up to date on my progress?” Karis glared at his father.

“She has, but in truth I have not believed her.” Vespasian frowned. “I thought she was being soft on you.”

“She is many things, Father.” Karis scowled. “Soft is not one of them.”

“You should have tried to disarm him instead of killing him so we could question him.” Vespasian glared at his son.

“I will remember that next time someone is coming at me full force with a blade and trying to kill me, Father.” Karis’ hold over his temper began to fray. “That you would rather I put my life at risk to disarm them rather than deal with the problem decisively.”

“That is not what I am saying, boy,” Vespasian snapped angrily.

“It was either him or me, Father.” Karis surged to his feet. “I was not going to stand around and try to disarm a man who was intent on my death. I acted in the way I have been trained. If you do not like it, you should have had Trainer Wil teach me how to disarm, not kill.”

“Are you saying I am at fault here?” Vespasian’s eyes narrowed.

“You are blaming me for a man’s death when it was necessary, Father.” Karis’ voice dropped to a growl. “You would rather I put myself at risk of injury or death to disarm him instead of dealing decisively with the issue. I am sorry it has robbed you of the chance to send someone to the torturers, which I know you enjoy so much, but I am not going to stand there and get stabbed just so you can satisfy your lust for torture.”

Vespasian’s blow knocked him to the ground. “Do you think I enjoy sending people to the torturers?” he bellowed.

“You do it so often, you must get some satisfaction out of it.” Karis rolled to his feet and glared down at his father. Vespasian took a step back so he could look his son in the eye.

“I send traitors and suspected assassins to the torturers so I can find out who they are working with.” Vespasian’s tone was cold and just as angry as Karis’. “How else am I supposed to get that information? My investigation bureau can only do so much. You will find that out for yourself when you are the emperor. You have to resort to cruelty at times in order to illicit answers.”

“That may be, but not every time someone so much as breathes the word assassin at me.” Karis pointed out the door. “How many innocent people have you sent to the torturers? I know of at least six just this past week. Those six are now crippled and will live out their lives knowing that the emperor listens to rumors and believes everything he hears and did not even do basic investigation before he sent them to be tortured for answers they could not give.”

“Do you think I have time and the resources to investigate everything that is presented to me?” Vespasian roared.

“Yes, I do,” Karis snapped. “You just will not take that time and effort. You prefer to use cruelty when a little patience is all that is needed to resolve an issue.” Vespasian struck Karis again, but this time Karis only staggered back a step. “Is this your answer to everything, Father? Violence? Cruelty? Anger? Do you not have another thought in your head?”

Vespasian glared at his son for a moment before storming out of the room. Karis collapsed onto the couch, his legs gone weak from nerves. He’d challenged his father plenty of times over the past several years, earned beatings for it many times as well, but he’d never outright pushed him as far as he had tonight.

Adem came in a short while later. “Your Imperial Highness, are you all right?” he asked, noticing how pale and shaken Karis looked.

“Not really, Adem.” His voice was shaking, and he felt sick to his stomach. “I survived an assassination attempt tonight, and I angered my father worse than anything I have ever done. I have no idea what that is going to lead to.”

“His Imperial Majesty never returned to court this evening.” Adem poured him a glass of wine and handed it to him. Karis drank half of it in one swallow. “Otniel is saying he’s in a rage and is in the practice area taking his temper out on the guards. He went back to his chambers only to change out of his finery and then left again to go spar. They haven’t seen him this angry since Kaelea lost her first child to an assassin three years before you were born, Your Imperial Highness.”

“I never knew mother had another child before me.” Karis was surprised by that bit of information. His mother had never mentioned he wasn’t an only child.

“It was a boy named Aleks, Your Imperial Highness.” Adem frowned. “I don’t know the whole story. It was before I came to court to serve. But from what I’ve managed to get from the other servants, an assassin cloaked and slipped into the courtesan wing and poisoned the child. They were never caught. Kaelea was beside herself with grief and His Imperial Majesty was very angry.”

“That is not too surprising. Father would be angry over an assassin taking away a possession.” Karis knew that neither he nor his brother were anything but possessions to his father. There wasn’t an ounce of love in that man’s heart for anyone.

“Your Imperial Highness,” Adem protested. “He does love you in his own way. I’m sure he does.”

Karis snorted. “I doubt that. To him I am nothing more than the heir he has to deal with because his sisters are all courtesans, and he has no other sons to take my place. I am the only heir to the throne. If there was anyone else, he would get rid of me faster than anything, Adem. He has made that clear enough with his actions towards me.”

“I don’t believe it, Your Imperial Highness.” Adem looked concerned. “Why else would he be in fighting with the guards if he wasn’t angry over the assassination attempt on you tonight?”

“He is angry because I stood up to him and challenged him more than I usually do.” Karis took another swallow of wine. “I said some things he did not want to hear, and it made him angry. I am going to catch hell for it tomorrow, when he has calmed down enough to think of a suitable punishment for me. I expect he will show up at my practice and attempt to drive me into the mats again.”

“Your Imperial Highness, I think you’re wrong.” Adem had a thoughtful look on his face. “You may have angered him by standing up to him, but I think in secret His Imperial Majesty is proud of that. No one stands up to him. We’re all too afraid of him. You’re not. You’re willing to stand your ground and defy him even when you know it’ll get you into trouble. That’s got to earn his respect.”

“I doubt I will ever earn anything but his disdain, Adem.” Karis shook his head. “But thank you for trying to cheer me up.” He finished the wine. “I think I am ready for bed. It has been a very rough night, and I just want to put it behind me.”

“Yes, Your Imperial Highness.” Adem helped Karis get changed and took the empty wine glass before leaving. Karis climbed into bed. He palmed off the light and closed his eyes. Tired as he was, sleep came quickly but not without nightmares.