Karis finished with Marin and sent her back to the wing. There was a brief scuffle which ended with Lynet being confined to her quarters and Marin a little bruised with a torn gown, but beyond that, no one was seriously hurt. The next day, Karis went into his council session expecting trouble. His ministers were all silent when he entered. “Your Imperial Majesty, we heard last night that you have imprisoned Her Imperial Majesty,” Wieland began.

“She is violent and unstable and is a threat to those around her.” Karis remained calm as he addressed his ministers. “I will not allow her to roam freely through the corridors.”

“Perhaps if you spent more time with her, she would not be quite so volatile.” Maaike gave him a pointed look.

“I am not spending more time with a madwoman. You do not spend time with a mad dog and not expect to get bitten.” Karis turned to the youngest member of the council. “Tamerlan, were you able to resolve all the issues with the budget I sent you?”

“I was, Your Imperial Majesty.” Tamerlan looked over something on his pad. “It took me the better part of the past several months to do it, but I was able to resolve all the deficiencies and cleared all the questionable expenditures. As you suspected, many of them were my predecessor moving funds around to satisfy the needs of Lord Vasco. I have cut him off from that and will continue to keep him cut off, so he will not be a drain on the Imperial treasury any longer.”

“That is good to hear, Tamerlan.” Karis leaned over and pressed a button on the panel next to him. “Have Lord Calvagh sent to the council chamber.”

“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty,” came Imre’s reply.

A short while later, Calvagh entered the room. He looked around with some interest. Karis fixed the first Minister of Transportation with a cool stare. “Lord Wieland, thank you for your years of service. But I believe it is time for you to retire. Lord Calvagh is here to take your place.”

“Your Imperial Majesty must be joking,” Wieland protested.

“I am deadly serious.” Karis’ voice dripped malice as he spoke, and Wieland paled. “Remove yourself from this council and from your chambers here in the palace by the end of the day, my lord. I believe you have a house in the city? You should retire there, or even back to your own homeworld now that you no longer are needed at court. You deserve peace and quiet after such a long and distinguished career in service.”

Wieland spluttered a bit but as Karis stared at him impassively, he stood, bowed, and left the room. Calvagh took his seat, and the council session continued. Things moved briskly after that, and the meeting ended on a high note for Karis. The councilors were all getting worried. This was two of their number that had been replaced now. How many more did Karis have in the wings that he could bring in?

Karis returned to his suite and worked until lunch, when he ate and then went to do his audiences. After the audiences, he spent the afternoon sparring with Narin and then returned to his rooms to dress for court. He wanted to call for Marin but knew he couldn’t spend multiple nights away from court.

The gossip that night was the fact that another minister had been replaced. How many more was the emperor going to get rid of? The power brokers were all of the mind he should get rid of them all. Vasco glowered as he heard that the ministers he controlled were being slowly picked off one by one. Karis hid his smirk. He was right to work slowly and patiently. It would be worth it in the end.

It took five times before he got the report that Marin was pregnant. He spent a week deciding on who he wanted to get pregnant next. Then he called for Angharad. It only took three tries to get her pregnant. Then the ladies all started their monthly cycles so he had to wait for a week before he could call for them again.

It was during this week that his council decided to act. “Your Imperial Majesty.” Hovan got his attention. He was their spokesman now that Vasco was no longer on the council. “We must insist that you leave aside your courtesans, reconcile with your wife, and get her pregnant. She should be the one who is the mother of your heir, not your courtesans.”

“I will not let that madwoman bear me a child.” Karis wasn’t backing down. “I will not sleep with her. She cannot be trusted.”

“Your Imperial Majesty, if you do not do as we say, we will no longer help you with the running of the empire.” Hovan smirked at Karis.

“It is not as if you do much right now anyway. I have been doing most of the work on my own for the past several months. I do not see how all of you quitting is going to make much of a difference.” Karis was privately amused. He’d been going around his council for so long to get things done, did they think it mattered to him if they stopped the little bit of help they gave him?

“Your Imperial Majesty, you cannot possibly run the empire on your own.” Hovan was clearly not expecting him to react the way he had.

“I will not get Lynet pregnant. If you feel so strongly that you cannot support me, by all means. Stop doing what little work you do. If that is all, then I suggest we go ahead and end this meeting as I am going to be too busy to entertain your little power games any longer.” He stood up and walked out of the room.

Karis returned to his chambers and picked up his pad. The two ministers he’d already replaced had sent him private messages saying they would still help him wherever they could. He thanked them and reached out to those in the departments he’d been working with previously and got his day’s work sent to him.

Karis worked straight through lunch. He stopped only for his audiences and then resumed. He worked until late at night, clearing everything out of the queue. He knew it would just fill up again the next day, but he felt he could handle it.

Once his courtesans were clear of their monthly cycles, he called for Zarina. Between nights at court, it took four tries to get her pregnant. Then he called for Ji-Hye. It took only two attempts to get her pregnant. Then he called for Renate. It took five times to get her pregnant. Then he had to wait for their monthly cycle to pass again. After it did, he called for Sayana.

He was in the process of reading a proposal from his new first Minister of Transportation when Sayana was shown in. He didn’t look up right away. He finished reading it. He agreed with what was proposed so he signed it and sent it off to be broadcast the next day. He tossed his pad aside and looked up.

Karis smiled. “My Sayana.” He rose to his feet. She took off her veil and waited for him. He came over to her and kissed her passionately. “I have missed you, my heart.”

“I’ve missed you too, Karis.” Sayana was more than a little breathless because of the kiss. “Why did you save me for last?”

“Because I wanted to take as much time as possible with you.” Karis held her close. “Though I know we will only have as long as it takes for you to get pregnant. I love you too much to wish this to be over with quickly.”

“It will be over as quickly as my body makes it be over.” He could hear the regret in her voice.

“I know.” Karis felt the same as she did. “But that is not for us to worry about right now. Tell me, do you have names picked out?”

“I do.” He led her over to the couch. He sat down beside her and held her hands. “Ethian for our son and Ismaeli for our daughter.”

“I think you have mentioned the name Ethian before.” Karis thought she’d told him about someone in her life with that name once.

“My brother who died.” Sayana smiled tremulously. “I loved him dearly and want to name our son after him.”

“I think that is a wonderful idea.” Karis knew he wasn’t going to honor his father that way. “Where did you come up with the name Ismaeli?”

“It was my mother’s name. I wanted to honor her in some way as well.” Sayana watched him anxiously.

“Ethian and Ismaeli.” Karis turned the names over in his mind. “I wholeheartedly approve. You ladies are finding all sorts of interesting and appealing names for our children. I have not objected to any of the names chosen, and I was not sure I was going to like anything Angharad picked.”

Sayana laughed. “She went through the naming books carefully. She was determined to find the best names she could.”

“Well, I am glad she found something she liked in those things.” Karis laughed as well. “I thought about naming the children myself but ended up deciding that there were too many to choose from for me to choose six boy names and six girl names. I figured you were their mothers so it would be better if you named them yourselves.”

“We appreciate the opportunity to name our own children.” Sayana was echoing what the other women had said, and it pleased Karis to know she was happy about it.

“I do not know if my mother named me, or if my father chose my name.” Karis shrugged. “Mother never told me. I think it is important for you to have as many bonds with these babies as possible.”

“The more bonds, the better. We’ll be able to raise them easier if we have strong ties to them.” Sayana was pensive and Karis wanted to draw her out, to see her smile again.

“That is what I figured.” Karis ran a finger along her jaw. “Now, tell me what you have been reading. You must have been reading something other than naming books this entire time.”

Sayana smiled broadly. “I have been reading other things.” Then she was off, describing a book she’d read. Karis listened to her talk, interjecting comments periodically but mostly letting her do most of the talking.

Imre came in. “Your Imperial Majesty, it is getting quite late.”

“So it is.” Karis rose and held out his hand. Sayana smiled sweetly and took it. He led her to his bedroom. Servants stripped them and they climbed into his bed. Karis drew it out for as long as possible, but the conclusion was inevitable.

He held her for a few minutes before calling his servants back in to help her dress. Imre returned and helped Karis dress for bed. Karis walked Sayana to the door. He kissed her hand. “Good night, Karis.” Her voice was soft, almost too soft to be heard above the environmentals.

“Good night, my heart.” His voice was just as quiet. She turned and left the room.

It took three weeks and four tries to get Sayana pregnant. When he got the report that their activities had resulted in what he’d hoped for, Karis felt a stab of pain. He wouldn’t be able to call for her again for a very long time. He knew it was for the best. He would not risk any of them and their children by calling them to him, least of all Sayana. But it meant that he was going to be deprived of her company for more than a year.

It was a few days later when Karis decided to go visit Arken. It was late. The ladies would all be in bed. He wanted to know how the women were doing. He made his way through the corridors to the courtesan’s wing. He walked into Arken’s office. “Your Imperial Majesty.” Arken rose and bowed.

“How are they?” Karis leaned against the wall.

“Lonely and a little bored.” Arken sighed. “But they understand the necessity of not being called for now. They are very protective of their unborn children, Your Imperial Majesty.” He resumed his seat.

Sayana appeared in Arken’s office, to the surprise of both men. “Sayana? What did your servants have to tell you that has you in my office at this time of night?” Arken asked.

Sayana bowed to Karis. “My servants told me of a conflict between the council and Lord Vasco, Lord Arken. He is reaching out to them, asking them to pressure His Imperial Majesty to restore him to the council. He is also trying to borrow money to work a plot to ensure the deaths of our children, but no one is willing to loan him the money. My servants say he is getting desperate, and it’s anyone’s guess what a desperate man in his position might do.”

“I have people watching him.” Karis decided to send a message to Tamas to check on those watchers. “I will put more watchers on him and his private secretary, because if he does anything he may act through an intermediary. We will keep you safe, Sayana.”

“I’m more worried for our children now than I am for us.” Sayana was truly frightened.

“I will keep an eye on my doctors as well.” Karis wanted to hold her, to soothe those fears. “I will not let anything happen to you or your babies.”

“Thank you, Your Imperial Majesty.” She didn’t seem as relieved by his reassurances as he’d hoped.

Karis walked over and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He wanted to do more but held back in front of Arken. “You are very brave to come and tell us all you know, Sayana.” He breathed deep of the scent of her hair. “Thank you.”

“I feel it’s my duty to inform you when my servants tell me something that could possibly hurt me and the other women.” Sayana leaned against him slightly. He released her and she stepped back.

“Sayana, you should go get some sleep.” Arken watched them both. “With as early as you get up, staying up too late is rough on you.”

“I agree.” Sayana bowed and left the room.

“I will increase the watchers I have on Vasco and his secretary.” Karis watched her go. “If that man does anything, I want to know before he can cause harm to the ladies or their children.”

“A good idea, Your Imperial Majesty.” Arken glanced at something on his desk. “I will put Davyd on servant watch again. If someone tries to subvert the wing’s servants, I will know about it before they can do anything.”

“Good.” Karis returned his attention to the courtesan master. “I want the ladies to have as stress-free a pregnancy as possible, Arken. Try to keep their spirits up.”

“I will do my best.” Arken paused. “Your Imperial Majesty, I would not say this in front of the others, but you do have a favorite and I think I know who she is. It is Sayana.”

Karis ran his fingers through his hair. “I will trust you to keep that a secret, Arken. But yes, Sayana is my favorite. I love her. I would have married her if the council had not forced me to marry Lynet. I will marry her when I rid myself of Vasco, the council, and Lynet.”

“Will her son be your heir?” Arken had hit upon the one thing that Karis hadn’t even told Imre.

“If she has a son, yes he will be my heir.” Karis sighed. “If she has a daughter, and one of the others has a son I will have to choose one of them to be my heir. Do not tell the ladies any of this, Arken. I do not want any of them taking this out on Sayana.”

“I will say nothing to any of them.” Arken gave him a solemn nod. “Not even to Sayana. She does not need the added stress of knowing she is the potential mother to the heir to the throne.”

Karis nodded. “Well, I know you are busy, Arken. And that you often stay up late to complete your work. I have kept you from it for long enough. I appreciate you easing my mind on the ladies.”

“My pleasure, Your Imperial Majesty.” Arken smiled. Karis turned and left the courtesan wing. He returned to his chambers to find Imre waiting for him.

“You didn’t tell me you were going wandering, Your Imperial Majesty.” Imre fixed him with an angry stare.

“I went to check on my ladies.” Karis winced. He knew he was supposed to tell Imre where he was going. “I am sorry I did not tell you.”

“I saw your guards were gone so I knew you hadn’t gone anywhere without protection.” Imre glared at him. “But still, it would have been better if you’d notified me you were going to the courtesan wing.”

“I will remember that the next time I decide to go wandering, Imre.” Karis tried to reassure the man that he wouldn’t do it again. He so seldom left his rooms without telling Imre that it was a huge issue when he did.

“I appreciate that, Your Imperial Majesty.” Imre appeared mollified. “Are you planning on staying up any later?”

Karis checked his pad and saw a few documents waiting. “Not much later. I just need to take care of these last few bits of work.”

“All right.’ Imre took up his usual post. Karis processed the last few documents and then let Imre call for Adem and Lucan and went to bed.