“What do you mean they are gone?” Karis demanded as Arken stood in front of him, a distressed look on his face.

“I went to deal with a matter of some urgency and when I returned, all six of them and the princes were gone.” Arken gestured dramatically with his hands. “The Imperial guard could not tell me where they had gone because there was a disturbance at the other end of the corridor, and they went to investigate. I checked their rooms. Some of their clothing is missing, as are their pads. The ladies left willingly, and I have no idea of where they went or how they could possibly have gotten out without being caught and sent back to the wing.”

“They had help. That is the only answer. Who would help them? Where would they go?” Karis slammed his hand into the table. “Damn it, I want answers. Imre, get me Tamas. Now.”

“At once, Your Imperial Majesty.” Imre sent the message.

“I am so sorry, Your Imperial Majesty.” Arken looked defeated. “I have failed you.”

“You did nothing wrong, Arken.” Karis didn’t want the man believing he was at fault. There was more going on here than either of them knew. “Someone set this up. I am willing to bet you were pulled out of the wing to facilitate the removal of the women and the boys. You could not have stopped this without ignoring that urgent matter, which would have probably led to something even worse if you had left it to someone else to deal with.”

“Tremere is out prospecting new suppliers for certain goods for me.” Arken pulled out his pad and sent off a quick message as he spoke. “I will have him keep his eyes open for any sign of them.”

“Thank you, Arken.” Karis sighed. “Go back to the wing. The best thing you can do is keep things in order until the ladies return.”

“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.” Arken left, still looking very dejected.

Tamas arrived a short while later. “How can I help, Your Imperial Majesty?”

“Someone managed to get into my courtesan wing and spirited my ladies and my sons away.” Karis glared at the man. “I want to know who and how. Above all, I want to know where they are.”

“I’m on it, Your Imperial Majesty.” Tamas had an alarmed expression on his face. “I’ll have to pull some agents off the Vasco case, but I will put everyone I can in the field to find them.”

“Do it.” Karis waved his hand in approval. “I want answers, Tamas. I want them as fast as you can find them for me.”

“I will be as quick as I can, Your Imperial Majesty.” Tamas bowed and hurried out of the room.

“Who would have the authority to get the women out of the wing and not be questioned?” Karis pursed his lips in thought. “Who would they trust enough to follow? I cannot think of anyone they would believe other than me with that kind of power.”

“The empress has that kind of authority, Your Imperial Majesty,” Imre pointed out.

“Yes, and my ladies despise her.” Karis dismissed the idea out of hand. “They would not have followed her out of the wing. Unless you can think of a good reason for them to do so.”

“I can’t think of any reason why they would,” Imre admitted. “I was merely pointing out that since you let her out of her chambers, she is the only other person with the kind of authority to get them out of the compound and not be questioned.”

“I do not think it was her.” Karis drummed his fingers on his pad. “It had to be someone else.”

Two days later, Tamas still didn’t know who had helped the women escape the palace. There were plenty of witnesses who saw them leave once he started digging, but no one who admitted to knowing anything. The guards at the gate said they were under orders to let them go but couldn’t say where those orders came from. They didn’t know. They just knew that they had come across the desk of the sergeant on duty that morning and he’d accepted them, thinking they’d come from the emperor.

Their servants all said the women seemed quite distracted for the few days before they vanished, but none of them would say what was disturbing them. A check of the Imperial archives’ records showed the women had been researching poisons. Had someone threatened to poison them, and they’d fled? Why wouldn’t they tell Arken about it?

“It doesn’t make sense.” Tamas was giving Karis the latest report on the fourth day since their disappearance. “Those women are all highly intelligent, very sensible, and not prone to simply panicking at the slightest provocation. I can’t see what they were thinking that would have made them flee like this, Your Imperial Majesty.”

“And you still have not found them.” Karis wasn’t asking. He knew the answer already.

“No, Your Imperial Majesty.” Tamas was clearly frustrated. “We’ve confirmed that most of them went to the port through security footage. Unfortunately, there is no record of what worlds they went to. They somehow had the funds to buy tickets and boarded liners for various locations, but we don’t know where they went.”

“How did they get the money?” Karis was startled. “I did not give it to them.”

“We don’t know, Your Imperial Majesty.” Tamas raised his hands in defeat. “We don’t know how much was on their chits, where they got it from, or how they got those chits to begin with. We assume they were given to them by the person or persons who helped them flee the palace. Until we can identify who that was, we won’t know anything.”

“You have had no luck with that either, have you?” Karis saw the frustration grow.

“No, Your Imperial Majesty.” Tamas showed him the report on his pad. “The security footage for that part of the palace seems to have been deleted. From the time Lord Arken left the wing to the time he returned, there is nothing.”

“Only a few people have the authority to delete security footage.” Karis knew who they all were as well. He hadn’t thought any of them would betray him.

“I know, Your Imperial Majesty.” Tamas looked at the short list of names. “None of them have the ability to manufacture the kind of complex escape plan for the women that was conceived. I simply do not have any answers for you yet. I’m still working on it though. I will not give up.”

“Thank you, Tamas. I want my ladies and my sons back.” Karis got up and began to pace.

“We’ll find them, Your Imperial Majesty.” Tamas bowed and left the room.

“Forgive me, Your Imperial Majesty.” Imre looked at him apologetically. “Her Imperial Majesty wishes a word with you.”

“What does she want now?” Karis sighed. “All right. Let her in. I can spare her a few minutes.”

Lynet sailed into the room. “Have you found them yet?”

“No, Lynet.” Karis was annoyed by her question. “We have not found them yet.”

“I didn’t think it would be that hard for you to find them.” Lynet glared at him. “When you do find them, I hope you’ll finally see that they’re not capable of raising their sons in any way that’s proper for the Imperial princes and will give them to me.”

“I have no intention of separating them from their sons, even after they are found.” Karis continued pacing, ignoring her incredulous look. “Though I will have some hard questions for my ladies when I do find them.”

“That’s not fair.” Lynet’s voice went up an octave. “They’ve proven they’re unstable and unreliable by leaving. You should give their sons to me to raise. That was the whole point.”

Karis didn’t miss her final statement. “The whole point of what, Lynet?”

Lynet blanched. “Nothing. I didn’t mean anything by that.”

“I think you did.” Karis stopped pacing and his voice went low and cold. “I think you know precisely what happened to my ladies.” He turned to Imre. “Get my guards. Now.”

“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.” Imre hurried to the hall and summoned the Imperial guards. Two of them entered the room.

“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty?” the first guard asked.

“Take the empress to the inquisitors.” Karis glared at his wife. Lynet let out a gasp of horror. “Have them do a full psychic scan on her. I want to know what she knows about the disappearance of my courtesans.”

“You can’t do that.” Lynet began to shake. “I’m your wife. I’m the empress.”

“You are also now suspected of being complicit in the disappearance of the Imperial princes. I will know the truth, Lynet. Be grateful I am not sending you to the torture chamber.” The guards slapped restraints on her and dragged her off. Lynet whimpered and shook as they pulled her through the door and down the hall.

“I did suggest in the beginning that Her Imperial Majesty had something to do with this,” Imre reminded him.

“You did, and I did not believe she was clever enough to orchestrate it.” Karis stared at the closed door. “But if she did have something to do with this, there will be no saving her. I will have her executed for treason.”

“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.” There was a look on Imre’s face that said he’d be glad to see her gone. Karis felt the same.

It was several hours later when Tamas arrived in his office. “Your Imperial Majesty, our psychics have finished their examination of the empress.”

“Where is she?” Karis needed to know if what he feared was true.

“Based on what we learned, we thought it best to leave her locked in a cell in the prison,” Tamas told him grimly.

“Explain please.” Karis’ hands tightened on his pad.

“She is responsible for the disappearance of the Imperial courtesans and the Imperial princes.” Tamas pulled up the report on his pad. “She found reference to a poison called athala which would leave the courtesans untouched but would kill the princes and leave no trace in their bodies. She devised a plan to convince the courtesans that the council planned on using athala to poison the princes to force you to have a child with her. She manufactured their exodus and gave them the money to pay for their escape. She took it from a little used account in the Imperial budget where no one was likely to notice its disappearance for some time. She intended for you to find them and to use their defection to prove that they were unfit mothers and force you to give their sons to her to raise. We also learned, Your Imperial Majesty, that if they’d gone to Lord Arken with her tale, she’d have used that same account in the budget and bought the athala herself and poisoned the princes.”

“How does athala work?” Karis had never heard of this poison, and he knew about several that were common in the court.

“When an adult ingests it, it leads to nausea and dizziness but has no other effects.” Tamas referenced something else on his pad. “When a breastfeeding mother ingests it, the poison is transferred through her breastmilk to her child, and the child has no defenses against the poison. They die within a day. We looked it up when we found the name. I have my inquisitors searching her rooms for further evidence of her crime.”

“Would the poison not be easy to detect in the infant’s corpse?” Karis knew most poisons were easily detectable and couldn’t see why this one wouldn’t be the same.

“No, Your Imperial Majesty.” Tamas shook his head. “That’s what makes athala so insidious. It breaks down into calcium and magnesium an hour after death. Unless the autopsy is performed moments after the infant dies, there is no trace of the poison to be discovered.”

“Does the poison linger in the mother’s system?” Karis wanted to know.

“It also breaks down into calcium and magnesium an hour after she’s been poisoned.” Tamas scowled. “Athala is a very dangerous poison. It’s also very rare and very expensive. It’s doubtful Her Imperial Majesty would have been able to secure enough to kill all six princes, as it only grows on Othathea and must be harvested at a certain time each year. Those flowers are not easy to find and the people of Othathea often kill the plants when they do find them because of how dangerous athala is.”

“I see.” Karis set his pad down before he did damage to it. “Thank you. I will wait for your final report. Keep Lynet locked in her cell. Let no one in to speak with her.”

“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.” Tamas turned and left.

“What would have made them trust Lynet?” Karis looked at Imre. “I know they did not like her. She must have been very convincing.”

“The fact that the poison exists could have been proof enough for your ladies.” Imre regarded him solemnly. “Her Imperial Majesty is not known for being well-read.”

“Send for one of the Imperial doctors. I want to know if my ladies were ill in any way.” Karis was concerned.

“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.” Imre sent the message. Karis continued to brood over the situation until the doctor arrived.

Karis laid out what Tamas had told him. “Is it possible the courtesans were ill and that iswhy they believed what Lynet told them?”

“Your Imperial Majesty, your courtesans were in excellent physical health.” The Imperial doctor looked thoughtful. “However, their mental health may have been affected by the birth of their sons. Post-partum mental disorders are common, especially in new mothers. They can last for several months and have unknown effects on the mental stability of the young woman in question. It is very possible that your courtesans were suffering from one of the post-partum mental maladies and were taken in by Her Imperial Majesty’s lies because of that.”

“It is possible my ladies were not entirely in their right minds when Lynet confronted them with this tale.” That was both a relief and made Karis even more concerned about their safety.

“I find it highly likely that they weren’t.” The Imperial doctor was as concerned as he was. “For I have never met a group of more intelligent, sensible women in my life, Your Imperial Majesty. It makes no sense to me why they would believe Her Imperial Majesty and why they would not go to Lord Arken or to you with this tale.”

Karis nodded. “Thank you. That puts my mind at ease, somewhat. I am now concerned about what they are doing out there, but at least I know that they did not just buy into Lynet’s lies because she was overly convincing.” The doctor bowed and left.

Tamas reported to Karis a couple hours later. “Your Imperial Majesty, we’ve gone through the empress’ chambers. We found several references to athala in some papers of hers, as well as messages to various members of the guard detailing what they needed to do on the day the courtesans vanished. We also found where she’d accessed the Imperial treasury on her pad and siphoned off six million credits from a little used account.”

“At least I know my ladies have plenty of money.” That was a relief. “Did you see any sign that she had found a source for the athala?”

“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.” Tamas grimly accessed something on his pad. “She’d already been in contact with someone who claimed he could sell her enough athala to kill four of the six infants. She was arguing with him that she needed enough to kill all six.”

“I see.” Karis’ temper flared. “You have collected all this evidence against her?”

“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.” Tamas nodded. “It is in a file for anyone to see, along with what was taken from her by the psychic.”

“Then I am left with no option.” Karis picked up his pad and tapped something in. “Lynet will be executed tomorrow morning for the attempted murder of the Imperial princes.”

“Will you be publicizing her death, Your Imperial Majesty?” Tamas waited for his answer.

“No, I will do it quietly. I will have the guards take her to the traitors’ graves and bury her there. I do not want her in the royal crypt.” Karis sighed. “My council will probably object as they insisted I marry her. I do not care. I have the proof of her duplicity, and they cannot counter that.”

“Very good, Your Imperial Majesty.” Tamas tapped something on his pad. “I’ve sent you the file so you have it to present to them should they have an issue with you executing her.”

“Thank you, Tamas.” Karis nodded to the man. “I appreciate your help in this matter.”

“Of course, Your Imperial Majesty. I will continue my search for the courtesans and their sons. We will find them, Your Imperial Majesty.” Tamas looked more determined than ever to accomplish his task.

“Thank you, Tamas.” Tamas bowed and hurried out.

Karis sent the execution order to his council, advising them that he was not going to be swayed, and he was putting her to death for treason. Several responses came back demanding an explanation. He told them they would meet the next morning before the execution and he would be glad to explain at that time.

The next morning Karis held his first council meeting in months. The ministers wasted no time in speaking up. “What is this about you executing the empress, Your Imperial Majesty?” Rhema asked. “Surely she is not guilty of anything that egregious.”

“You are overreacting, Your Imperial Majesty,” Maaike protested.

“I am not overreacting.” Karis transmitted the file to the councilors’ pads. “See for yourself the evidence against her.”

The councilors read through everything that had been found and extracted from Lynet’s mind the previous night. “I see no evidence that His Imperial Majesty is overreacting.” Tamerlan looked up from his pad. “In fact, I am in full support of this.”

“Agreed.” Calvagh expressed his support as well. Both of them were his newer ministers and hadn’t been part of the original push to force him to marry Lynet, so they weren’t as invested in her safety.

“I agree as well.” Llewellyn, his new Minister of Engineering, also threw his support behind it.

“It seems that the evidence against the empress is overwhelming.” Ananya looked resigned.

“Yes, it does.” Wieland looked ill.

“What does Your Imperial Majesty plan on doing about the fact you no longer have an heir?” Maaike was staring at him.

“I have six heirs.” Karis was not about to let anyone talk him out of keeping his sons in the line of succession. “I am currently in the process of searching for and retrieving them.”

“Your Imperial Majesty cannot still intend to keep those women and their sons in such high regard.” Hovan seemed horrified by the thought.

“I do, I am, and I do not need your opinions on that matter.” Karis looked at them all. “I only agreed to hold this council session to present the evidence against Lynet. She is being taken to be executed as we speak.”

“You will be burying her in the royal crypt, of course.” Rhema gave him a significant look.

“No, she will be taken to the traitors’ graves and buried there. I will not allow her to be buried with the rest of my family. She is a traitor and will be treated as such.” Karis rose to his feet. “That is all I have to discuss with you ladies and gentlemen. I wish you all a good day.” He turned and walked out.

Karis went to his chambers and dismissed Imre. He didn’t want anyone else in his rooms. He accessed the inheritance logs and put in Ethian’s name. He death locked it, putting in the master password. Now, only he could access the information until the day he died. But if something should happen to him, Ethian was now listed as his heir. He would have to be found and restored to the Throne World.

He called Imre back. “Is anything wrong, Your Imperial Majesty?” Imre seemed concerned.

“I have death locked the name of my heir, Imre.” Karis held up his pad so Imre could see the password locked entry. “Now there cannot be any question about which of my sons will succeed me. We just need to find them.”

“We will find them, Your Imperial Majesty.” Imre smiled reassuringly. “Tamas will have his best agents on it.”

“I hope so.” Karis sighed. “I want my ladies and my sons back.”

“Trust Tamas and his agents, Your Imperial Majesty.” Imre had more faith in the man than Karis did. “It may take them some time to do it, but they will find them.”

“I know, and I just have to be patient.” Karis grimaced. “Being patient has never been so hard.”

Imre nodded. “It will be hard, Your Imperial Majesty. But I’m sure you can do it.”

Karis sent Imre off to find his lunch. Karis stood and went over to the holo of one of the forest planets and just stared at it. “Where are you, my Sayana? Where did you go?”