Karis stared at his reflection. It was time for the second high feast, and he was only marginally looking forward to it. The crown Sayana had designed rested on his head. It was a brilliant compromise between the state crown and the simpler everyday coronet that the two of them preferred. It was a thin band of gold tastefully studded with two and three carat ice diamonds. A three hundred carat skyfall pear cut diamond sat at the center of the coronet.
How his jewelers had found two jewelry quality skyfall diamonds – because Sayana’s coronet had the same stone – that large was beyond Karis’ understanding. He knew skyfall diamonds were exceptionally rare, and large stones as flawless as these were and in gemstone quality were even rarer. His jewelers must have paid a small fortune for these coronets. His poor accountants were going to be furious with him for the expense.
He joined Sayana in the main room. “My heart, you have probably given my accountants a heart attack with the expense of these crowns.”
“I didn’t think they’d actually find skyfall diamonds this large,” Sayana protested. “I said skyfall diamonds or black star rubies.”
“Even black star rubies would have been expensive. I can get the smaller stones at no charge, but large stones like this I still have to pay for.” Karis looked at her and had to admit she looked spectacular with the new crown on her head.
“The expense was necessary, Your Imperial Majesty. I already spoke with the accountants on your behalf.” Imre seemed to have already taken care of the situation.
Karis held out his hand and escorted her to the antechamber outside the great hall. The princes were waiting for them. “New crowns?” Fallon eyed them appreciatively as he saw Karis and Sayana approach.
“We got tired of listening to the court complain how they could not tell us apart from you five.” Karis smiled. “Sayana designed them.”
“They are amazing.” Ethian favored his mother with a broad smile. “If those are the new state crowns, I do not think any of us are going to have any problem wearing those when we become emperor.” There were too many people around for him to admit he was the heir, and Karis appreciated the fact that he was keeping it vague.
“The original state crowns are still there, but we will leave these as an option for the next emperor and his empress, if he has one.” Karis noticed a few lords staring at the new crowns as well as they passed.
“Are you feeling all right, Sayana?” Fallon asked.
“I’m twenty five weeks pregnant, Fallon. I’m moody, always hungry, and annoyed because nothing fits comfortably anymore. Even my gowns are uncomfortable.” She laughed. “Which, from my experience with Ethian, is perfectly normal.”
“Do you need a day off?” Meinard grinned.
“I need the winter festival to be over.” Sayana sighed.
“So do I,” Ethian muttered.
“Are you five feeling better?” Sayana was watching them closely. Karis looked at his sons. Their color was finally back to normal, and they seemed to have their usual level of energy back.
“Other than an occasional bout of dizziness, we are fine,” Fallon told him.
The doors opened and the Imperial family made their way into the great hall. Karis glanced at the courtesan table. It was empty. Tremere should be back now after taking Marin back home. Before anyone sat down, the dishes and utensils were scanned. Sayana’s place setting was removed from the table and three guards went into the kitchen. They returned a short while later with a trembling servant and fresh dishes for her. They’d tried the same trick a second time. At least this time they were prepared for it and had prevented it from causing harm.
The high lords settled at the table and Karis glanced at Arken. He caught Karis’ eye and nodded. Karis smiled. His ladies were safely home. No more fear of suicide for them.
The rest of the court filed in and soon the din was thunderous. The first few courses went all right. He kept an eye on Sayana. She managed them well and only had a moment’s issue with the spiciness of the second course. The entertainments were interesting enough and though they were nothing new, they kept his attention.
Then the dessert course was served. Sayana made soft groan. Tonight was the chocolate dessert. “Oh no.”
“I’m sorry, my heart.” Karis knew both Sayana and Ethian would be leaving early that evening to avoid throwing up all over the table.
“Ethian is already groaning as well.” Sayana glanced over at the princes.
Karis looked at the dessert. It was a multi-layer chocolate cake with thick chocolate icing. This was not going to be pleasant for his wife and son. He took a bite and was startled to find the frosting was heavily flavored with mint. Sayana stared at the cake for several moments before picking up her fork and taking the first bite.
He heard her retch. “I don’t think I can eat this, Karis.” She sounded sick. “I know I need to, but there is no way I’m going to keep this down if I have to eat it. I just can’t. Not now.”
“All right, my heart. We can chalk it up to you being pregnant,” Karis said.
“I don’t think I could manage it even if I wasn’t pregnant.” He saw her listening. “Poor Ethian. He’s gagging as well. He says it tastes like someone poured toothpaste on vomit and is forcing him to eat it.”
“I can get away with letting you not eat it right now. He does not have that option.” Karis knew that Ethian would have to leave early. There wasn’t going to be anything he could do to stop it. His wife and son’s allergy to chocolate was something that he never would be able to get around.
Sayana giggled. “Fallon just stole some of his cake. Meinard just did too. They like it so they’re helping him, so he doesn’t have to eat all of it.”
“As long as it looks like Ethian is the one eating it with his brothers teasing him, I do not care.” Karis finished his cake.
“Your Imperial Majesty, is Her Imperial Majesty not eating her dessert?” a high lord asked.
“No, Lord Adrien.” Karis shook his head. “I am afraid this is the one food tonight that set off her nausea. She took a bite, and it did not agree with her almost immediately.”
“My wife had a similar issue when she was pregnant.” Adrien gave him a commiserating look. The woman sitting next to him nodded sympathetically towards Sayana. “There were a few times where she left food. It was embarrassing but she just could not get past it without the nausea making life difficult.”
“It gets better once the baby is born,” his wife assured them. “But for now, she will have times where she will be leaving food on her plate. Do not be too hard on her, Your Imperial Majesty. It comes with being pregnant. We want to eat certain foods, and other foods just do not sit well with us.”
“I will remember that, Lady Ceara. Arken dealt with most of this when she was pregnant the first time, so this is all a learning experience for me.” Karis wasn’t lying. It was something new for him.
“It is not that hard, Your Imperial Majesty,” Adrien told him. “Do not upset her, if she is hungry let her eat, and do not force her to eat things she does not want to eat. Those are the three big things to remember.”
“I will keep that in mind.” Karis thought that was very good advice.
“We have four children. After our first, I lived by that mantra.” Adrien hid his mouth behind his wineglass.
After dessert was cleared away, the final entertainment came out. After it ended, the princes left, with poor Ethian looking pale. “Ethian still ate too much of the cake?” Karis had been worried about that.
“His brothers ate most of it, but he had enough of it that it has made him nauseous. He is having Timur call for the Imperial doctor as soon as they get back to the enclave.” Sayana watched them go.
Several people came up to the high table and chatted with them, but nothing too important. A few made some snide comments about Sayana’s weight, but she brushed them off. Karis knew Sayana wasn’t overweight. In fact, the doctors wanted her to put on a few kilograms because she was a little underweight for where they wanted her to be.
“Your Imperial Majesty, I noticed you did not eat your dessert tonight.” A plump woman came up. “Was something wrong with it?”
“I’m pregnant and certain foods just do not sit well with me.” Sayana sighed. “Chocolate being one of them.”
“How awful.” The woman frowned. “That must have been a great disappointment.”
“I’d have been even more disappointed if it had come back up after eating it.” Sayana unbent enough to make a face.
“True, true.” The woman bowed and wandered off.
“Who was that?” Sayana asked.
Karis watched her go. “I have no idea. Which is rare. I know most of my lords and ladies.”
Tremere approached the table. “Marin’s academy threw her a welcoming home party that rivaled the high feast. Her head matron thanked me for bringing her back and assured me she would be allowed to retire with full honors. The generous stipend you sent back for her upkeep certainly had something to do with it, I am certain.”
“The others were also safely returned home?” Karis asked.
“Every last one of them, Your Imperial Majesty.” Tremere nodded. “And all of them were welcomed back with some kind of ceremony.”
“I am glad.” Karis was happy the ladies seemed to have been received well at their academies.
“I’m so pleased to hear they were welcomed home.” Sayana was just as happy as he was.
“This was a good idea you had, Your Imperial Majesty.” Tremere looked at Sayana. “They were sad to be leaving their sons, but they were very realistic about the fact that they really do not get to see them anyway so as long as they have the holo stills, they are fine.”
“I am glad I let them have those holo stills.” Karis thought that had been something important for them. “At least now they have something tangible of their sons.” Tremere nodded. He bowed and wandered off into the crowd.
“Your Imperial Majesty.” A slender woman approached the table.
“Lady Nimet.” Karis was surprised that one of the power brokers was approaching him. “How can I help you?”
“I am concerned about Lady Beril.” Nimet let her mask slip and frowned. “I probably should not be saying anything. But she has been keeping company with Lord Yunus lately, and the two have been plotting something. I do not know what it is, but she is funding a large venture of his and I do not think it is anything good. She is not usually so easily swayed by someone who is not in our social circle, and I do not like this. It does not feel right.”
“Thank you, Lady Nimet. I will follow up on this immediately.” Karis knew if Nimet was concerned, it could only mean it was something potentially dangerous to him and his family. Nimet bowed and walked away.
Karis spoke with a few other people before holding out his hand to Sayana. She took it and allowed him to lead her back to their rooms. “Imre, I need Demetrios. Send for him and have Adem and Lucan help me change.”
“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.” Imre sent for everyone.
The servants arrived and got the two of them changed. He came out of the bedroom to find Demetrios waiting for him. “Is something wrong, Your Imperial Majesty?” Demetrios asked.
“Two questions, Demetrios,” Karis asked. He outlined what Nimet had told him. “Did you know about this and how is the operation for catching that man going?”
Demetrios nodded. “I did know about that. We have tagged the funds and are following them to their destination. As for the other, the man is a psychic. We found out that Her Imperial Majesty was correct about that supposition the hard way.”
“What happened?” Karis was now very concerned.
“He psychically assaulted two of my men. Completely destroyed their minds.” Demetrios grimaced. “The others didn’t dare get close to him. He got away. We know Lord Yunus is still in contact with him so we are keeping tabs on his comm and his servants so we can catch him. Harish gave me the budget I requested, so I have been able to get those ten other psychics I wanted. Three of the ones I hired are high level psychics. With luck we won’t be caught off guard again when I send out my next team.”
“Starflare, a rogue psychic?” Karis was horrified at the thought.
“He’s not a rogue.” Demetrios shook his head. “I sent his image to every psychic academy in the galaxy. One got back to me. He’s a graduate of their program and was hired by Vasco within days of his graduation.”
“Do we have a name?” Karis asked.
“Menander Amadori.” Demetrios consulted his pad. “Though we don’t know if he’s still using that name. He’s the youngest son of Lord Geir and Lady Amaltheia Amadori.”
“I do not know those names.” Karis frowned.
“I’d be surprised if you did, Your Imperial Majesty.” Demetrios looked at him. “Lord Geir is from the lower court, here representing Chilrion. It’s a small agri-world, grain producer, and you’ve had exactly one petition from him in the last twenty years. It’s a completely forgettable world, and Lord Geir and his family are completely unremarkable nobles. Menander was the only one to show any kind of oddity.”
“Where did he get his psychic powers?” Karis asked.
“The genetic predisposition for psychic powers comes from Lady Amaltheia’s family. Two of her sisters, her maternal great-aunt, and a great-grandmother were all psychics. It usually runs strong in the female line, not the male, so Menander was an anomaly.” Demetrios checked his report again.
“Keep an eye on Beril and Yunus and let us know when you have an idea of where Menander is hiding.” Karis was displeased he’d gotten away but glad the loss of life hadn’t been greater. Demetrios nodded and left the room.
“I wasn’t really expecting him to be a psychic.” Sayana looked worried.
“It does not surprise me that Vasco would employ a psychic as his personal secretary. It is probably how he got so much information to blackmail people.” Karis scowled.
“Karis, what are your thoughts on psychics and psychic powers?” Sayana seemed uneasy about something.
“I think psychics are one of the most useful tools in the arsenal I have against my court.” Karis regarded her with some concern. Was she scared of psychics? “Psychic powers do not frighten me. I am psychically shielded, and have been for years, so I am not worried about anyone pulling anything from my mind. I am worried about them pulling something from yours and the princes’ minds. I already had the boys shielded. I plan on having a psychic shield your mind. I was going to wait until after you have Kaelea so as not to cause you more stress.”
“Karis, there may be a problem if a psychic enters my mind.” Her voice was small and frightened.
“What problem, my heart?” Karis was now very concerned.
Sayana looked at him. She took a deep breath. “I’m a psychic. I’m not very powerful. I keep myself shielded and I don’t use my powers often. In fact, I’ve used them exactly once since I was nine. That was when I was on Covus, and I needed to assess the situation with the assassin.”
Karis sat down beside her. “You have not told me because you were afraid I would turn away from you.” Sayana nodded, her gaze fixed on the floor. “My heart, this changes nothing. I know you could not have influenced me in anything. It would take a very powerful psychic to get through the shields, and it would be noticed. Have you ever had anyone teach you to use your powers?”
“I’ve never even mentioned this to anyone.” Sayana looked at him fearfully. “You’re the first person outside my siblings to know about it. I never even told Reynard and Ethian.”
“Imre, bring Demetrios back, would you?” Karis looked over at his valet.
“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty.” Imre sent the message. Demetrios came back.
“Was there something else, Your Imperial Majesty?” Demetrios looked at him curiously.
“Demetrios, who is your most trustworthy and gentle psychic?” Karis gave him a serious look.
Demetrios thought for a moment. “Trustworthy and gentle? That would probably be Esmee, Your Imperial Majesty.”
“Would she be able to teach someone who has been hiding their psychic powers for years how to use them?” Karis asked. “Without betraying the fact that they have them to anyone?”
“Who do you want her to teach?” Demetrios looked concerned.
“I want her to teach Sayana.” Karis’ pronouncement startled them both. “If she can detect the assassins before they attack, that could be the edge we need to keep her and Kaelea from dying.”
“Your Imperial Majesty, are you a psychic?” Demetrios seemed startled by the revelation.
“A low level psychic. I’ve never been strong, and I haven’t really used my psychic powers much since I was a child. In fact, I’ve used them once, twelve years ago, to help me save Ethian’s life.” Sayana looked up at Demetrios, her eyes frightened.
“I think, instead of Esmee, we need Ivanka.” Demetrios looked thoughtful. “She’s the woman I have in charge of my psychics. She is calm, sensible, quiet, and extremely trustworthy. She may not be as gentle as Esmee, but she is inordinately sensitive to nuances of personality and body language and can work with just about anyone. Ivanka also knows more about psychic abilities than anyone I’ve ever met.”
“Would you facilitate a meeting between Sayana and Ivanka?” Karis was determined to do this. This could be the means they needed to save Sayana’s life.
“One moment.” Demetrios tapped his personal comm. “Ivanka, please come to Their Imperial Majesties’ rooms. Just you, no one else. This is important.” He listened. “Thank you.” He looked at Karis. “She’ll be here momentarily, Your Imperial Majesty.”
When Ivanka arrived, Karis was immediately struck by how efficient she looked. She was of average height, but that was the only average thing about the blonde haired, blue eyed woman. “How can I be of service, Your Imperial Majesties?” Ivanka bowed.
Karis outlined what they needed. Ivanka looked at Sayana. “What do you think, Ivanka?” Demetrios looked at the woman.
“Your Imperial Majesty, will you let me touch your mind? I want to assess your psychic capabilities.” Ivanka spoke gently to Sayana. She looked nervously at Karis. He took her hand. She nodded. Ivanka came over and touched Sayana’s forehead. Ivanka closed her eyes. Her face went blank. A few moments later, her eyes opened, and she smiled. “You’re not as low-level as you think, Your Imperial Majesty. You’re not a high level psychic, but you’ve got some power there. I think we can teach you to shield better and to control what you have. We can most assuredly teach you to be an early warning detector for assassins, which should save you and your daughter from unexpected attacks.”
“We can also insert you inside the emperor’s shields, so you can silently warn him, and he can alert the guards, so no one figures out that you’re a psychic.” Demetrios looked at Ivanka.
“Oh, good idea, Demetrios.” Ivanka nodded. “Once we get her trained up a little bit more, I can easily do that.”
“That is not a bad idea, my heart.” Karis relaxed a little at the thought of Sayana being able to do what he’d hoped.
“All right.” Sayana looked a little less nervous.
“Why don’t you two start your lessons now?” Demetrios smiled at the two women. “I’m sure His Imperial Majesty can entertain himself for an hour or two.”
“No time like now to get started,” Ivanka agreed. Karis settled down to read while Ivanka and Sayana began their lessons.
Leave a Reply