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  “Charlotte, is it?” Morbain’s blue-black eyebrows rose nearly to his elaborately coifed hairline. “You call the female you claim is the True Incarnation by her first name? How very familiar of you. Seeing that you swear she is the new Empress, I trust you’re keeping your hands to yourself? You do remember that for a commoner to touch a Royal in that way is blasphemy, do you not?”

  For the first time, I saw Kristoff falter. At least, his cheeks went briefly red. Then he seemed to collect himself and his skin went back to tan with a tinge of gold.

  “My Lady is the True Incarnation,” he said, not answering Morbain’s implied accusation. “And we will prove it tomorrow.” He turned to the Council. “I ask that my Lady be granted the rights, privileges, and securities due to her station and that she be installed in the Royal Apartments both for her safety and as a sign of her status.”

  “Absolutely not!” Morbain roared. “My sweet Eucilla belongs in the Royal Apartments! Not that tattered little tramp Verrai dragged in here.”

  “Hey—” I began but the Head Councilor was already speaking.

  “No one shall be installed in the Royal Apartments until we determine who is the True Incarnation!” he shouted. “For now, both candidates will spend the night in the Guest Quarters.”

  “Head Councilor, the Guest Quarters are difficult to defend,” Kristoff protested. “There have already been three assassination attempts against my Lady’s life in the past three solar days!”

  “Then you must keep a good eye on her, Verrai,” the Head Councilor snapped. “And hopefully bring her to the Trials tomorrow in one piece.”

  Both Kristoff and Morbain started to say something else but the Head Councilor picked up a heavy looking pink crystal the size of my fist and pounded on the desk.

  “Dismissed!” he shouted and that was that.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Kristoff

  I took Charlotte by the hand and left the Council Room with a red haze of anger clouding my vision.

  I wasn’t surprised that Morbain had dared to bring forth an imposter—though it was an outrageous act of blasphemy, it was no more than I expected of the lying bastard. But that he dared to insult my old mistress, Sundalla the 999th and then threaten my new mistress… It was almost more than I could bear. Only knowing that I would be thrown in confinement where I would be unable to attend and protect Charlotte had kept me from slitting his filthy throat.

  “Captain—what can I do?” It was T’zorin at my side looking anxious as we strode along the main hallway. Someone had already cleaned up the exploded remains of the would-be assassin—that was something, at least.

  “Go ahead of us and do a complete sweep of the Guest Quarters,” I said. “Look for bombs, bugs, remote access devices—anything that could be harmful.”

  “At once!” T’zorin saluted but before he could leave, I put a hand on his arm.

  “T’zorin,” I said. “The trip back to Femme One with the Assimilation vessel—what happened?”

  His eyes shifted uneasily. “Pirates, Captain! We barely got away with the ship intact and I…I was the only one who survived.”

  I could see his discomfort but there was something about his eyes that made me uncertain. I wanted to ask him more but just then Charlotte faltered and nearly fell.

  “My Lady!” I turned and caught her before she could hit the floor.

  “Sorry…” Her voice was a whisper. “Just…dizzy. I shouldn’t have skipped breakfast, I guess.”

  “Skipped breakfast?” Then I remembered how I had offered her some nutrient paste for first meal, which is what most Imperial cruisers are stocked with, and she had refused it, saying she was too nervous to eat. But I didn’t think that simple hunger was the only thing causing her faintness.

  She’d been through a lot today—not the least of which was standing by my side as we faced down the Council of Wisdom—half of which I was willing to believe were in Morbain’s pocket. Her face was smudged with dust and grime and her scrubs were splattered with blood—mine and the would-be assassin’s.

  She still looked beautiful.

  “My Lady,” I murmured, settling her more comfortably in my arms. “Let’s get you to a safe place to dine and bathe and relax. You’ll feel better soon, I promise.”

  “Hope you’re right.” Her eyes closed tiredly and she let herself relax against my shoulder. “Could hardly…feel worse.”

  “You care deeply for her, don’t you?”

  I looked over to see T’zorin looking at us with an unreadable expression on his face. I frowned.

  “She is my mistress—and yours, T’zorin,” I said sternly. “After her Investiture I’ll have you and the rest of the Imperial Guard come to swear your vows. Spread the word among the other warriors— Sundalla the 1000th has arrived and she must be protected at all costs.”

  “Yes, Captain.” He saluted again. “I’ll go ahead to clear the Guest Quarters now.”

  “Do that.” I cradled Charlotte tenderly in my arms. “And have some refreshments sent for my Lady. She’ll need her strength for tomorrow.”

  Charlotte

  I faded in and out of consciousness as Kristoff carried me through the halls of the palace. I had a blurred impression of immense wealth—lots of marble columns, expensive looking art work, ornate carving, and servants dressed in black and gold livery scurrying everywhere.

  Can’t believe I’m supposed to live here, I thought blurrily as one opulent part of the palace faded into another and then another and yet another. It was as though someone had told me I was suddenly going to go live in Buckingham Palace and not just live there—be the queen of the whole place.

  How in the world could the Goddess-Empress deal with such a huge living arrangement? Then again, she wasn’t just dealing with the immense city-sized palace and all the people who lived in it, she was also responsible for all the people on all the planets in the entire galaxy.

  It was mind-blowing.

  No, not she—you, whispered a little voice in my brain. You’re responsible, Charlotte so you better figure out how in the hell you’re going to manage because this is getting awfully real awfully fast.

  God… I closed my eyes tightly, wishing I could faint again. But now that my brain was working—whizzing along with worry and uncertainty—unconsciousness refused to come back. I still felt weak from hunger and shock and I had the feeling that at some point in the future I was going to have some kind of freak-out due to nearly getting blown to bits by an assassin’s bomb—but for now I was wide awake.

  “Here we are, my Lady,” Kristoff murmured as we entered a side corridor off the main hallway. There were several widely spaced doors and he took me to the farthest one at the end of the short passage.

  The door, which was spotless white trimmed with gold, opened and a male servant wearing a black and gold uniform bowed us inside.

  “This way, my Lord Captain,” he said in a formal tone. “The quarters have been made ready as requested.”

  “And they’re all clear.” The other guard Kristoff had called T’zorin came out of one of the side rooms.

  “Good.” Kristoff looked down at me. “Are you well, my Lady? Can you stand?”

  “I’m all right,” I said, trying to make my voice sound normal. “I was just a little faint there for a minute—that’s all.”

  He set me gently on my feet but kept an arm around my shoulders for support, which was nice. I leaned against him, feeling like he was my only friend in the whole, huge palace.

  Friend…or something more?

  I pushed the thought away and looked around. The Guest Quarters weren’t as opulent as the Royal Apartments which Kristoff had brought me through but they were still nicer than any hotel room I’d ever been in.

  There was a round, brick fire-pit in the middle of a sunken living area, surround by low couches upholstered in some kind of lush, pale gray fur. Beside one of the couches someone had placed a little rolling, silver trolley bearing a selection of wh