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  I pushed the thought away. I didn’t want to know. Didn’t want to stay here and watch as the female I loved was drawn to another. But this was my fate—my destiny. I had sworn my vow to my mistress—had promised to be faithful unto death. I was willing to be killed or maimed in her service and this should be no different.

  Except the idea of seeing her with another male was different somehow. I felt that I would rather have my sword hand chopped off than see her in the arms of another. Anything would be better than the stabbing pain of losing her forever.

  I thought of how I’d heard her weeping in the night and had been unable to go to her. I had told myself that it would only make it harder for both of us if I gave in again and held her while she slept. Now I wished that I had done it, wished that I had the memory of holding her one last time to carry me through.

  Then Head Councilor Tannus rose and began to speak and I stepped to my place, behind my Lady’s chair.

  The Ceremony of Culling had begun.

  Chapter Thirty

  Charlotte

  “The Ceremony of Culling is a time honored tradition. It is the best way, determined by the Council of Wisdom, to help the new Empress find her true Consort,” Head Councilor Tannus intoned. His voice boomed out over the audience and I thought he must have some kind of microphone on, though I couldn’t see any wires or any kind of headpiece on him.

  He was standing beside me on the stage, holding a long, engraved golden dagger with a wickedly sharp looking point. Standing beside him was another Councilor, holding a small silver tray with three tiny crystal cups that looked like miniature shot glasses.

  “Behind the barrier,” Tannus continued, “Are three candidates, deemed worthy by myself and other members of the Council of Wisdom. As you all know, the Empress-to-be will give three drops of her blood to each. As she does not know their identities, this will provide a completely impartial way for her to choose which Consort is most suitable for her. She may be drawn to the correct male at once or it may take some time. Eventually, however, she will seek him out and he will be invested as her Royal Consort during her coronation ceremony.”

  There was a polite smattering of applause and I got the idea that everyone here already knew the rules of the Culling Ceremony and Tannus was just repeating them to be official.

  To me, the whole thing seemed a lot like the old Dating Game show and I was the “lucky bachelorette.” Behind the black curtain to my left, I could hear coughing and shuffling, as if the three candidates were getting restless. I would have to pick one of them but instead of asking cute and kooky questions to determine my true match, I would be giving them my blood to drink. Also, we wouldn’t be going on an all-expenses-paid cruise to the Bahamas at the end of it—we would be stuck together for life.

  Okay, so maybe not so much like the Dating Game.

  “And now for the sacrifice of Royal blood,” Tannus said. “If your Majesty would please extend your right hand?”

  I held out my hand, eyeing the ceremonial dagger in his grip, but before he could stick me with it, Kristoff intervened.

  “Your pardon, my Lord Councilor,” he said in a low voice. “But my Lady’s life has been threatened more than once in the time since she has gotten to Femme One. If anyone is to pierce her flesh, it will be me, with my own dagger.”

  “What?” Tannus blustered. “Why, this is most unusual! You can’t just—”

  “I can and I will,” Kristoff said firmly. “Unless you’d like to hold up these proceedings to have the ceremonial knife tested for possible traces of poison?”

  “You…you accuse me of—” Tannus began, his face turning red.

  “Assuredly not,” Kristoff said smoothly. “But has the knife been in your keeping the entire time before the ceremony? If you turned your back on it, even for a moment, a would-be assassin could have dipped the tip in deadly poison. It is a risk I do not intend to take.” He looked at me. “My Lady, if you would extend your hand?”

  With Tannus still blustering and protesting in the background, I held out my hand to Kristoff and he unsheathed one of his own daggers and wiped it carefully on a clean, white cloth.

  “My Lady, I would not pierce your flesh or bring you pain for any lesser reason than this,” he murmured, cupping my hand in his.

  “I know,” I whispered, feeling numb. He looked amazing in his gladiator-type uniform with his broad shoulders and the golden chest-plate gleaming. My hand tingled where he touched me and I felt a deep longing to be in those strong, muscular arms. To be held by him, just one more time. But now wasn’t the time—not with every single Royal and noble in the palace watching.

  “I’ll be quick,” Kristoff promised. He pressed the tip of his razor-sharp dagger into the pad of my middle finger and I felt the tiniest pinch. When he withdrew, there was a ruby drop of blood welling at the end of my finger.

  Quickly, the Councilor with the tray stepped forward and held out the tiny crystal shot glasses. I squeezed exactly three drops of blood into each one and then Kristoff knelt beside me and bandaged my finger in another clean, white cloth.

  “And now,” Head Councilor Tannus said, taking the tray from the other councilor and glaring at Kristoff. “I will give the Royal blood to the three candidates which have been chosen as worthy.”

  He stalked around behind the black curtain and I heard the soft clink of crystal on silver as he started handing out my blood samples.

  “Take these and drink,” he commanded grandly, his voice carrying out into the auditorium through the invisible PA system. “That it may be known if you are the chosen of the Goddess-Empress or if you are to be Culled.”

  Then I heard something I was pretty sure wouldn’t carry over the hidden microphone.

  “Eh…what’s this then?” a thin, reedy voice asked. “You woke me up from m’ nap to give me one tiny glass of ale? That’s not enough to quench m’ thirst!”

  I frowned. Who in the world could that be? Whoever it was, they certainly didn’t sound like a young man.

  Then another voice spoke up—this one high and querulous.

  “I don’t want to drink that! Nasty!”

  “Now, Egmon,” murmured a softer, feminine voice. “You promised Muhmuh you would drink it like a good boy. Remember once you’re done you get a sim-sim candy to take the taste away.”

  “But it’s nasty!” whined the voice. “Don’t wanna!”

  I frowned and looked at Kristoff to see if he was hearing this as well. From the puzzled look on his face, he was. He had told me the candidates would be chosen from men around my age—no more than five to ten years younger or older than me on average. So why did the voices I was hearing sound like a grandpa and a little boy?

  For a moment I was frozen to my seat. If I got up, every eye in the auditorium would be upon me. All the most important people in the palace would be staring at me and wondering why I was profaning their ritual.

  Then again, if I didn’t get up and go investigate, I would be letting someone else decide my fate for the rest of my life. What were a few moments of public embarrassment to that?

  Stand up for yourself! I could almost hear Zoe shouting in my head. Don’t let them steamroll over you, Charlotte! Find out what’s happening back there.

  Taking a deep breath, I rose from the throne-like chair.

  “Your Majesty…” One of the other Councilors was immediately by my side, a worried look on his face. “Your Majesty, where are you going?”

  “I’m going to find out what’s going on.” I gave him the coldest look imaginable. “Now would you please step aside, Councilor.”

  He held his ground, blocking the way between me and the curtain.

  “I really don’t think that’s advisable, Majesty,” he said, frowning and rubbing his hands together nervously. “You see, it’s still too early for the blood the candidates have ingested to be having any effect on you and it’s really not customary for the Empress to see her potential consorts before she feels drawn to one.”