Surprise flashed across Astrid’s face before her anger resumed control. “And what’s the problem? Your new heart is an improvement.”
“It’s not my heart, it’s some demonic thing you shoved inside me.”
“At the Academy, you told me you didn’t care about genetic purity. Has that changed?”
Her question pulled the stairs out from beneath my mounting emotion. I was left with an unsupported anger, still fuming, but with its legs kicking in thin air, unable to go anywhere.
Demons didn’t believe in genetic purity. They cared about biological power, especially inheritable power, not whether you could trace your bloodline back to unaltered ancestors from old Earth.
“I don’t give a damn if you were born half-demon or quarter-celestial or whatever. I don’t care about genetic purity,” I replied. That part was true. I didn’t care about Astrid’s demon heritage. I was not disgusted by our genetically engineered League allies like some Commonwealthers. “But you shouldn’t have replaced my heart without my permission.”
“This is an Imperial medbay. We don’t have spare human hearts lying around, and yours was damaged beyond repair. I had no choice. I’m not willing to watch you die, not after you came back to life. Would you rather I’d let you die?” My mouth snapped shut. When it came down to death or life with a demon heart, I would take life any day.
I wasn’t certain why the new heart distressed me so. I’d been cybernetically augmented before. My eyes had artificial replacement lenses, and my shield generator was grafted to the bottom of my ribcage. Why did this heart matter more?Was it that the heart was organic rather than cold machinery like my other cyber upgrades, or was I disgusted that they’d placed something demonic inside me?
“You couldn’t grow one with all this technology?” I finally replied.
“Not quickly enough for us both to return to the negotiations in time for your gift.”
“Gift?” I asked. “What is it, a new set of lungs?”
Despite my acid tone, Astrid chuckled. “No, you silly ass. It’s a hunt.”
I furrowed my eyebrows. “I don’t remember any hunts on the event schedule.”
“There wasn’t,” Astrid confirmed. “But I spoke to the person in charge of this jubilee, and she agreed to change the schedule for me. I meant to tell you last night, but we got distracted, and then we were interrupted…”
“I’m no great hunter,” I said, confused as to why Astrid would think I’d particularly enjoy a mounted hunt over a steeplechase race or herding competition.
“Perhaps not, but it is a mounted event, and traditionally Imperial. I wanted something that we could do together, you, me…” Astrid paused to swallow, then said “… and Tilly.”
I sat silent, dumbfounded.
“She is important to you, so I must learn to live with her. I thought a hunt would be a good way to get to know her.”
“And the Emperor will be surrounded by dozens of armed loyal warriors, should your beast give in to its inherent bloodlust.”
I craned my neck to look behind the Emperor to see who had spoken. I recognized her – she was one of Astrid’s guards who’d fetched me for all the Emperor’s summons, a particularly imposing demon woman covered in smooth brown snakelike scales.
“That would be inadvisable. Anyone who raises a hand against my steed will have it removed by me,” I said, projecting as much calm confidence as I could while lying undressed beneath a medical blanket.
The brown-scaled guard grimaced halfway between a smile and a snarl, exposing a mouth full of black fangs. “You need a weapon to make such threats.”
“Then bring the Consort his weapons,” the Emperor said. “We can’t afford any appearance of weakness, not when the conspirators against me already think I’m just a feeble half-human. I won’t have anyone targeting my Consort to get at me.”
The big guard stirred. “We do not see you as feeble,” she said.
The Emperor waved her away. “That’s because you know how much cyber I have inside me.” Turning to the healer, the Emperor said in Imperial, “Is he safe to move? I want him beside me for today’s hunt.”
The healer said I was fine, but the big guard spoke again. “If I may, Your Majesty, do you think it wise to waste time on this dalliance? There will be plenty of time to entertain yourself with prisoners after we’ve achieved victory.”
The guard’s words froze my veins. Before I could act or speak, Astrid replied with a whip-like voice. “Levar is not a dalliance. He is not a prisoner. He’s my Consort, Imperial and official.”
The guard’s brow lowered with disapproval. “That will upset your council. They hoped you’d choose a demon prince for a lover…”
“The council serves at my sufferance. I will not suffer their continual attempts to supplant me with a hand-picked puppet,” Astrid growled.
“No Emperor can rule without a council to support them,”the guard said, admonishing the Emperor. I’d never seen a demon speak so boldly about the Emperor, much less to the Emperor herself.
