“Putting a spike through your abomination’s CPU would be the least trouble of all.”
I could not let that comment slide. I whirled, drawing my dirk and sliding it between Ankhelina’s legs high enough to spark against her shield. She remained as she was, hands behind her back at ease, but her eyes narrowed as she tried to decide if I would do it.
“Let me be clear,” I said, my voice low and steady, even as my adrenal glands dumped their contents into my bloodstream as I realized I had just picked a fight with one of the most dangerous demons in the quadrant. “Tilly shall not be harmed, not by you, not by your demon allies, not by anybody in the Alliance. If any harm comes to her, I will hold you personally responsible.” Oddly, my heart rate remained steady, pumping hard, but smoothly, not the frantic pounding I’d expected.
Ankhelina sneered. “You only make the monster’s extermination a challenge.”
In response, I slid the zeroblade across her thigh. I barely nicked her flesh, but deep red blood began pouring in sheets down her bare leg. “I do not think the Emperor would mind if I left you bleeding here,” I said.
“You’re too small to be worth killing,” she said, her voice a snarl, but her lips curved into a grin. She was enjoying this power game.
“My blade cuts as sharp as any demon’s claws. Ask Prince Kerensky. But I cannot fight you and find Astrid’s assassins at the same time. Run back to the Emperor. I don’t need the protection you provide,” I said.
The guardsman chuckled. “Your dagger may be sharp,but your head is soft if you think you will be safe without me defending you.”
“I’ve survived ten years of war against your kind, I’ll survive a few days more without your help. I doubt I’ll do so well with a surly guard who would rather see me dead than at her Emperor’s side.”
The guardsman’s smile darkened into a scowl. “Who the Emperor chooses as her Consort is her choice alone. No matter how foolish it is for her to dilute her bloodline further with the weak genetics of an unaugmented human, how infantile it is for her to seek romance in the arms of an enemy officer, my pleas have fallen on deaf ears. She has chosen to bed you, and ordered me to protect you, so I shall.”
I twisted the dagger’s point against her leg. “And just how much do the Emperor’s orders matter to you? How do I know your loyalty is true?”
The scowl became a glare. “I am the Emperor’s Champion. I stood at her side when she took the throne. My loyalty to her is sacrosanct, and far stronger than my distaste for you.”
“Then protect me if you must, but do it silently and obediently. Do I make myself clear?” I hissed, giving her another shallow gash on the other thigh. Her first wound had already closed, knitted up by the symbiotes swimming in her blood.
Ankhelina’s lips curled back over her pointed teeth in a defiant grin, but before she could answer, the lift doors opened with a chime. I quickly sheathed my dagger. If anyone saw this, it would be another diplomatic incident. With a final warning glare at my surly shadow, I strode across the stable floor to Tilly’s stall.
The stable was a scene of pandemonium. Allied notables and servants ran about, shouting to ready steeds or fetch riding gear. One League duchess complained, “If I’d known we’d be hunting, I would have brought hunting clothes.”
Her servant’s placating, “No one knew there would be a hunt…” fell on deaf ears. It did seem to be true, though. Many of the riders preparing themselves wore their racing or riding gear, the outfits quite incorrect for country hunting. They were too clean, too prim for the dirty day which lay ahead. My outfit was little better – I’d chosen to replicate a pre-war semi-dress dragoon uniform. It felt comfortable and familiar, reminding me of those pleasant days, but it was no more correct than the court dressage attire the others wore.
I made it less than a dozen steps before somebody coughed politely at my shoulder. Instinctively, through reflexes born from years of living with servants, I turned to see what the person wanted. To my great surprise, Wiktor stood beside me, his face pleasantly neutral, as though I’d just walked out of my bedchamber this morning instead of portaling down in a new uniform with a new heart and a twelve-foot demon warrior at my back.
“Wiktor, good to see you,” I said, stepping between the manservant and the bodyguard. Ankhelina had drawn a dagger at Wiktor’s sudden appearance. “What the Fall brings you down here?”
“I was informed you would attend today’s hunt, despite last night’s unexpected disappearance, so I waited outside your hoversteed’s stall to ensure you looked presentable.” He presented a folded pile of clothes. “Your boots are with Tilly in the stable.”
I took the outfit. “I take it my current attire is entirely unsuitable?”
Wiktor ran a critical eye up and down my replicated uniform. Instead of speaking, he pursed his lips and raised his eyebrows.
“I’ll go change.”
Wiktor led me to a quiet corner behind some stackedcrates where I could swiftly exchange outfits. The hunting suit Wiktor had provided was a great improvement over my replicated set. It looked like combat fatigues made from dress kit cloth. The tan riding breeches had large patch pockets on either leg, and the four-pocket emerald-green tunic fit well under the brown leather belt and shoulder straps which held my weapons. The cross-straps across the back were a particularly elegant touch, I thought.
“How did you know I’d need a hunting outfit?” I asked as Wiktor minutely adjusted the lay of my belt and straps and smoothed my tunic.
Wiktor pushed his lower lip forwards in mild approval at his work. “I’ve told you before, sir, a gentleman’s gentleman must always anticipate their gentleman’s needs.”
“But the Emperor only announced the hunt this morning. Everyone else here is in a panic.” A thought struck me. “Did the Emperor send word for me to be properly attired?”
“I would love to discuss my trade secrets with you, an uninitiated outsider. However, I’m afraid the prince wishes to see you at your earliest convenience.”
I glanced at the taciturn guard over my shoulder, wondering if she would prevent me from speaking with my prince. We’d been told to get Tilly and rendezvous with the Emperor’s party as quickly as possible, but I had duties to my monarch, and Astrid had asked me to watch my own people for any spies who would seek to disrupt the negotiations.
“Lead the way,” I said, and walked off. A moment later, Ankhelina followed me.
I followed my valet past the other Allied delegations to the Royal Commonwealth’s assigned stables, but changed directions when I spotted familiar uniforms on the motor pool floor with their retrieved mounts. The gathered representatives stood in a loose ring near the motor pool’s big hangar door,their hoversteeds resting quiescently by their sides. As soon as I saw the prince by his gold-trimmed mount in his spotless white uniform, I doubted he wanted to see me at all.
