“The Emperor was quite insistent.”
Darius cuffed me on the shoulder. “Can’t keep her hands off you, can she? You lucky dog, you.”
Ankhelina’s curled lip told me if I did not go with her, she would insist as well, which might involve her dragging me from the ballroom by my ankles.
Marie put a hand on my forearm. “Go to her. We’ll take care of things out here.” Darius nodded in agreement, his normally jovial expression serious for once.
“Thank you. I’ll see you in the morning. Maybe my statusas Consort might let me arrange a few tea-times of my own,” I said.
“I’d rather a happy hour with a few stiff brandies,” Darius said, the smirk back on his lips.
“I’ll see what I can do,” I said, then rose and followed the Champion through the main corridors. It was a very different experience from twisting through narrow servants’ corridors – the main hallways were gigantic chambers, with richly decorated walls and high, vaulted ceilings. It was also slower, as we had to hike up the grand staircase instead of traveling via turbolift, but eventually, we reached the Emperor’s door.
She was in a different suite than the one destroyed during the attack, but the door was much the same, as were the four guards outside it. The guards did not challenge us as we approached. Ankhelina opened the door and gestured me through. “Are you not coming with?” I asked.
Ankhelina scowled. “What the Emperor does with her Consort is no business of her Champion,” she said, and slammed the door behind me.
“Hello?” I called. The antechamber was dark.
“Through here,” Astrid called from deeper within the suite. I followed her voice until I emerged into a sitting room, decorated in much the same way as her previous room where we had first taken tea. Astrid was seated across the room, facing me, and facing a woman on a sofa with her arm stretched along its back. Astrid saw me and smiled, obviously pleased with herself. “Well hi there, Levar.” The woman on the sofa turned, and I froze.
Bridgette d’Lyre smiled at me, a smile which showed excitement to see me, but also held a tinge of victory. “We wondered when you would get here.”
“What are you doing here?” I blurted.
Bridgette lightly placed one hand on her chest in mock surprise. “I was invited by the Emperor, but to be honest, I came for you.”
“I can’t believe that,” I replied before my brain could think about it.
Bridgette simply smiled. “You played hard to get, and I can’t stand that. One way or another, I always get my man.”
Astrid unfolded herself and stood. “She’s perfect. A high-ranking Federation noble, and the most beautiful female human here.”
“I thought she was of middling importance to the Federation delegation,” I said, my eyebrow raised in question.
“Bridgette d’Lyre is one of the wealthiest and most powerful senators in the Federation. She has been posing as a middle-class sub-senator to avoid suspicion,” Astrid informed me.
“Don’t feel too bad. It was easy to fool your spies. Counterintelligence is a Federation specialty,” Bridgette said.
Astrid stood behind me, hands holding my shoulders, her chin against my neck. “Consider her an apology for keeping you in the dark for so long.”
I stood frozen, not knowing what to do. Astrid straightened, stepping around to look me in the eyes. “Are you all right? Is she not pretty enough for you?”
“No, she is, but I don’t know if this is wise,” I stuttered.
“You think she doesn’t have the information we seek?” Astrid asked.
I did not like Astrid speaking so unguardedly around Bridgette, but the Federation noblewoman did not give me a chance to voice my concerns.
Bridgette stood and walked around the sofa to stand half an arm’s reach from me. “I promise you, Consort, if you bed me, I will tell you and the Emperor everything the Federation knows about New Melbourne.”
“You know?” I asked.
Bridgette ran her finger down my chest. “Of course I know. I’m the head of the Senate subcommittee for the New Melbourne Fall event. What the Federation knows about New Melbourne, I know.”
I considered her words. I disliked her high rank, I hated how much she seemed to know, but mostly, I loathed the way she made me feel like a horny teenager whenever she was around. Even worse, I knew that she knew the effect she had on me. Finally, I said, “There are other ways to get that information.”
Bridgette laughed, poking me hard in the chest. “You would prefer to torture me rather than spend the night in my embrace? That’s not very polite of you.”
