“You look exhausted,” said Rajenlif, looking over at her niece.

“I’ve been much more exhausted than this,” Rixie said. “I just wish I had Alex here to talk me through. Of course, if we weren’t in the middle of a disaster, he might try to make me sleep – but only if he thought I needed sleep more than I needed to stay awake. When he thinks I need to stay awake, he’s deliberately annoying – and perfectly so.”

They sat in the Antero IV Room of the palace; Rajenlif had chosen it so that neither she nor Rixie would be disturbed. Kullervo had messaged, and was en route; they were about three hours away from the resumption of the Conclave.

Rajenlif’s pad chimed, and she looked down at it. She picked it up, and answered. As they connected the call, she placed it on speaker; Rixie intended to keep silent, but she knew what call this must be.

“This is the Dronung,” Rajenlif said.

“Your Imperial Majesty; I…if I can discuss this in Archavian, it would be better, my Jotnar is good with medical terms, but….”

“I am happy to discuss this in Archavian, Dr. Pesti,” Rajenlif said. “What is Sen. Carey’s status?”

“He is still alive,” Pesti said, and Rixie and Rajenlif both let out the breaths they were holding. “However,” the doctor said, and they both inhaled again, “he is still in grave condition. There was a prolonged lack of oxygen to the brain due to his blood loss. The good news is that we have managed to restart neural activity, but it is very basic activity at this time. We will be working over the next forty-eight hours to slowly build that activity up, and then another forty-to-eighty hours of stabilizing it. I am…more optimistic than I was when he came in, but you do need to communicate to his loved ones that they must be prepared for the worst.”

“They are prepared,” Rajenlif said, looking at her niece, “as am I. Should I have them go to the hospital now?”

“Not yet,” Pesti said. “Though they are of course welcome at any time. He will be getting treatment throughout the next two days, and his body can be sustained indefinitely. The concern is his brain.”

Rajenlif sucked in another breath. “What are his chances?”

“Like I said, better than they were when we started. At that point I was simply trying to keep him alive long enough to get to this point, and we were able to – so that is a victory. As for now, I would say that it’s about forty percent survival with treatable brain damage, twenty percent survival with supportable brain damage, and about forty percent that we cannot fully restart the brain and he is unable to recover consciousness.”

“Is there no chance that he fully recovers?” Rajenlif asked.

“He will not come out of this without some damage,” the doctor said. “Treatable brain damage is the best we can hope. The good news is that our early soundings show that the more significant damage was done to motor centers than the prefrontal cortex; if that pattern holds as we continue treatment, I think there’s a very good chance that primary damage will be motor control issues, and those can both be treated and supported. I believe it more likely than not that if he survives, his memories and personality will remain intact. Of course, that assumes that we keep seeing recovery, and I have to caution that we may not. Cases like this are very difficult; the brain is a highly organized structure. There may be damage that we cannot see right now, that will only become evident as we continue to push him forward.”

“I understand,” Rajenlif said. “I will notify the senator’s family; please do not release any information about the senator until you receive clearance from my office, which should be in approximately three and a half hours.”

“Of course, Your Imperial Highness,” Pesti said. “And Your Highness…I am sorry I do not have better news.”

Raja looked over at Rixie, and smiled gently. “Alex Carey is a fighter. And you have given him a chance to fight. That is excellent news. Please, continue to message me at this padcode; also, if things do turn for the worst, let me know. I will see to it that his family is there if they need to be.”

Rixie rubbed her eyes as the call completed. A two-in-five chance that Alex could die. That was a far worse pain than the shot to her throat had been, and she would gladly have been shot in the throat again if it would have improved those odds by a fraction of a percent. But while he may need help, and may need therapy…her other great fear had abated somewhat. The doctor seemed to think that if Alex survived…Alex would survive. That the man who woke up may have trouble walking, perhaps even talking, but he would be the man who loved her, the man she loved.

She would still have cared for him no matter what; if even the tiniest scrap of her husband remained, she would care for him, because the tiniest scrap of Alex was more than she’d ever dared believe that she deserved. But she didn’t want the tiniest scrap of Alex. She was greedy. She wanted all of him. She didn’t care if he couldn’t walk or feed himself, and needed a neural translator to tease her; she just wanted him to talk to her, and tell her that she was good enough, that come what may, he was by her side.

There was nothing more that she could do to make that happen. All she could do is hope. And so she decided to hope, with every fiber of her being. And with that hope inside her, she would take the next step, as Alex would want her to.

“All right,” Rixie said, finally. “Let’s get to work.”

* * *

“Nyyriki is skeptical,” Luviisa said. “But he’s willing to vote for us if the Dronung lies, and if she doesn’t, the vote is irrelevant. You spoke to Uđđi, son?”

“Yes,” Skor said. “He’s…concerned about making enemies with the Dronung. That doesn’t mean he won’t support us, he said he will on initial motions, but he needs to have an out. He’s asked that we not take final action unless the Dronung is unable to produce her heir. Of course,” he added, “she will not be able to.”

“Of course,” Luviisa replied. “Aud, you have asked Rajinvalt to do the same?”

“I have. He has said he’d be uneasy voting for a challenge to competence without hard evidence. But he’s willing to ask for proof.”

“That is enough,” Luviisa said. “We have them willing to vote for it if we can prove it. And we can prove it. I will message ahead to the palace. We will bring Audara with. I will state that we are doing so because we have heard terrible rumors, and want her present if they are proven true.”

“Is that wise?” Skor asked. “I mean…won’t that be seen as somewhat aggressive?”

“Perhaps,” Luviisa replied. “But we know that they are scrambling. We know that they do not know what to do next. We want to press our advantage. We want to force them into a mistake.”

“And if they tell the truth,” Aud added, “then they will welcome my presence; after all, I am heir to the House of Throden. And with Carey dead…I am the senior heir. They will have no choice but to seat me.”

“Now,” Luviisa said, “I will have the cook brew up some strong techou, and then the three of us need to get ready. Today, finally, the House of Aljansen retakes its place at the head of Jotnarherath.”

* * *

Liss had been sitting on the bridge of the White Shaar, staring blankly ahead. Nest had dropped off to sleep on the co-pilot’s chair – but she could see by the position he’d worked himself into that it was hardly a restful sleep. She was too tired to join him, and too depressed. She had failed; they had all failed. And she didn’t know how she could face Alex, knowing that she’d failed to protect his wife.

If he wasn’t dead. They had transported humans to the hospital, two of them. One was probably Alex.

She really didn’t want to face Pryvani and explain how she’d failed to protect both of them.

She jumped in shock when, as if on cue, the comms lit up, a tone signaling a request for a call using Xele and Rixie’s encryption protocol. She opened the call, and her stomach fell, because the person on the other end was precisely who she didn’t want to face.

“L…lady Tarsuss,” Liss said.

“You usually call me ‘Pryvani,’ darling. I fear you are afraid that you have disappointed me. I want to assure you that you have not.”

“I just…I’m sorry,” Liss said. “I don’t know as much as you do. All I know is that there was an assassination attempt, and it sounds like it was successful.”

“Yes,” Pryvani said, “that is all that is supposed to be communicated right now. At Rixie’s request.”

“Rixie’s alive?” Liss shouted with joy, loud enough to wake Nest. “Oh, thank Otna. And I don’t even believe in Otna. I had…I feared the worst. I just…I’m sorry, Pryvani,” Liss said, “I was a bit afraid, I didn’t want to have to….”

She trailed off; Pryvani rarely showed much emotion that she didn’t want to, and Liss was used to her poker face. But there was worry behind her eyes, just peeking through.

“How is Alex?” Liss asked.

“Alive,” Pryvani said. “At least for the moment. The attacker was human, carrying a poison. Alex managed to subdue him. But he was severely injured in the process.”

All the relief she’d felt a moment before curdled in her gut. From the chair beside her, a small voice said, “Oh, goddess, no. Gorram it.”

“My sentiments exactly,” Pryvani said. “I am contacting you for two reasons, but first, I must admonish both of you; do not tell anyone what you know. Rixie is trying to spring a trap against those who attacked them. I understand she thinks it will work best if they think they have succeeded.”

“If she’s trying to spring a trap, then I will do whatever I can to keep people from seeing it until it’s sprung,” Liss said. “I hope it ends with Rixie disemboweling them.”

“As do I,” Pryvani said. “Very well. Liss, I need a pilot. I am bringing the Pygmalion, Galatea, and Amaterasu to Jutuneim, along with anyone on Tayas Mons who can possibly come. Taron is piloting the Galatea, and Zhan will helm the Amaterasu, but I need someone for the Pygmalion.”

This was not an uncommon ask, and Liss generally tried to keep track of who was nearby Avalon in the event they were needed. There was never a question of cost; Pryvani typically paid the charge of a full run for them, despite Liss incurring no fuel cost. And Liss would have loaned her pilots out anyhow; she was quite happy to keep her best client happy.

“If the Rusely is not currently docked at Folkvangr, it should be in the next six hours,” Liss said, “unless Vif has done something very stupid. And he rarely does. I will let him know that he and Sibel should dock it quick and take a shuttle down.”

“Oh, I was hoping Vif was available. I like him,” Pryvani said. “Second, Nest, are you familiar with a Jack by the name of Idon Agaser? It looks like you may have crossed paths when you were a training Palemst.”

Nest was surprised, but racked his memory. “Agaser…Agaser…yeah, name rings a bell. Was he a noncom?”

“He was,” Pryvani said.

“Okay, If it’s the guy I’m thinking of, he was pretty solid. If I remember right, he left the guard to go work with the Aenur Foundation, working security.”

“That’s what we’ve found out so far,” Pryvani said.

Nest looked at the comm screen, and the penny dropped. “Oh, goddess,” he said. “Was Agaser…was he the assassin?”

“Yes,” Pryvani said. “He was seriously injured, but he should survive. Genetic testing shows it must be him. He’s due to be woken up in the next couple of hours. Are you willing to go with the Imperators to help with questioning? I know you’re a civilian now, but….”

“Once a Jack, always a Jack. Except for this frakker. And the only reason I might hesitate is that they probably don’t want me killing him before we get intel.”

“You won’t,” Pryvani said. “You’re too good. Both of you are.”

“I wish we were better,” Liss said. “I don’t know if they told you, but…Margu Peten was involved in transporting them here. I…I didn’t even know he was alive, and….”

“I did,” Pryvani said. “And his survival is not your fault, Liss. You gave him to the Overseer, as I asked you to. He survived, somehow. One would think he was smart enough not to cross me again, especially by attacking people I love. But that is something that will be dealt with in due time.”

“I’ve never had my stretch on Penthe, and I’ve probably earned one,” Liss said. “If you need me….”

“Absolutely not,” Pryvani said. “You’re too valuable to me in the job you’re doing right now. There will be time to deal with him. And when the time comes…he will be dealt with.”

Nest nodded. “I appreciate you keeping her out of Penthe for now, Pryvani. But I’m also willing to go if I need to. Alex…well, he’s Alex.”

“Nest, I believe that there will be a long queue of people ready to avenge Alex,” Pryvani said. “And I’m at the front of it. Even if Alex survives, I’m at the front of it. I will let the Imperators know you’re happy to help. Liss, please contact Vif, though obviously, do not give him full details. And both of you…both of you probably feel like you’ve failed. But Alex Carey defended Rixie against a trained Jack who was almost two decades younger than him, and successfully. And that is where our focus should lie – Alex was the last line of defense, and he held that line. I know he’d be proud of that. I certainly am.”

“So say we all,” Liss said.

“That’s gorram right,” Nest added.

* * *

Aleks walked across the desk, and put his hand on Siru’s. “I don’t know how hard this must be for you,” he said. “There’s part of me that wishes I never overheard anything. Because I know you’re hurting, and I know it all goes back to that.”

Siru’s mouth twitched. “It does,” she said, “I suppose. But it goes back to that because my grandmother is one of the leaders of the movement to make this illegal. You and me. Dating. If my grandmother knew, she’d disown me, and I think we know now that she’d probably kill you.”

Siru downed a volume of brewleaf roughly equivalent to twice that of Aleks. “I was conflicted when I found out about this, because I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t. But it’s true, and if it’s true….”

She looked down at her boyfriend, and said, “I don’t know how you could want to still be with me after this. Knowing that I’m descended from criminals and bigots.”

“Because you aren’t a criminal, and you aren’t a bigot,” Aleks said. “And you never were. You were always clear that you didn’t know what might happen if your family found out about us, and that your title might mean we couldn’t ever go further, because you had a bride or groom picked out for you. But it wasn’t because you didn’t think I was your equal. You always did.”

“You always were better than me,” Siru said. “Still are.”

“Not at all. Whatever happens today, Siru, I want to be with you. If you end up poor, I’ll work hard to get into the Imperators Corps or something so we can pay for ourselves. We’re in this together, and if you can ignore my family, I can ignore yours.”

“I want to meet your family,” Siru said. “I want to meet good people who worked hard. People who didn’t have anything handed to them, and didn’t ever think they were better than anyone else – they just did what they had to in order to get by. And I want to learn how to do that. And if I’m poor…I’d rather be poor than follow in my grandmother’s footsteps. And if you’d have me…if…if you could….”

Aleks smiled, and kissed her hand softly. “Siru, give me time to plan a good proposal. But of course I want to be with you. Forever.”

“That’s a perfect proposal. You can’t improve on it,” Siru said, sniffling back tears. “And I want to be with you forever, too. I love you, Aleks. I’m so sorry. And I’m so grateful that you overheard them. Because you set me free.” She bent down, and kissed the top of his head once more, softly and urgently. “You set me free,” she repeated, in a whisper that seemed to surround him completely.

* * *

“I am so sorry, Rixie,” Kullervo said. “And Raja, and Tello…basically, this is all my fault.”

Rajenlif looked up from polishing her axe, and said, “That’s absolutely untrue, Kullo.”

“It was my stupidity that gave us Aud.”

“It was also your stupidity that gave us Rixie,” Rajenlif said. “The Empire has benefitted greatly from Rixie, I think; Jotnarherath has benefitted. I am asking you not to wear your mistakes heavily, brother; this is my fault, ultimately.”

“How do you figure?” Kullervo said.

“I’m Dronung. It’s always my responsibility. And I let things drift. I haven’t managed Jotnarherath’s affairs nearly closely enough. That is my fault.”

There was a long silence, that was broken by a sad, wistful voice.

“You know,” Rixie said, “back in ’02, Alex was kidnapped by Vasha Zakrov. And I felt tremendously guilty about that, as did Pryvani. We both felt that we had failed in our duty to protect him, and you know, we both did. But Alex has always been very clear about whose fault it was, and that it was Vasha’s. If he were awake right now, he’d tell me that I was being ridiculous for being mad at myself, and so were you; we know who’s responsible. Luviisa Aljansen. Aud Aljansen. Skor Aljansen. To a lesser degree, Nyyriki Daiduson and Uđđi Lavra. And of course, the assassins they hired and all the conspirators we can find, including, I’m willing to bet, folks like Vasha and Syon Fand and who-knows-who-else. And as my boss is fond of saying, we’re going to fight each one of them to the pain.”

Rixie’s voice was no longer wistful. It was hard and sharpened until it could cut to the quick. “We’ll fight them until they’re ground down and miserable, and wishing they’d simply been killed. And when we have done that, we can all learn from the experience and do better next time, and gods willing, Alex will be there all the way telling me that my plan was brilliant because I let him defend me.” She smiled, just a bit, and her voice softened. “And he won’t let me tell him that it wasn’t my plan and that I frakked up; if I tried that, he’d tell me off for bad-mouthing the woman he loves.”

“If Alex survives,” Kullervo said, “or, I suppose…well, anyhow, you know that what a parent wants in their child’s partner is for them to find someone who loves them fiercely and completely, who cares about your child the way you do. And no thanks to my lack of influence, you did, only you found someone who gave you all the love I should have over the years. I am eternally grateful to him. And knowing that Luviisa was fighting to make sure that your partner and you could not be together…I am quite happy to, as you said, grind her down.”

“As am I,” Rajenlif said. She looked down at her pad, and smiled. “They’re bringing Audara.”

Rixie nodded, and her eyed hardened to diamond. “They’ve taken the bait.”

“Well then,” Rajenlif said, “we had best get into our positions. You have your note, Kullo?”

“I do,” Kullervo said.

“And Tellervo, darling…I hate to ask you….”

“I am looking forward to it!” Tellervo said. “The best part is that I can’t flub it. If I flub it, I look all the more confused.”

Rajenlif nodded in agreement. “Very well. Rixie, you will wait for your guest to arrive; please do not kill her. At least, not yet.”

“There’s a lot of intelligence to gather,” Rixie said. “I wouldn’t want to get in the way of that.”

“All right,” Rajenlif said, hoisting her axe, “let’s head over to the Conclave. And let’s put an end to this.”