›Home sweet home, and it’s all mine again, finally. I have to stop having offspring that stick around.‹
›I think she needed the extra help. Is she really all better?‹
›No, but Cassandra has things well in hand.‹
Mike felt Ellie’s hands go around his waist. He opened his eyes to find her staring at him from inches away, her eyes his whole world.
“Has Jake told you what’s coming next?”
“Uh, no.”
She put her arms around his neck, stood on her toes, and kissed him on the lips, a long, warm, inviting kiss. “I’m what’s next, if you’ll have me,” she breathed, leaning back slightly, still staring into his eyes.
Mike blinked, then closed his eyes. “Not fair. You Tested me. You know how I feel.”
“I do know.” She stepped away slightly and unbuttoned a button on her blouse, then another, revealing the soft swell of a breast. Her eyes took on a distant look, a sweet look.
“Wait, Ellie,” he said, taking her back into his arms.
She smiled. “You cannot command the Queen. And my realm desperately needs to restore the Chosen. There’s only one way to do that. Must I beg?”
“Never,” he said. “But I’m selfish. I want all of you, not just a part of you.”
“What part of me have I not offered?”
“The part that calls you the Queen of All Space and me a man from an emerging world. You told me once that the Chosen do not marry for love.”
Her gaze hardened. “They don’t carry Riders or enter ships nets, either. I know your customs. Test my commitment.”
He stared long into her eyes, then lowered himself to one knee. “I love you, Ellie. Will you marry me?”
She sunk down to both knees in front of him, taking both of his hands in her own, very focused. “Remember the words of the Leaf People?”
“How could I forget?”
“Say them.”
Looking into her eyes, he repeated the words from Val’s story. “The Knight will stand with you. Lean on him, love him if you will, but hear him well, for he holds the keys. Your talents are nothing without the keys.”
She nodded. “The Leaf People were right, Michael. My talents are nothing without the keys.”
She looked at his hands, separating them and feeling them, rubbing her fingers across them possessively. “These are the hands of the man of dirt. The dirt of your ancestors has sifted through these fingers. So, too, have the stars of our realm. These hands have fought for me, they have held me, and when I fell to the gleason’s knife, they literally held the keys to a kingdom.”
She brought his hands to her lips and kissed them, staring into his eyes. “I am Queen, and I rule, but when it comes to our love, I kneel before you. I am your woman, you are my man. I love you, Michael, and yes, I will marry you in accordance with your customs.”
“Uh, we’re talking about a few hundred more years here, Ellie.”
“We’re talking about a lifetime, however long that is. My heart is settled on this score, so don’t try to weasel your way out of it. The decree is already drawn up. You just have to add your signature to mine.”
“You planned this?”
Her eyes sparkled. “I’ve been planning it for a long time.”
“I had visions of trumpets and thousands of people. I’ve been scared to death to ask.”
A wizened look came to her face. “Once, that would have been the process. We’re building anew from the ashes. I am Queen, and I intend to make some changes. Now will you come to me?”
As they walked arm in arm toward the dining room the next morning, he asked her, “Does this mean I’m no longer First Knight?”
“You’ve always been more than First Knight, Michael. You’re the Knight. Never forget. Until this crisis is over, the Empire needs a First Knight more than it needs a king. I don’t see how you can be First Knight when you’re King, but I want you to continue as First Knight. And when the time comes, you’ll have a say in who your replacement will be.”
Mike stopped dead in his tracks, looking straight ahead. “Stop this about ‘King.’ I’m no king. I think the official title is ‘consort,’ is it not?”
She took his arm possessively and continued down the hallway. “Sorry, Michael, it doesn’t work that way here. You’re now officially King. You rule beside me.”
He pulled her to a stop. “You’re joking. Please tell me you’re joking, or that we can keep it a secret or something. Please.”
“Sorry, King Michael. Or is it King Carver?” She thought a moment, a mischievous look in her eyes, and said, “I guess King works well enough all by itself.”
“You’re just having fun with me.”
She took his arm and turned him to face herself, serious all of a sudden. “Michael, you are King. And you are my husband, I am your wife. Got it?”
“But you’re the Queen of All Space.”
“Then you’re King of all Space. Accept it, Michael. You might be a man from an emerging world, but never forget: you were called. You hold the keys, and my Talents are nothing without the keys. What can be more kingly than that?”
She reached a hand up to caress his cheek. “Be a king, Michael. It’s your Empire now, too. Our Empire needs us, both of us.”
Later that very day, Mike, Reba, Alexis, and Mildred, along with Jessie and four Guardians left for Earth. The Empire could not afford a honeymoon for its King and Queen at the moment. Resolve and Joline lifted off together and didn’t waste any time. They were fast ships, at least until reaching Earth’s system.
Alexis and Mildred accompanied them to Earth at Ellie’s insistence. Her near death had highlighted the fragility of the line of Chosen, and she knew it was only a matter of time before word leaked out that Parsons’ World was bankrolling the Queen. When it did, Rebel knowledge of Shipyard would not be far behind. When that happened, the Rebels would hold nothing in reserve. Until the Rebels were defeated, she would live with the knowledge that an invisible, or nearly invisible, gleason might show up at her side without warning. Until the Empire could protect the line of Chosen, she and Alexis must never be in the same place at the same time. And what safer place to hide Alexis than Earth? Everyone there, they believed, was immune to the Chessori mind weapon, and it was not likely anyone would think to look for her on an emerging world.
Ellie’s eyes followed the two ships as they rose silently from their berths. Her eyes stayed lifted to the sky long after the ships disappeared, her thoughts turning inward. She was truly alone now. She was separated from her child again, and her precious Knights were scattered to the stars as they strove mightily to save the Empire, all in her name. And there would be more struggles to come, of that she was certain. She didn’t know what form they would take, and she knew they might not all be successful. Her own part, standing before the Imperial Senate some day in the future on her own home world, a world that was now the heart of the rebellion, filled her with fear and anger. Such a waste, and all because of one man. One man among trillions of intelligent beings, one man who had held a position of trust, one man who had ruthlessly betrayed that trust.
Struthers.
If she accomplished nothing else with her life, she would restore the Empire to its full glory. After the rebellion was put down, she would entertain changes to her ruling status, but until then she would rule with the full power of the law behind her, her Knights and warriors beside her to enforce those laws. That was the position of trust the Empire and its citizens had bestowed upon her, and she would not let them down.
She turned to walk back across the tarmac, waving away the offer of a ride. Her Protectors turned with her, their eyes searching everywhere for threats. Her thoughts turned inward.
›I miss him already.‹
›I know, but what you have chosen is right. His mission is critical.‹