Miralitt’s guards entered the throne room. It took about three minutes to corral the Behoun delegation and get them out of the inn.
“Candidate Prysen Ol,” the Sovereign said. “I judge you guilty of attempted murder of the Sovereign. In light of your full cooperation, I sentence you to seven years of labor, so you can atone for your crimes, to be served under the authority of the Holy Ecclesiarch of the Dominion.”
In the Observer Gallery, the First Scholar preened.
“I accept my punishment,” Prysen Ol said.
“The People of Kai, you have failed in your due diligence and have brought an assassin as your candidate. Your minor ask cannot be granted; however, the Dominion acknowledges your efforts and is ready to continue our diplomatic relations.”
The Kai leader spoke. “We regret this unfortunate happening. We shall continue our efforts. May the Sovereign be healthy. May his mother be healthy. May his grandfather on his mother’s side be healthy. May his grandmother…”
It took them a few minutes to run through all of Kosandion’s extended relatives. Even Caldenia got a wish of health. Finally, they wished good health to his future spouse and children and departed.
“Now we must resolve the matter of the spouse,” Kosandion said.
Oond shivered his fins weakly.
Lady Wexyn nodded slowly.
“There are those in the Dominion who call for this selection to be voided, so a new selection can occur,” the Sovereign said. “They desire a new search so the perfect candidate to be my spouse can be found. Do the candidates wish to state their opinions on this matter?”
Oond’s fins flashed. “No.”
“No, Letero,” Lady Wexyn said.
The acolytes bared their teeth and hissed.
“Very well.” Kosandion rose, stone-faced. “I, Letero Kolivion, Dystim Arbiento, Sovereign of the Seven Star Dominion, He Who Is Immune to Fate, the Light of the Morning Sun, declare this selection to be over.”
On the screens, the Dominion citizens stared, some horrified, some outraged. The sound was off, so only their images came through. The Dominion was in chaos. The throne room was silent and still like a tomb.
In this stillness, Lady Wexyn turned and walked back toward the door.
“Because the perfect candidate has been found,” Kosandion said. “She is trying to walk away from me right now.”
Lady Wexyn stopped.
Kosandion walked down the steps, off the dais, and crossed the floor to her. She turned, her face almost comically puzzled, completely at odds with her crown and the dress soaked in metaphorical blood.
Kosandion took her hand. His eyes were warm, and a smile stretched his lips.
“Have I finally managed to surprise you, my lady?”
She looked at his fingers holding her hand and then back at him.
“Think carefully, Letero,” she told him. “Once it is done, it may be too late to regret it.”
“No matter what the future will bring, this will be the one thing I will never regret. Will you marry me?” he asked.
She opened her mouth. Nothing came out.
He dipped his head to look at her face.
“Yes,” Lady Wexyn said.
On the screens, the crowds of the Dominion exploded in cheers. I turned the sound back on and the happy roar flooded the room. Oond sagged in relief in his fishbowl. Caldenia beamed.
Kosandion hugged Lady Wexyn to him, his face glowing. She smiled back at him. They stood together, a perfect pair, completely focused on each other.
Orata was waving at me.
Oh. The finale! Almost forgot.
I tapped my broom. The floor, the walls and the ceiling of the throne room vanished into the darkness of the cosmos. A galaxy ignited in the black depths and blossomed into a myriad of stars. Radiant nebulae shone with brilliant color. The first planet of the Dominion, a jeweled orb in green and blue, rotated slowly in the distance, followed by other planets, the symbols of the interstellar nation's glory. In the middle of it all, Kosandion and Lady Wexyn stood, holding each other.
The First Sun of the Dominion rose across one of the hidden walls. Its light caught the couple, washing over them, setting them aglow.
Glittering stars and flower petals rained from the ceiling, swirling in a phantom wind.
Kosandion said something. His words were lost in the noise, but I was an innkeeper and I heard them anyway.
“I finally caught you.”
“You silly fool,” she whispered back.
Kosandion and I leaned on the rail of his balcony. In front of us, Kolinda’s ocean shimmered with the light of early evening. A ghostly moon was slowly rising, a scrap of gossamer against the sky. Below us on the beach I had made, Caldenia and Lady Wexyn watched the water and spoke in hushed tones, too low to make out.
Both women had abandoned their elaborate dresses for more practical clothes. Caldenia wore a modest gown in her favorite sage, while Lady Wexyn left the crown of needles behind and switched to simple blue and white robes.
“Are you curious what they’re talking about?” I asked Kosandion.
“If I said yes, would you allow me to spy on them?”
“No.”
He smiled.
“Is this really what you want?” I asked.
“It’s what I’ve wanted for a long time.”
“You realize that you might have been manipulated?”
“I know I have. But the question is, to what end?” He looked at Lady Wexyn. “She doesn’t want power. She doesn’t want wealth or prestige. She just wants me. Nobody has ever gone to that much trouble just for me.”
“What about the Dominion?”
Kosandion turned around and leaned his back against the rail. “You’ve asked me if public opinion could be swayed before. Since the beginning of the selection, before we even entered your inn, I had committed every resource at my disposal to doing just that. I wanted her to win. I knew that she would take advantage of every opportunity, and she has done it brilliantly. At first, they were amused by her. Some of them ridiculed her. Then they grudgingly acknowledged her skills. They began to like her, and with every appearance, she seduced them a little more until she had them in the palm of her hand. She had endeared herself to them and by the end they wanted her to win as much as I did. Last night I nearly brought my nation to the breaking point by implying the selection would be canceled. The public outcry in her favor drowned out the remaining critics. The Dominion loves her.”
“You never meant to marry Nycati, then? But you told him he was your first choice.”
“He was about to take his life into his hands. He was doubting everything, from his birthright to his own abilities. I merely steadied him on his feet.”
“And Vercia?”
“I ended that relationship as soon as Wexyn agreed to enter the selection.”
“So it was about her from the very beginning?”
He nodded.
“Why her?”
“I don’t know. There is something about her. I can’t describe it, but I feel it. My life is very regimented, and it always has been. My time is rationed like water in the desert. So much of it isn’t mine. And she, she is chaos. She loves me for me, and I’m a deeply selfish man. I want all of that love. She is the one person who is just mine, outside of the rules and regulations. Nobody picked her for me, nobody picked me for her.”
“You picked each other.”
“Precisely. It is indescribably rare in my world. An outrageous luxury.”
He looked at her over his shoulder.
“I have worked beyond all limits to crush most of my pressing problems during this selection. I’ve steadied the borders. The Hope Crushing Horde will busy itself with Surkar and his faction. The Holy Anocracy must sort out House Meer. The largest Gaheas kingdom is about to have a civil war, and the rest of their kingdoms will sit tight to watch it. The Murder Beaks, who were itching to invade, will target the Muterzen Fleet. I’ve dismantled the leadership of the Conservative Alliance and forced Behoun to make their choice. The domestic opposition to my rule is reeling and will take some time to formulate a new strategy. I’ve done all this to buy us a little respite. Some quiet time for me and her. It won’t last, but we will enjoy every moment to the fullest before the Dominion births yet another catastrophe and hurls it into my lap.”