Ascendant Sun: A New Novel in the Saga of the Skolian Empire Read Online Free PDF Page A

vicinity?"

Jay shook his head. "Not anymore. The ASC had one up north, near Bartanna Shore on the Estaria continent, but they evacuated before the Collapse."

Why would the Advance Services Corps leave? "Where did they go?"

"Apparently they were part of the Radiance invasion force."

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"With the base personnel?"

"With everything. The Radiance War."

Jay didn't seem surprised by his disorientation. "Where would you like me to start?"

"What happened to the Ruby Dynasty?" Kelric asked.

He felt the boy's sudden tension. Nothing showed on Jay's face, but his gaze lost its warmth. Kelric might as well have thrown a bucket of snow at him.

"They're gone," Jay said.

No, Kelric thought. "Dead?"

"Yes." Jay's face was stiff. "Or imprisoned."

"Surely not all of them."

"All." The boy sounded as if he were clenching his teeth.

Kelric somehow managed to keep his face from betraying his shock. He sat still, afraid that if he moved, spoke, did anything, it would reveal his inner turmoil.

He wondered, too, at the intensity of Jay's reaction. The boy seemed almost as upset as Kelric. Maybe it was true, what the political powers of Skolia believed, that the Ruby Dynasty served as a symbol of morale for the general populace. Kelric's family descended from the ancient dynasty that had founded the Ruby Empire. Technically they no longer ruled, but only served as keepers of the psiberweb. However, the survival of civilization depended on the web.

When Kelric had composed himself enough to speak again, he asked the question he dreaded. "Which members of the dynasty died?"

Jay answered in a flat voice. "Kurj Skolia. Sauscony Valdoria. Althor Valdoria. The Ruby Pharaoh, Dyhianna Selei. Her heir, Taquinil Selei. Her consort, Eldrin Valdoria."

Kelric didn't know how he kept his face calm. The shock was too great. His aunt Dehya, the Pharaoh, dead? Her son Taquinil? Gone? And gods, not Eldrin. Not his brother, Eldrin, the firstborn, oldest of the Valdoria children, with his spectacular singing voice, his affectionate smile, and his disconcerted pride as his "little" brother Kelric had grown into a giant who towered over him.

It couldn't be true. They couldn't be dead. Not all of them.

"What of the rest?" he asked. What had happened to his parents? "Eldrinson Valdoria and Roca Skolia?"

"They're on Earth," Jay said. "In protective custody."

Relief flooded Kelric, followed by a drive to see them, one so strong it almost overwhelmed him. "When do they return?"

An edge came into Jay's voice. "Never."

He saw no reason for his parents to stay on Earth. "Why?"

"To ensure the war doesn't start again."

Then Kelric understood. "The Allieds won't let them go."

"That's right."

"What about the rest of the family?"

Jay's fist clenched until the holograph in his hand ripped. He didn't even notice. "The Allied military is holding their six surviving children prisoner on the world Lyshriol. You may not be familiar with the name; it's called Skyfall by the general public. It's the home world for one branch of the Ruby Dynasty."

Kelric knew the name Lyshriol perfectly well. He had grown up there. The war had brought even more changes than he realized, if Earth now had control of Lyshriol, one of Imperial Skolia's best-guarded possessions.

"Who is Imperator now?" Kelric asked. It amazed him how calm his voice sounded when he was breaking inside. He kept his mind barriered, in case Jay had any empathic ability.

"There is no Imperator," Jay said. "Sauscony Valdoria had no heirs." In an oddly strained voice, he added, "At least none she revealed."

Of all the scenarios Kelric had imagined for his return, none included finding himself the sole free member of his family. Was it possible the reports were premature? "Have the deaths been verified?"

"What, you think an avenging angel will appear to bring Skolia back its glory? You want a savior from the Ruby Dynasty? You and a trillion other people. Well, I'll tell you. It