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being buffed to a high shine.”
    Captain Kredik was still snickering when she was escorted from the private and highly secure restroom to the imperial chambers.
    Usorn was sitting at a desk and going over the petitions. His tea tray was sitting to one side, and he looked up with a rueful smile. “I suppose it would be too much to ask you to be less efficient.”
    “Of course, Emperor Usorn. I will do less petitions tomorrow.” She inclined her head and moved the scribe’s desk he had set up in his chamber.
    With efficient movements, she set up the parchments and prepared the surface for ink.
    Her keepers removed themselves from the audience chamber, and she waited for Usorn to make a move.
    He glanced at her. “Did you enjoy dinner after we left?”
    She shook her head. “No, I left after you did. My guards and I were all tired from the trip.”
    He raised his eyebrows. “That is too bad. I hear it was quite good.” He chuckled. “I suppose I owe you a dinner now.”
    Ari shook her head. “It is not necessary, but thank you.”
    “I am your emperor, and if I say that I will have dinner with you, I will.”
    She blinked. “Of course.”
    He sighed.
    She cleared her throat. “How was your mission last night?”
    “We rescued two citizens trapped in a vehicle under the collapsed slope and shored it up against further degradation in the rains.”
    Usorn looked at her and held up the first document. “Shall we begin?”
    “Please.”
    “I am addressing the issue of the offer of a bride from the Jurskak system. While the offer is appreciated, I decline the invitation to join with one of the royal houses of Jurskak. My family has always found their own mates and no alliance will influence my marriage bed.”
    Ari blanked her mind and recorded each decision and all comments offered by the emperor. When she had dried them all, she passed them to him for his seal.
    They had gone through the twenty petitions in ninety minutes. It seemed that Ari had the rest of the afternoon off.
    She looked at Usorn and cleared her throat as he confirmed her writing and set his seal to the documents. “Am I dismissed for the day?”
    “When I tell you you are dismissed, you will be.” He smiled slightly and kept sealing each of the documents.
    She sorted her tools and set them all in their precise positions. She rubbed her hands and applied the cream that would help with the cramping once again.
    “What is that?”
    She looked up from her focused massage. “Oh, it is cream that I use to warm the stiff muscles of my hand. Allowing my tendons to shorten can dramatically reduce my usefulness as a scribe.”
    “Does writing for all those hours hurt?”
    Ari smiled. “Not until I stop. When I stop, I feel the tension and the constriction of the muscles.”
    He set the pages down and cocked his head. “Are you truly content to just write each and every day?”
    She looked at him in surprise. “Yes. I have loved putting pen to paper since I was a child. To be able to do it every day is a joy.”
    Usorn stroked the edge of the parchment he was holding and her gaze fixed on that light touch. “What do your lovers think of your obsession?”
    Surprised, she met his gaze. “They don’t stay around long enough to have a valid opinion.”
    His lips quirked. “You drive them off?”
    “I am very good at it. It is a strong secondary talent.” She smiled.
    “What would you do if you found a man you couldn’t drive off?”
    Ari shrugged. “I don’t know. It has not happened yet.”
    “A reasonable answer.”
    “Thank you.” She closed her kit and folded her hands on the desk.
    He set his seal and moved on to the final parchment. He nodded and finished his authorization for his decision.
    “Good. Come with me.”
    Ari got to her feet and met him halfway. He tucked her hand into the curve of his elbow.
    “I do not think you have seen the gardens yet. It would be a pity to come to Hredu and miss the imperial gardens.”
    She