The Empire (The Lover's Opalus) Read Online Free PDF Page B

also that he is cruel. Do not listen to her!”
    In a breath he stood before her. His body seemed strung tight as a bow. His hands flexed as though he would put them at her throat. “You are never to call me Lanus again. You will never question the Empress again before me or any other.”
    “Yes, Emperor.” Her response was immediate. She lowered her head deep enough to show both respect and deference. She wondered if Raeche was satisfied, pleased even, with the Emperor’s response.
    Quickly, the Personal realized the little plague had melted away in the darkness. The Emperor’s eyes seemed to long for her.
    * * * *
    Valor brought her back from the vision. “It   matters not that we dislike the Empress, or that she did not spend ages reasoning through it, or that she refused to attend the Ascension, or that she does not bear the burden of a heavy heart, or that it is well-known that Whrennal’s Prince has failed in all tests of manhood. The strategy is sound. Your sister’s marriage to Praytor does end the conflict.”
    Her knees shook as she wilted onto her seat, face in her hands.
    Valor did not touch her. However, he vowed, “I will ride West and look in on Dahouina. You have my word.”
     

 

 
    Chapter 7
     
    On a gray but dry morning, the Emperor did not go to court. He did not visit kings or queens. He did not hear disputes. He did not go to the South for blood sport. Nor did he go west for Praytor the Unmanned’s Ascension. Instead, he asked Raeche to join him and the children for a light repast and recreation on the lawn to the East.
    This day, she held her hands to her abdomen while watching Rucha and little Eynow swing in a dangerous contraption made of metal that groaned with each forward motion and looked as if it would cast them into the sky. The sound of it caused her to shiver. The Emperor sat on the ground beside her, laughing.
    Her tone evoked the Spirit of Neutrality. “Emperor, have you not a worry?”
    “No. The children wear the Spirit of Protection. Taritana blessed them this morning.”
    “The children are blessed that she does not reject duties meant for their benefit.”
    The Emperor did not respond to her barb. “They will wear it until they are put down for the night.”
    Raeche nodded though the knot in her stomach did not lessen. “Has she gone West then?”
    Again, he made no answer.
    “Strong with the Spirit of Will, my Personal. Do you think her loyalty to the Empire will supersede her desire to save her sister from Praytor?”
    “I think, perhaps, that we should have played this way.” He gestured to the children, with the smallest of glances at Raeche.
    The Empress licked her lips and took a long breath. In ignoring her question Lanus invited war between them, yet Raeche sensed he meant it as observation alone. Built into that observation was something more important. Eynow’s parents, the king and queen of Innov, had been raised together as children. Taught as one, counseled as one, even bedded down as one in the night. It was the way of the Innov. They surely lived for each other and their offspring, all twelve of them, of which Rucha’s little prince was the eleventh. They had encouraged a closer relationship between the children, though even they had not wanted Eynow to be parted from the family for long.
    Eynow had been selected for his lineage: a pedigree that closely resembled the Emperor’s, his age–just nine cycles older than Rucha–his deep connection with Spirit, and his stature as the eleventh child. He would lack ambition or the necessary aggression. Intelligent and kind, he would have a freedom in life that would balance the ruler Rucha would become. Rucha, her father’s daughter, loved fiercely but cruelty paced within her alongside determination and ambition. Hers was a warring nature.
    Watching the children now, Raeche was pleased by the Emperor’s invitation. She loved her daughter in truth, and, lately, she had come to accept that Rucha