Page 2 of Touch the Stars
I live to serve.
He fell in, a respectful pace behind.
“As you know, the title of grand emperor is not hereditary.Each one is appointed by the Ancient Ones, who speak through the Empire’s Heart.”
“Yes, Great One.”
Appointed, then made a citizen of all the empire’s planets during a raucous, months-long coronation ceremony that progressed from one planet to the next.He had been a child of ten years when this emperor took up the mantle.As emperors served until their deaths, and Ragatians were longer-lived than Undetans, it was unlikely he would see another such ceremony.
The fingers of the emperor’s dominant arm curled and relaxed.“They have spoken, and the news is dire.”
Had he been summoned because the Ancient Ones had spoken his name from the holy crystal?
He stepped through the next archway and a sharp, acrid odor enveloped him.His gaze slid to the blooming Ragatiansidabushes scattered throughout the garden, then swallowed hard to subdue his gag reflex.If the stink from the yellow-gray blossoms brought joy to the one who had renounced all ties and allegiances to his home world and assumed a lifetime of celibacy, so be it.
Despite the current imperial leader’s questionable taste in horticulture, Ghara was still a gorgeous planet.None of the other nineteen planets’ skies glowed a soothing shade of pale orange.As the original home of the Ancient Ones, it had served as the imperial residence since the empire’s formation.
The grand emperor continued deeper into the garden along a wide path of gray and white stones.“They have determined that it is time to search for my successor.”
His stride faltered.A successor already?The grand emperor was still young by Ragatian standards.Younger than his own parents, hardly near the Golden Door.
“How can this be, Great One?”
“I understand your confusion.”The emperor indicated toward the lake-sized expanse of water ahead with one square hand.“Sit with me by the reflecting pool and listen to my words.”
“As you desire, my liege.”
The lake’s surface was as smooth as a polished crystal window pane awaiting imperial bidding.Unnatural silence pressed against his ears.No amphibious creatures croaked, no insect wings buzzed, and no fish swirled the water’s surface.Not even avians warbled their songs.Such creatures would disturb the unmarred surface, rendering the pool useless for its intended purpose.Reflection.
The emperor sank his hulking form onto a large stone bench, leaving a smaller bench for him.As he lowered himself, he allowed his gaze to glide along the perfect curvature of the water’s edge to a stone bridge that joined the main garden with the small, wooded island in the lake’s center.The legendary home of the Empire’s Heart, which housed the Ancient Ones.
“A new planet is poised to become a threat to the Gharan Empire.”The emperor sounded troubled.“The Ancient Ones have counseled me, and their wisdom is indisputable.Bringing this planet into the empire’s fold will end that threat.They have decreed that my heir will come from this planet.”
“Adding a planet to the empire has never been done since the original nineteen—”
The red spark of warning flashed in the obsidian eyes.“Question not the Ancient Ones’ will.”
He clamped his lips together and lowered his gaze to focus on the emperor’s squared chin.Since the empire’s formation millennia ago, the Ancient Ones had not once failed the planets in their care.
“Your brother was executed as a traitor on Ragat.”
The blunt words stung.
“Yes, my liege.”
Buuren’s execution had been carried out before his family gained the necessary permissions to land on Ragat.No explanation was given, and the humiliation of it still burned in his soul.
The emperor leaned forward, placing his secondary hand over his dominant shoulder, covering where his heart resided in his armpit.“I am truly sorry for your loss, even though his offense was against me and my people.”
“My family is at your mercy, my liege.May I make a query?”
“You may.”The emperor lowered his hand to his lap.
“Have I been summoned to pay a greater penalty for my brother’s crime on my family’s behalf?”
The emperor’s chuckle rumbled like rocks rolling down a hillside, and his wide smile revealed razor-sharp teeth.“Not at all, Warrior Baatar.I called you here to offer you the opportunity to restore your family’s honor.”The macabre grin disappeared as his jaw tightened.“You must fetch my heir from this new planet.”
A task, then, not death, to regain his family’s honor?A sense of purpose rose in his chest, and he met the imperial gaze.All the red in the royal eyes from moments before, gone.
