The Queen's Advantage

by Jessie Mihalik

  “I believe you are vastly overestimating your power,” Hannah said. “Valentin left you alone in a crowded foreign ballroom. If Asmo hadn’t rescued you, you would’ve been left adrift.”

  Even Joanna was paying attention now. She watched me with a calculating expression. If she expected me to give up and apologize, she was about to be disappointed.

  “I believe you are underestimating my power. Valentin left to speak to an acquaintance on a business matter that I had no interest in,” I said with a dismissive flick of my fingers. “And I am never adrift; I am always exactly where I mean to be.”

  Hannah gave me a patronizing little pat. “If you say so, dear.”

  “I can make you disappear without a trace,” Oskar threatened. “Valentin doesn’t even have to know, so whatever power you think you have is worthless.”

  Well, now, wasn’t that interesting. Oskar might not be an outright traitor, but he was definitely undermining Valentin’s authority. And this time, his daughter didn’t come to my defense.

  Imogen stepped up beside me. “Do not threaten Queen Rani,” she said.

  “Or what? You’ll fuss at me and tell me to mind my manners?” Oskar scoffed. He’d made the mistake of judging Imogen based on her appearance.

  She had opened a neural link with me before he’d finished speaking. May I? she asked.

  Yes, but don’t hurt him.

  She closed the link and had Oskar on the floor before he’d even realized she was moving. She hadn’t touched any of the others standing in our little circle. “No, Advisor Krystopa, I will not fuss at you. I will kill you,” she promised. “This is your only warning.”

  Excited murmurs spread from our location. It appeared that this was the most entertaining thing to happen at an official dinner in ages.

  “You will pay for this!” Oskar hissed. “Let me up.”

  Imogen looked to me. “Let him up,” I said. “I believe he’s learned his lesson.”

  Oskar stood and angrily straightened his suit. If looks could kill, his would strike me dead. “I will have you deported tonight,” he promised. He stormed off before I could bait him further. His daughter tossed me another disappointed look before she turned and followed her father.

  “That was poorly done, my dear,” Hannah murmured with a disapproving frown. “You should control your people.”

  “Imogen acted with my blessing.”

  Hannah tutted at me. “Then perhaps you should control yourself.”

  The fact that she was still well enough to condescend should prove the enormous extent of my control.

  “Don’t mind Oskar,” Joanna said. “He’s a blowhard. If you are having trouble at home, perhaps we could—”

  “We’ve taken up enough of Queen Rani’s time,” Hannah interrupted with a sharp smile. “I’m sure Asmo has more people to introduce.”

  A wealth of nonverbal communication passed between Hannah and Asmo. I wished I had Valentin’s ability to listen in on neural links, but by the time I considered asking him to link me in, Asmo was already directing me away.

  “Oskar will be filling Valentin’s ears by now,” Asmo said. “Are you sure you won’t be leaving tonight?”

  “I’m sure,” I said with careless confidence.

  “Why?”

  I eyed Asmo as if I were deciding whether or not to let him in on a secret. He grinned at me, a charming flash of white teeth that invited me to reveal everything. I gave him a truth hidden in a lie. “Valentin thinks I’m a damsel in distress who desperately needs his help. Now that I’m under his protection, he won’t let anything happen to me. I just have to bide my time.”

  “Until what?”

  I smiled and said nothing.

  Asmo once again leaned in close. “Valentin isn’t the only one with power,” he confided with a smirk. “If you need help, I’m sure we can come to some sort of agreement.” His hand slid a half centimeter lower, and I could practically feel Imogen’s eagerness for it to drop just a fraction farther.

  Unfortunately for her, while he bent the line to near breaking, he never quite crossed it.

  Valentin returned with two crystal flutes of sparkling wine. He held one of them out to me with an unreadable expression. “I brought you a drink, Queen Rani, as an apology for leaving.”

  I stepped away from Asmo and accepted the flute from Valentin with a genuine smile. I decided not to dwell on the happy little thrill I felt whenever he was near. He had been gone for less than half an hour, but it had felt like forever. “Thank you.”

  Valentin turned to Asmo. “Thank you, Advisor Copley, for keeping the queen company.” The dismissal was impossible to miss.

  Asmo ignored it.

  “It was my pleasure, Your Majesty. Spending time with Samara is no hardship. She is enchanting.” He lifted my free hand and kissed the backs of my fingers. When he lingered, I pulled my hand away, forcing him to release me. His eyes lit.

  I hadn’t been trying to entice him with a challenge, I’d just wanted my damn hand back. “Thank you for the escort,” I said, keeping my tone polite.

  “Have lunch with me tomorrow,” he pressed.

  “The queen is busy,” Valentin said. “She will be lunching with me.”

  That was one way to throw down a gauntlet.

  Asmo’s expression turned sly. “How about breakfast, then?” he asked me. “I could cook for you.”

  He rubbed me the wrong way, but I had no real reason to turn him down. He might be a good source of information, and I’d done worse for less.

  “Advisor Copley, I suggest you find someone else to breakfast with. Queen Rani is busy. If you will excuse us.” Valentin didn’t wait for an acknowledgement before he guided me away, his hand respectfully on my elbow.

  I connected to Valentin via neural link. If you were trying to discourage him, then it backfired spectacularly, I said. Asmo wants a challenge and you’ve just painted a target on me.

  Isn’t that what someone who is under your thumb would do? he asked.

  Who told you that?

  Oskar. He wanted to banish you. When I refused, he told me why I should. You let Imogen put him on the ground?

  Yes, because he threatened me. If my bodyguard let that go, she wouldn’t be much of a guard. I paused, then forged on, concerned by his tone. I warned you that I would say things to provoke them. And to be clear, I said you were enamored with me, not that you were under my thumb. But, either way, you know I didn’t mean it, right? I wanted to see if your advisors would tell you or try to use it to their own advantage.

  I know, Valentin said, an odd note in his voice.

  I stopped and turned to face him. “Are you sure?” I asked quietly.

  His eyes searched mine. “I know,” he repeated. Across the link, he continued, You caught me off guard. So many people have lied to me… His mental voice trailed off.

  He’d been betrayed by those closest to him, and now I’d given him reason to doubt me. It had not been my smartest decision. I’m sorry, I said. I was thoughtless. I will choose my strategies with more care in the future.

  Some of the tension drained from his face and he nodded. He offered me an arm and resumed walking once I’d taken it. And you were right: I am enamored with you. He didn’t even give me time to process that bombshell before he continued, Did you learn anything interesting?

  I blinked as I tried to get past the fact that he’d as much as admitted that his feelings went deeper than the simmering attraction between us. You can’t just say that and then carry on like nothing happened.

  Valentin grinned at whatever expression was on my face, but he didn’t comment.

  We will discuss that later. As for what I learned, I wish I had your ability. Hannah and Asmo had a moment I dearly would’ve loved to hear. Oskar told you what I said, despite the fact that he boasted he could make me disappear without your knowledge. Did any of your other advisors warn you?

  No, Valentin said.

  That could be a clue, or it coul
d mean nothing. Traitors came in three varieties. The first wanted to watch the world burn and they didn’t care who happened to be collateral damage. They were the easiest to catch because they almost universally acted in their own interest.

  I doubted Valentin’s traitors were that type or he would’ve caught them already.

  The second variety wanted to affect some sort of change—like removing an Emperor they couldn’t control. They didn’t want to destroy the Kos Empire because then they would have to give up their cushy lives. They were harder to catch because they would do things that seemed loyal right before they stabbed you in the back.

  The final variety of traitor was just in it for the money. They wouldn’t much care who they hurt along the way, but they were shrewd and careful, so they were the most difficult to catch. They would make sure everything was in place before they stabbed you in the back and disappeared into the night. My former security specialist had fallen into this category.

  My gut said Valentin’s traitors fell into the second category. They didn’t want to disrupt the status quo too much, but they’d much rather Valentin wasn’t running the ship. Which meant they were likely working with Valentin’s half-brother Nikolas.

  Do you have any intel on where Nikolas is? I asked during a lull in the conversation.

  No. He left before I returned from Arx and I haven’t heard anything since. He has not answered any of my messages. My team tracked him for a week or so before they lost him. He was still in Koan during that time.

  Is he allowed in the palace?

  Yes. He’s still my mother’s son and my brother. Mother remains hopeful that he’ll return soon.

  I closed my eyes for a second against the urge to tell Valentin exactly how stupid that was. Now was not the time. Too bad there wasn’t a convenient wall to bang my head against.

  Valentin brought me the next best thing: the two advisors I hadn’t yet alienated tonight. When Junior Mobb, the medical advisor, caught sight of me, his expression went carefully neutral. Even Myra’s expression was less-than-welcoming.

  Fantastic.

  “Queen Rani, you remember Advisor Mobb and Advisor Shah, right?” Valentin asked.

  “It’s a pleasure to see you again,” I said.

  Myra looped her arm through Junior’s and I had the sneaking suspicion that it was to keep him from darting off without acknowledging me. However, her expression remained guarded. “Are you enjoying your evening?” she asked.

  Valentin thought Myra was loyal, but Junior was an unknown, so I went with a partial truth. “It’s been interesting,” I said.

  “To be sure,” she murmured.

  I weighed my options, then initiated a connection with her via neural link. She met my eyes for several seconds before accepting.

  What? Her tone was not welcoming.

  You spoke to Oskar, I said.

  I did. It was enlightening.

  I made an executive decision. It might come back to bite me in the ass, but my gut said Myra wasn’t the traitor, and I trusted my instincts. Someone wants Valentin dead. I am not that person, but I’m going to find out who is.

  Her expression didn’t even flicker. She didn’t immediately respond, but she didn’t close the link, either.

  Valentin and Junior were talking about some new breakthrough medical research that Junior’s team was working on. They were so engrossed that Myra and I just had to murmur in agreement.

  You were testing him, she said at last. And the rest of us. Why did I pass?

  I shrugged delicately. You haven’t. But I have to start somewhere, and I think you’re loyal.

  Of course I’m loyal!

  So says every traitor, right up until they betray you.

  Myra inclined her head. What can I do to help?

  You must have suspicions. Valentin’s life is at risk. I need whatever information you have. And keep it to yourself that I’m looking.

  I will consider it. She closed the link.

  It was the best I could hope for. While it was a risk for me to trust her, it was a much bigger risk for her to trust me. For all she knew, I could be working for the traitors. And if things went poorly for me, I could leave for Arx at any time. She would be stuck here with the fallout from her actions.

  As Myra’s attitude warmed, Junior began including me in his conversation with Valentin. Junior seemed especially sensitive to Myra’s moods. He was happily married, and not to her, so I suspected that they were close friends.

  Or they were silently communicating.

  Junior had developed a new process for augmentation that cut down on the chance of rejection and also sped up the healing process. If trials continued to go well, it would be an incredible breakthrough.

  “Junior’s father performed my augmentation,” Valentin said. “He is one of the greatest doctors of his time, and Junior is continuing to expand his research.”

  Junior smiled at the praise but waved his hand. “My father is a true genius. I just do what I can.” He turned to me. “Do you have any augments, Queen Rani?”

  “I do. I was augmented many years ago.” I prayed he would leave it at that, but when his face lit with interest, I knew it wouldn’t be so simple. His gaze ran down my body in a clinical assessment, but none of my augments were so obvious.

  “Speed? Or perhaps strength?” he guessed.

  Both, actually, but when I didn’t immediately confirm or deny his guesses, Myra elbowed him. “It’s not polite to speculate, Junior. You know that.”

  He ducked his head. “My apologies. Sometimes my curiosity overrides my manners. If you would like to share anything about your experience, my door is always open.”

  I doubted he wanted to hear that I’d gone to a brilliant black-market hack who had nearly killed me. The vast sum of money I’d spent had gotten me top-of-the-line augments, but none of the pre- or post-care that wealthy imperial citizens received. It’d taken me a month to recover and another six to retrain my muscle memory. I’d barely scraped by that year.

  “I wish you luck with your trials,” I said. “Improving the process is good news for everyone.” While I doubted it would bring the cost down to where normal people could afford casual augmentation, it was a step in the right direction.

  Valentin touched my hand, a signal that we were about to depart, but before he could make excuses, the ballroom’s double doors opened and a hush fell over the room.

  A petite older woman in an exquisite dark gray gown entered. The uniformed attendant at the top of the stairs announced, “Her Imperial Majesty Dowager Empress Marguerite Kos of the Kos Empire.”

  It took a second for the statement to process through my stunned brain. Valentin’s mother had just entered the ballroom.

  Chapter Eight

  Valentin tried to guide me toward his mother while I did my best to drag my feet without being obvious about it. I failed.

  “What is wrong?” he asked.

  “You didn’t tell me your mother was here,” I hissed under my breath.

  He looked surprised. “Of course she’s here. Where else would she be?”

  The simple logic of the statement only made it worse. Of course she was here. I knew Valentin’s mother still lived, and I knew she usually resided in Koan, but it had never occurred to me that she still attended official events. That was a research failure on my part.

  Despite dragging my feet, Valentin had us positioned at the bottom of the stairs by the time the dowager empress had descended. I studied her from under my lashes.

  Entertainment media through the years had led us to believe that empresses should be tall and stately, as sharp and beautiful as statues cut from icy crystal. Valentin’s mother was none of those things. She was petite, plump, and pretty. Laugh lines fanned out from the corners of her eyes and her dark hair was threaded with gray. When she smiled at Valentin, her whole face lit up. She wore her emotions on her sleeve, something that had come through even in her photos.

  Valentin kissed the air next
to her cheek. “Hi, Mom.”

  “Hello, darling. Don’t keep me in suspense; introduce me to the lovely lady on your arm.”

  “Mother, may I present Queen Samara Rani of the Rogue Coalition. Samara, this is my mother, Dowager Empress Marguerite Kos.”

  I bowed with the same level of deference I’d used for Valentin. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty.”

  “Please, call me Margie. I’m so happy to meet you! I’ve heard so much about you.” Her eyes sparkled with warmth. Clearly she hadn’t heard the same rumors as everyone else. She lowered her voice. “Valentin told me how you saved him. You have my gratitude. If you ever need anything, you only have to ask.”

  “Thank you, Your M—Margie, but I’m afraid I did it for entirely selfish reasons. And Valentin has already more than repaid me.”

  Something sharp and fierce flashed across her face, totally at odds with her previous warm, easygoing attitude. “Saving your people isn’t selfish,” she chided. “And even if it were, you returned my son to me. That is priceless. My offer stands.”

  I bowed my head. “Of course. Thank you.”

  Valentin chuckled beside me. “You’ll find that Mom gets her way more often than not,” he confided. “She’s tricky like that.”

  Margie smiled serenely and didn’t deny the claim. She linked her arm through mine. “Let’s take a turn around the room, see what the vultures are up to today. While we walk, tell me about your gorgeous dress. I’m always looking for a bright new tailor.”

  I told her about the tailor and the fittings and how my two best friends had bullied me into buying the dress despite the cost. That led to a discussion about my friends, and Arx, and much more than I’d been meaning to share. I caught myself mid-sentence. “Oh, you’re good,” I breathed.