Torin cast the prince a disapproving glare, but the emperor wheezed a small chuckle.
Kai felt his eyes misting and had to look away, down at fingertips pressed into the windowsill.
“How much longer?” he said, quiet so his father wouldn’t hear.
Torin shook his head. “Days, if that.”
Kai could feel Torin’s gaze on him, understanding but also harsh.
“You should be grateful for the time you have with him. Most people don’t get to see their loved ones when they’re taken away.”
“And who wants to see their loved ones like this?” Kai looked up. His father was struggling to stay awake, his eyelids twitching. “Med, bring him water.”
The android rolled to the emperor’s side and lifted his backrest, guiding a glass of water to his lips and wiping away the dribble with a white cloth. He did not drink much but seemed refreshed when he had sunk again into the pillows.
“Kai…”
“I’m here,” Kai said, his breath fogging the glass.
“Be strong. Trust…” His words broke into a cough. The med-droid held a towel to his mouth, and Kai caught a glimpse of blood against the cotton. He shut his eyes, measuring his breath.
When he opened them again, the med-droid was filling the IV with clear liquid, something to ease the pain. Kai and Torin watched as the emperor sank into a motionless sleep. Like watching a stranger. Kai loved him but couldn’t quite connect the sick man before him with the vibrant father he’d had a week ago.
One week.
A shudder ran through him, and Torin squeezed his shoulder. Kai had forgotten his hand was there.
“Your Highness.”
Kai said nothing, staring at his father’s chest as it rose and fell.
The fingers on his shoulder tightened briefly, then fell away. “You are going to be emperor, Your Highness. We must begin to prepare you. We’ve already put it off too long.”
Too long. One week.
Kai pretended not to hear him.
“As His Majesty said, you must be strong. You know I will help in any way I can.” Torin paused. “You’re going to be a fine leader.”
“No. I’m not.” Kai tugged a hand through his hair, pulling it back from his scalp.
He was going to be emperor.
The words rang hollow.
The true emperor was there, in that bed. He was an imposter.
“I’m going to go talk to Dr. Erland,” he said, stepping back from the glass.
“The doctor is busy, Your Highness. You shouldn’t keep distracting him.”
“I just want to ask if there’ve been any developments.”
“I’m sure he will tell you immediately if there are.”
Kai set his jaw and fixed his gaze on Torin, the man who had been his father’s adviser since before Kai was born. Even now, standing in the same room with Torin made him feel like a child, gave him a peculiar urge to be unruly. He wondered if he would ever get over that.
“I need to feel like I’m doing something,” he said. “I can’t just stand here watching him die.”
Torin’s eyes dropped. “I know, Your Highness. It’s hard for all of us.”
It’s not the same, Kai wanted to say, but held his tongue.
Torin turned away from him, facing the window, and bowed his head. “Long live the emperor.”
Kai repeated the words, whispering around the dryness in his throat. “Long live the emperor.”
They were silent leaving the visitors room and walking down the hallway to the elevators.
A woman was waiting for them. Kai should have expected it—she was always nearby these days, when she was the last person on Earth he wanted to see.
Sybil Mira. Head thaumaturge to the Lunar Crown. Exceptionally beautiful, with waist-length black hair and warm, honeyed skin. She wore the uniform befitting her rank and title: a long white coat with a high collar and bell-shaped sleeves, embroidered along the hems with runes and hieroglyphs that meant nothing to Kai.
Five paces behind her stood her ever-present, ever-silent guard. He was a young man as handsome as Sybil was beautiful, with blond hair pulled into a low ponytail and sharp features that Kai had yet to see an expression on.
Sybil’s lips curved as Kai and Torin approached, but her gray eyes remained cold.
“Your Imperial Highness,” she said with a graceful dip of her head. “How fares the honorable Emperor Rikan?”
When Kai didn’t respond, Torin answered, “Not well. Thank you for your concern.”
“I am most displeased to hear that.” She sounded about as displeased as a cat who’d just cornered a mouse. “My mistress sends her condolences and a wish for a speedy recovery.”
She fixed her eyes on the prince, and her image seemed to shudder before him like a mirage. Whispers filled his head. Respect and admiration, compassion and concern.
Kai tore his gaze from her, silencing the voices. It took a moment for his racing pulse to steady.
“What do you want?” he said.
Sybil gestured toward the elevators. “A word with the man who will soon be emperor…should the fates deem it so.”