“You are famously welcome.” I scanned the ballroom from the dais, hoping to either spot Qole or at least mentally fortify myself for the next conversation.
Conceived and built centuries ago, the room echoed many older design elements of the Dracorte family. Sweeping birds with silver-tipped wings were carved into the domed white walls, fading into darker blues as they rose, until they turned a pitch black that made the ceiling invisible. There, glowing faintly, were lights representing the Dracorte system. I craned my neck attempting to spot it, and sure enough, on the far edge of the cavernous ballroom flared the dot of light that represented Alaxak. Ket squeezed my arm, bringing my attention to the man approaching us.
It takes nerve for you to show up here, I thought. Dressed in the black and symbol-bedecked uniforms his family preferred, and possessing scrupulously shaved and lotioned cheeks, the man was burned into my memory from dozens of inter-system war games held at the Academy.
“Lord Khala Treznor-Nirmana.” Even those born well before the marriage alliance had changed their surnames, as if to make it so the families had never been separate. I waited to bow until he finally did. I matched his with one almost as deep, except a shade shallower. Was that a slight, on my part? Observers wouldn’t know, but they might wonder.
“Prince Nevarian Dracorte. It is such a relief to see that you have returned from your travels in such good health.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Space travel can indeed be treacherous, but I was fortunate. I found only some trivial annoyances on an otherwise fruitful trip.”
The lord smiled thinly and bowed to Ket, extending his hand, in which she placed hers.
She curtsied perfectly, to the exact right degree. “My lord, your presence here on Luvos is an honor. Are we fortunate enough to have King Treznor-Nirmana with us as well?”
I had to hand it to Ket, she had picked up my cues of displeasure with the man perfectly. And she could be so very, very mean. She had just reminded Khala that while he was the closest living male relative to the current leader of the Treznor-Nirmana family, King Makar, he wasn’t a prince. It wasn’t even known if he was an heir or not, since Makar Treznor-Nirmana was the very definition of eccentric and had made no announcements. Khala was simply the best the family could do for a representative from their systems, and it was a bit of an embarrassment. Still, this arrangement would have had at least Makar’s tacit approval, and while everyone knew he was crazy, I also knew he was an unquestionable genius. That meant Khala was here for a reason.
He was too experienced to let such things show, but I had spent enough time staring at his shiny face across the table to recognize the pinched quality around his lips as annoyance. “Sadly, he had pressing business and could not attend.”
His counterinsult wasn’t subtle enough for Ket, since she practically sniffed in disdain.
I suddenly felt tired of every sentence being a duel of its own. I thought of Qole, and of honest conversations. I scanned the room again.
“Prince Nevarian, you look like a caged rimueng,” a female voice said nearby, laced with amusement.
For once, I didn’t feel a surge of annoyance and smiled when I turned. “Princess Daiyen. You’ve come far. And I’m sure I don’t know what you mean, unless rimuengs cage themselves with the people they are most honored to join.”
Daiyen Xiaolan, the eldest daughter of Queen Shanyi Xiaolan of planet Genlai, was dressed in a green sheath that started just above her knees and ended at the top of her throat, leaving her arms bare. It was made of hundreds of interlocking pieces reminiscent of leaves, and they clung to her like a second skin. She was as small as Ket, but her body had the lean muscle of a dancer or gymnast. Although she was by far my favorite of the royal offspring at these events, I had very little contact with her and didn’t know how she occupied the majority of her time. In fact, it was kept enough of a secret that the media rumored she pursued untraditional hobbies for a Xiaolan heiress, such as piloting and combat. As much as that further warmed my heart toward her, I suspected it was a master ploy by her mother to build her mystique. The Xiaolans’ style and quality was the envy of everyone, but they also controlled their image with an iron fist.
Her laugh was proper, but sincere. She dipped her knees in a curtsy that, considering her dress, defied the laws of physics and came off elegant. “Let us say that is the case. We are all glad to be in this cage, and to see you and Princess Ketrana so happy together.”
It was nothing but a pleasantry, but I barely fought off the urge to shift in discomfort.
Lord Khala all but scoffed. “I hope you don’t plan to distract us with your happiness because there isn’t much to announce tomorrow.”
I smiled. “We have prepared quite the distraction, especially since our good friends the Treznor-Nirmanas could use a little less attention on losing another border station so unexpectedly.” My mother had taught me at an early age to always scan the most recent news feeds before any social events for ammunition, and it was one of my favorite tools. I had spotted this bit of information on the feed mere moments before leaving for the ball. Confusion flitted over Lord Khala’s face, and I continued before he could interrupt. “We have some advances in Shadow I think you will be very interested in.”
After all, I didn’t see the harm in a small teaser of tomorrow’s events.
Daiyen frowned. “I hope you’ve found a way to reduce its volatility. We would love to use Shadow in our engines, or even more widely in our system, but it’s easy to see how it could have caused the Great Collapse. My mother isn’t a fan.”
“Oh, come now, that’s superstition.” I chuckled. “We have no evidence that Shadow collapsed the portals. We don’t even know what ran them. Fear only breeds misunderstanding, and I think we’re past that now.”
Khala spread his hands. “Are we? We don’t know, do we? That story got its start somehow.”
Ket, either avoiding a scene or simply bored, went for more essential conversation. “Tell me, Princess Daiyen, did you arrive here with someone?”