The Blood Empress Read Free Page A

combat, skill and intelligence. You will organize the event with the Nine Kastra."
    "As you wish Kasim," N'arvon whispered. Kasim was a term of honor used when talking to a higher ranking Soothsayer. It was part of the old language and unknown to the Votainions above them.
    "I have finished my mind probes of the likely candidates. We shall do everything in our powers to ensure that Ku'nar of the Surg Kastra wins the contest. I have foreseen his ascendancy to the throne and he is well under our control."
    "Yes Kasim."
    N'arvon started to leave when he was pulled back to the fire by the left hand of his master.
    "The mysterious signal from the Empress's bed chamber has finally been traced. A youthful soldier from the Vicar Kastra, named Ketar. The Empress has taken an interest in this young man. He will be selected to participate in the contest. We must ensure that he makes it to the finals where Ku'nar will defeat him."
    There was a long silence as both men studied the flames below them.
    "The Empress will be crushed, Kasim. It will turn her against us even more than she already is."
    The Kwizarra Lonn turned his head to his second and by the flickering firelight revealed his soft, red eyes. N'arvon was captured like a moth to the flame by the glow.
    "All according to my plan. All according to my plan."
    "Your word is great, Kasim."

CHAPTER 2
    It was several rotations later that Nykostra finally heard from Ketar again on her tablet. He left her a recorded message in which he recounted how his master's hunting party had come under attack and he was the only one to survive. The incident clearly affected him on some primal level that she might never understand. There was a dullness in his eyes and in his demeanor that bothered her. He seemed morose and less chatty than he had been before the hunting expedition.
    Near the end of his message he confessed to having become a full warrior. His newfound status also came with new duties that would sometimes take him off world for extended periods of time. He didn't know when they would be able to talk again. Her heart sank when she realized that he might be moving on without her. Perhaps he no longer needed their secret friendship. Perhaps. But she refused to give up hope that he would return to talking with her. For nights after receiving that recording, she tuned in and looked for him to no avail. He would be back. He had to be back. She needed to see him again.
    * * *
    Empress Nykostra sat perfectly still and upright as the parade began. She was dressed in her formal red and black gown complete with imperial headdress. There was a chill in the air as winter was fast was approaching. Her clothes were well insulated against the weather but her blue cheeks were slightly darker than the rest of her smooth skin.
    Palace guards and the Kwizarra Lonn surrounded her. She was careful to make him sit far enough away from her so that his thoughts weren't constantly in her head. They were not aware that she could sense when they were probing her thoughts and she preferred to keep them clueless for as long as she could.
    The procession included a squad of the best soldiers from the Votainion Fleet, high stepping in perfect unison. They were followed by the Imperial Army guardsmen in their regal red uniforms from several thousand years ago, before the Empire had become a space faring civilization. Even before the nine Kastra had fanned out into the galaxy and formed their own home worlds.
    Nykostra loved the pageantry of the parade and all the formal customs that came with it. When she was a few years younger she could recall wishing that she could don a brilliantly colored uniform and join the soldiers. Now she was content to simply watch and marvel at the precision on display for her benefit.
    Next came the hardware, her favorite part. Armored vehicles of all kinds, crawled, hovered and walked along in freshly painted colors that made them seem less like killing machines and more like children's