operate, a Lock needed a Key—a Ruby psion. During the Radiance War, ESComm had stolen a Lock and captured Eldrin Valdoria, a Ruby prince. With both a Lock and Key, they could have built their own Kyle web. Corbal knew many Hightons condemned him for giving up Eldrin, even though they gained an emperor in return. Only Corbal knew that Jaibriol offered an even better solution. The pieces fit together, like a jigsaw puzzle.
The Kyle webs protected the Skolians.
A Triad of Ruby Keys powered the webs.
The Radiance War had decimated the Ruby Dynasty.
Soz Valdoria, the Imperator, had died. A Key.
Dyhianna Selei, the Ruby Pharaoh, had died. A Key.
Two vacancies now existed in the Triad.
A new Ruby Key could join the Triad using a Lock.
Eube had a Lock.
The emperor of Eube was a Ruby Key.
The beauty of it gratified Corbal. Jaibriol could join the Triad. Although they could have used Eldrin to power a Kyle web, Corbal doubted they could have forced him into the Triad. Jaibriol was another story. As the emperor of Eube, he had motivation to do what Eldrin would have resisted with all his might. If Corbal had unlimited access to a Kyle web and the Triad, he might even collapse the power structure of Skolia without going to war. He doubted the restless young emperor could resist the allure of conquest on an interstellar scale.
Closing his eyes, Corbal waved to Sunrise, a gesture she knew well. She unfastened his trousers and took him into her mouth exactly as he liked. He exhaled, his tension easing. He enjoyed his retirement. He enjoyed Sunrise. He had enjoyed Eldrin. He had hated giving up the Ruby Prince, but he hated it even more when ESComm interrogated Eldrin. Damn inconvenient, this business of remorse.
Corbal was tired of wars. He wanted Skolia conquered, yes, but without fighting. Perhaps he was a fool, to let a provider sit on the Carnelian Throne. He could have been emperor himself. But his age had given him plenty of time to contemplate the job. It was an imperial pain. Let Jaibriol have the high profile; Corbal would rule from behind the throne. Through Jaibriol, he would control the Triad; through the Triad, he would control the webs; through the webs, he could manipulate interstellar civilization. Eventually he would dominate all humanity.
To achieve his ends, he needed only to control an inexperienced boy.
6
Heredity
P rince Eldrin stood at the glass wall of his room. Outside, the garden drowsed in the sun, unaffected by the heat of the long day. This view had never changed in the four days he had been here at the so-called Allied Embassy on the planet Delos, where the Traders had purportedly exchanged him for an Aristo. His routine never changed; in the morning, they brought him breakfast, later they came with lunch, and in the evening they brought dinner. Always they were solicitous. Always they plied him for information.
Eldrin revealed nothing. He waited for the game to end, but it continued, and the seeds of hope had grown despite his struggle to stop them. Could this be an Allied embassy? It was still a prison, but far preferable to Eube. He rather liked the Allieds, or he had before today, when they had brought The Message: You have a visitor.
Was it Corbal? ESComm? Other Aristos? He clenched his fist and stared at the garden. He would rather die than return to the interrogation room.
When the door of his suite opened, he didn’t move. Steps sounded in the hallway, muffled on the carpet. Even when his visitors entered the living room, he remained at the window. The gardens beckoned with their unattainable freedom.
A woman’s voice came to him in a stunned whisper.
“Eldrin.”
No. No. Of all the torments they could have inflicted, this was the cruelest. He turned slowly, unwilling to see her but unable to stop himself.
She stood across the room, surrounded by officers, both Allied and Skolian. Small and slender, she resembled a waif more than an interstellar potentate. Her glossy black hair
The Kyle webs protected the Skolians.
A Triad of Ruby Keys powered the webs.
The Radiance War had decimated the Ruby Dynasty.
Soz Valdoria, the Imperator, had died. A Key.
Dyhianna Selei, the Ruby Pharaoh, had died. A Key.
Two vacancies now existed in the Triad.
A new Ruby Key could join the Triad using a Lock.
Eube had a Lock.
The emperor of Eube was a Ruby Key.
The beauty of it gratified Corbal. Jaibriol could join the Triad. Although they could have used Eldrin to power a Kyle web, Corbal doubted they could have forced him into the Triad. Jaibriol was another story. As the emperor of Eube, he had motivation to do what Eldrin would have resisted with all his might. If Corbal had unlimited access to a Kyle web and the Triad, he might even collapse the power structure of Skolia without going to war. He doubted the restless young emperor could resist the allure of conquest on an interstellar scale.
Closing his eyes, Corbal waved to Sunrise, a gesture she knew well. She unfastened his trousers and took him into her mouth exactly as he liked. He exhaled, his tension easing. He enjoyed his retirement. He enjoyed Sunrise. He had enjoyed Eldrin. He had hated giving up the Ruby Prince, but he hated it even more when ESComm interrogated Eldrin. Damn inconvenient, this business of remorse.
Corbal was tired of wars. He wanted Skolia conquered, yes, but without fighting. Perhaps he was a fool, to let a provider sit on the Carnelian Throne. He could have been emperor himself. But his age had given him plenty of time to contemplate the job. It was an imperial pain. Let Jaibriol have the high profile; Corbal would rule from behind the throne. Through Jaibriol, he would control the Triad; through the Triad, he would control the webs; through the webs, he could manipulate interstellar civilization. Eventually he would dominate all humanity.
To achieve his ends, he needed only to control an inexperienced boy.
6
Heredity
P rince Eldrin stood at the glass wall of his room. Outside, the garden drowsed in the sun, unaffected by the heat of the long day. This view had never changed in the four days he had been here at the so-called Allied Embassy on the planet Delos, where the Traders had purportedly exchanged him for an Aristo. His routine never changed; in the morning, they brought him breakfast, later they came with lunch, and in the evening they brought dinner. Always they were solicitous. Always they plied him for information.
Eldrin revealed nothing. He waited for the game to end, but it continued, and the seeds of hope had grown despite his struggle to stop them. Could this be an Allied embassy? It was still a prison, but far preferable to Eube. He rather liked the Allieds, or he had before today, when they had brought The Message: You have a visitor.
Was it Corbal? ESComm? Other Aristos? He clenched his fist and stared at the garden. He would rather die than return to the interrogation room.
When the door of his suite opened, he didn’t move. Steps sounded in the hallway, muffled on the carpet. Even when his visitors entered the living room, he remained at the window. The gardens beckoned with their unattainable freedom.
A woman’s voice came to him in a stunned whisper.
“Eldrin.”
No. No. Of all the torments they could have inflicted, this was the cruelest. He turned slowly, unwilling to see her but unable to stop himself.
She stood across the room, surrounded by officers, both Allied and Skolian. Small and slender, she resembled a waif more than an interstellar potentate. Her glossy black hair
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