“Lady Mercury, will you be breaking the fast in your chambers or do you care to join in the morning room with the ladies?” The pert maid who had been seeing to my needs over the past week asked from the doorway.

“You can just send up a tray in an hour or so. I’m not quite ready to socialize,” I said, dismissing her attentions and trying not to squeak as I felt a hand travelling up my thigh and stroking.

“Of course, my lady. The service will begin in two hours’ time should you wish to attend,” she said as she went briskly about her work.

Pavar was hidden beneath the bed coverings until the maid excused herself. I struggled to act nonchalant as the maid quickly opened curtains and placed a beautiful sapphire blue Dragselian robe dress into the steam chamber for me, despite the attentions I was covertly receiving.

When she finally closed the door behind her, Pavar burst out and pounced on me, and I happily surrendered to his appetite, already so close to shattering when he slid into me, filling me and wiping my mind blank of all but sensation.

The past week, he had been recovering under the care of a royal physician. Finally released from their incessant attentions, he was free to join me at last in private, though we were discreet as the situation with Midris was already stressful enough.

Great lengths had been taken to ensure there were no further Infernians in the Royal household, and larger searches were conducted to secure the capital itself.

When we had both found our pleasure, there was scarce little time left, and we hurriedly dressed.

He snuck out my window, shifting and flying, though I did not see how that was particularly discreet. Of course, on a planet of dragons, I supposed, it was hardly noteworthy to the inhabitants.

When he left, I dressed quickly, looking at myself in the luxurious lightweight, shimmering robes of Dragselian nobility. It was less restricting and somehow more elegant than anything I had ever worn. At once, the fluidity of the fabric felt natural and comfortable, and yet the cut was exceptionally flattering, with a high collar that dipped low, a belted waist, and voluminous, nearly weightless skirts that fluttered.

I made my way down to the throne room for the presentation of Zaruv as the sitting king until Mulkaro was located.

The affair was brief, with palace staff and noble lords attending with a certain level of solemnity and apprehension. The last time we were all gathered in that room had ended rather unexpectedly, and all were eager to dispense with formalities.

I knew no one beyond a handful of council members who had interviewed me, along with the other humans. Afterward, Zaruv summoned us to his council chambers to discuss the search for Mulkaro.

Karun had been consulting with his former military contacts, preparing for any further Infernian attacks, though everyone was hopeful that, with their core figure taken out, there would be no further attacks to come.

Ragal and Tasha were working relentlessly to identify any members of the palace staff or general population who had been victimized by the Infernian nanite-based neuro-physio control infection and to treat them with the cure they had developed on Vaxivia.

This left Pavar to lead the search for Mulkaro, aided by Vexel, Captain of the King’s Guard. A strapping man with lime green skin, spiky sandy blond hair, and one heck of a scar going from the top of one eyebrow all the way to the dimple of his cheek, he was wracked with guilt over his failure to protect his king and seeking redemption.

Given my background with drawing information out of people, I offered my services in the search as well and joined Zaruv, Jennifer, Pavar, and Vexel at a table in the private room.

Dispensing with formalities, Zaruv turned to us, worry creasing his brow. “Have there been any breaks or leads?”

Pavar shook his head. “We continue to question the victims that Tasha and Ragal have treated, but so far, we have little information.”

“We have narrowed the search to the palace grounds, though. It seems unlikely that Midris would have kept Mulkaro someplace distant from him, given the frequency with which he needed to access him for the serum.”

Vexel growled, shaking his head with anger. “To think my king was kept enslaved within the grounds of the palace itself . . .” his voice trailed off as he was overcome with frustration.

Zaruv put his hand to Vexel’s arm. “It is not your fault, old friend. This threat caught us all unaware. We were none of us prepared.”

Pavar agreed. “We are all to blame and none of us. It is a bigger, broader issue than one person’s failing. What matters is that we find Mulkaro and get him whatever treatment he may need. To that end, I intend to search every stone, every blade of grass on these grounds. We will find him.”

And search we did. We questioned palace staff and tore apart the king’s chambers looking for clues, but nothing turned up.

I was preparing for bed in the private chamber I had been granted, the maid, Urna, securing windows and conducting a now routine security sweep.

“Lady Mercury, if it’s not too bold of me to ask, would you like me to leave open this window for Prince Pavar tonight so that you don’t have to fiddle with the security latch?” she said, turning to me.

“Oh,” I said, startled by her astute observation. “Yes, that would be nice, thank you. Urna, how did you know about Pavar and me?” I asked, curious.

“Well, ma’am, Dragselians have very enhanced senses, and some mornings when I come to your room, I have heard his voice coming from within. I will keep that strictly between us, of course,” she said, curtsying apologetically.

I nodded. “Do you think anyone else is aware?”

“It is possible. But if it’s privacy you’re after, there are always the tunnels beneath the palace.”

“What?” I asked, surprised to be hearing about this for the first time.

“The tunnels—you can access them through the linen room, near the king’s wing. They were used back during the great wars as escape routes for the nobility. After the wars, they were just used for storage, and now, they’re boarded up, but a few of us servants use them from time to time for . . . personal reasons,” she said, looking down shyly.

“Thank you, that’s a very helpful tip,” I said, dismissing her.

As soon as Pavar landed on the windowsill, I pounced into action.

“I know where we need to search,” I said, filling him in on my conversation with Urna.

“How have I never heard of the tunnels?” he said, surprised.

“Well, I imagine if they’re doing what I think they’re doing down there, it’s better for everyone if their employers aren’t aware of its existence. Anyway, let’s hurry and check it out!”

Rushing to find it, we brought with us small luminescent sticks, searching through wet, dark, winding passages. The tunnels seemed to be an endless maze, and I wondered how they could possibly have aided anyone in a quick escape.

As I was contemplating how ineffective they would be in an emergency, Pavar called out to me.

Before him, he held up his glowing stick to display a series of steps leading to a blank wall. I didn’t see anything to catch my attention, but Pavar felt around along the wall, listening and tapping along the bricks.

Suddenly, the wall shifted and moved, and I held my breath as the smell hit me.

Mulkaro, looking much like the disguised Midris, was in a transparent tube, appearing unconscious and in poor health.

“Batr!” exclaimed Pavar as he surveyed his brother’s state.

I retrieved several guards, including Vexel, who was distraught at Mulkaro’s state—his hair gone white, his body thin and emaciated, and the smell emanating even through the tube that screamed of death.

The royal physician examined him, everyone gathering in the throne room, waiting with bated breath to learn the prognosis.

“King Mulkaro is no longer with us. His stasis chamber is keeping his body alive, but his soul has gone. There is no brain activity. I’m afraid it is time for goodbyes.”

The throne room flooded with members of the royal household, mourning the death of the king. I held Pavar’s hand until it was his time to bid farewell to his oldest brother.

I knew there was nothing I could do for him to ease his pain, and I watched as he succumbed to grief.

Stepping back, he and his brothers having said their peace with their brother, we both watched as Brinae made her way, overset with grief and propped up by two maids, to say goodbye to her husband.

She collapsed onto the stasis tube, weeping and pounding with her fists in anger. I couldn’t blame her. I had come so close to losing Pavar, and I couldn’t imagine her devastation.

Her energy seemed to deplete, and she stepped back, her face wiping of expression. The royal physician turned off the stasis tube, and the room fell silent as King Mulkaro returned to the Fire Gods of Dragselia.

Brinae unexpectedly turned then and left the room, telling her maids to bring her widow’s robes.

I knew everyone processed grief differently, but something about her blank, determined expression rubbed me wrong, and I pulled Pavar with me as we followed the passage down to her chambers.

Drawing back the flowing curtains of her chamber, my gut seized when I saw what I suspected and feared.

Holding Mulkaro’s sword to her neck, Brinae stood before a mirror.

“Brinae, no!” I cried out, startling her and causing her to drop the sword in panic.

Pavar rushed over to catch her as she nearly lost her balance, and the both of us helped her back to her bed, where she collapsed, weeping.

“I can’t live, not with this child growing within me, knowing my husband, my love, is no more. I don’t want to face this future, not alone, not without him.”

I stroked her hair, recalling the way my mother had done to me when I was a child, just offering her support as she cried, letting her emotions flow.

Finally, her anguish seemed to ease.

“Brinae, I know it’s hard to see right now, but what would Mulkaro have wanted for you?”

“He certainly wouldn’t have wanted me to bear another man’s child!”

“Do you know it is not Mulkaro’s?”

She hesitated. “No, not entirely, but it has been like no pregnancy I have ever heard of. The physicians are at a loss over the rapid progress. This child may well be an Infernian monster!”

“What does it mean to be an Infernian? As an outsider, I see little difference, biologically, except for circumstance and the unfortunate results of their genetic adaptation attempts. Do you not think it is possible that they have simply been cast in a convenient role? I never met Mulkaro, but even with that, there is one thing I do know—he loved you, and he would not want you to harm yourself or your unborn child.”

I continued to smooth her hair, talking in soft tones. “Even if Midris fathered your baby, he did so with Mulkaro’s DNA in his system, and that means this baby is still a part of him, of your love for him.”

I could see from her contemplative expression that she hadn’t considered that, and it struck something inside her.

“If the baby should be revealed to possess the genetic mutations of an Infernian, well, genetics have little impact on who a person truly is. Your baby will be who you raise it to be. If you harm yourself and abandon this child to the whims of others, you may as well sentence it to become the very thing you fear. You have great strength within you. You just need to access it and be who your child needs you to be.

“Prince Ragal’s human mate is a phenomenal scientist. With the right team of experts behind you, they could surely find a way to help your baby in any way it may need. They have already cured one Infernian-created ailment. What if they could find a way to correct any genetic abnormalities that might exist?”

She sighed. “But I’m just so tired. I’m tired of all this overwhelming emotion. I just want it to go away. I want to be washed clean of it all.”

“I know, and I understand that desire. I push my emotions away. I compartmentalize, but I’m discovering that my emotions are not my weakness. They are my strength. They are what give me drive and purpose.

“Your love for Mulkaro, your fear for your child, and even your anger—all of it gives you purpose and meaning. It’s why even heavily pregnant, being drugged, and subjected to Midris’s sadism, you found the strength and the wherewithal to defeat him where others had failed. I know that it’s hard, but it is how we persist through those moments of vulnerability that makes us who we are.”

Nodding, she closed her eyes and a silent tear fell.

“You’re right. Mulkaro wouldn’t want me to hurt myself . . . or the baby. I will honor my husband’s memory.” Opening her eyes, she looked at me. “Thank you.”

I nodded, still stroking her hair until at last, she fell asleep.

Standing back, I remembered Pavar’s presence. He grabbed my hand, and the two of us walked into the hall passage.

“You were wonderful with Brinae,” he said, looking at me with admiration. “Thank you for talking to her. I didn’t know what to say, how to help her see hope . . . especially imagining myself in her position, losing the one I love.”

A lump rose in my throat. Though he had shown it in small ways, though we expressed it physically and undeniably felt it, there had always been other, more pressing concerns, and the words hadn’t come. Knowing he held a position of duty, I didn’t want to press a commitment that he didn’t want or couldn’t agree to.

“What are you saying?” I asked, not wanting to read too much into his words.

“I’m saying that I worried I would never get the chance to tell you what ignited the moment I found you half suffocating yourself in that crate and has grown into something that consumes me. I’m saying I love you.”

I swallowed but couldn’t help the dampness I felt at my cheeks. “I love you too.”

We kissed, then, with the desperate passion of two people who realized how close they had come to losing each other.

Coming up for breath, he asked, “I know it’s a lot to ask, but I don’t want to ever feel the way I did when I thought I might lose you. I don’t want to be selfish and ask you to stay here with me if that’s not what you want, but I can’t help it. I want you. I want you with me every morning, every afternoon, and every night. I want to share a life with you.”

“I guess I’m selfish as well, because I want that too,” I said through happy, giddy tears.