"Now I think he was terrified of what would happen if he let go of it."
Daaynal nodded slowly, his gaze moving to the far end of the corridor where the airlock had already sealed behind two people who wouldn't be coming back.His expression was unreadable, and somehow that was worse.
"Good," the Emperor said quietly, his hands clasped behind his back as they walked.His drakeen trailed them, as silent as hulking combat machines could be."That's what I thought too."
Daaynal slid him a sideways look."You saw them off?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."He nodded."Before they boarded theRavec'tias."
He'd never been so grateful to be a commoner.There was absolutely no K'Saan blood in his lineage, not even a distant splash of it.Just solid, boring, common-as-dirt Latharian stock stretching back as far as anyone had bothered to check.
It meant he'd been able to stand at that airlock and say goodbye to his brother.
Because that was what Raaevik was to him.A brother.A complete pain in his ass and the most infuriating male he'd ever cared about, but still his brother.And he'd gotten to stand there and say that with an insult wrapped around it like armor, because that was how they worked, and Raaevik had known exactly what he meant.
For the first time in his life, being nobody from nowhere felt like an outright gift.
He cleared his throat."Your Majesty.On the subject of the female?—"
Daaynal's eyebrow arched."You mean Lady Emily of Izaea?"
"Indeed, sire.Lady Emily made a request."Thyaar kept his expression straight through sheer force of military discipline."Before she boarded.I will require leave to go to Earth.With your permission, of course."
The Emperor waited.
"She wants her cat," Thyaar said."Its name is Barnaby.She'd like it brought to Parac'Norr."
Daaynal looked at him for a long moment.Then the ghost of a smile pulled at the corner of his mouth before he got it under control.
"She askedyouspecifically?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"And you agreed."
Thyaar held his gaze."I did."
Daaynal's lips quirked."I would have assigned you the W'Raaith."He nodded toward the landing bay as they passed, and Thyaar's gaze followed automatically.
Draanth.
The interceptor looked like it had argued with the asteroid, and the asteroid had won.The whole forward section was caved in, as if someone had used it as a battering ram… which, knowing Raaevik, was exactly what had happened.Scorched metal.A landing strut that pointed at an angle it was never designed to achieve.Coolant or something worse still dripped from the undercarriage onto the deck.
He stared at it for a moment.
Yeah.That tracked.
"Instead," Daaynal continued, his tone carrying that particular mildness that meant he found something funny and had absolutely no intention of showing it, "you will take theVett'an."
Thyaar's head came around.
TheVett'an.The Emperor's personal yacht.It was the finest non-combat vessel in the Imperial fleet, with atmospheric processors that could handle any environment and enough room to host a diplomatic summit.Thyaar had seen it once, from a respectful distance, while on perimeter duty.
He blinked.
"Your Majesty," he said carefully, "that is...an exceptional honor."
Daaynal inclined his head, already moving again.
