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“You don’t look so bad yourself,” she said.
“I wish I could tear that dress off you right now and—”
“Focus on the ceremony, please.”
Even through the veil, I could make out her smile.
“Can I touch you?” I said.
“Now?” she said. “No.”
“But I want to.”
“Control yourself.”
“I can’t.”
I reached out and placed my hand on hers. After a moment, she held my finger.
“How do you think your friends are going to react to the news?” I said.
“They’ll be excited,” she said.
“You haven’t told them?”
“Nope.”
“What if they say no?”
“They won’t.”
“What if they do?”
“They won’t.”
The High Priest placed a fist on his heart and ended with a prayer. We, the guests, and everyone watching at home did the same.
“I believe the groom has some words he would like to say?” the High Priest said.
“I do,” I said.
Hazel and I turned to face the congregation and the dozens of cameras recording every moment. Sixty billion Titans were watching us right now. And that wasn’t including the other species. All told, up to a trillion viewers might be watching us.
And I felt like I was dancing on a cloud. I wasn’t nervous at all.
“We’ve endured a hard time lately,” I said. “The Changelings attacked us and took over our empire. They did a great deal of damage to us, our culture, and our way of life. It was partly my fault. If I’d kept a closer eye on the needs of the people, if I hadn’t blinded myself with just a few key advisors, I would have seen the harm befalling our empire and I could have stopped it.
“Instead, it happened, and we all lost loved ones because of it. I can give you my word that this will never happen again, but they are just that. Words. Our empire is vast, and I am only one man. I can’t listen to all of you, and you deserve to be listened to. That’s why I’ve decided to divide the empire into five parts. The north, the south, the east, the west, and the center. Don’t worry, we are still one empire and I am your emperor. But from now on, you will have your own mini-emperor to voice your concerns with, your own quadrant to make as good as you can.”
I took a breath before I continued.
“I’m pleased to announce the five members of the mini-emperor council are here with us right now,” I said.
The audience murmured among themselves.
I pushed through the whispers.
“They’re all Titans, and they represent a different segment of the Titan empire,” I said.
