“I feel horrible that I can’t complete my six months consecutively.”
“Oh, you will, you will just take little breaks.” Ariadne smiled. “And if you think this is all about your negotiating skills, you are deluding yourself. Usorn has been in heated discussions with Palden VII in regards to your person.”
Padana groaned and covered her eyes. “I know. I have been pretending that I didn’t, but it had all the hallmarks of an engagement.”
Ariadne laughed. “My son got a portrait delivered from an artist—”
“Rhoda.” Padana turned a darker shade of crimson. “I am familiar with her work. It’s the reason that Halu is with me. She got one as well. They kinda feel like blackmail notes. Wait. Did Lord Thel get one?”
The empress’s grin was slow. “They all did. It was a charming care package. A little eye-opening—I hadn’t realized that my son was so flexible—but definitely fascinating.”
Padana blinked and flipped the covers off, setting her feet down and standing before rushing to the door.
The empress got to her feet. “Where are you going?”
Halu was standing with her back to the door, and Padana whispered, “Halu, he knows.”
Halu turned around and caught her, carrying her back to bed as if she were weightless.
“I assume you are referring to Lord Thel?”
Padana nodded. “He has a portrait.”
Halu coloured slightly. “Well, that makes sense. He keeps looking at me as if he can’t quite place me, so it would be the explanation.”
Empress Ariadne smiled. “I don’t believe it has occurred to him. I am sure that when Yomin mentions his portrait again, it will come to him.”
Halu tucked Padana back into bed and checked the texture of her skin. “You were out for a day and a half, Princess. Your mother and mine are not happy with me, and Prince Yomin wants me tied to a post in a lightning storm.”
Padana chuckled. “I would say that I would protect you, but it isn’t really up to me right now.”
The empress was writing again. “So, why is it that only you have a reaction to being in the negotiator armour? Your mother said that it was a trait from your father’s side but would not say what that trait was.”
“Recessive gene. Don’t worry. I am a class zero. I won’t pass it on.” She smiled and then realized what she had said. “Not that I am... not that you should be worried... I am not going to... oh balls.”
Ariadne laughed out loud. “Don’t worry about it. I was mail ordered as both a bride and a scribe. I understand the strangeness of things.”
Halu smiled. “Empress, when can we move her?”
Ariadne waved her hand. “Only Yomin has access to the island, so he will have to take her there. I have a healer coming in that might be able to speed things along. Padana, do you have a strong aversion to pain?”
Padana winced. “No, Your Imperial Highness. I can take most types of pain-related healing.”
“Excellent. That will make this easier.”
The empress got to her feet and entered the outer chamber, picking up a com and speaking quietly. “They are on their way in. I didn’t want to subject you to it if you can’t manage it.”
Padana nodded, and she practiced breathing. She had experienced fire healing before, so this wasn’t an unknown quantity.
The woman in a dark cloak came in with a featureless mask. Ariadne stood on one side, and Halu was near Padana’s head, and a moment after the healer arrived, the healing commenced.
She applauded herself for not screaming. The healer’s golden hands had been as gentle as they were able to be while pain healing had been used.
Padana was helped to the sonic shower, and a team of housekeepers was still working on the bed when they returned.
Ariadne and her portable desk were out on the balcony, overlooking the gardens. Padana wobbled out with Halu supporting her, and they settled on padded seats while the housekeepers tidied up inside.
Ariadne smiled. “You are doing well?”
“My skin is a little thicker now and less tender. I wish I had been able to thank her.”
“Naluan is an excellent healer. She’s of a mixed species, and her golden colour sets her apart, and the talent puts her on a higher social standing than her parents.” Ariadne made a face and waved her tattooed hands. “It is strange, alien, but I am sleeping with the emperor, so I can’t throw stones.”
She smiled and then looked up. “Ah, here’s your ride.”
Padana looked toward Yomin, and his slow descent made him look every inch the hero. His suit was graphite and black, his head was exposed, and the crest of hair was waving in the breeze.
He landed, and his expression was grim as he stalked over to her. He didn’t speak, bent over, picked her up, and took off with her in his arms and wearing only the thinnest of silk gowns.
Neither of them said anything as he flew them to a hovering skimmer and wrapped her in a soft blanket before directing the short-range craft away from the city.
She curled up in a ball, still shaking from the healing. After half an hour, she asked, “Is Halu coming?”
“She might arrive in a few days, but she is taking my place with the guardians for now. She doesn’t seem to have the awareness to see when you are damaging yourself.”
She shivered. “I didn’t damage myself. I was waiting for the right moment for recovery time. This has happened before.”
He set the controls and walked over to crouch next to her. “It has happened before, and your family still sent you out with that suit?”
She shrugged. “I have done a few days in and a few days off before. My mother’s suit was wired into her nervous and digestive systems, so it was different, but if we are representing our link to Negotiator Tyrell, we wear a suit.”
“I wear a suit; it doesn’t tear my skin apart.” He reached out and offered his hand.
She put her hand in his, and he rubbed his thumb over the back of her knuckles.
“So, if you want to continue your work as a negotiator here on Hredu, you can wear a suit of our design that won’t hurt you, or you can wear the clothing of the household contract workers.”
She made a face. “Understandable. My family can’t start a war because I am a workaholic.”
He kissed her hand and then kissed her lips. “So, I am your caretaker for the next few days. I am fully checked out on medical treatments, and I was informed that you were healed just before I arrived.”
“Yes, the lovely gold woman, Naluan.” She whispered it against his mouth.
“She’s very good. Agonizing but very good.” He trailed kisses over her forehead, eyelids, cheeks, and lips.
“So, how long do I have to recover?”
He leaned back. “I am thinking that my self-control will last three, but you have six days allocated before the court requires your return.”
There was a chime at the controls, and he left her with that promise ringing in her ears. She had to wait three days? Talk about agony.