'Got dark,' Kelric stated.
'So it did.' Roca picked up the small boy and put him in her lap.
A news-holo formed around the hearth, encompassing the entire area. It unsettled Vyrl; he suddenly seemed to be sitting in a balcony of the Assembly Hall on the planet Parthonia. Hundreds of men and women packed the amphitheater, rank upon rank of interstellar leaders, dignitaries, diplomats, military officers, and newscasters.
In the past, Vyrl had never had much interest in such broadcasts. Nor had he paid enough attention to his physics to understand how this transmission came to Lyshriol, many light-years away, except that the technology bypassed spacetime, making light speed limitations irrelevant.
After a moment, Vyrl located Devon. She was standing on a dais in the center of the amphitheater by a podium. Seeing her, he felt the proverbial shimmerflies in his stomach. She made an impressive sight, resplendent in her dress uniform, tall and strong, like an ancient warrior queen from the Ruby Empire.
People surrounded her, aides and dignitaries. More were seated at consoles below the dais, probably minor clerks recording the Assembly session. An unfamiliar woman was speaking at the podium, and many people in the amphitheater were talking as well. It seemed like bedlam to Vyrl, but perhaps the meeting had an organization he didn't see.
Finally the speaker finished and moved aside, glancing at Devon. The general nodded to her, then stepped up to the podium. As Devon tapped the com, the newscasters zoomed in, so that instead of being in a balcony, Vyrl abruptly found his virtual self only a few meters from Devon. It gave him vertigo.
Suddenly Vyrl froze. At a console across the dais, a dark-haired man was talking into a com. Heat spread in Vyrl's face. He knew that man. He had seen him in Devon's mind.
Vyrl leaned toward Althor and spoke in low tones, trying to sound nonchalant. 'Do you know who that man is? The one with the gray sweater and dark hair?'
'I haven't a clue,' Althor said. 'Why?'
'I just wondered.'
Althor pulled off his palmtop and flipped it open. While Althor worked, Vyrl watched people argue and yell in the Assembly session.
After a moment Althor spoke discreetly. 'His name is Ty Collier.' When Vyrl turned to him, Althor added, 'He's a recorder for the Imperial Library.'
'That's it?' Devon was in love with a clerk? Vyrl had expected more. But perhaps that wasn't fair to Collier.
Althor gave him an odd look. 'Do you know him?'
Vyrl avoided his gaze. 'I thought he looked familiar, but I was wrong.' He could tell Althor didn't believe him, but his brother didn't push. Vyrl wondered how he would feel if he met Collier. Right now, Devon showed no sign she even knew Ty sat a few meters from where she stood.
When Devon began to speak, the amphitheater went silent. Vyrl could almost feel people leaning forward. Her throaty voice rolled over the audience.
'A great deal of speculation has occurred in regard to my marital state.' She stopped while more newscasters zoomed in. Ty Collier had stopped working and was watching her with poorly disguised pain.
'Rather than let rumors proliferate,' Devon continued, 'I have prepared a statement.' She paused. 'It is true that I plan to marry.'
'What the hell?' Vyrl's father said.
'The Ruby Dynasty and House of Majda have long been allies,' Devon continued. 'Strengthening ties between our Houses offers many advantages to the Assembly and its governing bodies.' She raised her head, surveying the amphitheater. 'The House of Majda honors the Ruby Dynasty. We esteem the Imperial line and welcome the idea of joining our Houses through the Majda Matriarch and a Ruby prince.'
Vyrl felt blood drain from his face. No. No! This couldn't be happening. 'She told me she would accept my decision! She gave me her word.'
His father spoke tightly. 'She certainly did. We all heard her.'
Lights glittered as newscasters recorded Devon's next words. 'And it may be that someday such a joining will grace our House — if my sister Corejida Majda so wills.'
'Corey?' Vyrl's mother said. 'What the blazes?'
Voices rumbled in the Assembly Hall, and Devon paused, waiting for them to quiet.
Eldrinson gave his wife a puzzled look. 'Have we spoken to Corey Majda?'
'Not that I know of.' Roca spread her hands in a shrug, then quickly brought them back to keep Kelric from falling off her lap. 'I've no idea what Devon is about.'
'Devon has a sister?' Vyrl asked.
His mother nodded. 'Two sisters. Corey and Naaj. Corey is next in line. She's ten years younger than Devon.'
'Maybe she's making Corey her heir,' Althor said. 'She has to do something, or she will lose power within her House.'
Devon was speaking again. 'A young man once told me something I found true, words with a wisdom well beyond his age: 'For all that our dreams bring meaning to our lives, we cannot have them all. What we give up may cause regret, even grief, but we must find a balance we can bear. Otherwise our hearts will shatter.' '
Vyrl gaped at her. She had just repeated the words he had spoken when he told her that he couldn't become the Majda consort.
Devon had an odd look now, as if she were about to jump off a precipice. 'In this matter of balance, I, too, must choose.' Her voice carried throughout the amphitheater. 'For that reason, I am abdicating my position as the Majda Matriarch.'
'Gods al-flaming-mighty,' Vyrl's mother said.
'Has she gone mad?' Eldrinson demanded.
The newscasters exploded with questions. Vyrl couldn't sort them out, the session had turned into such a tumult. Devon stood calmly, waiting for the clamor to subside.
'Why would she
'Corey is next in line,' Eldrinson said. 'Saints, Roca, she's making Corey the Matriarch. That's what she meant.'
'Corey,' said Kelric, snuggled against his mother.
Vyrl absorbed Devon's words. Abdication. It would create a far bigger furor than his refusing the marriage. Had he caused this? When he had spoken with Devon, it had seemed everything would be all right. Had her House demanded she abdicate because her betrothal fell through? That made no sense. Devon was a force to reckon with. They couldn't just make her abdicate, besides which, she could arrange another marriage, if not with the Ruby Dynasty, then with a man from another noble House.
As the amphitheater quieted, Devon resumed her speech. 'I do not make this decision lightly. I have considered it for years.' Then she held out her hand — to Ty Collier. In front of an audience spread across interstellar space, she asked him, 'Will you join me?'
Ty stared at her with undisguised astonishment. Apparently the news had surprised him as much as everyone else. When Devon gave him an encouraging smile, he visibly shook himself. Then he rose to his feet, his movements uncertain, as if he wasn't sure what to do. But he didn't hesitate; he climbed the dais and went to Devon. Taking her hand, he stood side by side with the general at the podium.
Devon spoke into the com. 'Marriages of nobles and commoners are not unheard of among the Houses, but such has never been permitted for the Matriarch.' Dryly, she added, 'Especially not Majda.' Still holding Ty's hand, she said, 'I cannot marry a commoner and retain my title. So I release the title, abdicating to my sister, Corejida Majda.'
Exclamations burst out in the hall, cries, people calling out questions. A rare serenity lightened Devon's face, and Ty stood with her, looking dazed but happy. Vyrl had never heard of such a powerful sovereign giving up her title for love. No doubt holobooks would be written about Devon and Ty, scholarly treatises published, holomovies produced.
Beneath the din, Althor spoke to Vyrl in a low voice. 'You knew, didn't you?'
Vyrl shook his head. 'Not that she intended this. Just about the man. She thought about him a lot.'
The lights suddenly came up in the Hearth Room, jarring and bright. Blinking, Vyrl looked around. His ten-
