Ty leaned down from his great height and stared Kikbax in the face.
“High Priest,” he said, in a voice so low it was almost a growl. “I may be a common off-worlder, but I have sworn an oath to keep my Lady safe from harm and that includes the possibility of poison. Your continued insistence that I fail to protect her might be seen by some as an admission of guilt—an open statement that you want the Potentate to take risks with her life and the welfare of all of Helios Beta.”
“What?” the High Priest exclaimed, glaring up at the tall Kindred. “Why, how dare you? You…you Kindred—how dare you insinuate that I would put poison in the Potentate’s wine?”
“I never said that,” Ty said mildly. “I only said that it might be seen that way—especially if someone else had slipped something harmful into that cup and you refused to let me taste it for her to ascertain if it was safe or not.”
“Why…I would never…I…you…” The High Priest blustered but it was clear that Ty had carried the argument. After a bit more fussing, Kikbax stepped back into the shadows where the common people couldn’t see and sulkily handed over the two-handled Cup of Wisdom. “Be careful,” he snapped, as Ty took the heavy cup lightly by its golden stem, holding it as though it weighed no more than a regular water glass. “The wine must not be spilled or it will cause ill luck for the entire planet.”
Ty didn’t answer. He simply lifted the cup and set the golden rim to his lips before taking a long, considering swallow.
He seemed to take a very long time and when he lowered the chalice, there was a slight frown on his face. But when the High Priest demanded, “Well?” in an angry, offended tone, the big Kindred simply shrugged.
“An excellent vintage,” he remarked mildly, handing the Cup of Wisdom back to the High Priest.
“Very funny!” Kikbax snatched the chalice out of the Kindred’s hands, the deep red wine sloshing agasinst inside the golden bowl of the cup. Striding forward to the edge of the balcony, he announced in a loud voice, “People of Helios Beta, today you will greet your new Potentate, Y’res the Fourth. You shall witness as she drinks from the Cup of Wisdom and asks Thufar to grant her insight as she rules us all.”
Ellina kept back, waiting for the High Priest to announce her, but she couldn’t resist motioning for Ty.
The tall Kindred leaned down so that his ear was near her mouth and she whispered, “Well? So it’s safe?”
He gave her an oblique look.
“Now it is.”
“What? What does that mean?” Ellina demanded. “Was it poisoned before? What did you do to it?”
But Ty only shook his head.
“The High Priest is announcing you. Just be certain you place your lips exactly where mine were—by the big ruby—and you’ll be fine.”
Ellina wasn’t exactly reassured by this but at that moment, Kikbax was intoning, “And now, please welcome your new Potentate, The Goddess in the Flesh, Y’res the Fourth!”
Lifting her head high, Ellina strode further out to the edge of the Grand Balcony and looked down. Standing by the golden balustrade, she lifted a hand and waved to the sea of faces which were now her subjects.
The crowd responded with a swelling roar of approval, the immense sound rising and echoing through the vast cavern like a thunderous wave breaking against her ears.
“Very well, very well,” Kikbax said sourly and it occurred to Ellina that the High Priest wasn’t pleased with the common people’s approval of her. “And now,” he continued loudly, when the sound had died down a bit, “The Cup of Wisdom!”
He thrust the chalice into her hands and Ellina barely had time to grip it by its handles before he let it go. Immediately, the vast weight of the heavy golden cup dragged at her wrists.
She staggered and gripped it tighter, feeling like he’d thrust a lead cannon ball into her hands rather than just a cup. The tendons on the underside of her forearms stood out in stark relief under her skin and she was somehow able to hold onto the chalice—just barely.
But try as she might, she couldn’t lift the heavy thing to her lips—it was like trying to lift something twice the weight of an adult male up to her face. Though Ellina kept in good shape and had never considered herself weak, she simply could not do it. Her arms trembled and a gasp escaped her lips as she tried.
“Do you need help, Your Highness?” Kikbax smirked at her and Ellina glared back. She well knew that the High Priest was supposed to support the Cup of Wisdom while the Potentate drank from it—that was part of the ceremony. For him to make her beg for his assistance was a grave insult—one he clearly thought he would never have to pay for.
But suddenly, the two-handled chalice became light in her hands.
“I believe the Potentate can manage without you, priest,” Ty rumbled behind her.
Looking down, Ellina saw that he had reached from behind with his long arm and was supporting the weight of the heavy golden cup with one hand under the round disk of its base.
The move was unobtrusive and no one in the crowd would be able to notice his assistance. All they would see was the fact that the Potentate was drinking from the Cup of Wisdom by herself—with no help from the High Priest. It was a bold gesture—one which publicly signified her independence from Lord Kikbax and Ellina was glad to make it.
“Thank you, Ty,” she murmured.
“Of course, my Lady,” he murmured back. “Are you ready to drink?”
“Yes.” She nodded and he raised the cup to her mouth with ease. Carefully, she placed
