Industry & Intrigue (37 page)

Clara nodded. “Yes. My entire council was
pleased. If I take back my throne, you will always have friends in
Estara, Lawrence.

“
Don’t say if, say
when
,” he
told her, “When you take back your throne.”

The right c
orner of Clara’s lips twitched
in a slight smile. “That’s not why I came here anyway.” She pushed
him back until his legs touched his bed. She looked at it. “So this
is what the emperor’s bed looks like. It’s elaborate.”

His bed took up most of the room. The base
was a polished and intricately designed wood, with sigils of the
Alkos Imperial Lion over it. It had red and black bedding and a
huge head rest. Red curtains hung above, pulled back at the
moment.

Lawrence put his hand on the
bed
. “Custom
designed by my grandfather. He liked to sleep comfortably. Though
the amount of alcohol he had most nights was usually enough for
that.”

“
Enough talk
,” said Clara and she kissed
him.

She planted small kisses on his
cheek
and
made her way to his neck, the kisses there causing him to shiver
delightfully. He wrapped his arms around her, his hands making
their way down and feeling her firm behind. She gave out a small
moan and this encouraged him further. He roamed his hands all over
her as they kissed. She pulled at his shirt and one of her hands
wandered underneath, rubbing his chest.

She soon pulled the fabric
off
, while
at the same time his hands had slipped into her robe and were
gently touching her breasts. She pushed him back onto the bed and
he let himself fall, still embracing each her.

Her hands were
al
l over his
bare chest, lightly scratching it. She let her robe slip off the
side of the bed and was now only wearing light pants and blouse. He
unbuttoned the blouse and let it hang for a moment before pushing
it away.

After several minutes of
this, they were
eventually naked and made their way into the bed sheets. Lawrence
was on top and he looked down at the beautiful queen below him. He
smiled and gave her another long kiss before he entered
her.

After they were finished
Lawrence let his head drop to
the pillow, while Clara purred contentedly.
Lawrence had been with women before, but they had been councilors
or ministers daughters looking to curry favor. While those times
had not been unpleasant, they paled in comparison to this. He had
deep feelings for Clara and it had enhanced the sex.

Clara moved over, draping her body
parallel to his and resting her head on his shoulder.

“
We cannot linger too
long
,” she
said. “As nice as this feels. If I could, I would stay here with
you forever.”

“
And what is so urgent you have
to leave so soon?”
he asked, basking in the feel of her body next to
his.

“
You know why.
Peo
ple will
start to ask questions if I am gone too long.”

He sighed.
“I know, I know.” He moved his
right hand to stroke her head, his fingers moving between the
tussled locks of her hair. “Is an emperor not allowed to
fantasize?”

“
Of course. As wonderful
as this was, we both know it can never happen again. We have
respective duties to our nations.”

Lawrence nodded.
“
I will
never forget the memory of this night. Not as long as I live.” He
savored every moment of being here with her.

“
Nor I
,” she said. “I am glad we have this.
Even if we cannot be together as husband and wife, no one can ever
take this away from us.”

“
Stay here a while longer,” said
Lawrence. “I want to enjoy every second I have with you.” Clara
murmured in agreement and relaxed, pressing herself against him as
much as she could.

They finally let go of each
other as despairing as it was.
After they were dressed and Clara was
fixing her hair they talked. “Do you truly believe the Galrians
will treat with you after what has happened?” she asked.

“
I hope so. If I have something
to offer them. If not…” He shrugged
. “War between Alkos and Galria will not
be limited. Ever since Cyrus the First united them, the continent
has been on powder keg. So many alliances and treaties between all
the nations, if war comes, it will be bloody and long. And if the
Talfey and Zefey enter…I dread to think where it will
end.”

She walked over to him, lifted
his
head up
to look him in the eyes.

“
It will end
with Alkos standing, proud and
strong, with the strength of Emperor Lawrence McRath the Second.
From Haltoria, I will wait to see you take charge as the emperor I
know you can be.”

“
And
I look forward to seeing you become
the queen you always deserved to be,” he replied. She kissed the
top of his head.

“
Goodbye Emperor Lawrence,
you’re going
to do great things.”

She pulled her robe back on and left the
room, nothing remaining but her scent. He lay on his bed and
breathed it in, recapturing every moment of the night.

Chapter 35

“
This fucking boy-emperor thinks
he can pull the wool over my eyes
, does he?” shouted the king. Cyrus Domik
the Second, King of Galria was in a fury. Spittle flew out of his
mouth and his brown eyes were twisted tight. His grey-streaked,
black beard was quivering and he flung the piece of paper back at
his chief of staff, Ulas Katanin.

The king’s chief advisor
was
half a
decade older than his monarch, but he did not look it. Ulas had
soft skin on his face and had aged gently. He kept his grey hair
well-trimmed and was clean shaven.

The king by contrast had a huge
mess of a beard.
His hair, which had once been as black as night, had an
unhealthy pale shade. Lines from stress coated the king’s face and
his eyes would occasionally flit around in an uncontrollable
manner. Ulas suspected his king had a medical condition, but none
of the royal physicians were able to improve him.

What Ulas
was certain of, was that the
king had a psychological condition. He was deathly afraid of the
outdoors. This hadn’t been much of a problem during his youth, he
had been a sickly child and stayed in the palace of
Urdov.

But upon ascending to the
throne his agorap
hobia and paranoia had increased exponentially. He never
left the palace, the last time had been more than three months ago.
And when he did he refused to leave the comfort of the royal
carriage; even taking meetings within it. Not that that was an
issue, it was large enough to fit a dozen people inside.

The king sat back on his throne. It
was a massive chair, coated in silver and gems taken from the
Klehov mines in the north.

Ulas picked up
th
e telegram
and folded it. It had come from Alkos City late last night, a
message from their emperor. It stated that they had put
considerable resources into catching the Rossiv’s assassin. He was
travelling south to the border and requested a meeting with an
envoy from Urdov. He offered to treat with anyone they deemed to
send.

Ulas hadn’t been
surprised
at
the telegram. Right now Alkos was politically isolated. An
assassination of a foreign envoy would look bad for any nation.
Aside from the Talfey, Alkos had few friends. No nation wanted to
take the side of someone who had allowed a diplomatic
representative to be murdered.

Ulas had penned the Galrian
response to the assassination himself. The king had wanted to
immediately declare war, but Ulas had urged caution.
The assassination
was horrible, but even he wasn’t willing to believe the Alkons
would make such a bold move. Without evidence that the Alkon
government was responsible, Ulas didn’t want to see Galria dragged
into a needless war.

Cyrus had other ideas
though
and a
good many of his advisors and military agreed with him. Already,
the royal armies were mobilizing near Nesjovo and Kavak. The forts
along the Alkon border had been placed on alert. Even most of the
troops in the north had been pulled back to the capital. While
agorid activity had been low for many years, he was not eager to
find out what would happen if they tested the defenses at a time
like this.

The king had placed a list of
demands upon the Alkon government in the event that the assassin
was not brought to justice. These demands had been so outrageous
that Ulas had no d
oubt they would be rejected. He suspected his king wanted
to see happen.

“
Well Ulas, do you believe the
Alkons will give us justice?”
asked the king, and looked at him with his wild
eyes.

“
Based on everything
Lord Rhostov has
told us, no I do not.” The Galrian spymaster, Jaromir Rhostov was
also in the room. He tipped his head at the mention of his name.
Ulas didn’t like the man, he held every secret in the realm in his
hands. A number of prominent people had been forced to resign or
bend to his desires due to the secrets he held. And he always knew
far more than he ever told, even to the king.

“
Then what would be the point of
even bothering to treat with th
e emperor. He’s going to waste our time
and pander, but those MacRaths have always looked down on us. We
should hand him our declaration of war and be done with it.” The
king was still bent on war with Alkos.

“
Your Highness, I am as eager
for justice as you are
,” said Ulas, trying to placate him.

“
And well you should be. The
Alkons have
sneered over us for far too long. They are jealous of our
rise to power and this is nothing more than an attempt to stifle
our national rights.” The king’s voice had risen in
volume.

Ulas did agree that
Alkos
was
jealous, but did not think they would go about it by assassinating
an official envoy.
Nonetheless we have to defend ourselves
he thought.
Attacks like this cannot go
unanswered
.

Then General Timur Zhillin
spoke up.
“Your Highness. I wonder if this might not present an
opportunity for us.” The general was the leading voice for the
war-hawk faction in the royal army.

The king loo
ked intrigued. “Explain
general.”

“
Well our plans for war with
Alkos have always suffered under the issue of a stalemate on the
border
. Both
sides have considerable defensive fortifications and our navies are
as distant from one another as not to not affect the initial
battles.”

I
nconsequential to the initial battles
would be the right word
thought Ulas. Galria had a tiny coastal region on
the far west, the province of Uconia. In fact the entire Galrian
Navy had been formed from Uconian ships. Uconia was the only
Galrian province with a coast and they had practiced seafaring for
hundreds of years. But it was still only a fraction of the size of
the Imperial Alkon Navy.

A force so powerful on the
ocean,
the
only ones that could match them were the Kordatians and the
Silunders, and that would only be if they were working
together.

Minakaya could
match them as well,
but they had never fought each other. Minakaya tended to steer
clear of continental affairs and none of its interests had ever
conflicted with the Alkon Empire.

“
I would recommend we mobilize
our entire force and prepare for Al
kos failing to meet our demands,”
continued the general.

“
I agree
,” said the king. “Make your
preparations general. Ulas, I will agree to send an envoy to treat
with Emperor Lawrence.”

H
e is finally seeing sense
thought Ulas in
relief.

“
But th
is does not mean I will bow down like
a dog. Send a low level man from Rossiv’s office. General Zhillin,
implement your plan. If our demands are not met, we will show the
Alkons the price of treating my official representatives like
this.”

“
At once
, Your Highness,” replied the
general. For a brief moment Ulas thought he saw a smirk of
satisfaction on the general’s face. There was one far too eager for
war. Zhillin had become a national hero for his victory in the war
against Tal Feros. Victories always boosted the ego and pride of
military men. The general stepped back in line with the other
military commanders.

“
Your
Highness
,”
said Ulas. “The ambassadors from Ze Feros and Silund are waiting to
meet with you in the Green Chamber.”

“
Ah, good.” The king
stood
from
his throne and walked towards Ulas. “Let’s hear what our allies
have to say on this matter. After you’ve heard from them, I expect
you’ll be more in agreement about dealing to the Alkons with
force.”