84 KING PETER

Peter shook his head and handed the prepared document back to Basil. “I’m sorry, but I won’t read this.” He saw an immediate flush of anger cross the Chairman’s face. “I dictate Hansa policy, and you’re more than aware of how far I’ll go to make sure my orders are obeyed.” Basil wasn’t usually a man to lose his composure, even in private, but the years of costly defeats and the intransigence of those who were supposed to be “team players” had eaten away at him. He hated to lose control in any fashion.

Peter tried to be calm but firm. “Your media plants have already done an excellent job of turning public opinion against the Roamers, Basil, but if I read this invective, we’ll have lynchings, if not an outright civil war.”

“We already have a civil war, King Peter—caused by the Roamers.”

Peter called the Chairman’s bluff, though he knew it was a dangerous move. “Then why don’t you have Prince Daniel read it? Try him out, see how the public reacts?”

Basil scowled. “I’ve had enough of your attitude, Peter.”

Peter drummed his fingers on the tabletop in the King’s private retiring room where the Chairman had come to meet with him. “Believe it or not, Basil, we both have the interests of the Hansa at heart. Speaker Peroni was betrothed to Estarra’s brother—maybe the Queen and I could talk with her reasonably, resolve this matter.”

“No need. The Roamers will back down soon. I envision several scenarios—all of which result in my holding humanity together, in spite of itself.”

The Chairman was further upset because he had just learned from Sarein, through Nahton, that groups of Roamers had been working in the ruined worldforest for over a month—and somehow the court green priest had never seen fit to inform anyone of the fact.

Nahton had responded with placid indifference when Basil confronted him. “It is within our rights as an independent colony to accept aid from anyone who wishes to give it. It is not a matter for Hansa discussion.” He had refused to understand the relevance of such information in the overall picture.

Now Peter leaned closer to the simmering Chairman. “Basil, you taught me to think of second- and third-order consequences. It’s fine that I rally the people and fan their anger against the hydrogues. But your end goal is to assimilate the Roamers into the Hanseatic League. Therefore, it’s counterproductive for me, as King, to officially portray them as unsalvageable traitors or monsters. If I make a formal statement from the Whisper Palace, and then your plan succeeds, I’ll have to recant my words and change my position. You don’t want that.”

Basil lifted his head slowly, a strange expression on his face. “I don’t know whether to strangle you, Peter, or pat you on the back for being a good student. Your conclusions aren’t the same as mine, but they do have . . . some small merit. I’ll consider what you’ve said.” He took the document back and turned to leave, clearly not admitting defeat. “The Roamers will be quickly and cleanly defeated, and soon. Perhaps it’s best if you just stay out of it for now. Then you can appear benevolent afterward.”

He looked over his shoulder. “But I warn you, the Hansa must be absolutely unified under my instructions. If I decide to ask you again, Peter, don’t even think about contradicting me.”

Even when he was most troubled, Peter always knew one place where he could feel like a man, instead of a puppet ruler. When the lights were down late at night and he was in his own bedchamber—after OX had searched the room for surveillance cameras and deactivated any listening devices—Peter felt safe and comforted, simply holding his Queen.

He caressed the warm, smooth skin of Estarra’s back, tracing the outline of her shoulder blades, and pulled her closer. Her breasts were soft against his chest, and she kissed his ear while he smoothed her hair with his fingers. “I may disagree with most of Basil’s decisions, but when he chose you for me, that was the best thing he ever did.”

It must have been so strange for Estarra to come from the lush forests of Theroc and be transplanted into an entirely different culture here at the heart of the Hansa. But she had been strong, open-minded, and willing to give him a chance. At first, Peter had resented the political manipulations that thrust them together in an arranged marriage that seemed so medieval . . . but he and Estarra did indeed have much in common, and now they relied on each other for support, in a time and place where they were never sure whom they could trust.

Though many of their obligations were unpleasant or difficult, Peter and Estarra were glad to have each other, especially when they could be alone together in the dark and forget about the vast and dangerous universe outside.

Her breath was warm against his neck as she rested her head on his shoulder, kissing the line of his jaw. “And you, Peter, have made me the envy not only of everyone on Theroc, but of every woman in the Hansa. After all, I get to make love to the King whenever I like.”

“If only I could hold the Hansa together as easily as I hold you,” he said.

Though the Chairman and his assistants did not expect him to lead—only to issue prepared statements and stand as a figurehead—Peter sensed that many threads in the Hanseatic League were unraveling, along with the Hansa’s formerly solid relationships with the Therons and the Roamers. Basil was trying to impose tighter and tighter control, but the more he squeezed and the more stridently he demanded that every faction follow his rigid plan, the less cooperative they became. Basil thought they were being intentionally obdurate. The government was no longer the well-oiled machine that the Chairman had worked so hard to maintain.

“Basil’s planning something else against the Roamers,” Peter said. “I can feel it, but I’d rather bow my head and accept responsibility for my own failures than make excuses for actions I never sanctioned in the first place.”

“The people believe you have a good heart,” she said. “And I’ll stand by you no matter what. You know that.”

“Yes, Estarra. I know that.”

“Anyway, there’s nothing you can do about it now. You’re worrying too much during our private bedroom time.” She rolled on top of him. “There must be something I can do to distract you from all your worries?”

He kissed her. “What did you have in mind?”

So Estarra showed him what she meant.

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