Once again, apologies for the long wait. I'm afraid it's just a feature at the moment.
I never thought I'd see this place again.
It was full day on this side of Orus, but the Skyjacker Chamber had no windows, only the sharp internal - eternal - light. Caine and the Antinari twins kept their steps soft as they crossed its floor, and at Caine's right Jupiter did the same, her face grave as she tilted her head back to look up.
The chamber was twice the size of the funeral hall, but the number of Skyjackers past and present had long since outstripped the space, so now the pale walls shifted silently, bringing names forth and pulling them back in an endless slow dance. Caine didn't know how it worked, but he didn't need to; it was enough to know that it did.
It was strange to know that his own name had not been removed when he'd been clipped and stripped; just starred, the same as if he'd died. To the Skyjackers, I was dead. Caine wondered how often such stars were removed. He could hardly be the only one, in so many thousands of years, but it had to be a rare thing.
"Where's Absaba?" Jupiter asked, her voice hardly more than a whisper. Sound in the chamber was strange, carrying in some places and muffled in others, but Caine heard her clearly.
He touched his implant, seeking the information, then brought up his boot controls. "I'll show you."
He glanced at the twins. There was no one else in the Hall just then, but they activated their own boots, ready to escort her Majesty. Jupiter turned on hers, and held out her hand to Caine, fingers closing tightly on his.
They rose up, the hush accentuated by the faint sound of their flight rather than broken by it. His implant guided him to the correct spot, where Absaba's name held steady rather than blooming and vanishing. The carved symbols, like all the others, were stark and simple; her Majesty reached out, then hesitated.
"You may touch," Caine told her. Color stained the stone when she did, a dark red like an old sunset, deepening when he brushed his own fingers along the cool edges.
"Is it a memorial?" Jupiter asked softly, and Caine nodded. The color would fade with time, but it served as an acknowledgment, taking notice that someone had come to remember Absaba.
They slid backwards a bit, so Forthwith and Laur could make their own remembrances. Laur merely touched the stone; Forthwith bent her head and murmured something Caine couldn't quite make out.
"I'd like to see your name," Jupiter said when they were done. "All three of yours, actually."
Caine's was higher in the room, and he felt a small, odd pulse of pride to see that the star was gone. When Jupiter touched it, the wash of color was a light blue, signifying acknowledgment instead of mourning, and the curve of her smile strengthened the pride.
It was so, so strange. Not to see his name there - he had visited it before, long ago - but to be in the company of an Entitled who had asked to see it.
An Entitled. His Queen. Jupiter.
Every day, it seemed, she burrowed deeper into his soul; and Caine found himself looking forward to the time when the last of his doubts and apprehensions would fade away, and he would be wholly, perfectly hers. It was far off, that day, but for the first time Caine could see it. Believe in it.
It left him breathless.
"Can I take a photo? Is that allowed?" Jupiter pulled out the little proto-sheave she called an I-phone and looked hopeful.
Caine had to stop and think. "I don't think it's ever come up, Majesty." Most devices he was familiar with didn't capture still images, just holo-video.
"I promise I'll be respectful." She held up the gadget and tapped it. "There."
Forthwith and Laur were together on the wall, as might be expected. Jupiter took pictures of theirs as well, looking satisfied. As she tucked her device away, a group of soldiers entered the chamber at the bottom of the room. Caine and the twins stiffened, going alert, but all Caine could smell was excitement and pride rising on the room's atmosphere. When one of the newcomers spread their wings and then drew them in, he realized why they were there, and relaxed somewhat.
"Should we go out the other way?" Jupiter asked, but Caine shook his head.
"They're not here for a memorial. That's a newly made Skyjacker, your Majesty; they're here to see their own name."
"Oh! Well, we should go say congrats then." Jupiter cocked a brow, and by now he knew that meant she was asking whether it was a bad idea from a security standpoint.
She was dressed a little better than what she'd worn to the bar, but not as an Entitled, so Caine exchanged glances with the twins, all of them concluding silently that it was permissable. They descended to land near the little group of four, who were chattering quietly amongst themselves.
All of them were Splices, Caine saw, though he only recognized the type of two. The new Skyjacker was a therasidet, Spliced with a theras from one of the Videt worlds, half the Gyre away from Orus; they sported a thick covering of tendrils that were halfway between spines and scales, bare only on the face and palms, and they came to proud attention as Jupiter's party approached them.
Caine and the twins returned the salute. Jupiter offered her hand and a warm smile.
"Mr. Wise tells me you've just joined the Skyjackers," she said. "Congratulations!"
She wasn't using quite the correct terminology, but Caine doubted the ensign would notice. They beamed and accepted the handshake. "Thank you, miss."
One of their companions, a Legion lieutenant so tall as to rival Honch but much more slender, sniffed the air and blanched a pale violet, and Caine knew the game was up. He lifted a hand to his lips, swift and silent, and the lieutenant blinked rapidly, gaze darting between Jupiter and Caine; but he swallowed whatever he'd been about to blurt out.
Caine nodded in approval. It wasn't like her Majesty was trying to hide, but Caine knew that the ensign would most likely embarrass themselves in front of Jupiter if they realized what her rank really was. At least a therasidet can't tell by scent.
"I'm sure you'll serve honorably," Jupiter was saying, making the ensign's tendrils quiver with pleasure. "How far up is your name?"
"Just a few levels," the ensign said modestly. "I know it's early, to come here, but I - I just couldn't wait."
"I don't blame you," Jupiter said, smiling wider. "Skyjackers are the very best, I hear."
She turned just enough to wink at Caine, who managed to suppress his snort of amusement; Laur coughed, and Forthwith didn't bother keeping back the grin.
"'Course we are, y - miss. Good to see that the ensign realizes it." She folded her arms, waving one wing lazily.
One of the Legion soldiers rolled her eyes, but the twitch of her mouth bespoke humor. The rivalry was old to the point of ceremonial, so there was no need to take offense, and Caine simply shifted his stance to display easy power, countering her shorthand with his own.
"Well, we'll let you get on with it," Jupiter said, poking an elbow backwards - nowhere near the twins, but enough to make her point. "Oh, can I take a picture when you're up there?"
Caine didn't know how the ensign's translator implant handled the term, but they bobbed their head with no trace of confusion. "Yes, miss, if you like."
Jupiter grinned, and waved them off. The ensign mounted into the air with the slight clumsiness of someone new to wings, but their technique was good, and Caine watched with approval as they slowed to hover in front of the wall, belatedly turning on their boots.
Her Majesty held up her device again, then put it away. "Nice to meet you all," she said cheerfully, and dimpled when the lieutenant made a choking sound.
"He figured it out, didn't he?" she asked quietly as the four of them left the visiting party behind. "The lavender one, I mean."
"You do smell like an Entitled, Majesty," Caine replied, still amused. "It's easy to hide in a crowd, but here…"
She shot him a look, going grave. "It doesn't bother you…does it?"
By everything he knew, everything he'd experienced, it should have. But that deep note in her overall scent was, for her alone, an enrichment. He couldn't kneel, not while they were on the move, so he dipped his head instead, keeping his voice soft.
"Majesty…you smell like home."
She flushed, and the wave of surprised happiness that poured out of her almost overwhelmed Caine. Jupiter's arm slid through the crook of his elbow, a fixed point in that cloud of delight, and he wished he could just pick her up and carry her, skin to warm skin.
They had just passed through the exit when a yelp echoed through the room. "She's what?"
Laur snickered. "A little faster, perhaps, your Majesty?" he suggested, and they picked up the pace as Jupiter started to laugh.
They'll remember her. For some reason, it made him feel proud, and Caine pulled her a little closer and held his head high.
"I'm sorry I missed the funeral." Agatha stroked the coil of fur that was wrapped around her throat and shoulders and buzzing vengefully; Edsel never reacted well when she left him for more than a day. "Bad timing."
Jupiter, seated behind her working desk, shrugged. "I don't think you would have been allowed in, actually, they seem to be private events."
Agatha raised her brows. "So you got a free Entitled pass?" It didn't seem like Jupiter to insist, but -
"Not exactly." Jupiter tilted a hand back and forth. "Stinger didn't really explain, but as close as I can figure, I counted as family, even though they made me go as an Entitled."
She shrugged. "I get the feeling I was kind of outside the rules."
Agatha had to snort. "That's not news, honey."
Jupiter snickered and leaned back in her chair. "I'm glad you're back to stay. Is your suite big enough? We can always switch you around if you need something else."
It was Agatha's turn to snicker. "You could store half a football team in my suite. No, it's fine, thanks. How are your mom and aunt doing?"
"Nino's having the time of her life." Jupiter grinned. "I think Mama's enjoying herself more than she wants to admit."
"I hope they stay for a while. We could form a Middle-Aged Ladies in Space club." Agatha managed to unwind Edsel from her neck and bring him down to her lap, but he immediately started eeling back up.
"I swear, he was fine the whole time you were gone," Jupiter said with some exasperation. "He spent most of it in Stinger's quarters getting spoiled by Kiza."
"Oh, I'm sure." Agatha gave up and just kept petting. "Doesn't matter. Siamese are all drama queens, and they'll take any opportunity to prove it."
Jupiter made kissing noises at Edsel, who ignored her, too intent on reclaiming his position as a fur stole. Jupiter laughed, then craned her neck to look over at the door, where Caine stood guard. "Mr. Wise, would you make sure we're not disturbed for this conversation?"
Agatha couldn't see his response without turning, but she was sure it was a nod. She cocked her head. "That sounds serious."
"It is." Jupiter pushed aside a couple of sheaves, tapping the surface of her desk and fiddling with the light display that popped up. "Okay, that should do it."
"Do what?" Agatha asked, curious.
"Block any listening devices." Agatha blinked, and Jupiter gave her a resigned look. "I've got Jeeves set on do-not-record, but as Diomika likes to remind me, even Stinger's vetting isn't foolproof. And spycams and mics out here can be too small to spot with the naked eye."
Agatha felt a chill of - not quite apprehension. Caution, maybe. "What warrants that?"
Jupiter sighed, propping her forearms on the desk. "I think it's time to get serious about that whole 'dismantling Entitled power' thing."
She hesitated. "If you don't want to be involved, that's fine! This is probably going to be crazy dangerous. But I'd really like your input."
Agatha regarded her thoughtfully, knowing that what she was about to say could land her in lethal trouble eventually. Some risks are worth it. "I appreciate your effort not to offer me a pig in a poke, but I think I signed up for it when I encouraged you to pick up the position in the first place. What do you have in mind?"
Jupiter blew out a relieved breath. "Well, it's like you said. When it comes to Regenex, the only way to kill it is to replace it. So that's where I want to start."
"That makes sense." The surge under her breastbone was pride, Agatha thought; Jupiter was proving what Agatha had seen in her. "But you're going to need researchers. There's no way you can do this on your own."
"Exactly." Jupiter picked up a stylus and fiddled with it. "The trouble is - this is dangerous stuff to look into, and I want to keep it quiet. So I have to figure out who I can trust to actually do the research."
"And you don't think your people can be trusted?" Agatha knew the answer, but she wanted to hear what Jupiter would say. Old habits…
"Some of them, sure. But I've got more people on my payroll than I can count, and the number keeps going up." Jupiter rubbed her forehead, sighing. "It's not that I think poking into this stuff is going to actually get me killed. But it will put my people in danger, and that's just not acceptable."
Agatha took a moment to think. "I'm not sure that's something you can avoid," she said slowly. "But it can be mitigated."
"Your Majesty." The voice made them both look up; Agatha twisted around in her chair to look at Caine, earning a sleepy growl from Edsel. Caine was still at the door, but he was staring intently at Jupiter. "May I speak?"
Agatha could practically hear Jupiter's eyes rolling. "Of course."
Caine bowed his head, advancing to Jupiter's desk and sinking easily to his knees; his wings were canted slightly up but folded in, a signal that Agatha didn't know how to read. "Your Majesty," he repeated carefully. "Use us."
"The Skyjackers? Caine, you folks have enough to do as it is. Especially now." Jupiter's lips twisted, anger and grief.
Caine shook his head. "Not the Guard. The Splices. Your Splices." His gaze was fixed on her face, eyes intent. "Majesty, there isn't one of those closest to you who wouldn't do anything you asked, without hesitation."
Jupiter blinked, then rubbed her forehead. "I'm not sure that's any better."
Caine's brow wrinkled, and Agatha cut in quickly. "Are you sure about that, Mr. Wise?"
"Of course." He sounded certain, anyway.
"But - I'm proposing to basically crash the Regenex market, Caine. Throw the entire society into the blender, starting at the top. Splices use Regenex - you use Regenex. Or you did." Jupiter gave Caine a somewhat exasperated look. "Why would they automatically go along with that?"
Caine's return look was, Agatha thought with amusement, downright affectionate. "Majesty, when you find your solution, will you allow Splices to use it?"
It was clearly a rhetorical question, but Jupiter answered it anyway. "Are you kidding? You guys would be first in line, and not as test subjects."
Caine didn't reply, simply waiting with a tiny smile, and Jupiter threw up her hands. "Okay, but still. I have no idea what's going to happen, but I'm betting this is the space equivalent of shoving a big stick in an even bigger wasp nest. I want to protect my people, but I'm not sure I'll be able to."
It was a valid concern. However -
"I don't think you get a choice about it, Jupiter. How about this?" Agatha glanced at Caine. "Lay out what you want, and the risks, and make sure they listen before they agree."
Caine inhaled, and Agatha leaned forward a bit. "Unquestioning obedience may be a mark of - something, out here - " She couldn't quite make herself say honor. " - so you may have to create the environment that allows questions."
Jupiter brightened; Caine frowned, but it was a thoughtful look. Agatha had the sudden sensation of change - of watching reality shift in front of her eyes. Something new is happening here.
It was a surprisingly hopeful feeling.
Jeeves chimed while she and Jupiter were brainstorming possible approaches to the problem, scribbling on actual paper in lieu of sheaves. Jupiter looked up at the ceiling, a habit neither she nor Agatha had managed to break. "Jeeves, we're kinda in the middle of something here."
"Your pardon, madam, but you asked to be informed of any direct communications from Lady Kalique," Jeeves said.
"Oh. Crap. Okay, put her here." Jupiter tapped the desk, and Agatha pushed back a little, not sure where the edges of the return view fell and not wanting to get in the way.
The air over the desk shimmered, and then became opaque from Agatha's point of view. "Hello, Kalique," Jupiter said, now hidden behind the viewing hologram. "It's nice to see you."
"And you, my dear." Kalique's voice was as sweet and smooth as always. "I'm sorry to be so abrupt, but one of my sources has just informed me that Titus' trial is about to go forward. No doubt you'll receive official notice shortly, but the more time you have to prepare, the better."
Agatha could easily picture Jupiter sitting straighter in her chair. "Oh? That's good news. How soon?"
"Twenty-one days. It's really quite hurried - I suspect Titus has bribed them to move things along. The silly boy thinks he'll get his own way, you know." The amusement in Kalique's voice was palpable.
"And will he?" Jupiter asked coolly. "Do bribes work on judges too?"
"Oh, no, not in cases such as this." Kalique's airy reassurance was, Agatha thought sourly, absolutely typical of this benighted society. "For one thing, Titus simply hasn't the assets. No, my dear, we may expect justice. Your presence at the trial is not required, of course, but I thought you might like to attend."
"I think I would," Jupiter said, sounding thoughtful. "Won't I have to give testimony?"
"If you were, they would have called you for it. Frankly, Titus has done quite enough on his own."
Jupiter snorted, and Agatha thought she heard a faint growl that wasn't coming from the furry coil around her throat. "Yeah, I would like to go, for sure. Will you be going too?"
"Yes indeed." Kalique sounded downright merry. "I wouldn't miss it for a dozen worlds."
She started talking about acceptable clothing and the protocol for Entitled trials, so Agatha gathered up her notes and her cat and tiptoed away, not wanting to disturb Jupiter. Caine stepped smoothly out of the way as Agatha neared the door, and she smiled at him, winning a faint curve of his lips in return.
I wonder if I can tag along to the trial.
"Are you sure we don't need to go back to the repair station for this?" Jupiter looked doubtfully around the high-ceilinged room, hands on her hips.
At her side, Phylo shook his head. "On-board maintenance can handle this just fine, your Majesty. It's really only cosmetic alterations."
He gestured at the various seating options. "Clear this out, pull the carpet, and change the lighting, and then we can set it up however you like."
"Hmm." Jupiter turned, taking it all in. It was a little-used parlor-style room in what Jupiter had started to think of as the display part of the Windy City; the only thing that made it much different from something from an Earth house was the viewport, which gave a splendid, floor-to-ceiling view of the stars. "Even with the plants?"
"We can transplant from the original garden room. Since you specified potted items rather than actual beds, it's quite simple." Phylo made a note on his ever-present sheave. "Have you decided, ah, what you want displayed?"
"Lemme see the blueprint." That wasn't what it was - when Phylo held out his sheave it produced a holographic image of the plans - but the translator understood it well enough.
"Two here." Jupiter touched an intangible spot, and a dot of color blossomed under her fingertip. "The other two can go in the corner for now."
"Very good." Phylo made the hologram fold away. "It shouldn't take long."
"It's not too much trouble, is it?" Jupiter asked, and he chuckled.
"Majesty, the maintenance team is positively itching to demonstrate their skills for you. They haven't gotten over their jealousy that you had the substation handle the installation for the big garden."
"Oh, well then." Jupiter rolled her eyes, just a bit. "Let 'em have at it."
"At once, your Majesty." Phylo looked amused, and Jupiter got out of his way, strolling back towards her office with Caine and Banti following.
The project had been growing slowly in the back of her mind, almost subconsciously, but it had taken the arrival of Jupiter's mother and aunt to push it out where she could get a good look at it. I hope Mom likes it. She wasn't doing it for her mother…but on some level Jupiter very much wanted Aleksa's approval.
Well, I'll find out soon enough. "Are there any other teams on board who want my attention?" she asked the Skyjackers, not entirely facetiously.
Banti shrugged. "All of them, your Majesty," he said, his voder-driven voice sounding completely natural to Jupiter's ears. "It's a matter of pride."
"Mr. Percadium can make you a list," Caine added, deadpan, and Jupiter snorted.
"That's all I need, another memo. I guess I'll get to all of them eventually." She pursed her lips. "Jeeves, what's next on the agenda?"
"Swimming lesson, madam," the ship's presence replied.
"Oh, is that today? Great." After trying, and failing, to fit it into her free time, Jupiter had simply given up and scheduled it. "Come on, Wise, I'm gonna teach you how to not drown."
Banti didn't laugh, as such, but the way his eyes crinkled over his voder made his amusement obvious. Given the way Caine was close to pouting, Jupiter wasn't surprised. She held back her own chuckle. "Think of it as a security measure."
"As your Majesty pleases," Caine said dutifully. Banti signed something - Jupiter's translator didn't work on that particular language - and Caine lifted his lip just enough to show a flash of canine, which seemed to amuse Banti even more.
Jupiter grinned, and kept walking.
Caine scowled. His Queen was laughing at him.
"Oh, come on," she said, holding out a hand. "It's not like you can actually drown in here, all you have to do is stand up."
The sight of Jupiter in the two wraps of cloth she called a bikini, chest-deep in the enormous bath of the Queen's suite, was very alluring, but Caine was still nervous about water higher than his hips. Memories of unpleasant fights in wet conditions were resurfacing in his mind, and though that water had been icy cold instead of warm and soft, the parallels were still strong.
But Jupiter was asking it of him...and she was right anyway. Not being able to swim was a vulnerability.
"I won't let you sink," she added, which was ridiculous given how Caine outweighed her. "Don't you trust me?"
Yes. Caine sighed, and slid off the edge of the bath. The water barely splashed, coming up to the middle of his thighs; at Jupiter's direction, he was wearing only a pair of shorts in a fabric that would shed water instead of absorbing it.
It's not like we actually need clothes since we'll be doing this in our bath instead of the pool, she'd said, but I don't want to be distracted…
The bathing room of the Queen's suite aboard the Windy City was certainly spacious enough for a lesson. The pool had its own room and was, Jupiter said, "as big as our backyard", though it got no deeper than she was tall. And now it was full of warm, scented water, and the site of Caine's first swimming lesson.
Jupiter's smile widened. "Come on, just a few steps. You're gonna love this once you get used to it."
"I beg leave to doubt that, your Majesty." But Caine trudged through the water to take her wet fingers in his own. "Now what?"
Jupiter tugged. "Sit down."
Caine blinked, and her smile softened. "Look, if you really don't want to do this, I won't make you. But I think you are going to like it. And it really is a safety issue. I knew somebody in high school who drowned when they fell in a pool, and if they'd known how to swim it wouldn't have happened."
Caine suppressed another sigh, and lowered himself to his knees. The water crept up around him, and it did feel pleasant, but reflex had him lifting his shoulders to keep his folded wings above the surface.
Jupiter regarded him, gave a sigh of her own, and let go of his hand, then startled Caine by sliding onto his lap. Only the buoyancy of the water and her hands on his shoulders kept her there, but he gripped her waist automatically and inhaled as she pressed against him.
"Let's try a little positive reinforcement," she said, and kissed him.
As a distraction, Jupiter was excellent. By the time she let him up for air, Caine's wings were half in the water and most of the rest of him had relaxed. Somewhat.
Jupiter smirked at him and pushed gently back and away, rising back to her feet. "That's better. Now sit, on your butt."
Caine obeyed. The water felt odd on his wings, but they were built to shed moisture, so they weren't getting heavier. Jupiter waded around behind him and put her hands back on his shoulders, rubbing gently.
"Remember, you can stand and be out of the water any time. And I'm right here; I promise I won't let you drown. You know the basic idea of swimming, right?"
"Motion keeps the body afloat," Caine said. "I can explain the principle if you wish, your Majesty."
Jupiter snickered, and he felt her kiss the top of his head. "I'll take your word for it. Now, stick your legs out in front of you...yeah, like that...and lean back."
Caine's brows snapped together, and he tilted his head back to look at her. Jupiter was smiling.
"I'll catch your head as you go, so it won't go under. Just try it."
It wasn't as easy as she made it sound, but eventually Caine found himself stretched out, his palms braced against the bottom of the pool and his hand cradled in Jupiter's hands. It was very awkward, but as she coaxed him to lift his arms and spread them out - "Wings too, might as well try it - " he found that despite his initial moment of internal panic, he actually could float. Even when Jupiter released his head.
There was no magical shift in perception, but Caine did gradually relax as Jupiter talked him through a couple of basic strokes and kicks. It made it easier to know that even the deepest part of the pool wasn't over his head, and he found that his wings could propel him through the water, though not quickly or effortlessly.
And it was fun, if unexpectedly frustrating, to find that there was a physical activity at which Jupiter was better than Caine, or at least faster. The impromptu game of tag lasted much longer than he'd assumed it would, with Jupiter giggling and slithering out of reach almost every time he caught up to her.
When he finally hooked his fingers in the stretchy fabric of her top, Caine pulled too hard, and the thing popped loose. His ears heated, and he started to stammer an apology -
Jupiter looked down in surprise, and then laughed. "There's something I've always wanted to try in a pool," she said, and stripped off the bottom half as well.
Caine discovered that while he still wasn't sure about swimming, water could actually be a lot of fun.
Afterwards, Jupiter bade him recline in her arms as she sat against the pool wall, the water lapping perfectly warm around them and his wings extended just enough to be out from between them. Caine, relaxed and almost sleepy with the remnants of pleasure, let his eyes take in the starscape painted on the ceiling. It was abstract - the artist had obviously known nothing about actual galactic structures - but it was pretty all the same.
"About tomorrow," Jupiter said, and he could feel her voice as well as hear it, a soft vibration against his temple where his head lay in the crook of her neck. "Kalique says that the court's already gone through everything, this is just where they decide whether Titus is innocent or guilty. But - "
She stopped. Caine shifted, lifting a languid hand to cover hers where they crossed on his bare chest. The smell of the water didn't mask her burst of anxiety. "What is it?"
"Stinger put you and himself on escort duty, but I just - if you don't want to, you don't have to." Jupiter's knees pressed into his sides. "If it's too much, or even if it just makes you uncomfortable - "
It took him a moment to understand what she meant, and it made that bright warmth spring up inside him - still foreign, but less so with each passing day. "It's okay. I don't mind."
"Are you sure?" Her voice was small.
"Yes." Caine made the word as firm as possible. "Entitled courts are nothing like Legion courts-martial. We'll be fine." He had never actually seen an Entitled courtroom, but it was a safe bet that they would be nothing like the bare, functional rooms lined with military personnel, with the seal of the Legion prominently displayed. No bad memories would pursue them there - at least, not of his trial.
Not the place or time. Caine forced the thought out of his head, and looked down at his hands, at the way they all but covered her smaller ones. Small but strong; unused to the power that had been forced into them, but learning to wield it.
And gentle. So gentle. He lifted them to his lips, suddenly wanting the taste of her skin to overrun his senses, to fill him up and leave room for nothing else, not even memory.
Except, perhaps, for the sound Jupiter made when his teeth grazed her wrist, or the feel of her slight weight against him as he turned in the water, or the sight of her eyes so wide and dark -
My Queen, he mouthed into her palm, the bend of her elbow, her throat, and heard her murmur his name, low and sweet.
The water cradled them both, and did not grow cold.
In the back of her mind, Jupiter had expected the Hall of Justice on Orus to be something vaguely like a courtroom on Earth. Not that she'd ever been in one, though she'd seen them on TV; but the vast space they stepped into was far larger, and far more elegant, than anything judicial that Earth could produce.
She would have liked to stop and gape a bit, but Kalique was sweeping forward, so Jupiter tried to keep pace. They had shed most of their entourages at the door; Kalique was accompanied by two guards and Mr. Malidictes, while Jupiter had Caine, Stinger, and Phylo.
I wish Aggie could have come, she'd be fascinated. But apparently there were rules restricting attendants.
Unlike the Skyjacker Chamber, the Hall of Justice - or this one, Jupiter had been told there were a number of them - was decorated, like most of the Entitled spaces she'd seen so far. It had slender pillars along the walls that reached far overhead but nowhere near the ceiling, and that seemed to flower at their tops with elaborate carving; the floor was covered with something so lush and deep that Jupiter's brain wanted to call it grass, but she didn't think it was actually alive. The air in the room was cool and faintly perfumed with something that smelled vaguely like Earl Grey tea, and halfway across the huge space was a semicircle of - Jupiter squinted - large, elaborate chairs. The overall impression was of a stylized meadow by way of a minimalist.
It's breathtaking. I wish it wasn't.
Jupiter kept her thoughts off her face and imitated Kalique's effortless dignity as best she could, glad to have the Stormbreakers at her shoulders and Phylo's unflappability behind her.
All the more so as they approached the near-thrones, all of which were occupied, and she spotted the lithe figure standing to one side of the semicircle. Titus was dressed in some cross between a suit and a robe, deep midnight blue with a vertical slash of white; it suited him exquisitely, but Jupiter wanted to march up and smack the smirk off his face.
However, the guards standing at his shoulders would probably stop her, so she refrained. She'd put Caine and Stinger up against the two Legionnaires any day, but brawling in front of the judges was probably in bad taste.
Behind Titus stood the snarky Splice Jupiter remembered from his ship, the one with the earrings - presumably serving as his secretary, or equivalent.
Their group came to a stately halt in front of the chairs; the occupants all wore enveloping, hooded robes the same emerald shade as the carpeting, making them look as if they were literally growing out of the floor. Jupiter already knew they had to be Entitled.
Could have told that anyway. They look it. She was beginning to recognize it, some combination of their weird artificial youth and a complacent arrogance so deeply embedded that Jupiter doubted most of them were even consciously aware of it.
If I ever start looking like that, I'll step out an airlock myself.
Kalique had coached Jupiter ahead of time, so they were able to dip in an abbreviated curtsey simultaneously. Kalique made it look like a graceful acknowledgment between equals, but Jupiter figured she herself just looked nervous. It doesn't matter, she told herself. I'm sure they've seen worse.
Kalique then turned to her brother, inclining her head with a hint of a smile playing around her lips. "Titus."
"Kalique." Titus gave his mocking bow, stare moving from Kalique to Jupiter. "And Jupiter."
It was a protocol breach, Jupiter knew; one was supposed to offer greetings in descending order of rank. She arched one brow, and kept her voice flat and bored. "Titus."
His lips pursed in false awe. "So cold! Kalique, you've corrupted her already."
Behind her, Jupiter could hear the most delicate of growls, hardly more than a vibration. She let one hand drift just slightly back - nowhere near touching, but enough for Caine to spot - and the growl faded.
"Lord Titus, attend," someone said, their voice even flatter than Jupiter's. "You are here for judgment, not idle conversation."
Titus straightened, dipping his chin in what actually seemed like genuine humility. "My most profound apologies, Assessor," he said, and to Jupiter's surprise, stopped there.
She took a longer look at the judges. There were five of them; the robes were all the same, and looked so unwieldy as to make her suspect they couldn't move in them at all. They'd better hope this place doesn't catch on fire or something. Maybe they had quick-release zippers somewhere?
Two of them had brown skin, one was dead white, one was sort of pink, and one was as dark as Captain Tsing; and that was all Jupiter could tell about them. Whatever gender markers they might carry were hidden by the robes.
"This judgment has begun," one of the brown ones said, and small holograph screens sprang into life in front of each of them, though at her angle Jupiter couldn't see what the screens were displaying. "Lord Titus, third Primary of the House of Abrasax, you are accused, by the polity of Orus, of the abduction of Queen Jupiter Jones, first Primary of your House and Recurrence of Seraphi Abrasax, and of plotting her murder for your own gain."
"You have pled not guilty," the pink one said; Jupiter could only tell which one it was by their mouth moving. These guys are really creepy. "We have received the arguments of Orus against you, and the responses of your advocates. Do you wish to change your plea?"
Titus drew himself up. "I do not, Assessors."
Somehow, Jupiter wasn't surprised that Titus had the stones to maintain his innocence. She held back an eyeroll.
"Very well," said the black one. "The Assessors of Orus have reviewed the evidence in your case. You are hereby found guilty on all charges."
…What?
At that moment, Jupiter realized she had not really expected Titus to answer for what he'd done to her. Behind her, she heard Caine's huff of breath and a tiny buzz from Stinger; opposite her, Titus' mouth dropped open so far that she could almost see down his throat. He went as paper-white as the one judge, and his eyes bulged comically, and Jupiter almost whooped in glee.
Behind him, his attendant stood frozen, lips compressed. Titus snapped his mouth shut and inhaled, but before he could speak the other brown judge spoke. "Your assets and inheritances are hereby awarded to Jupiter Jones as reparations for your actions. In addition, you are hereby stripped of your Entitlement, for the grievous crime of attempting the murder of a Recurrence."
The barest shiver of movement made Jupiter glance to the side. Kalique was silent, but her lips were parted and her eyes wide, and for only the second time Jupiter saw true surprise on her face.
Titus started to sputter. "That's - that's - Assessors, you cannot - "
"This judgment is complete," the white one said. "You are dismissed."
It was several seconds before Kalique stirred to curtsey, and Jupiter copied her hastily. Titus was still babbling, face growing alarmingly red, but at some unseen signal his guards took his arms and turned him, apparently without effort.
Jupiter glanced back as Kalique led them away. Titus was being walked out, though she could hear him starting to shout. His secretary was trailing behind, but she looked back and met Jupiter's gaze, and the venom in her glare gave Jupiter a jolt.
"Your Majesty," Caine said in a low voice, and stepped a bit closer, blocking Jupiter's view. "We aren't permitted to linger."
Right. Jupiter hastened her steps to keep up, and they left the Hall of Justice behind.
What the hell just happened?!
The debrief was held on board Kalique's clipper, over what Kalique termed an informal supper. It was rather like a buffet, except they sat in one place and various dishes floated around, apparently independently, on the blue antigravity beams, presenting themselves from time to time to each diner.
It would have been more fun, Jupiter thought, if she were allowed to serve herself, but instead she and Kalique each had a server stationed at their side, to transfer a portion of the chosen dish from the tray to their plate or bowl. Still, it was interesting, and let Jupiter sample a variety of dishes without having to taste anything that looked unpleasant.
"So what just happened?" she asked once the meal was underway, and hoped that the Antinari twins - her guards for this event - were listening. It's always good to have another point of view.
Kalique pursed her lips. "Rather an astonishing judgment, I must say, if not entirely unprecedented." She shook her head. "Nothing in our law is truly unprecedented at this point, to be sure, but stripping an Entitlement is very rare."
"I bet." Jupiter tasted the quivering jelly slice in front of her - she'd gotten a small portion, just in case - and found it reminded her more of pulled pork than anything else, at least in flavor. Not bad. "Can he appeal?"
"Ah." Kalique's expression was approving. "Straight to the point, very good. Technically, under the law, he may; all are permitted the right of appeal, even when it's absolutely pointless. However - "
She paused to eat a bite of the vegetable on her plate, and Jupiter waited patiently. " - The Assessors have made use of a loophole in the law. They are the judges for Entitled. Only for Entitled."
That path was easy to follow. "So he can't appeal, because he's not Entitled anymore? What, there isn't a, I don't know, a lower court?"
Kalique nodded. "Yes, of course, but they have no jurisdiction over the decisions of the Assessors. To regain Entitlement, Titus must win the support of enough of us to be re-awarded his title."
"And since the Assessors gave me all his stuff, he doesn't have the power." Jupiter couldn't help feeling a little vindictive. She knew by now that winning an Entitlement rather than inheriting one meant having enough money to basically buy into the system.
"Oh, he hadn't sufficient assets before, either," Kalique said. "Not nearly enough."
She sounded much less upset than Jupiter was expecting. Jupiter watched her sip from her glass, and finished her own slice of jelly, giving herself time to phrase her next question.
"Are you mad?"
Kalique looked up at that. "At you? Oh, no, my dear. Titus got himself into this, foolish boy. I admit, I wasn't expecting the sentence to be quite so…comprehensive, but if one bets everything on a single spin of the sphere, one must be prepared to take the consequences."
Jupiter thought that over. "What'll happen to him now?"
Kalique turned up one hand. "That depends partially on him. He is not destitute, you understand - he's permitted to keep certain personal items, and enough funds to make his own way for a little while, though no doubt Titus would consider the amount scarcely enough to polish his boots. But his planets, his investments - such as they are - his ships and alcazars and subordinates now all belong to you."
Subordinates. The thought gave Jupiter a faint pulse of nausea.
"He'll no doubt come to beg me for an allowance," Kalique continued, sounding more fond than annoyed. "I may even grant him one."
"I dunno." Jupiter set down her spoon, which was immediately whisked away by the server and replaced with a clean one. "I guess I kind of expected him to be given a prison sentence, not that."
"If he had succeeded in his plans, that could have happened," Kalique said soberly.
Except, if he'd succeeded, there wouldn't be anybody to accuse him, Jupiter thought with an unpleasant near-shiver. I'd be dead, Caine would be dead, Stinger would be back on Earth in disgrace.
No, she didn't feel sorry for Titus.
"You don't quite see it," Kalique was saying, eyeing Jupiter indulgently. "While it's true that murder is…frowned upon…among Entitled, it is also seen as, oh, part of the way the game is played. Crude, perhaps, and overly direct, but simple murder would have been punished with sanctions and social censure."
Kalique shook her head at a new dish presented for her inspection. "But you are a Recurrence, and that is a rare and precious thing. To the First Estate, our genes are…sacred, in a way. You are the embodiment of our deepest hopes and ambitions."
Yikes. "So they made an example of him."
"Exactly. Do try the candied roots, they're exquisite."
Jupiter accepted a small spoonful of the dish. "Then how come people are still trying to kill me?"
Kalique smiled, a small, ironic twist of her mouth. "Because, for some, the rewards outweigh the risks. And, to be punished, they must first be caught."
"So whoever is gunning for me - assuming it wasn't Titus - thinks that my death wouldn't be traced back to them." The roots were pretty good, if overly sweet for Jupiter's taste. Bet Stinger would like them, though.
"Exactly." Kalique dabbed her fingers through a tiny bowl of scented water. "Or it's possible that they didn't think the Assessors would go quite so far. It will be interesting to see if the attempts on your life cease."
"Oh, thanks." Jupiter's sarcasm won her only a gentle smirk, and the conversation shifted to Titus' assets and what to do about them, but something nagged at the back of Jupiter's mind. It wasn't until they had returned to the Windy City that it came clear.
Why does she assume it's an Entitled that's trying to kill me?
"How do you feel about all this?" she asked Caine later, sitting on the padded bench in the opulent space that was labeled lavatory on the ship's plans. Jupiter had changed out of her formal attire and into an oversized, quilted robe that was the epitome of comfort; Caine was changing into the loose pants he preferred for sleeping. "Titus' verdict, I mean."
Caine shrugged. "Prison would be better, but it'll do."
He stretched, muscles flexing, and Jupiter watched in dreamy appreciation. "It doesn't remove him as a threat, but without resources he'll be less dangerous," he added.
Jupiter sighed, twining a bit of her hair between her fingers. "Just what I need, more personnel."
Caine huffed, quiet amusement. "From what Mr. Percadium says, you can use all the people you can get. Maybe not those, though."
"You think?" Jupiter made a face, knowing he'd pick up on her sarcasm. "I doubt any of them are real happy with me right now."
"They might surprise you, some of them." Caine unrolled the little wrap-case that held the grooming tools for his wings. "But, as I'm sure Stinger will mention, they're an unacceptable security risk. Titus - " And from the look on Caine's face, he was savoring the lack of a title. " - He was just the type to buy loyalty."
It took Jupiter a moment to work out his meaning, and then she wanted to gag. Bred in, I bet, or conditioned, so they couldn't say no. "Blech. Well, I'll figure something out."
Her head ached a little, and she decided to put the problem on the list for another day. I need to talk to Stinger first anyway. "Here, give me one of those."
It was one of the things Jupiter secretly loved, and didn't have much chance to do. It was too late, and she was too tired, to lay Caine out on their bed and go over his wings feather by feather, but Jupiter could at least use the smoothing tool on the areas closest to his back while he took care of the tips. It was soothing, and it gave her an excuse to touch him. Not that I really need one.
When his wings were done, Jupiter brushed her teeth - she'd finally learned to use the space version of a toothbrush, and had to admit it worked better than the Earth version - and found Caine sitting in a chair next to the bed, thumbing through a sheave. Jupiter had made it as clear as she could that it was their bed, but something in his makeup made him wait until she was ready before he lay down. She'd finally filed it under probably a lycantant thing and let it go.
Cuddling with him before sleep, however, was always a highlight of her day. Sometimes they talked, murmuring to one another until Jupiter was too drowsy to continue; sometimes they just relaxed, skin to skin, Caine's uppermost wing spread over her or stretched out behind, and the bed an island of peace until ship's morning.
She always fell asleep before Caine did; he needed much less sleep, but was happy to hold her while she rested, a most personal protection. When Jupiter woke, sometime in the middle of the ship's night shift, he was still wrapped around her, and she could just see that his eyes were closed, lashes unmoving on his pale skin.
Watching him sleep was a rare treat. Jupiter kept her breath steady, knowing he would wake if she moved, and in the depths of the quiet knew one thing for certain. The deep satisfaction she felt at Titus' ruin had little to do with his elaborate plan to entrap, deceive, and murder her.
It had a lot to do with the fact that he'd tried to kill Caine.
Whoever's gunning for you is gonna fail. I won't let them win.
He was so beautiful, even if he still thought himself an aberration. Beautiful and deadly, and yet he would never, ever hurt her.
You protect me. I protect you.
In a way, this quiet, soul-scarred man was the embodiment of everything Jupiter wanted to change, in the new world she'd fallen into. All the endless years of injustice nearly snuffing him out, until they'd been thrown together and their trajectories had aligned.
But he was also, simply, her beloved.
You'll burn bright. We'll pull the shadows down together. Jupiter had no idea where the words had come from, but they were true.
She watched the pulse beat in his neck until her eyes dragged shut, and dreamed of flying with Caine, hand in hand, in brilliant light without end.