“A special—”
“One that I design? And I want a party. A coronation. Can you arrange that for me?” I ask. Kyon creeps up on me from behind. I glance at him over my shoulder. “Hello,” I say, “I’m just working out a—” I notice that he’s naked.
Fulton tries to hide the confusion from his face when I look back at him. “Kricket,” he says placatingly, “you can have anything you want. If that’s a party or a crown, I’d be happy to arrange it for you.”
“Thank you,” I exhale the word like it’s my last breath. “Okay. Sorry. You can go back to sleep now.” I straighten up and start to move back down the hallway. Fulton stops me and says, “Next time you can just hologram with me.”
“Yeah? Okay,” I say. “Good night.”
Kyon comes up next to me. “Are you going to tell me what that’s all about?” he asks.
“Yes. I need your help to design a crown. Do you think you’re up for it?”
“I’m up for a lot of things,” he replies. “Start explaining.”
CHAPTER 16
WINSLET AND WHISPERS
Sitting on top of Kyon’s worktable in his study, I pore over his sketches for the crown. He’s so talented it’s scary. I just had to tell him what I wanted last night and he stayed up all night working on it. “What do you think Excelsior and the Brotherhood will do when they hear that we’re planning a coronation?” I ask Kyon.
He hunches over his worktable, testing a spring latch he’s designing. “They will accuse us of treason.”
“That’s perfect. What will happen after that?” I ask.
“They’ll try to arrest us. Why don’t you project into the future and tell me if this all works out so I can decide whether or not to keep going here?”
“I can’t. Your friend coolered me last night—Vilma—”
“Her name is Verka,” he corrects me. “I’ll fix you in a few moments, as soon as I’m done here.”
“I don’t need to see the future. This will work.”
“How do you know?” he asks.
“I know because I met your dad’s gigantic ego. It’s almost as big as yours,” I tease him.
“I’m nothing like him,” Kyon replies, as if I hurt his feelings.
“I know that,” I say contritely. “I’m sorry.”
“You’re forgiven,” he says.
“Am I?” I ask.
“Always.”
“How fast can we get this done? We need to leak word of the crowns and the coronation soon.”
“I’ll have it done within the next couple of rotations.”
“Good. I have to go plan the party with Fulton. Everything has to look legit.”
“The coronation will be legit,” he says with a frown.
“It will be,” I agree. “I have to go.” I jump down from my perch and start to walk to the door, but Kyon pulls me back.
Turning me to face him, he plants a kiss on my lips. “Did you forget something?” he asks. He lets go of me.
“No, I don’t—” He shoots me with something that looks and feels a lot like a Taser. Electricity courses through my body and I immediately lose my ability to stand upright. Luckily, Kyon catches me in his arms and holds me against his chest while I twitch.
“I just burned the Verka out of you. How do you feel?” he asks in my ear.
“Not good,” I whisper when I regain the ability to speak. I rest my cheek against his chest.
“Should I have warned you first?” He strokes my hair.
“I don’t know,” I reply honestly, “maybe.”
“It should stop stinging in a moment.”
“Should I do you next?” I growl, as feeling returns to my arms and legs once more. It’s enough so I can stand again on my own.
“I shot myself last night after I sent you home.”
“Pity,” I groan. “Yes. Definitely warn me next time.”
“Or I could kill her so it never happens again,” he replies.
“Table that suggestion. We’ll revisit it when I’m feeling less angry. I will see you later.” I drag my feet for a few steps before they lose their numbness. Leaving the study, I locate Fulton with Oscil’s help. He’s in the tower known as Glory. This tower is for entertaining guests. It has a ballroom that ascends fifteen levels like the tiers on a wedding cake.
“Do you like this space?” Fulton asks.
“It’s very lovely,” I say.
“Do you like it for the coronation?”
“No,” I reply absently, gazing around. “I was thinking that something more public would be better. I don’t want people here. I want our home to remain private. Is there somewhere else that would suit?”
We go over several options for locations. “I think it should be here,” I say, admiring the hologram image in front of me of very beautiful floral gardens.
“The Botanical Gardens?” Fulton asks.
“Yes.”
“But it’s very hard to defend such a wide-open place.”
“It won’t be necessary to defend it. By the time the ceremony begins, there won’t be any resistance to the coronation. Trust me.”
He looks confused. “Do you want any special type of arrangements at the event?” he asks, going down his list.
“Flowers, you mean?”
“Mmm,” he nods.
“I want znous—as many as you can get.”
He laughs. “You do know that those are poisonous, don’t you?”
“I think I heard that. I still want them.”
“Then you shall have them.”
“Is there a bar in here?” I ask him.
“Yes. He shows me the bar, which is better stocked than the one in Kyon’s study. I take two bottles of Winslet from it, one in each hand.
“Can I have these? I want to have a couple of drinks with Phlix.”
“You can have anything you want, Kricket. This is your house.”
“Thanks. If it’s okay with you, I’d like to finish the planning later.”
“It’s okay with me,” he replies with a smile.
Leaving the ballroom, I have Oscil guide me to Phlix. She’s outside, walking along the riverside. When I reach her, I extend a bottle of Winslet out to her. “Care for a drink?” I ask.
“You mean alcohol?” she asks, looking stunned that I would offer it to her.
“Yes. I mean really freaking expensive alcohol.”
I pull out the bottle’s gold-ball stopper and hand her the emerald-green bottle. “Here taste it.”
She takes it from me and sips. “That is delicious,” she says before taking another sip.
“Yeah, it’s good. You know what else is good? It’s worth five thousand Alameeda Gipsons. That’s insane money.”
“I can get vaccinated with that kind of money!” she says.
“Do you have a contact?” I ask.
“I think so. Can you get me more bottles like this?”
“I can take requests, but do it as fast as possible. We’re running out of time.”