The Collapsing Empire (The Interdependency #1)(73)

Cardenia looked at the archbishop for a moment, thoughtful. “Thank you.”

“What are your thoughts, Your Majesty?” Nadashe asked.

“Our thoughts are that until we know definitively who is behind these bombings and what their goals are, we should not act upon End.” Cardenia held up her hand at Nadashe, who was clearly about to respond. “We do not disagree with the assessment that these appear to be the acts of terrorists from End. But to commit to a course of action of this magnitude without proof is folly. We will let the investigations continue.”

“Parliament might get ahead of you on this, ma’am,” Ranatunga said. “Especially if the attacks continue.”

“There will be pressure from the guilds as well,” Nadashe said.

“We understand their urgency,” Cardenia said. “The troopship Prophecies of Rachela is stationed here at Hub. We can dispatch ten thousand marines to End immediately if necessary. But we would hope the committee would remind parliament and the guilds that we were the target of the first of these attacks. We were the first to lose people. We were the first to suffer. We suffer still. For all that, we counsel patience. The people of End will suffer, one way or another, if we take their independence. Let us be sure.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Ranatunga said. Nadashe said nothing. Cardenia nodded to them all, dismissing them.

“Lady Nadashe, we should like a word with you privately,” Cardenia said, as the other members of the executive committee dispersed.

“Ma’am,” Nadashe said, and stayed.

“I’ve received a letter of protest about your appointment to the executive committee,” Cardenia said, when they were alone, dropping the royal “we.” It was a signal to Nadashe that the discussion would be informal and off the record.

“Let me guess,” Nadashe said. “From the House of Lagos.”

“The House of Lagos is a signatory but not the only one.”

“What’s the problem?”

“They’re concerned that the House of Nohamapetan has too much access to me, between your presence on the committee, your previous association with Rennered, and the fact that your brother Amit is actively trying to get me to marry him.”

Nadashe smiled, thinly. “With respect, ma’am, ‘active’ is not the word I would use to describe it. Or perhaps more accurately, Amit is active. You are less so.”

“I made it clear to Amit that I would be in mourning for Naffa Dolg for a year.”

“Yes, you did. That is a substantial amount of time for mourning, ma’am.”

“She was like a sister, Lady Nohamapetan. And the mourning period includes the other victims of the coronation bombing. To attempt to shorten that period now would be disrespectful to all their memories.” The third reason, which was to buy her time before considering Amit Nohamapetan as a husband, was left unsaid, but both Cardenia and Nadashe were aware of it as subtext. “Nevertheless the perception stands among many houses that yours has perhaps too much influence.”

“I’d remind them that I was appointed by vote by the guilds. As the houses control their respective guilds, I am the choice of the majority of the houses.”

“This is true. The letter reminds me, however, that while the custom is for the emperox to accept the selections of the church, guilds, and parliament for the executive committee, the emperox may reject or dismiss a member if they are not to their suiting. The letter also helpfully offers up several examples of when this has happened before.”

“Do you plan to dismiss me, ma’am?” Nadashe asked, and Cardenia caught the undercurrent of tension in her voice.

“I would not disrespect the guilds in that manner without cause,” Cardenia said. “But now that it has been pointed out to me, I acknowledge that the House of Nohamapetan is persistently and obviously a feature of my life, and the appearance of undue influence is an issue. It might be wise for your house to decide which it would prefer: a seat on the executive committee, or a chance at imperial consort.”

“May I speak freely, ma’am?” Nadashe said, after a moment.

“Please.”

“You’re not really offering me much of a choice, are you? If I stay on the executive committee, you have an excuse to dismiss my brother’s suit, and you will still have the option of dismissing me from the committee if I become troublesome. If I abandon the committee, then you still have the option of dismissing my brother’s suit, which, to continue to speak freely, I don’t believe you’ve seriously considered, or plan to consider. If you want to dismiss me, or my brother, then do so. It’s your right and privilege as emperox. But don’t use this nonsense as an excuse.”

Cardenia smiled at this and had a very slight twinge of regret that her preferences for sexual and romantic partners swung so heavily toward the opposite sex. Unlike her brother, Nadashe was not boring.

And she would eat you alive, some part of her brain said. And, well, that was probably true. Nadashe would have no interest in being a quiet consort; she would want to rule. Which, if Cardenia was going to be entirely honest with herself, was not necessarily a bad thing. Cardenia never wanted to be emperox. All she wanted was to be the patron of a nice little arts charity or something. The idea of having an ambitious spouse who would be happy to handle the drudge work of running an empire had its appeal.