The Consuming Fire (The Interdependency #2)(33)

Then she’d spent time talking to the ghosts of her predecessors in the Memory Room and learned just how much flattery and bullying had worked over the centuries. It didn’t leave her with a positive impression either of the former emperoxs or of the people who wheedled concessions out of them. She also learned the value of letting people assume she was less than capable, up until the moment she disabused them of the notion. Like she just had with the Countess Nohamapetan. The countess wouldn’t do that again.

That’s not necessarily a good thing, one part of Cardenia’s mind pointed out. And that was true enough. You were underestimated once, and then when you rubbed someone’s face in it, forever after, that trick was out of the toolbox.

I’m the emperox, Cardenia thought. I do have other tricks.

And that was also true enough.

Enough of the Countess Nohamapetan, another part of Cardenia’s brain said. We were thinking about Marce. This part of her brain, Cardenia realized, might be a swoony fifteen-year-old.

But, well. Marce. There was a puzzle, wasn’t it.

“I don’t know what to do,” Cardenia had admitted to the ghost of her father, Attavio VI, in the Memory Room, the night before.

“Have sex with him,” Attavio VI said.

“It’s not that simple,” Cardenia protested.

“It is, actually,” Attavio VI replied. “You’re the emperox.”

“And, what? I just command him into my bed?”

“It’s been done before.”

“Not by me,” Cardenia said. “Leaving everything else aside, I’m not built that way.”

“Then invite him,” Attavio VI. “Less problematic. Mostly equal success rate, historically speaking.”

“How often did you do that?” Cardenia asked.

“Before I answer I will remind you that I as a computer simulation of your father have no ego to defend, and thus will answer entirely truthfully,” Attavio VI said. “I mention this because at several points in the past I answered questions for you and it made you unhappy. Perhaps you might ask the question of another emperox, to whom you are not emotionally attached.”

“You’re saying the answer will make me unhappy?”

“Yes, basically.”

“Well, now I have to know,” Cardenia said.

“I did all the time,” Attavio VI said. “It was a pretty great perk of being emperox.”

“Oh, God,” Cardenia said, and buried her face in her hands. “You’re right. I didn’t want to know.”

“It worked on your mother,” Attavio VI said.

“I especially didn’t need to know that.”

“In her case it led to something more. But you have to know it started because I invited her, and like nearly everyone else, she didn’t refuse.”

“You understand that doesn’t make it better, right?” Cardenia said.

“I never coerced anyone,” Attavio VI said. “I was turned down from time to time, and I never asked again in those cases. There’s never a need for that, especially when you’re emperox.”

“And you don’t think being emperox wasn’t a substantial factor in people accepting. That they might feel pressure to have sex with you because you could, say, wreck their lives.”

“There’s no need for that, either,” Attavio VI said. “It’s just sex. And it worked the other way as well. There were people who wanted to have sex with me because I was the emperox. They wanted a story to tell their grandchildren. They wanted it more than I did.”

“And you fulfilled their wishes, because you were selfless,” Cardenia said, sarcastically.

“No, I did it because I wanted sex too,” Attavio VI said. “Just not as much.”

“Remind me never to ask you for romantic advice ever again.”

“I have recorded that request and will remind you of it should this ever come up again.”

“Thank you.”

“With that said, you have to be aware that you will never stop being the emperox,” Attavio VI said. “You will always be more powerful than the people you will be interested in. If you don’t want to be alone, or to have your sexual and emotional needs tended to by a professional, you will have to accept that is part of your landscape.”

“I haven’t had sex since I’ve been emperox,” Cardenia admitted.

“That doesn’t seem healthy.”

“I don’t like it much either. But that’s part of the problem too. I don’t want Marce to think I’d be using him strictly for tension release.”

“I’m not sure I’m qualified to talk to you about this,” Attavio VI said. “I’m a computer simulation of your father, not a licensed relationship therapist.”

“I doubt this rises to the level of therapy,” Cardenia said.

“If you say so,” Attavio VI said, and it bothered Cardenia that a computer simulation could perfectly mimic doubt. “Perhaps you should just tell this person you like them. The worst that can happen is he says no.”

“I know.”

“And then you can have him exiled.”

“No,” Cardenia said, and then paused. “Did you just make a joke?”