"So it's true?" Heron asked in passable Chenayan. Owning two-thirds of the world ensured that Chenayan was spoken throughout the empire. "The bastard is dying." Excitement trilled in his voice. He reached back for his machete.
Stefan wasn't taking any chances on Heron helping Axel along. He gripped Heron's arm. "That's my best friend lying there," he said without raising his voice. "So unless you want this to end very badly, you will keep your hands where I can see them."
"I knew we couldn't trust you."
Heron's hate-filled face reminded Stefan of Lynx. This was exactly how she had looked when he first saw her in Tanamre before the wedding. As unlikely as that sounded, she had become his friend. Perhaps it was possible to win Heron over, too. But first he had to protect Axel.
Stefan tightened his grip. "Lynx spoke to me of you. Trust me, as much as I like her, I will not let her friendship with you get in the way of my quest here."
Heron's body sagged at the mention of Lynx's name. "Where is she?" The longing in his voice was obvious.
Stefan let out a soft breath. Heron had feelings for her. Romantic ones. That would complicate things. Was it impossible for anything to go right today?
"Yes, where's my sister?" Clay asked, also in Chenayan. He jumped over the wooden lip into the pod.
They were brother and sister? That explained a lot. Stefan turned to Malek. No image of Lynx blossomed in the air above the console.
All the blood rushed from Stefan's face. He grabbed Malek's shoulder. "Dragon's arse! How hard is it to get this right?"
"You tricked us! She's not here," Clay hissed. Both he and Heron went for their machetes.
"Wait!" Stefan cried, both for his guardsmen's benefit and theirs. "It's technology being difficult." Even as he spoke, he knew Heron and Clay wouldn't understand.
His guardsmen watched him for the order, alert as dogs on a scent. Stefan shook his head in the negative, telling them to stand down.
"Get the empress up," he snarled at Malek.
"Empress?" Clay asked.
"Yes. Empress." Arms folded, Stefan faced the two raiders with an unflappable mask.
From their dumbfounded expressions, neither had heard about the assassination nor Lynx's ascent to the throne.
"Gentlemen, the show will start soon." Stefan could only guess at how these steam-age men would cope with being catapulted into a world of holograms and human projection.
He hoped it would not be violent.