“The Office of Chancellor is responsible for maintaining the record of the Sovereign’s life and must provide that record on demand to public,” Miralitt said. “You accused a public official of improper conduct in front of the Sovereign, which constitutes a demand for information. Chancellor Resven is duty-bound to immediately disclose where that information can be found. By telling him to shut up, you prevented him from performing his duty, which constitutes suppression.”

“That’s absurd!”

“Take her out,” Miralitt said.

The guards marched Vercia back to the portal. I watched them vanish into the glow.

“Dismissed,” Kosandion said.

Orata and Miralitt left the room, the PR chief all but running to the portal and the security chief heading to her quarters. It was only Kosandion, Resven, Sean, and me.

Kosandion’s expression cracked. An emotion twisted his face, a mix of resignation, dull ache, and deep intense loneliness. A bitter fatalistic acceptance.

The older man knelt in front of Kosandion and took his hands in his. “I am so sorry, Letero. So sorry.”

Sean took my hand. We withdrew quietly and went upstairs to our bedroom. We took off our robes, and then I crawled into bed next to Sean and hugged him. I didn’t want to feel alone.

Sean wrapped his arm around me. For a little while I lay awake, reassured that we were okay by the warmth of his body, and then I slipped into my dreams.

20

When we last left the inn, we learned that Kosandion’s former lover betrayed him. Oh Kosandion. So considerate, so handsome, so lonely. If only he had someone to comfort his troubled heart. Now Orata, his PR chief, is trying to put out that fire. But breakfasts do get cold, and even innkeepers have to eat…

The Dushegubs woke me up again around 4:00 am by trying to dig into the bottom of the Pit. Normally, I’d let them tire themselves out, but I was exhausted, so I made them a very large screen and then put the Leave It to Beavers documentary on it. It was a PBS production with a lot of footage of beaver tree-cutting and dam-building. Horrifying guests went against the innkeeper policy, but the Dushegubs were really testing my patience.

Sean woke me up at 5:00 am by getting out of bed, and when I asked him what was happening, he kissed me and told me to go back to sleep. When I finally crawled out of our bed two hours later, the bedroom was empty. I found him outside talking to Marais. Marais had discovered a couple of the Dominion paparazzi trying to film the inn at dark o’clock, apprehended them, and turned them over to Sean, who tossed them out into Baha-char while I slept. Now they were discussing what to do if more of the celebrity stalkers showed up. I left them to it and took myself to breakfast.