She shrugged. “Perhaps the Empress will shower me with riches as a thank-you for sheltering you. I know that taking you among pirates might not have been exactly what she had in mind. Indeed, I would be astonished if that had been what she had in mind. Still, I am returning you safely and in much the same condition as when you arrived, although with two regrown fingers and the knowledge not to depend on bioweapons being undetectable.”

Atlanta winced at the memory, fingers twitching. She said, “Next time I’ll make them detachable.”

“There’s thinking for you,” Niko said. “Shall we?”

Followed by several of the ship’s servitors carrying the two suitcases, they made their way to the shuttle.

Atlanta stared out at the planet’s surface as they descended. Shadow lay over most of the continent, and a network of lights showed where the clusters of cities and town were, absent where the seas surrounded it. “What time is it at the palace?” she asked. Her stomach was empty and knotted; nervousness had prevented eating before she left.

“Very early in the morning,” Niko said. “I’m surprised the Empress is awake, or that she didn’t want to wait a few hours.” She lounged in her own seat as best she could within the confines of her belt, watching the control panel as the autopilot took them to the planet’s surface. Her eyes were thoughtful.

“She gets up very early in the morning, always has. She said she gets more work done that way.”

“The habits of highly effective empresses,” Niko said. “You’ll want to remember that.”

“I don’t even know that I’ll become Empress. It’s the slimmest of chances, really.”

“Unusual things have been happening to you. In my experience, unusual things happen to history makers, the ones who will move into roles like that. Maybe you won’t become the Empress. Maybe you’ll do something entirely different. But I’m predicting now—without consulting Lassite, who might be offended that I’m impinging on his territory—that you will be someone who touches history. Who makes decisions that change things, although, whether that may be for good or bad, I don’t know.” She smiled at Atlanta, who had turned in order to watch her during this speech.

Atlanta smiled back. “Thank you.”

“Feh, for believing in you? It is an easy thing, believing in someone else. It’s harder to believe in yourself. Remember that too.”

The shuttle landed on a private airfield just outside the palace, gritting to a stop with a lurch before the seat belt released them.