Read Defender of the Empire 2: Facades for Free Online

too afraid to talk to him that way, one would have thought that I wouldn’t have been nervous entering the palace. But I was.
                  Stepping out of the shuttle in the palace’s bailey, I was struck by the beauty of the edifice before me. Compared to the buildings around it, the palace was a shimmering jewel surrounded by dull rocks. And since there were no such thing as ‘dull rock’ architecture in the capital, the palace was in its own league. Its graceful architecture made me think of spun glass, and looked just as fragile… but there was something else about it that made it hard to imagine it being shattered. Perhaps it was the quiet strength in the colonnades and towers that supported the rest of the structure. There was also a sense of age around it that attested to its inherent strength. To add to the beauty, the crystal-like walls shimmered with energy. The whole thing reminded me of a Spectral.
                  An incessant jabbing at my shoulder yanked me from my awed appreciation of the palace. “Ow,” I muttered, as I rubbed my shoulder and moved it away from Jason’s nasty finger.
                  Jason shrugged. “It isn’t my fault that you forced me to take drastic measures. You were the one not moving in the doorway,” he said as he moved out of the way next to me. Westley and Marius joined us, and we forged our way through the press as the rest of the passengers exited the shuttle. I flushed slightly. I had completely forgotten that I hadn’t moved out of the way. I guess Kylesst’s words back when I first arrived on Prima Imperium had been true. Beauty had an understated power. Lord knows it had frozen me in place.
                  “Sorry,” I muttered softly.
                  “It’s okay,” Westley said. “It gave us a moment to get an eyeful, too.” He winked at me.
                  Marius also grinned. “It has been known to happen a lot.” He pointed to the students coming off a nearby transport. They were also staring. I felt relief that I wasn’t the only one. I glanced back to Marius and noticed his eyes flicking about the palace. I figured he knew a lot about the palace, and I wondered briefly just how many times he had been here on Shade business in the past. I also wondered if I would be coming here more too, since I was a Shade, even if I didn’t yet have my Spectral. I glanced at Jason and noted him also looking around, though he was nowhere near as awed as the rest of us. Which made sense considering…
                  I leaned close to him and whispered conspiratorially, “At least we won’t have to worry about getting lost.”
                  He cast me a bemused glance before his pretty eyes widened in understanding. It was his home, after all. He smiled and said, “Of course not.” Anyone listening in would just figure we meant the crowd around us, which was somewhat true.
                  “It’s a nice place,” I remarked looking about again.
                  Jason snorted. “Oh, please. Don’t try to act so unaffected. You are the one who couldn’t stop staring.” He looked ahead to make sure that he wasn’t going to run into anybody, before turning back to me. “It sure is pretty, but can you imagine what is expected of those who live here? I shudder just thinking of all the etiquette lessons one must have…” His voice became soft. “That, and how the responsibility one has to shoulder to live up to the name and place must weigh one down. Perhaps even make them feel trapped behind the façade they have to maintain…” He shook his head and said slightly louder. “Nope. I’m glad that I come from a much humbler family.”
                  I resisted the urge to pat his shoulder. It was that ‘humbler’ story that had given him the freedom to be himself and still serve the Empire.
    There is a kind of security