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uneasy.
    “We have orders to protect you, sir. That is all.”
    “Who gave such orders?” Torquas asked.
    “The Empress-Consort.”
    Torquas rubbed his reddened nose. “Who am I being protected from, warman?”
    The officer got to his feet without permission and said, “There is a Rhadan starship entering the atmosphere. That is all I know.”
    Torquas turned to Avaric. “What’s happening here? Are we at war with Rhada? I have been told nothing about this.”
    Avaric, wide-eyed, shook his head stupidly. “I’ve heard of no war, King.”
    Lady No was not about to be intimidated by the cold-eyed Vegan. She stationed herself in front of him and declared, “There is no conceivable reason the arrival of a Rhadan starship should cause alarm in Nyor. In the first place, there are troops enough on the East Coast to defend the capital against a dozen starships. And in the second place, Kier of Rhada is as loyal as any star king in the Empire.”
    Torquas nodded. “Kier was one of my father’s best war-leaders.”
    The warman shrugged. “Nevertheless, Leader, I have my orders. A Rhadan vessel will soon be landing, and I have been told to protect you.”
    “What nonsense,” Lady No said severely.
    “When will the ship land, when?” Orrin cried excitedly.
    “Within the hour,” the officer said.
    “I want to go see,” Torquas said suddenly.
    The officer looked uncomfortable. “My orders say that you must remain here, sir.”
    Torquas dropped from the bed and stood, barefoot and very young, before the armed soldier. “Who gave that order, warman?” he asked with a suddenly acquired dignity.
    “The warleader, sir.”
    “Landro?”
    “Sir.”
    “And who am I , warman?”
    The soldier looked unhappy. “The Galacton, sir.”
    Torquas studied the hard face and realized that the officer would not obey him. It would be foolish and perhaps even dangerous to attempt to force obedience.
    Torquas drew a breath and said, “Leave me.”
    “Sir.” The warman saluted and withdrew.
    “Avaric,” Torquas said. “I want to get dressed.”
    Lady Constans made gestures of disapproval, clucking about the Galacton’s health and the instructions of the doctors. But when she saw the boy’s face, she grew silent.
    Avaric and the Gentlemen Pensioners helped the Galacton to dress. Torquas wished that he had proper war harness to wear, but there was none. He had outgrown his old war gear, and Mariana had done nothing about providing him with new.
    He had finished washing himself in a basin held by a page when Mariana was announced. The Empress-Consort, dressed in a short gown of Vykan yellow, approached through the crowd of bowing courtiers. At her back came Landro, his tall and slender figure resplendent in court dress. He carried only ceremonial weapons, and he was not dressed for war. His hair was long, in the Vegan mode, and caught at the nape of his neck with a silver clasp. Torquas did not like Vegan styles. His father, he remembered, thought them perverse, and now so did he. But Mariana was beautiful, with a narrow, finely made face and short black Vykan hair worn close to her small, shapely head. Her hazel eyes reminded Torquas of his dimly remembered mother.
    His wife inclined her head formally. Among Vyks, a wife did not bow to her husband. She extended her hand, and Torquas kissed it as he had been taught to do.
    “I hope you are well, husband,” Mariana said. “I had not thought to find you out of bed.”
    “What’s happening, Mariana?” Torquas demanded impatiently. “Why are the warmen here?”
    “Only for your protection, loved one. There is a hostile starship in the atmosphere.”
    “When did the Rhad become hostile? Why wasn’t I told of it?”
    “Who mentioned the Rhad to you, husband?” Mariana asked evenly.
    “The officer. The officer out there in the gallery.”
    Mariana glanced at Landro, who nodded assent and left the room. Torquas could hear voices in the gallery and the formal posting of