Tylla gazed across the closed carriage thinking how she couldn't stand to be near mother one more moment. Hyperia, still clad in her black robes, had fooled the people of Oran into believing her widow act, but not Tylla.

Next to the queen on the carriage's velvet seat sat Dolceto Davadas, Tylla's former father-in-law. Always politically ambitious, Dolceto had seized the power left by the King's absence. Tylla had no doubt he now shared her mother's bed.

At Hyperia's slippered feet, baby Corellas lay neglected in his cradle. In the six moons since the baby's birth, Hyperia had shown the child no love except when she played the doting mother in public. The only reason Tylla agreed to stay at Oran after her father's death was to look after Corellas. Having never given a thought to motherhood before, Tylla was surprised at how she bonded with the baby who looked just like her father, but nothing like the queen.

The carriage lurched suddenly, and Corellas began to cry. Tylla lifted the baby from the cradle and rocked him.

"Be careful he doesn't vomit on you, Tylla," Hyperia remarked with annoyance. "We won't have time to change our clothes before the ceremony."

"Yes. We got too late a start." Dolceto Davadas shot Tylla a look as if she were the cause of their tardiness. He opened the window flap and gray light spilled into the carriage. "Dreadful, depressing place," he droned.

They were now deep into the Weir en route to the God Gate where they would witness the Blue Planet's crossing.

During the last Zar, Corellas Davadas traveled through the God Gate, forced by his captors. Within a year, he had become king of all Ardelym and established Davadas' long rule. Only Illym knew what now lay in store for them now.

Tylla gazed out the carriage window at the Weir Wasteland. It was early morning and already the Wols were hard at work in the fields, harvesting food in the poisonous earth for their meager sustenance. She watched them in the distance as they raised and lowered their hoes, their shaved heads covered by their gray cowls. Miserably, she thought of Carmelle.

Corellas gurgled, and she shifted her eyes back to the baby. He smiled at her with loving eyes as she traced the dark whorls of hair on his head. She thought of her father with a dull pain in her heart.

The queen giggled softly. Tylla looked up and saw Dolceto slip his hand through a gap in Hyperia’s bodice.

A picture of a grieving widow, Tylla thought, gazing back at the gurgling baby. When this charade is over, I'm returning to my home in the country and starting a new life. If only I could bring little Corellas with me.

* * *

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They reached the citadel by noon. The Lex Azarax, black armored guards with faces obscured by iron visors, gazed down ominously as the carriage passed through the gate.

"Quite the welcoming committee," quipped Hyperia. "I suppose they'll have food for us."

Dolceto stroked the queen's cheek. "It's just a tiresome formality we must endure every nine-hundred Blue Planet years."

Hyperia laughed girlishly at her lover's wit.

Tylla bit down on her tongue till she tasted blood.

* * *

Each rotation of the carriage wheels led them farther into the Weir wasteland. As they approached the sacred Black Mountain housing the God Gate, Tylla scanned the Wols' faces for Carmelle, wondering if she would even recognize her former lover.

The new leader, Genya Wol, stepped out from a group of Wols and lowered her cowl, exposing her shaved head.

"You're late arrival means you won't have time to rest. The Blue Planet will be crossing shortly." Her gray eyes looked up at the dark clouds rumbling with lightning.

"We must hurry," Genya said, replacing her cowl over her head and leading them to an entrance inside the mountain marked by two towering columns carved from the rock face.

"Hand me the child," Hyperia hissed to Tylla.

Tylla reluctantly handed Corellas to the queen, muttering, "Nothing to interfere with your perfect image. I wonder if Illym is fooled."

Hyperia shot her a cold look as she clutched a whimpering Corellas to her breast and followed Genya Wol into the cavern.

Tylla hesitated as the darkness of the mountain swallowed the queen and her lover. A sharp wind picked up the hem of her cloak. She pressed her face into the teeth of the wind and looked about her. The Wol women were slowly surrounding her, their eyes shining from beneath their cowls like curious rodents.

Frightened suddenly, Tylla turned and entered the mountain behind the others. The rock floor trembled beneath her feet as she scurried to catch up with Genya’s flickering torch.

They traversed a small bridge over a crystal canyon where ropes were attacked to the wall to aid in their crossing.

"Dolceto, I'm frightened.“ Hyperia’s quivering voice made an echo.

Her advisor and lover gripped her arm and guided her forward.

"Come, my Grace," said Genya Wol, excitedly. "We're almost there."

The Queen, clutching the crying child to her bosom, obliged wearily. She couldn't wait for this spectacle to end so she could once again enjoy the comforts of her palace.

Everything had worked out better than she could have planned it. Even the death of the king had come as a relief. The traumatized citizens had looked to her for guidance in their grief, and she had played the widow role to the hilt. Now that she had Oran’s loyalty, she could use her power however she saw fit. And baby Corellas, the future great king prophesied by Illym, would keep her safe from harm's way. Dolceto Davadas was an excellent administrator. He would run the kingdom efficiently and with an iron fist. And if she enjoyed him in her bed, what of it?

All of her secrets about the Roselynn Davadas affair were buried six feet beneath the ground along with the body of Yemen Illymium. She had her guards quietly execute her old Mynimium friend shortly after Corellas’ birth, then, after the dreadful deed was done, she poisoned both guards herself—all traces of her evil deeds erased with a drop of poison in a cup.

And what of Starlex?

When the palace guards went to Crytombe Pass to retrieve Scipio's body, there was no sign of Starlex nor the Skaards. Even Rigel seemed to have been absorbed by the pink desert sands.

A smile tickled Hyperia’s lips.

There is no one left to disturb my peace.

The rock floor moved beneath her feet, shaking her confidence like the suddenly shifting cavern walls.

Her heart fluttered with fear. No one except Illym.