The Broken (The Lost Words: Volume 2) Read Online Free Page A

councillor waved at him. The man just nodded, a sour, grumpy look on his face.
    The mingling lasted for well over an hour as all the guests were found, escorted, and ushered into the courtyard. Stephan regretted drinking so many glasses of juice, because now, he urgently needed to piss, but did not want to lose his spot. He enjoyed a bit of shade from a spruce tree, there was some breeze from one of the side corridors, and no one bothered him. It would be a shame to move.
    The empress-daughter showed up suddenly, unexpectedly, without any fanfare or announcement. She stood on the second balcony of the north castle wing, gazing down at the crowds. She was silent. Her quiet presence slowly drew eyes, and the chattering buzz died away.
    Soon-to-be Empress Amalia was a slim, pretty thing, tall, willowy, with fat, luscious lips you wanted to bite. She looked as if she had a row with the entire world. Behind her stood the empress-mother, small and unassuming, and half a dozen honor guards.
    The girl was holding a slender, fragile-looking glass rod in her right arm. It was adorned with some kind of a ball at the top. Stephan was too far away to judge, but he thought the thing was Red Crystal from the Emorok Hills.
    There were all kinds of rumors about that rod. Adam had never been seen without it, but few knew what it really was or what it signified. Some claimed it was nothing more than a fancy ornament, the one trinket the spartan emperor would indulge himself in. Some claimed it was a terrible magical weapon. Those who swore by the souls of their children to have witnessed the thing used against Adam’s foes told such ridiculous, conflicting stories it was hard to discern truth from fantasy.
    The fact no one really knew what the thing was made it a symbol of Adam’s unshakable power. It was the perfect weapon, one made of rumors and awe. After his magnificent showdown eighteen years ago, Adam had needed no further demonstrations of his combat acumen. The legends had been born in the First and Second Battles of Bakler Hills and stayed. People probably believed Adam’s piss was poison.
    “Dear guests,” Amalia spoke, breaking the tense silence. No ceremonial announcement for Adam’s daughter, Stephan noted, how befitting. “I want to thank you for coming to Roalas. I am grateful that you chose to honor my father’s death, an unusual custom in the Realms. Some of you saw him as a friend. Some of you saw his as an enemy. You loved and you hated him, but you came nonetheless.”
    Stephan wiped his sweat and fidgeted. His bladder was bursting.
    “You are all probably asking yourself what kind of empress I am going to become,” she said. A wave of whispers exploded in the crowd. This sudden, blunt admission was shocking. Amalia let the surprise wither before continuing. “I want to be the empress my father taught me to be.”
    My bladder
, Stephan moaned.
    “And so I will be. As you all know, the power transition is the most fragile period for any realm. One ruler goes; another comes. Everything hangs so precariously on such a delicate balance. It is a time when people may want to try to change the balance, influence things their way.”
    She lifted the rod and grappled it in both hands. “I want to avoid this imbalance. Like my father taught me, stability is the most important deterrent. I will not permit rumors and speculation to nibble away at the peace he forged in the Realms.”
    This is good
, Stephan mused. The daughter sounded reasonable.
    “My ascension to the throne may be perceived as an opportunity to settle old scores. A favorable moment to try to topple Athesia and restart the state of war between Eracia and Caytor. You may think I’m an inexperienced girl who has no place among rulers. And you have every right to doubt me.
    “Which is why I am going to do the following. To prevent any attempts to destabilize the region, and to give my allies and foes time to get to know me, realize that I’m my father’s