39 Tragic Veins #3
Nicky pulled his hand away from his mouth, his breathing rapid and hitching.
“I won’t marry Temmi. That isn’t— I already told you.
I kissed Cailin because I needed to be certain she was still immune.
And she is. Her reaction was mild. She’ll be my consort, like she was always supposed to be.
But Temmi, oh, gods and nebulas. Temmi.” His sobs increased again.
Spie paused rubbing his back. “I don’t understand.”
Nicky scrubbed at his eyes; they were bloodshot and puffy. “The contestant deaths. In moving forward with the show, we always knew there was a chance someone might die—that’s the danger of being in proximity to me. So, Mother and I—and Kalvin—we made a contingency plan.”
A rush of sensation like cold ice traveled down Spie’s spine. “What do you mean, ‘a contingency plan’?”
She tried to keep her tone calm, didn’t want to reveal her true feelings.
Nicky had no idea what Artemis Ialan had come to mean to her, too.
For nebulas’s sake, she didn’t even know what Artemis Ialan meant to her.
A tussle on the beach? She’d done that and more with dozens of women.
So, why did Artemis feel so achingly different?
“I never thought I’d like Temmi as much as I do. I never thought—” The tears started afresh. It was as though everything Nicky had ever kept inside, shoved down deep, had finally reached a boiling point.
Spie rose from the armchair. “What are you saying?” But her brain was already snapping the pieces into place, the truth dawning with horrid reality.
X72, a poverty-ridden fringe planet responsible for mining and purifying one of the empire’s most precious resources, chosen for Love Galaxy despite Spie knowing full well their mother never wanted the territory to be given the power and access owed a consort.
Nicky, telling Spie in her cabin that he wanted Artemis on the show.
The narrative the producers had developed, painting her as a villain.
The article Spie had read, postulating that Artemis Ialan was an anti-humanist agent.
Artemis herself telling Spie that she’d been the one to find Kya Ep-Kmin’s body. Rosaria Yune’s. That she’d been at the cocktail party with Jasmine Gross.
But then Nicky was talking again, confessing. And Spie wanted to rewind time, to mire herself in the innocence of not knowing.
“We needed a scapegoat, someone we could pin any deaths—if they happened—on. Mother selected a number of fringe territories, all with contestants who’d be easy to frame.
The Outerbelt, the Underbelt, X72. Places that wouldn’t cause uproar in the political landscape, wouldn’t cause division or contention. ”
Spie shook her head, backing away from her brother slowly.
“X72 was always going to be the main play—Mother’s been wanting to invoke a martial presence there for a while now, to better secure the orrist deposits, particularly with the Uiyoni’s recent aggression.
But the senators would’ve grumbled about imperial overreach; she needed an indisputable reason to send in a martial presence.
Two birds, one stone, as they once said. ”
Nicky sat up straighter. “When Temmi stumbled upon us and that local camera crew caught her calling you a narcissist, it was too good an opportunity to pass up. People were already clamoring for her to be cast. If we needed a scapegoat, who better to frame than someone like her? Someone with a criminal record, someone who would drum up viewership in the fringe systems, someone we could easily edit into a murderer.”
Spie gaped at her brother. Horror clawed at her throat. Nausea churned in her gut. But she was glued, transfixed, and he wasn’t done.
“When she turned down the opportunity, Mother said we could still accomplish what we wanted with a different X-er, but then Temmi changed her mind.”
Because of me, Spie thought. She changed her mind because of me.
“Kalvin paid off X72’s governor to gift Temmi a necklace of orrist basalt before she left.
We knew she’d need a plausible murder weapon, and orrist basalt exposure mimics the initial physical symptoms of Uiyoni venom.
So, Kalvin positioned Temmi near all the deaths.
Earned her trust. It was almost easy. We had opportunity and means; all we needed was motive.
So, Mother planted rumors across the internet, rumors about Temmi being an anti-humanist agent.
I almost blew the whole game night one by kissing her.
She could’ve died and we would’ve been left scrambling to turn Rosaria or Petra into our scapegoat.
But that kiss—that kiss—” His eyes misted over again, and he swallowed.
“I really thought it would never come to this. We were able to cover up Kya and Rosaria’s deaths.
Cailin survived her second exposure to my venom.
I thought if I sent Temmi home, she’d be safe.
But then Jasmine kissed me, and there were too many witnesses when she died, and it’s a hell of a lot harder to cover up the death of someone like Jasmine Gross. ”
This is all my fault. Spie stared at her brother, words failing her. If I’d never run from the throne. If I’d paid more attention. If I’d let Artemis be when she turned down Nicky’s original offer—
The weight of the truth bore her to her knees.
“You do have a choice,” she said. “You don’t have to let her take the fall.
Let Jasmine Gross’s death stay a mystery.
Choose Temmi. Marry Temmi. If you pick her on a live broadcast, there’s nothing Mother can do to reverse your decision.
If you don’t, you’ll never forgive yourself. ”
I’ll never forgive myself.
Nicky wiped at his glistening cheeks. “You think the empire will be content with an unsolved mystery? You think Jasmine’s family will be content with that?
There will be questions. Investigations.
This could topple the whole empire. Could end us, Spie.
How many people will die in a civil war when the other systems’ leaders discover what you and I are?
What Mother hid? And what happens to humanity if we weaken ourselves in a civil conflict?
Someone else will step in to conquer us—the Uiyoni will step in to conquer us.
I have to do this. Isn’t sacrifice the mark of a great leader?
I lay the only woman I could ever see myself loving on the altar of empire, and in return, I keep the peace of trillions.
I keep humanity alive. The math is simple. ”
The warm kiss of tears rained down Spie’s cheeks. She couldn’t believe the words coming out of her brother’s mouth.
“But Nicky, you’ll destroy yourself.”
You’ll destroy me.
“I was born destroyed. There’s tragedy in my veins, on my skin—this doesn’t change anything. It’s just one more thing to hate about myself. And I’m already really good at that. But once I’m emperor, I can make it all worth it—I promise I will.”
“Nicky.” Spie choked on her tears, on the riptide of grief and betrayal taking her heart out to sea. “You’re wrong. There’s always another choice. We’ll find it together. Just stop this, please.”
“It’s too late, Spie. It’s already done.”
As though on cue, the holo across from his bed flickered on.
brEAKING NEWS ! ran in blocky crimson lettering across the 3-D projection, followed by the caption: MURDER ON LOVE GALAXY .
A shrill beeping emanated from Spie’s and Nix’s CBs simultaneously. A holo of Kalvin shot into the air, hovering above Spie’s wrist, an identical holo appearing above Nicky’s.
“This is Kalvin Kar-Beidell, executive producer and imperial liaison on Love Galaxy . Rumors have begun to circulate about the alleged passing of one of this season’s contestants.
To quell panic and address those rumors directly, I can confirm that Ambassador Jasmine Gross died late this evening.
Cause of death is yet undetermined. All cast members, crew, and manor personnel are to remain in your respective housing quarters while we conduct a thorough investigation.
Meals will be brought to you, and imperial guards will escort you for any privy needs.
Anyone unwilling to cooperate with this directive will be arrested.
Any questions, concerns, or information regarding Ambassador Gross, direct to me personally.
I’ve updated every CB in the manor with my personal bridge frequency. Thank you . ”
Kalvin’s image vanished. On the holo, a too-chipper reporter announced that they’d received credible evidence of the death of a contestant during the course of filming for Love Galaxy .
They announced a pause in filming while every possible resource was exhausted in an investigative effort.
Spie could only imagine the shock wave resounding throughout the empire.
She scrambled to her feet, backing away from the holo, away from her brother, away from the determined future he’d outlined.
The future where Artemis Ialan was arrested and executed for nothing more than trying to help her family.
The future where Nicky lost himself in self-hate and grief. There was still time to stop this.
“Where are you going?” Nicky called as Spie hurried to their conjoining closet door. It remained wide open.
Without turning, Spie whispered, not sure if he could hear her words over the blaring holo, “To save her.”