"I ... I ... was to tell Freka that ... that his men failed to ... to...." "To kill me!" finished Alys angrily. "What else?" "I ... was also to tell him that the rest of the plan was ... was ... carried out ... successfully." "Damn you, don't talk in riddles!" Kieron said. "What 'plan'?" "The ... the Emperor is dead," Landor blurted, eyes wild with terror. "But not by my hand! I swear it! Not by my hand!" Alys choked back a cry of pain. "Toran! Poor ... Toran...." Kieron took the terrified courtier by the throat and shook him. "You filthy swine! Who did it? _Who killed the Emperor?_" "_Ivane!_" gasped Landor. "The people do not know he is dead and she awaits the star-king's invasion to proclaim herself Empress...! In the gods' name, Kieron, don't kill me! I speak the truth!" "Freka helped plan this?" demanded Kieron. "He is Ivane's man," stammered Landor, "but I know nothing of him! Nothing, Kieron! The warlock Geller brought him to Ivane five years ago ... that is all I know!" Geller of the Marshes ... again. Kieron felt the awful dread seeping through his anger. Somehow the connection between Geller and Freka must be discovered. Somehow...! Kieron turned away from the terrified Landor. The picture was shaping now. Freka and Ivane. The star-kings' rebellion. Toran ... murdered. "Keep this hound under guard!" ordered Kieron. Landor was led away, shaken and weak. "Nevitta!" "Sir?" "You and the princess will go back to the ship as you came. She must be taken to safety at once. As soon as that pig is missed, we'll have visitors...." "No, Kieron! I won't go!" cried Alys. "You must. If you are captured on Kalgan now it will mean a _carte blanche_ for Ivane." "But then you must come!" "I can't. If I tried to leave here now, Freka would detain me by force. I know his plans." He turned again to Nevitta. "She goes with you, Nevitta. By force if necessary. "Return to Valkyr and gather the tribes. We can do nothing without men at our backs. One of the ships will remain here with me and the men. We will try to get clear after we are certain that--" He looked over at the slim girl, his eyes sombre--"that Her Majesty is safe." The Valkyr warriors in the room straightened, a subtle change in their expression as they watched Alys. A gulf had suddenly opened between this girl and their chieftain. They felt it too. One by one they dropped to their knees before her. Alys made a protesting gesture, her eyes bright with tears. She saw the chasm opening, and fought it futilely. But when Kieron, too, went to his knees, she knew it was _so_. In one fleeting moment, they had changed from lover and beloved to sovereign and vassal. She forced back the tears and raised her head proudly; as Galactic Empress, Heiress to the Thousand Emperors, she accepted the homage of her fighting men. "My lord of Valkyr," she said in a low, unsteady voice. "My love and affection for you--and these warriors will never be forgotten. If we live...."