head to look out at the city again. “Are those palm trees?”
“Mmhm.”
“I’ve always wondered what they really look like.” She smiled sadly. “The world is beautiful.”
“It is. Although it has its ugliness.” He kissed her temple as she turned to face the city once more and take in the setting sun. “It’s easy to forget how much beauty there is in it.” He rested his head atop hers. “But then something comes around to remind us. I love you, Hope.”
She smiled. “I love you, Nero.” She paused and pointed up at the twilight sky. “Is that a star?”
He felt his heart break. Not in sadness, but in too much joy. “Yes…yes, it is.”
For three hours, Hope held on to Morten’s gift. The sky had come to life in its array of flickering stars. She had wept again at seeing them. She understood Nero’s words—that it felt like they were smiling and laughing. That they almost felt alive.
But then, like all things, like summer in its season, it faded away, and she was once more in darkness.
She expected to feel hollow when it came. That somehow knowing what she was missing would make it hurt worse. But it had truly been a gift. To be able to see the world—if only for such a short time—was a bittersweet joy.
And Nero…oh, the handsome creature. She knew what handsome meant now, although he would have been to her no matter what he had looked like. When her world was once more as it had been her whole life, she stood from the chair, had Nero fix her makeup, and they returned to their guests. Shockingly, even after all those hours, the party was still going strong.
A few people teased Nero for not being able to wait until the party was over to celebrate his wedding night. It was a reasonable assumption for him. If she hadn’t suddenly been able to see the sky, he certainly would have tried to take her off to some private place to do just that. Or public, if she had let him.
“I need a drink. A strong drink.” She chuckled.
“You and me both. I’m sorry, Hope.”
“I’m not.” She lifted his fingers to her lips and kissed them. “This is the happiest day of my life. I have married the man I love…and I got to gaze at the stars with him. What more could I ask for?” She smiled at him. “Now when I dream, I will dream of you.”
He hugged her tightly to his chest and kissed her. The crowd cheered.
Nero stood in the senate on the dais in the center and proclaimed that slavery was abolished. Anyone who wished to remain in the service of their former masters now did so as a paid employee. And all were free to do as they wished. He laughed as the old men in front of him pitched an uproar. He welcomed it. When one of them brandished a knife and came at him, he cackled. He broke the man’s wrist and stabbed him with his own knife.
This is going to be fun. I shouldn’t have waited this long!
He whistled. The sound of heavy, booted feet echoed in the stone chamber as an army of brass and steel marched into the room. He stood there at the base of his chair and raised his arms. “Very well! If you will not embrace this righteous decision, then none of you deserve to rule. Therefore, I henceforth declare myself High Emperor. The senate no longer exists. And all your lives are now useless to me.” He sat in the chair and grinned. “Slaughter them all.”
The sound of laser fire and screams mingled with his laughter.
When silence reigned, he walked from the building whistling, accompanied by the robots at his back. He still hated that prick Viktor, but he agreed that a robotic army was the way to go. They talked back a lot less. And they had no problem murdering a pack of angry old men. Once they were outside, he turned to the senate house. Raising his hand, he willed it to burn.
And like all things he wished to be lit ablaze—it obeyed.
He turned to the crowd that had gathered, standing there agog. He climbed atop the base of the nearest statue. Holding his arms out at his sides, he hollered to them. “Hear me, citizens of the South Wind! Today marks a new day. Today is a day of freedom.” He paused. “I was once a slave. My life