Part 2, Chapter 41

Ch 41

The messenger arrived at the Palace exhausted, dirty, and covered in blood. He staggered into the throne room where the King of the Merfolk was holding court with his daughter.

“The Emperor! The Emperor is dead!” the man gasped into the silence that had followed his appearance.

“Summon the Empress at once!” The King of the Merfolk cried.

In a shorter time than it should have taken the Empress, holding her newborn babe, stood before throne.

The King of the Merfolk knelt before her solemnly, followed rapidly by the rest of the court. “The Emperor is dead. Long live the Emperor.”

Namu held her head high as she and the child ascended the stairs to the throne. If the Empress was calculatingly poised in her approach to the throne and her expression was more sly than grieving, everyone in the court knew better than to say anything.

The change over of power was rapid. The high gods and goddesses were restless, but the King of the Merfolk already had a plan in place to deal with them. The lesser gods and goddesses in residence in the palace were mostly left to their work, but the remaining guards were removed and replaced with merfolk and reinforcements were summoned from the Western Sea. Anyone who objected too strenuously or spread rumors was strictly punished by the Empress in the name of the young Emperor. While the Empress sat on the throne, it was clear who was giving the orders. A restless tension filled the Palace as the gods waited to see what would happen next.