Free Carnelians by Catherine Asaro

against the edge of an arched entrance to the room. Eldrin, Dehya’s husband and Kelric’s older brother, was standing by the holo-stage near the wall, watching the holo of Del silently wail “Carnelians Finale.” Their mother Roca stood with him. She shook her head, and her hair rippled around her shoulders like liquid gold.
    “We have to talk to Del,” Roca said. “Convince him to help us put this under wraps again.”
    “It’s impossible.” Kelric said tiredly. Nothing could contain this plague.
    Dehya paced past him, a diminutive figure is a soft blue dress that swirled around her knees. “We hid that song with best security we have. What happened?”
    “Why is it always this way with Del?” Eldrin said. “We always end up talking about how we have to fix whatever he did.”
    “Del didn’t do anything.” Dehya stopped and regarded her husband. “He cooperated with us nine years ago when we suppressed the song. I doubt he has anything to do with it resurfacing.”
    “He sang it,” Kelric said. “He knew how politically inflammatory it would be.”
    Roca spoke quietly. “It’s magnificent.”
    “What, you’re supporting this mess?” Kelric growled.
    “Of course not,” Roca said. As Foreign Affairs Councilor in the Assembly, she advised the two rulers of the Imperialate—the Ruby Pharaoh and the First Councilor—on how to defuse situations exactly such as this. She had won her Foreign Affairs seat by running for election like any other citizen. Combined with her lesser hereditary seat, it made her one of the most influential Assembly councilors. No matter how much she or any of them might like “Carnelians Finale,” they had to do their best to counter its effect.
    “It’s too late to lock it down.” Dehya said. “We need damage control.”
    “How?” Kelric asked. He hoped she had an idea, because he sure as hell didn’t.
    “Can you get it off the Kyle network?” Eldrin asked Dehya. “You know the meshes better than anyone.”
    “I can do some deletions,” she said. “Especially if you help me. But it’s gone too far to erase it the way we did nine years ago.”
    “Emperor Jaibriol probably released it,” Roca said. “Given what he must be dealing with from the other Hightons, he probably regrets ever seeing that treaty. How he convinced his Joint Commanders to sign it is beyond me.”
    “He didn’t release ‘Carnelians Finale,’ ” Kelric said, keeping his mental barriers strong. He had no mental finesse; he was just blunt force. It was frustrating when he needed to pick up nuances from someone’s mind, but no one alive could get past his barriers, not even his family. He hid what he knew about Jaibriol.
    Roca was watching him. “What’s wrong?”
    Damn. Her inability to pick up his thoughts didn’t stop her from using her too perceptive mother’s intuition. He glared at her, mainly to throw her off track. “What isn’t wrong?”
    “We’ll do what we can in the meshes,” Dehya said. “Roca, you talk with the Allieds.”
    “Governments aren’t the problem,” Eldrin said. “No matter how much any of ours may want the treaty, it will fail if the citizens of three empires turn against it. With Del riling everyone up, that’s what we’re looking at.”
    “Then we have to calm them down,” Dehya said.
    “How?” Roca said.
    Dehya exhaled. “I wish I knew.”
    Jaibriol found the lights dimmed when he walked into his bedroom suite at the palace. It was a relief; after his day, he needed refuge.
    Suite was a subdued word. Even in the dim light, the walls gleamed, gold and ivory with platinum moldings, all the materials authentic, none created in labs. Chandeliers glittered, heavy with diamonds. An antique lamp with a ruby shade stood near his bed casting dim red light. Dark red drapes canopied the bed, held back by braided gold ropes, and red and gold pillows of gleaming satin were heaped against the headboard. But all that rich, sultry beauty dimmed compared