Free Emperor's Edge Republic by Lindsay Buroker

I do. Aside from a few family Solstice Day gatherings when I was a boy, I’ve... barely known him outside of the legend. But does he seem... less sharp than usual of late?”
    “How so?” Tikaya had seen so little of Rias that she feared she would make a poor judge. He was tired , she knew that.
    “It’s hard to say exactly. With a normal man, I wouldn’t think anything of it, but... well, yesterday, he wrote down a math problem. It was complicated for sure, but I remember a similar moment when I first arrived two months ago, where he did one in his head, between one breath and the next, and gave the courier the answer right away.”
    The lift had stopped, but neither of them pulled the lever to open the door.
    “I haven’t tested his math skills of late,” Tikaya said slowly, “but he has admitted to a lot of headaches. And perhaps I have noticed more absentmindedness than usual. He’s like that from time to time when he’s working on problems...” Tikaya was even more so, so she never judged. “But... I’m not sure. I attributed it to how busy he’s been. He comes to bed after I do, and leaves before I wake up. There are times he doesn’t come at all, and I find him at his desk, facedown on a stack of papers.”
    “It’s a challenging job, no doubt,” Dak said. “It would be under any circumstances, but to be the first president and know that every policy signed into existence might have ramifications for decades, if not centuries to come... Not to mention that everyone’s watching him and has the expectation that he’ll be just as brilliant at this as he was at his military career. That weighs on him, I think. And the assassination attempts—I don’t think he worries that much about himself, but you and your daughter. I know he was glad the younger children went back to your mother’s home to finish their studies.”
    Tikaya had stopped breathing before he stopped talking. “Assassination attempts?”
    An appalled expression flashed across the formerly masked face, as he realized his faux pas. “He... didn’t tell you?”
    Tikaya shook her head mutely.
    “There were three, men paid by Nurians we think, but none of them got close. My soldiers and I are working day and night to keep abreast of all the plots and politicking that’s going on out there, and we were ready for them.”
    “I see,” she managed. “Thank you.”
    She couldn’t be surprised, but she could be... irked that Rias hadn’t told her. He hadn’t even introduced his new chief of intelligence to her in the two months Dak had apparently been here and on duty. Chief of intelligence—it sounded like Rias needed a chief of security .
    He wouldn’t want her to worry, she understood that, but if she had known, maybe she could have helped gather and analyze information. With most of her work back in Kyatt and no colleagues to interact with here, she wouldn’t mind a job where she could put her mind to use. She had been so... lost here. Apparently warrior-caste women didn’t need to work or contribute to the family; if they longed for purpose, they could organize social activities, something for which Tikaya had no aptitude or interest. Maybe she was just supposed to sit by the fire, lamenting that her children had grown up and didn’t need her anymore, until the assassins showed up. Dear Akahe, she missed home. She would never whine to Rias, but she had been looking forward to his last day in office since the day he signed in.
    “My lady?” Dak asked.
    “Yes?” Tikaya realized they were still standing in the lift, but she didn’t open the door, in case he had some other devastating news he wanted to share.
    “I’d thought...”
    He had all of Rias’s height and brawn, and seeing such a big man shuffle his feet with uncertainty made her nervous all over again.
    “Yes, please tell me,” she said.
    “This’ll sound daft, I expect, but I thought there might be some magical reason for his... absentmindedness, as you