Lord Regret's Price: A Jane Austen Space Opera, Book 3 by Joely Sue Burkhart

wealth or titles. All he had to offer was himself—the greatest gift he could possibly give her.
    If only Sig realized the same thing.

Chapter Nine
    Surely no other place in the galaxy could compete with the man-made splendor of Xuanyuan. A distant Zijin Emperor had carved out his palace from the nothingness of space. Not even a moon or asteroid had provided a foundation for the impressive space station the current Emperor called home.
    Charlotte tried not to gape about her like a foreigner, but quickly succumbed to the overwhelming magnificence. A long docking station protected the main palace rather like a moat or wall would have protected castles of old. Heavily armored soldiers lined the walkways, their hard eyes tracking Charlotte’s party as they approached. Other barges lined the docks, but soaring red walls blocked access to—and view of—the inner city. High above, the defensive walls melded with the clear overhead dome enveloping the entire station. The only entry she could immediately see was directly ahead.
    Once through the narrow door—and through the wall that was nearly three feet thick—she was surprised to see a wide-open and entirely empty courtyard. Stone tiles stretched as far as she could see, both ahead and to either side, wrapping around the massive outer walls. “How large is Xuanyuan?”
    “Approximately the size of two Londoniums to our calculations,” Prince Gong replied proudly. “Each Emperor leaves his mark on the city by expanding it in some way, so it’s constantly growing and changing.”
    “But how do you power it? Are you orbiting a planet? Where do you get your resources?”
    Prince Gong smiled. “All in due time, my lady. Our scientists will be delighted to converse with someone of your renown.”
    The walk across the courtyard seemed to take an eternity. Guards mounted on the high walls stared down at them, increasing the sense of anxiety. She could all too easily imagine the carnage if an army somehow managed to fly through the wormhole, escape the massive cannon and breach the outer docks, only to enter this inner sanctum. Even running at top speed, it would take long minutes to cross the courtyard—all while hundreds of soldiers rained fire and hell down on them from the high wall’s vantage points.
    “I’m the most infamous assassin in the known universe, with too many kills to count…” Sig bent so he whispered in her ear, “…and this place is making even me sweat. There’s no way I could cross this plaza and live to tell about it if they decided to stop me.”
    She nodded her agreement, but it was too late to turn back. “We’ll just have to hope we don’t have to find a way to escape on our own.”
    Even when they finally passed through another archway, it wasn’t to meet the Emperor’s party. Another equally large courtyard awaited, this one decorated with fanciful statuary. Dragons and phoenixes in flight and repose guided them along the white-marble path. They even crossed a stream of flowing water with a delicate arching bridge. The happy gurgle of the stream and the peaceful trek made it seem like a dream.
    Am I really here, in the Forbidden City, nearly ready to meet the Emperor?
    Again, the courtyard walls soared upward, giving soldiers an impenetrable perch high above to eliminate any encroachers. Ahead, a massive stairway led up a white-marble mountain towering over the courtyard. Two red carpets stretched up the stairs, each wide enough for a carriage. In the center, something was carved into the marble steps.
    “Only the Emperor crosses the dragon.” Prince Gong pointed to the intricate carving. A sinuous scaled dragon wound its way up the stairs.
    Charlotte slowed her step, wishing she hadn’t tightened her corset quite so much. Plus that gave her more time to process everything she was seeing. So much gorgeous artisanal work. So very little technology. Odd, when the entire space station was a glowing example of exquisite technological