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

advances.
    Even the soldiers on the walls were armored like in olden days. It wouldn’t surprise her if they carried swords and pistols instead of lazors or ion cannon. Yet she’d seen the massive cannon protecting the wormhole exit, and the Imperial assassins’ technological advances had certainly been impressive. Xuanyuan itself was an incredible testament to man-made technology, yet this part of the palace grounds was deliberately primitive.
    At least on the surface.
    Curious, she touched the locket again to load a small amount of nanobots onto her gloved fingertip. Then she pretended exhaustion, pausing to brace her hand against a particularly fearsome dragon’s gaping jaws. “A moment, Your Highness. My current fashion choice has left me winded.”
    “Of course, Lady Wyre. The climb is considerable.”
    She breathed as deeply as possible despite the constriction around her rib cage and then set out again. Since Gil had her arm, she even pretended to lean on him a little more. He certainly didn’t mind.
    Finally, they reached the top of the staircase. The party stopped again to stare.
    Ahead, a massive palace of wood and gilded columns rose from the white-marble plaza. The tiled roof gleamed like pure gold, sharp peaks decorated with dragons and other creatures. Marvelous, yes, but then Charlotte’s eyes went up to another palace that hovered above the other. She craned her neck back and thought she could make out yet another palace even higher above. How far up did they go? How did they hang one above the other as though they floated on air?
    Her mind raced through scientific alternatives. They’d already shown their understanding of positive and negative charges. Perhaps each palace was like a gigantic magnet, placed so the poles opposed one another. She couldn’t imagine how they’d managed to generate enough power to infuse such a massive electric charge, though. Not for long-term usage like this. Some kind of hover technology based on air flow? But there were no roaring sounds of wind or generators.
    Perhaps it was something simple.
    They could be using some kind of superstrong clear plastic to give the illusion of hanging palaces, one above the other. Perhaps the same material as the dome. Nodding to herself, she decided that must be the solution. She’d be interested in the chemical composition of such an ultrastrong polymer, but she was confident it must be similar to Londonium’s original dome formula before they’d moved to a magnetic field. Though she wasn’t arrogant enough to assume they hadn’t developed something that worked even better than her formula.
    If they had, she’d definitely copy every note she could find about it.
    Regardless of the technology, it made a fantastic impression. The Emperor was the Son of Heaven. Naturally, his palace must appear to hover magically in the air, inside a divine city that also floated unmoored in deep space.
    “ Tài Hé Diàn ,the Hall of Supreme Harmony,” Prince Gong said. “Our largest building in Xuanyuan.”
    Nine arched doors led them into a spacious, ornate hall. Every inch of the surfaces was covered in carvings, tiles and gold. Thick pillars were wrapped in golden dragons glittering in the old-fashioned lamps and candles. She had to admit the soft glow did look magnificent, making the fanciful dragons seem to come alive, sparkling in the light.
    The massive Dragon Throne loomed in the center of the hall, covered in the ornate beasts, naturally. Even Majel’s throne wasn’t as ornate or as large. Her entire council could join her on that dais with room to spare.
    “Only very formal ceremonies are still held here, like coronations and weddings. I hope you’re not offended that the Emperor isn’t receiving you here.”
    “Of course not.” She smiled, trying to keep her conversation as authentic and open as possible so he wouldn’t be suspicious of all the things she kept touching. “Honestly, I’m quite relieved that there won’t