He what? I gaped at Charlotte, understood her absolute fury and, in the instant it took me to go from shock to rage of my own, the Empress reacted. Her tiny body joined Jiao's, springing forward to the end of the bed, fury on her face. But this anger was aimed at Piers.

"What reason has the Steam Union to come here, to make such accusations?" I could feel her defensiveness, wondered if she already knew by the way her voice vibrated with anger. ...