Janis wondered if it was irresponsible of her that she was mostly concerned with seeing Kiara again, finally.

They hadn’t been separated for long, but it still felt like it. Even if it was only a few days, really, little more than a week. And even though Regina’s diplomatic summit was very important, Janis was thinking about her lover.

Not that they had actually made love yet, of course, so she wasn’t sure the term applied. There just wasn’t a better one. And Janis wasn’t bothered by the wait; she was confident they’d get there eventually (soon), and stealing kisses from Kiara was very fun and quite satisfying, anyway. Mostly, just knowing that the woman she adored wanted her back was enough to give her a warm glowy feeling in her chest. And that was an objective fact, Tia had commented on it.

Idly, she wished she could have arrived together with Kiara’s group. But that wasn’t really possible and probably wouldn’t have been a good idea, anyway. Janis had tried not to neglect her duties. After the trust Regina had shown her, she was determined to do her very best and live up to her expectations. To exceed them and show she hadn’t made a mistake in entrusting her with such an important piece of her dream.

She’d spent a few days on the front, therefore, exchanging information and tips with their commanders and teaching the mages gathered there some new Spells. After returning to the main base, Janis had reorganized their printing setup and written down a new, expanded collection of instructions regarding spells and her perspective on magic. From talking with the Hive mages and June, she knew she saw it a little differently and she hoped her perspective could prove valuable to them. It had also given her the opportunity to coordinate with the Neralts and some other humans in leadership positions that had recently been created, and make sure things went smoothly there. She would have moved on to do the same in the new territories if not for this conference, but she would probably get to it afterward.

For now, Regina wanted Janis to stick by her. She didn’t explicitly say so, but Janis could feel it through the psychic link. She stood beside her as they greeted various people, trying to help ease her friend’s nerves as well as be visible at her side, as she knew was the point.

Only a few of the various notables and dignitaries already here actually came out to greet them when they arrived, which Janis put down to different cultural expectations. They wouldn’t truly meet everyone until the conference started. For now, she took the opportunity to catch up with Earl Whitor, who’d apparently arrived on his own rather than with Kiara’s Cernlian delegation; no surprise there.

The man looked to be in much better spirits, wearing a new jacket with both Cernlian styles and discreet embroidery of stylized pincers and stars, smiling as they talked. He’d even put on a little bit of weight unless she missed her guess. Janis was glad to see someone at least was happy about the end of the war.

Finally, after most of the greetings were done and their group proceeded to settle in to their accommodations, Janis was able to slip away and talk to Kiara.

The new queen of Cernlia had taken June along, for rather obvious reasons. She sent away her attendants to talk to her sister in private, but as soon as Janis slipped into the room in the house they’d taken over in town, June made her excuses. She grinned at Janis as she left and she knew she would linger in the anteroom.

“Janis,” Kiara breathed quietly. She reached out to embrace her lover and then pressed a soft kiss to her lips.

Janis glanced out the window, then regretfully decided that they didn’t have enough privacy for what she would really prefer to get up to. Instead, she sat down and tugged Kiara down beside her.

“Have you told them what’s going to happen yet?” she asked after a while, breaking the short silence. “How did they take it?”

Kiara sighed and dropped her head. Janis could tell she wanted to lean it on her shoulder, but their chairs weren’t large or comfortable enough for that. “The lords aren’t happy,” she finally said.

“We weren’t expecting them to be,” Janis said reasonably. “But you just won a civil war, and you have the backing of the hive.”

“I may have pointed that out to them.” Kiara had straightened up, and smiled cheekily. “I believe they took my point. I have given my word of honor, and I am not going to break it regardless of their misgivings.”

“Your loyalists are still on your side, I hope?”

“Yes. Bluegrass is trusting me to guide them well. The others have mostly accepted my words about the gold and strength we all stand to gain, and the benefits of being the first to back a rising power. It’s not quite common knowledge, yet, anyway. Most of the court and the senior nobility will have heard, but it’s not spread too far down. At least, it hadn’t when I left. It’s not the landed knights or common adventurers I’d really have to worry about, however.”

“They would need a figure to rally behind if they want to effectively challenge you,” Janis mused. “Most of the people don’t care that much about borders on a map, anyway, or who ultimately sits on a throne far away. At least not as much as they care if their local ruler is fair and the monsters in hand.”

Kiara chuckled. “Well, we’ll certainly have the advantage in that regard. And luckily, Regina and the Hive have earned a lot of goodwill by sending shipments of food. I’m still relying on them to feed my people through this winter.”

Janis nodded. She knew war was never kind to the granaries. But Regina was not going to stop sending food. The Hive would have a much easier time feeding themselves in winter, even without large stores, considering drones could eat anything. Even trees, she was pretty sure. While snow had started to fall, it didn’t slow them down much.

“I wish I could accompany you during this conference, but Regina wants me by her side,” she said.

Kiara just nodded. “Of course she does. We’ll still see each other quite a bit. I’ll just have to control my fondness and not let my feelings for a certain dashing Hive princess influence my negotiations.”

“I’m not a princess.”

Kiara smirked and raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure about that?”

Janis sputtered, suddenly not so sure. What the hell have I gotten myself into? she wondered, not for the first time. Two years ago, she’d just been living with her aunt, chasing stories and hunting when she could sneak out. Now she had to seriously consider whether people would be bowing to her and giving her fancy titles after Regina unveiled all her plans. She should’ve just turned her down, never mind how she felt every time she thought about actually being her family.

Before they could continue the conversation, there was a knock on the door. A familiar face peeked in. “My Queen? Excuse the interruption. The Hive Queen has asked to meet with you. As well as Lady Janis.” His gaze paused on her and he smiled.

Janis grinned, standing up and stepping toward him while she resisted the urge to jump into a hug. That would probably be too unprofessional for him. “Uncle Richard! How have you been?”

Her great-uncle’s gaze softened. “Quite well, my dear. I’m happy to see you’re looking so well. But you shouldn’t keep Queen Regina waiting.”

Janis nodded. She hadn’t seen her uncle much, even in the time she’d spent with Kiara or fighting in the war, but that was hardly surprising. There were a lot of knights sworn to Kiara now, not just those from the Lyns march. Although it looked like Kiara’s (or her father’s) rise had also raised his status a bit, which was nice.

She wasn’t sure about his loyalties when it came to the marquis and Kiara and had never wanted to ask. The fact he was still around indicated he hadn’t been a die-hard loyalist completely opposed to Kiara, at least. Janis also didn’t know what he thought of Regina or the Hive. Weirdly, seeing him made her think about her aunt and feel a bit guilty. She hadn’t visited her very much, either, even when she’d been spending time at Forest’s Haunt, living at the base. She should tell her about Regina’s adoption.

Kiara stood to join her and dismissed the knight with a few soft words thanking him for passing the message. She glanced at Janis with a speculative look. Janis just turned and started walking.

Clearly, the first real meeting of this summit hadn’t started yet, but it wasn’t far off and Regina wanted to talk to Kiara beforehand. Janis slipped into place at her friend’s side. They were meeting in the main hall of the largest house in the town, which she knew was still barely big enough to house all this. The drones had put up some wooden scaffolding and created a sort of annex to the building. They had also brought decorations and minor things like goblets and cutlery to play host, more expensive ones than what they usually used. Regina might be more of a queen nowadays, but she still wasn’t one for pointless frippery. Janis knew very well her idea of luxury would be a VR headset, which they couldn’t exactly buy anywhere.

They exchanged quick greetings, then Regina got right to the point. “I assume you told your court what’s going to happen. How are they taking it?”

Kiara chuckled, then shook her head. “Maybe you really are family, Janis asked exactly the same question first thing. They are not happy, but I doubt they will attempt to revolt over the matter.”

Janis stayed quiet while the two of them talked at first, repeating what Kiara had already told her. Regina listened attentively, but she didn’t seem concerned. Janis might not have the Hive Queen’s psychic ability, but she had gotten to know her very well and she could usually read her pretty well. Regina didn’t try to hide her mood when she was with those she cared about, and they had both made that list, anyway. So, it wasn’t hard to see that she was excited, if also nervous. But not truly afraid or concerned. She was confident.

Janis breathed a little easier knowing that.

“How are you going to play this?” Kiara finally asked, setting down the glass she’d been drinking from and looking intently at her host. “You have not given me much detail so far.”

Regina replied, “It will depend on how things go, who shows and their attitudes. We’ll talk about the war and the peace first, there are a few things to settle that we need to build upon. It shouldn’t be too hard; I think everyone’s aware of the new status quo and primed to accept it, at least, even if they don’t like the way the war went.”

“But the others are mostly there as observers,” Janis put in. “It’s the Hive, Cernlia and Nerlia who are really concerned, and you’ve talked and made agreements with all of them.”

Regina’s lips twitched, probably at the thought of making separate agreements with everyone, even the Hive. That would obviously not be ‘a thing’; Regina was the Hive and the Hive answered to Regina in a way the human kingdoms couldn’t and wouldn’t follow. She didn’t have to discuss her decisions with anyone or appease any of her people regardless of what decision she made. She could announce her intention to conquer every country on the continent and declare war on them all and Ben would only debate how to use their forces and which to attack first. Not that Regina would do something that stupid — if nothing else, Janis would question her if power ever got to her head that much.

It wasn’t that easy for the other countries, like Cernlia, of course. Although Janis was sure one of their goals was to entrench the crown’s — Kiara’s — power and strengthen it internally.

"True. After that, once we have the lay of the land and have settled any outstanding issues related to the war and how it ended, we’ll talk about the future,” Regina continued. “I’ll outline the basics. Kiara and the Nerlian delegation will reveal that they have already bowed to me. I trust you’ll have no issue with that?”

“No, Your Majesty,” Kiara confirmed.

“Then, we will move on to discuss the details, most likely in a smaller gathering. I already have plans, of course, and I don’t want to move too far from them. But I do want to give everyone a chance to give input and air concerns. It’s possible we’ve still overlooked major issues.”

Kiara nodded. Janis propped her chin on her hand, looking at them thoughtfully. She was aware of most of Regina’s plans. So she thought, anyway. They were ambitious. Most likely, they would have to be implemented in stages. Though Kiara hadn’t been party to most of those discussions, Janis was confident she knew the rough outline and could probably guess a lot of them, anyway.

“Who’s going to represent Nerlia?” she asked. If that had come up before, she’d missed it.

“They’ll send a large delegation with important members of the nobility or court officials. Also at least one member of the royal family, perhaps several. It hadn’t been decided yet, last I heard. The king and queen will not be there, but I expect the current crown prince, at least.”

Kiara grimaced slightly, and Janis raised an eyebrow at her.

Regina gave her a look and sighed. “They’ll want to regain the marriage alliance they had with Cernlia,” she said bluntly.

Janis winced. Almost on its own, her hand twitched, seeking to twine with Kiara’s own. “They want to betroth a prince to you?” she asked.

“Or even to June, if not Kiara,” Regina confirmed. “They already dropped some hints. Probably more to you?”

“Yes.” Kiara shrugged slightly. “It’s not a bad move, politically, I assume … although there would be a bit of an age gap. Still, even beyond that, I admit I’m hesitant.”

“There would be risks,” Janis pointed out, keeping her voice steady. “Having a foreign husband, and all, and one with royal power and authority of his own.”

Kiara looked at her, and an unspoken exchange passed between them. Janis knew she could tell how little she liked the idea. Kiara didn’t seem enthused about it, either, and her look was reassuring.

“I won’t stop you if you think it’s best,” Regina said quietly. “But I would advise against it.”

Kiara jerked her head to face her. “You would?”

Regina shrugged and fiddled with her glass. “I’m not a great fan of the idea of arranged marriages in general, even if I know it’s common here. And even then, Janis is right about the risks. And I think having partners you can trust and rely on is more important than an army you might or might not get from in-laws. Although I can’t deny it is an effective measure to secure peace and alliances.” She looked up, meeting their gazes. “As your overlord, I’d prefer to keep yours and June’s hands available. As your friend, I don’t want you to be pushed into something you’ll regret.” And I don’t want you to have to lose her.

Kiara was quiet for a moment, then nodded. She smiled slowly. “I appreciate it. I’ll just have to put the Nerlians off politely. Hopefully, they’ll be too busy with everything else to focus on trying to court me, anyway.”

Janis snorted. “I think that won’t be a problem.”

The three of them shared another smile, before they got ready for the real start of the summit.