The Emperor was clearly enjoying keeping me in suspense. He was making a show of weighing up whether he wanted to tell me his mystery idea and I hated it that it was working. He was making me anxious, and I was desperate to know what was he was going to suggest.
“I don’t suppose Rin went in to much detail about what coming to the Arena with me is like?”
Of course, she hadn’t. I doubted there was any real way for her to know what to expect from time with the Emperor, and he was clearly asking me as part of his ridiculous show.
“No, Emperor. I was told how to behave and what to expect as the guest of one of her less esteemed patrons; she did not expect you to call for me again. I have heard Xena talk about…”
He waved his hand to silence me.
“Don’t pay any attention to what she had to sa
