Riva groaned enviously. "She walks so gracefully."

Her brother nodded. "Like something so delicate, it might easily break."

Dan stiffened as the next two Draconian guests entered the room. What is he doing here ?he thought. Turning to his father, Dan said, "That one, the older man, that's Yorinaga Kurita." The breasts and sleeves of Yorinaga's hakamawere decorated with the Genyoshatidal wave. "You see, father, there's the crest you couldn't identify."

Quintus Allard nodded slowly, his thick, white brows nearly touching at the center of his forehead. "Who do you suppose that is?" he said, gesturing with his chin toward the tall, blond man descending the steps with Yorinaga.

Dan shook his head. "Don't know, but I'll bet he's from Rasalhague. He's wearing the same crest, so he must be in Yorinaga's unit."

"Hmmm ... I wonder." Quintus scratched at the back of his neck. "I recall that Yorinaga had a son before he was disgraced."

Dan raised an eyebrow. "What happened to him?"

"Don't know, really. Yorinaga's wife killed herself. We've assumed the son did the same, but perhaps not." Quintus's gaze turned to follow the progress of Coordinator Takashi Kurita and his wife. "No Theodore Kurita, though. How interesting."

Riva turned toward her father. "How so?"

Quintus's face froze in an expression that Dan recognized immediately. It was the I can't talk about itlook, which puzzled Dan, because the answer to Riva's question was hardly classified information. He turned to his sister. "Everyone else here is parading their heirs. With Theodore stuck off somewhere with his 'Mech unit, well, it raises questions of relations between father and son."

Quintus nodded to confirm Dan's analysis, then turned his head quickly as Maximilian Liao became the next figure framed in the doorway. Dressed in formal black robes embroidered completely with Liao crests in shiny black silk thread, the tall, slender Capellan Chancellor showed something less than a festive air. A thin smile tightened the corners of his mouth as his dark eyes swept the crowd. With his left hand, he smoothed the long tails of his mustache.

In contrast to the Draconian Coordinator, Maximilian Liao turned and extended his hand to his wife. Almost as tall as her husband and strikingly beautiful, Elizabeth Jordan Liao gracefully accepted his arm. Her waist-length black hair tumbled over her right shoulder, half-obscuring her white silk robe. Dragons and tigers embroidered in black thread cavorted throughout the design, but the aggressive images could not rob Elizabeth Jordan Liao of her femininity or charm.

Emerging behind her father and her stepmother, Romano Liao assumed center stage with the air of a warrior conquering a planet. Blue silk trimmed her golden robe, yet her obvious uneasiness in wearing it seemed to dim its beauty. Beside her, dressed in a blue robe trimmed with gold silk, Tsen Shang escorted Romano with a smile of pleasure. The Maskirovka analyst led her down the steps, though the look on her face made it clear that she was not yet ready to relinquish the spotlight.

Dan's breath caught in his throat as Candace Liao and her escort stepped through the door. My God! It's Justin!Riva shot Dan a hard glance, and Tamara reached out for her husband's hand.

Unlike Maximilian or Romano, Candace had chosen to wear a clinging black gown decorated with sparkling black sequins instead of traditional Capellan garb. In a concession to current fashion, the right side of the gown was sleeveless, but a full sleeve covered her left arm, from the back of her band up beyond her scarred shoulder all the way to her throat. Starting at the shoulder, the sequin design swirled down the sleeve like ivy, while slender sequined tendrils spiraled from the same spot down across the rest of the dress.

His face a proud mask, Justin stood a half-step behind Candace, with all his attention focused on her. He wore a black waist-length coat and sharply creased black trousers that accentuated his lean build. No design or insignia decorated his jacket. As though to mirror the way Candace's sleeve half-concealed her left hand, Justin wore a black leather glove over his.

Turning her head toward Justin, Candace lifted her left hand. Justin reached for her with his right, then guided her down the stairs. Though Colonel Pavel Ridzik, the tall, red-haired Strategic Military Director for the whole of the Capellan Confederation, was next to stride through the door—discreetly followed by a uniformed Alexi Malenkov—no one in the room noticed.

Dan turned to his father, whose face was ashen. "I have to talk to Justin," he said.

"No, Dan. Don't do it. Please."

"How can you tell me that? He's my brother, dammit, and I've not seen him in years." Dan glanced down, remembering a holovid he'd seen of Justin's battles on Solaris. "At least, not in person."

Quintus's eyes hardened. "He's changed, Dan. He's no longer the Justin we knew."

Dan's head came up with a snap, and his voice had a similar sharp edge. "I'll see that for myself." He turned to his sister. "Coming, Riva?"

Riva frowned. "Thanks, but I'm here to have fun."

Shaking his head in disbelief, Dan said, "You're wrong about him."

Tamara reached out and squeezed Dan's arm. "We're not wrong, Daniel." She swallowed hard to choke back tears. "We still love him, and that's what hurts so much."

Dan turned abruptly and began to move through the crowd. No one could change that much. I know the trial was hard on him, and I know the holovid companies played up Justin's hatred for the Federated Suns fighters. But a man is what he is and nothing could have changed Justin that much.He remembered Jeana and what she had said to him back on Tharkad. The Justin he had grown up with was still there somewhere.

"Justin! Justin, wait!" His brother stopped, and Dan grinned in anticipation of their reunion. The smile died on his face when Justin slowly turned toward him.

His brother's voice was as cold and lifeless as the expression on his face. "Good evening, Captain."

Bile burned as it rose to Dan's throat. "Captain? Justin, I'm your brother. . ."

Justin stiffened, but Candace Liao's intervention prevented any reply. Smiling cordially, she bowed her head toward Dan, then turned to Justin. "Citizen Xiang, you have not introduced me to this handsome gentleman."

"Forgive me, Duchess," he said, with the merest hint of a smile. "Captain Daniel Allard, this is Candace Liao, Duchess of St. Ives." Turning to Candace, he added, "And, Duchess, this is the son of the man who was my father."

Dan was stunned by the coldness and hatred in Justin's voice, but he took Candace's right hand politely and pressed it to his lips. "Meeting you is a great pleasure, Duchess." Dan indicated Justin with a nod of his head. "At one time, he would have introduced me as his brother."

Justin's head came up sharply. "Half-brother, but not even that anymore. Hanse Davion said Quintus Allard no longer had a son. By imperial decree, he wiped away everything I had ever been. I lost a father, a brother, a family, a whole life."

Dan stiffened at the venom in his brother's voice. "Justin, wait." Dan fought to control his breathing while his heart raced out of control. "What happened between you and Hanse Davion doesn't change things between us. We're still brothers."

Justin shook his head slowly. "That's impossible. Our relationship belongs to a system and a society now closed to me. This isn't a game, Captain. No one is going to yell, 'Ollie, Ollie outs in free' to end it. All the confidences we shared, the secret clubs we formed, and the cyphers we created are no more. It's all gone. All of it." He stepped closer to Dan, and looked him squarely in the eyes. "Justin Allard died a year and a half ago!"