designed by Sagan and intended for his purchase, could theoretically destroy the entire universe. Maigrey buys it by selling her soul, in the form of her starjewel, only to realize that said jewel is the bomb's arming key. Meanwhile, Dion, Tusk and Nola travel to Laskar as well, called by a distress call ostensibly from Maigrey, but actually sent by Abdiel, leader and only remaining member of the Order of the Black Lightning. These mind-seizers, as they are informally called, use their Blood Royal telepathy and nanobiotic machines to take control of their followers' minds. Finally, Sagan arrives as well, having learned that Dion is now in the grip of the most manipulative man alive. The action culminates in a weapons exhibition at Ohme's, where Maigrey retrieves her starjewel, Dion publicly declares himself king and Sagan swears his fealty to him, Dion attempts to kill Sagan on Abdiel's advice, and Sagan is forced to cede the bomb to his new king. Abdiel, for his part, escapes. King's Sacrifice This novel is set six months after the previous one. There is no sign of Abdiel—except in the reflection of a water glass standing on the desk of Galactic President Peter Robes. It seems that Abdiel was actually the man who orchestrated the Revolution. Dion is now a public celebrity, but has not managed to take any concrete steps towards establishing his rule. Sagan returns home to the monastery of the Order of Adamant, where he was born (his father had only one lapse in his life, but it clearly bore fruit), as Sagan the Elder lies on his death bed. It turns out to be a trap orchestrated by Abdiel, however. Abdiel takes Sagan to the Corasian galaxy, where he plans on—and will succeed at—prying the secrets of the space-rotation bomb from Sagan's head and selling them to the Corasians. Maigrey organizes a rescue mission, while Dion sojourns on the home planet of one of his staunchest supporters, Bear Olefsky, a trip that doubles as Nola's and Tusk's honeymoon. There he meets Kamil Olefsky, Bear's daughter, and they fall in love. Shortly thereafter, however, he is forced to pledge his hand to the daughter of one of his other allies so that Maigrey's rescue attempt will succeed. Maigrey collects her supporters, including Brother Daniel, a member of Sagan's order, and Xris and his Mag Force 7 team. With Dion's eventual backup,