Murmurs rippled through the nobles as heads turned and curious glances were exchanged. Martainn and his mother also exchanged confused looks.
Interesting. So, this wasn’t part of the royal wedding plans.
I straightened, my muscles tense as I waited for Paige to reveal all.
Paige didn’t falter. She didn’t hesitate. She met the eyes of the assembled nobles in a wide pass, her expression calm and unyielding.
“This is not a wedding,” she said, her voice steady. “It is a reckoning.”
The room exploded into verbal chaos.
Paige’s voice carried to the very back of the room and I realized the castle’s intelligence system was assisting, amplifying her voice, making sure every single person heard every single word. That no one could interrupt her.
“Our friends from the Coalition Fleet will be joining us now.” She squeezed her wrist before raising her arm to reveal a gold bracelet. It was flashing with bright green light–the color of transport system lights. I saw them every day at Alpha Station. The same color that flashed on our control panels. Coalition Fleet communication lights.
What the fuck was going on?
As if summoned by magic, dozens of Coalition Fleet fighters, most large Prillon warriors—and one really pissed off Atlan in beast mode—appeared out of thin air all around the perimeter of the large ceremonial chamber. They were dressed in full battle armor—black and gray camouflage space suits—and heavily armed. Commander Zeus moved to stand just off to Paige’s side with a feral look on his face. He was more than happy to be here. He was…hunting.
Somehow, Paige had summoned them all. With her bracelet? Had she conspired with Commander Zeus? How? I had not seen nor spoken to her in over two days. How had she managed to pull this off? Why had Zeus not notified me? I found him and willed him to meet my gaze. He did so with a knowing grin. He knew all right. He knew what she was to me.
I’d kick his smirking Prillon ass later.
Paige’s calm voice rang out over the agitated and confused guests like a clarion call, clear and distinct as a ringing bell. “As I call out the names of the traitors who conspired against, and murdered, my mother–Queen Madallaine Edelene Peigi–and murdered my father, Ambassador Lorient, and tried to kill me when I was an infant, please stand and be recognized. Some of you have been involved in smuggling and selling illegal Hive tech with the Silver Scions. Some of you have profited from breaking other Interstellar laws involving the drug trade, selling slaves, or stealing from the people. Whether you betrayed my family, or the Interstellar Coalition of Planets, you will now be taken into custody by the Coalition Fleet to face justice. Should you be set free from the Coalition Fleet’s prison, you will be returned to Insuri to face judgment, and punishment, for treason to the crown.”
Fuck. Me.
My little Paige had some claws. Teeth.
And fifty Prillon warriors who looked ready to haul every single traitor from the room and beat them into submission.
Trust me, she said.
Fuck. This was incredible.
Paige raised her chin as the first name rang out. “House Arrant.” Her tone was sharp as a blade. Play time was over.
Gasps filled the chamber as a Coalition warrior stepped forward, his gleaming armor catching the light. The Arrants—middle-aged nobles dressed in their finest—slowly andwarily rose to their feet. The husband stammered something incoherent, his wife clinging to his arm, both of them pale as ghosts.
The warrior didn’t care. He motioned, and two more soldiers surrounded them, escorting them toward the exit. The condemned couple didn’t say anything, didn’t shout that they were innocent. That Paige was wrong, and they’d loved the former queen.
They did none of that.
The whispers grew louder. People shifted uncomfortably in their seats, their gazes darting between Paige and the soldiers, as if they were to be plucked up next.
“House Fenral,” Paige continued, her voice cutting through the noise.
This time, the reaction was louder. The Fenrals were younger, bolder. This time, the wife shouted her protests, but it didn’t matter. Coalition warriors appeared at their side, moving with precision. The murmurs in the room turned to frantic whispers.
I barely heard them.
My focus was on Paige. On the calm determination etched into her features. She intended to out every single enemy to her family and have them arrested. Not by Insuri guards, where there might be enemies within who would be complicit, but Coalition fighters.
Coalition fighters. She’d spoken to Zeus. She must have.
She called the next name, and the next, each one like a death knell to the assembled nobles. Every time a Coalition warrior stepped forward, I saw the crowd grow more restless. Shifting in their seats. Glancing toward the exits.
Young Lord Reijoni bolted from his seat and sprinted toward one of the doors.
