“I will go,” Bran said in a low voice so as not to be heard by anyone other than Pako or Gil.
“They’re likely to order your immediate execution,” Gil pointed out.
“Then you will avenge my death and lead the rebellion,” Bran said.I fully expect treachery by the council. They have no honor.
“I know the Guard Supreme’s commander,” the Omari Prime murmured. “I’ll contact him.”
“What leverage do you have over him?” Gil asked, sotto voce.
“He owes me a favor.”
Gil nodded. The details were not important.
“I will go with you,” Bran called out. A hush fell over the crowd. “As everyone sees, I go peacefully!”
“Aggression will be met with death!” Yiis yelled.
Pako then shouted, “Brannal cen’Vyr will join us tomorrow at dawn at the High Temple of the Suns—unharmed—accompanied by the Council Supreme, or there will be blood!”
The crowd erupted in cheers and shouts as Bran descended the steps to join the guards in the street. He met the commanding officer with a curt nod and did not challenge the guards who surrounded him. The officer ordered the guards to march forward, and the crowd parted to allow them to pass.
Gil looked at Pako, his expression worried. “This won’t go well.”
“Probably not,” Pako agreed, his own expression grim. “At the very least, they’ll torture him.”
They turned to walk back inside the building.
“As long as they do not kill him, they will claim to have not harmed him,” Gil said.
“They’d better take more care than not killing him,” Pako said. “Amputation, castration—anything that permanently alters him will be considered harm, and I will ensure every member of the Council Supreme dies for it.”
Yiis nodded. “What they should understand is that Bran’s death will definitely mean outright revolt and sanction their own executions.”
Gil sighed. “Let’s hope they’re not that stupid.”
Pako snorted, expressing his doubt. “I have to contact the Guard Supreme’s commander and remind him of his debt of honor to me. Gil, you and Yiis deal with the rest of our council-to-be. There’s not a warrior among them, and they’ll need reassurance.”
Gil nodded. “They are not warriors, but several of them are wickedly smart. We’d do ourselves a disservice to underestimate them.”
“Intelligence combined with cowardice does not impress me,” Pako muttered before turning down the hallway toward the room he shared with Yiis.
Gil and Yiis stopped walking to turn around and extend their arms to prevent their co-conspirators from following him. “Leaders, let us meet and discuss our next steps.”
The group of sixteen males, eight dyads representing the diverse castes of Urib society except for the warrior caste, followed Yiis and Gil to a large conference room where they began to hammer out a list of demands to present to the currently reigningCouncil Supreme and a list of concessions they were willing to make for the sake of compromise and progress.
Although everyone hoped for a peaceful regime change, only the two warrior triads did not fear the outburst of violent rebellion.
Revolution was due.
And blood would flow.
Chapter 28
As the days passed, Ursula maintained her frosty, resentful silence, only speaking to Zul whenever necessary. She’d realized the futility of trying to badger information from the castrati and the berserker.
Outwardly, Zul’s stoic demeanor did not waver, but he felt like raging. He sensed her enduring anger through their bond, and she remained cold to any romantic overtures. Touching her when she obviously resented his touch made his hearts and gut clench, and he dared not attempt to tease or persuade her. In short, he found himself at an impasse.
Having only recently known the joy and fulfillment of being mated, the denial of her affection left him feeling frozen and, dared he admit it, angry as well. What right did she have to deny him? However, she never once told him no or demanded he not touch her. Instead, she ignored his touch even as she pretended to ignore his words. True, he could have forced her to submit, but, if he gave into that impulse, Zul knew such forced intimacy would turn whatever affection she had for him to fear and hatred—and that he could not endure.
