I rise from the High Table again. The hall falls silent, again. Lorian doesn’t move, though I feel his eyes on me.He enjoyed every second of watching her being punished. Of course he did, like some kind of sick love letter between them.
“The Eclipse Kiss is not hers alone to bear. It takes two to commit blasphemy.”
Murmurs ripple through the tiers. Even the Cohort shift in their armor. No one expected me to say it. No one expects a Sovereign to stand accused, but Lorian has gone too far this time.
I turn to my twin. “Stand, Lorian.”
He does, slowly, and then bows with a flourish. “At your command, Brother.”
The hall waits, breathless. I let them feel the tension crackle in the air. Then I gesture to the guards. “Remove him.”
The Cohort descends, black armor gleaming, visors lit with crimson. For a second, I think Lorian might resist. But he lifts his hands and allows himself to be seized, smiling as if he wants to be publicly punished for what he did with Eve. As if the publicity of it will bring them closer together.
“You will not be punished before our staff. Not because you are innocent, but because you are a Sovereign.”
I look to the Cohort commander. “Take him to the shrine. He will submit to me, as his equal, and the goddesses.”
And then, deliberately, I point at Eve. Lira pokes her andher head jerks up, her tear-streaked face pale with shock. “Bring her too. She will witness the cost of the Sovereign's sin.”
Lorian’s laughter still echoes as the guards escort him and Eve from the hall. The silence that follows is absolute. Every staff member stares at me, waiting.
“This dinner is concluded. Tomorrow the Grand Championships begin, and every eye in the galaxy will be on this hotel. There will be no more of this disorder. No more fights. No more defilements. Anyone who breaks protocol from this moment forward will answer with doubled punishments—no, tripled. The goddesses demand devotion, and so do I.”
A ripple of whispers moves through the lower tiers, quickly smothered when I lift my hand.
“Do not test Tribune Jin Kol. He will shut the Championships down faster than any of you can beg for mercy. And if he does, you will lose more than just your standing here. You will lose your place in the galaxy. I will make sure none of you find work again if we fail now.”
I pause, sweeping my gaze across the hall. Heads bow, eyes drop. A few tremble visibly.Good.
“Remember that no one is above the rules. Not staff. Not guests. Not even Sovereigns.”
The staff’s silence thickens into obedience, and I’m content that the hierarchy at the Spire has been restored.
“Dismissed.”
Chairs scrape back at once, and the staff scatter in hurried silence, heads bowed low, no one daring to speak until they are safely out of the hall.
I take a deep breath and make my own way down to the shrine where Lorian and Eve wait for me.
The shrine doors part without a sound. Twelve pedestals ring the chamber, each holding the glowing form of a goddess. The scent of incense coils like smoke, heavy with judgment.
The Cohort moves Lorian forward. He doesn’t resist. He shrugs off his jacket and shirt, baring the hard lines of his chest, the scars of his indulgences already etched into his grey skin. He spreads his arms as though presenting himself to the goddesses.
“Bind him,” I order.
“No need for that, Rafe. I freely commit myself to this punishment.”
I nod to the Cohort to obey me. As they strap his wrists to the iron frame at the center of the shrine, I say, “It’s not for you. It’s for me. I want to see you tied down and punished as much as possible, for what good it will do.”
Eve is placed on the floor beside me, still naked and trembling from her own punishment. Her brown eyes are fixed on Lorian.
“This act was forbidden,” I say. “You brought shame to this hotel, the Ascendant Alliance, on us. On me and on her.” My hand points toward Eve, who flinches but doesn’t look away. “So you will pay before the goddesses.”
“Then let them take their due.”
The Cohort commander steps forward, plasma rod in hand. At my nod, the first strike arcs across Lorian’s back. It sounds like thunder in the chamber.
His body jerks, but instead of pain, a laugh bursts from him.
