The formal dininghall glitters like a jewel box, walls refracting starlight into shifting prisms of silver and violet, and everything smells faintly of Arcus Flare that’s being generously poured into glasses carved from alien crystal all around me.
I sit between the Sovereigns. Jin Kol takes his place across from us, his cuffs gleaming as he accepts a toast. Around us, Imperials laugh, their grey faces painted with satisfaction. My mask is perfect. No one can see that I came to this table with wet thighs and guilt burning under my skin.
The food is delicate, plated to impress, but I can barely taste it. My eyes keep straying to the Sovereigns. Neither of them looks relaxed.
Then one of the Imperials—an admiral whose insignia gleams under the violet light—leans in and says, “So… the infamous Gael the Returner, caught at last.”
Jin Kol nods with the smug satisfaction of someone who thinks history itself has bent to his authority. “The IGC will handle his trial. The charges are treason, terrorism, and destabilization of the galactic order.”
My fork freezes halfway to my mouth. My mind screams,Have they traced him back to me?I force myself to lower the fork and set it neatly on my plate, as though nothing is wrong.
“They caught him because of a human signal,” Rae says to me from the other side of Lorian. “Maintenance-level access, the same encryption you use.”
My stomach cramps, and I look around to see if anyone is listening to us, but I can’t tell because all I see is the memory of that silver crest blinking on the console.
Lorian gets everyone’s attention by saying, “The galaxy does love a show trial. And Gael has a lot of enemies.”
Rafe only sips his wine, his control absolute. His hand brushes mine under the table. Just the briefest contact, but I know it’s deliberate. A warning? A reassurance? I don’t know which.
I smile politely at some joke I don’t hear. I drink the wine and let the burn steady me, but in my mind, I’m already planning. If they’ve caught Gael, I might be next. And if I’m next, everything I’ve done—masking Briar’s pregnancy, slipping information to Terra Ka—everything will be exposed and then what? I doubt I will be executed; that would be too kind in this world of high-tech medieval punishments.
The dinner ends in a haze of silver light and laughter. I keep my face emotionless until the last toast, until Jin Kol withdraws to his chambers, until the Sovereigns excuse themselves with the effortless grace of men who own the galaxy.
I breathe deeply only when I step into the corridor.
Gael the Returner has been caught.
The words echo inside me. Every step I take toward my quarters feels heavier.
The corridor is quiet—until it isn’t. The shadows move. Guards step out, armored in matte black, their visors glowing faintly crimson. TheUmbral Cohort. Lorian’s private predators. I freeze as they close around me in perfect formation.
“Come with us, Madame Eve,” one orders.
I don’t resist.I’m caught.This is the end. This is why the Sovereigns just left dinner, not asking me to join them.
The guards lead me through the maze of luxury, into the upper levels where only Sovereigns live. When the doors of the suite hiss open, I’m led inside.
“Dismissed,” Rafe tells the Cohort. They vanish without a sound, the doors sealing behind them.
Now it’s only the three of us.
I don’t move.
What are they going to do to me?
“Take off your dress,” Lorian commands.
I obey, hands shaking as I strip off the purple dress I had Lira help me make as part of my want-to-be-their-wife-fantasy collection. It wasn’t nearly as revealing as the black one, but necessary for Jin Kol to take me seriously.
Now naked, my skin prickles under their silver eyes.
Rafe steps closer, cupping my chin in his large hand. “You heard Gael the Returner has been caught, and I saw your face.” His thumb presses against my lower lip until it aches. “You’re afraid.”
Lorian moves behind me, his fingers sliding through my hair before wrapping it tight, pulling my head back. His lips graze my ear. “The threat is over. He’s been caught. He won’t be able to abduct you from us.”
I don’t know why, but I want to confess my sins to them. I want to tell them that I know what they wanted from me and that I’ve been feeding information to Terra Ka all this time, but not everything, and that I don’t regret it. I want to tell them I hate being their parody tosatisfy Jin Kol’s warped fantasies about humans. I want to tell them that I still want them despite, everything terrible they’ve done. That they are Devils, but I want them. But I say nothing, I just wait with anticipation to see what happens next.
What they are going to do to me?
