"No." My voice was barely a whisper. "No, please."
"Then abdicate."
I looked at Cullen. His head hung forward, blood dripping from where he'd bitten through his lip. But even now, even through the haze of pain, I felt his presence in our bond. Felt him trying to reach me.
Don't. Don't give in. Not for me.
But how could I not?
He was my true mate. The other half of my soul. Watching him suffer,feelinghim suffer through our connection, was worse than any torture Riuondo could inflict on me directly.
"I need time," I said. "To think."
Riuondo's smile returned. "No, you don't."
He activated the stimulator again.
This time, Cullen's scream was immediate. Louder. More desperate.
Level four.
The echo of his agony hit me like a physical blow.
"Stop!" I was screaming now, all pretense of composure gone. "Stop, please, I'll do it! I'll abdicate!"
But Riuondo didn't stop. He let it continue for another ten seconds—an eternity—before finally deactivating the device.
Cullen collapsed. His breathing was ragged, his body shaking uncontrollably. Blood ran from his nose, and his eyes had rolled back in his head.
"Cullen!" I strained against the restraints, desperate to reach him. "Cullen, please—"
His eyes focused slowly. Found mine. I felt his love. His forgiveness. His understanding.
He didn't blame me for what I was about to do.
"Will you abdicate?" Riuondo asked.
I looked at him. At this man who had murdered his way through the Prime candidates. Who had orchestrated a century of violence and manipulation. Who now held my mate's life in his hands.
I thought about duty. About the Alliance. About everything I'd sacrificed to become Prime.
Then I thought about Cullen's screams. About the way his body had convulsed in agony. About the echo of the echo of his pain still reverberating along our connection.
There was no choice.
There had never been a choice.
"Yes," I whispered. "I'll abdicate."
Riuondo's smile was triumphant. "Say it clearly. For the record."
I lifted my head, meeting his gaze with what little dignity I had left. "I will abdicate as Prime of the Alliance. Just... please. No more."
"There." Riuondo deactivated the neural stimulator completely, and it retracted back into the ceiling. "That wasn't so difficult, was it?"
He moved to the control panel and began entering commands. "We'll arrange a formal call with the Alliance Council. You'll make your announcement. You'll be very convincing—you'll tell them about your true mate, about your desire for a life free from duty. They'll believe you because they'll want to believe you. Because the alternative is too destabilizing to accept."
He turned back to us, his expression cold. "And then, once the power has transferred, once I am officially Prime... well. Accidents happen. Tragic, really. The former Prime and her human lover, lost in a shuttle malfunction. The Alliance will mourn. And I will lead."
