The prince laughed. “You’ll have it, but I promise you, it will be very short.”
I cocked my head to the side. “What is my crime?”
Prince Aureli finally looked me in the eye. “Isn’t it obvious? You’re guilty of treason. Surely, you didn’t expect to get away with everything you’ve done and not receive a single reprimand for your transgressions?”
I could see how my actions looked treacherous from an outside perspective, but I knew the truth, and I knew how little it would matter. I felt my shoulders sag slightly. “Perhaps not, but I had hoped somebody would see that all I did, I did out of loyalty to my Commonwealth and Queen.”
“If you were truly loyal, then you would not have joined the enemy,” Prince Aureli declared.
“I didn’t join the Empire. I was appointed the Emperor’s Consort. I didn’t exactly have a choice in the matter,” I snapped.
“You could have refused. You should have refused. Royal Commonwealth citizens are forbidden from holding noble titles in foreign nations,” Prince Aureli said, as dry as though he were reciting from a law book.
I snorted. “That’s rich, coming from you. You hold noble titles in half the League states.”
“That’s different,” the prince said with the air of an automatic defense. “I have royal dispensation for those honorifics.”
I felt a nasty smirk crawl onto my lips, a smirk which didn’t reach my eyes. “I see, so if you’re rich and influential enough, the laws simply don’t apply to you? No wonder we’re being consumed by the Federation. It seems we’re no different from them anyways.”
Boleslaw looked shocked. Prince Aureli looked furious. I would not have been surprised if he slapped me. “How dare you compare me to those traitorous harpies?”
“Why not?” my mouth barked before my brain could generate a response. “You used me when I was useful, then abused me the moment I was not. You’re a poor excuse for a Commonwealth officer, and I’m ashamed to call you my prince.”
“Sergeant,” the prince snarled, “remove this scum from my sight.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” the sergeant replied, then tugged on my binders.
“A moment, please,” Colonel Boleslaw said, making a placating gesture to ward off the prince’s glare. Then she rushed over, close enough that her whispered words would only be heard by me. “We’ve had trouble locating your hoversteed.”
“Tilly? What’s happened to her?” I asked, alarmed.
“We’re not sure. Her stable is empty,” Boleslaw admitted.
“Did someone take her?”
“There’s no sign of forced entry, nor any struggle. Knowing your steed, I can’t imagine she wouldn’t put up a fight against anyone wishing her harm. Someone let her out, someone who knew the combination and held her trust,” Boleslaw said.
I shrugged. “What do you think I can do? I’ve been locked in the brig since the coup, with no contact to the outside world. I didn’t release her. I don’t know who did, but even if I knew, I doubt I’d be inclined to tell you now.”
Boleslaw glowered. “Come now, be reasonable. Such reticence won’t look good at your court-martial.”
“Nothing will look good at my court-martial. I only hope the reason for my hanging will be public knowledge, and not swept away as though nothing happened.”
I walked away from the colonel without permission. Not that I needed her to dismiss me, not anymore, now that I was a prisoner and not an officer. The sergeant took a moment to realize I was walking before he caught up and assumed his position in front of me. A quartet of Commonwealth guards, wearing dirks and broadswords but no lancers, fell in around us, and we marched away from the hall.
A NEED FOR SPEED
THE SOLDIERS DIDN’Tlet me pack. They didn’t let me see my rooms, or say goodbye to Wiktor, who had proven so loyal and capable this past fortnight. They marched me straight to the portal hall where I had first stepped foot on this planet. One ring was active, gently humming with the energy required to tear dimensions asunder and rearrange them in an impossible configuration so I might step from one world to another in an instant. I could see through the portal to my destination. The Commonwealth homeworld, though I did not call it home: my home was occupied by Imperial forces, and had been for ten years.
It was dark there, nighttime. The image was distorted by dimensional warping, but I could tell I was to be delivered to an outdoor pavilion. Blurry figures in formal green uniforms stood on the other side, waiting to receive me. I approached the portal with dread.
Then, I heard a low warble, so low most people wouldn’t notice it, but I did. It was a sound Tilly and I had practicedback on Kakoda, for her to let me know she was near without giving away her position.
Without making any sudden movements, I scanned the hall. It was tall, with two rows of gemstone pillars and vaulted ceilings. There were very few places to hide, but Tilly had found one. As we reached the alcove where the Royal Commonwealth portal was situated, I looked up.
Clinging to the ceiling, obscured behind a hanging buttress of smokey quartz, was my hoversteed, clamped upside down like a giant bug, waiting for me.
I smiled. “Clever girl.”
