Page 27 of Queens Will Play

I turned to the nearest one. “Tell my advisors they can talk to me in the morning,” I said, powering into the Barrow. I headed for my private chambers before they could say a word. Trillian gave them a warning look, then followed me as I headed for the bedroom.

I stripped out of my clothes, dumping them on the chaise in my bedroom. Smoky and Morio were sound asleep, and—not bothering with a nightgown, I climbed into bed, Trillian following me. Surrounded by the men who ruled my heart, I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Morning came and I held a brief court. I was still deciding how to best inform my advisors that I was bringing in a judge. Bran was also due to visit this morning and that was something I wasn’t looking forward to.

I dressed to be heard: black skirt, silver corset, black stiletto lace-up boots with four-inch heels, my crown, and of course, the Keraastar Diamond around my neck. I slid on silver bangle bracelets and my black velvet cloak. As I strode into court, I felt different. I felt focused. With the waking of Desanguas, the days suddenly held meaning rather than being one blur after another. The Moon Mother had shown me that we had work to do, events to plan for.

I strode through the lines of people, thinking I really did need to farm out the small problems. If Desanguas was even half as bad as Shadow Wing, we were facing a potential catastrophe. And that he could build his own army by turning people into demons promised a particularly nasty complication.

As I took the throne, everyone knelt or bowed. I waited for a moment before taking a seat. “I’m only hearing the most important of cases,” I told my assistant, Althia. She picked out the cases to be heard, and I wasn’t taking on anything that didn’t matter.

She nodded, glancing through her clipboard. Motioning to her assistant, she handed him a slip of paper. He motioned to the guards and whispered something to them. They headed out of the room.

Althia turned to me. “Your Majesty, can we clear the Court? We have a case with a sensitive nature. It involves one of the nobility.”

I frowned. “Why do you want the court cleared?” If a member of the nobility was up to something, I wasn’t about to cloak it in secrecy.

“May I approach the throne?” she asked.

I nodded, motioning her to my side. “What’s going on?” I asked in a low voice.

She cleared her throat. “It’s Lord Raphien, Your Majesty.”

Lord Raphien was from one of the older families and they were well-respected. He was young—the equivalent of thirty in human years. And he was the black sheep of the family. He’d been in trouble so many times that I’d lost count, even in the two years of my reign. And that was only the tip of the iceberg. He’d racked up charges of theft and assault so many times that you could light a bonfire with the paper in his file.

“What’s he done this time?” I asked.

“He raped one of his servant girls and beat her until she ended up in the hospital. Best if the general population doesn’t know about it,” she said.

I stared at Althia. “What did you say?”

She froze. When she spoke again, tension infused every word. “I thought it best the general populace doesn’t get wind of this indiscretion. Of course, he has to receive some punishment, but his family’s the most powerful among the nobility and⁠—”

“Indiscretion? Is that what you call rape now? An indiscretion? You expect me to go easy on him and keep his name out of the spotlight because his father’s on the advisory board?” I held her gaze, wondering what the hell she was thinking. “Get him out here, now, along with the counsel.”

As the opposing members of the counsel appeared, along with Raphien, in shackles, I straightened my shoulders and put on my most aloof expression. It wasn’t hard. They took their places in front of me, as members of my guard quickly brought over chairs and tables for each side. Usually, cases like this among the nobility were sequestered for private adjudication rather than being attended to in the smaller courts, but apparently the defense had tried to get this shunted through as a minor case.

“Counsels, approach the throne,” I said.

Both defender and prosecutor stepped to the bottom of my throne. I leaned forward, resting my arms on my knees. “All right, why didn’t you set this case for a time of its own? This is a serious matter and you’re running it through like it’s some minor scrap.”

“Your Majesty, our client has agreed to a plea deal. We are agreeing to probation and community service offered by the prosecutor, given it’s a crime of inconvenience,” the man said. He glanced at Raphien, who shrugged and looked away.

And that was all it took.

“A crime of inconvenience? Absolutely not,” I said. “Are you saying your client pleads guilty?” I turned to the defense counsel. “Answer me.”

Now stuttering, the defense counsel nodded. “Yes, he did.”

The haughty son of a noble glared at me. “Wait, what…”

“Shut up,” I said. “You speak when spoken to.” I turned to the prosecuting counsel. “And what about the girl he raped? What compensation does she get for a crime she’ll never be able to forget?” I wasn’t even near the height of my anger.

The prosecutor remained silent, as did the defense.

The asshole in question gave me a blatant look of disdain. “My father will have something to say about how you’re addressing me⁠—”