by Aileen Erin
“You better help me out in there,” I whispered to Roan.
“Don’t I always?”
He really did. Except what happened today? “An hour late? Come on.”
“In my defense, this was a last-minute meeting. They only scheduled it five minutes before we started streaming, and I was so busy answering questions and keeping track of the feed that I didn’t see the alert pop up. We had two hours of padding in your schedule before your first meeting of the day. Plenty of time to finish up the last three questions, shower, and be on time.”
Right. Okay. That made so much more sense. “It couldn’t have been helped then.” I wanted to be angry at him, but I couldn’t. This wasn’t his fault. “I’m sorry. I—”
“No. Don’t apologize. I’m sorry I didn’t see the alert.”
“Not your fault.” Scheduling a meeting with this many people with next to no notice? That wasn’t okay. Someone should’ve come in person to tell us. “So, tell me the truth.”
“Babe.” He only said one word, but it was enough for me to know that he thought I was being ridiculous because we always told each other the truth.
“Do I look ridiculous right now?”
He let out a soft laugh. “Honestly, if you weren’t you, I’d say that you look hot, but babe, it’s not your style at all. I know you’re uncomfortable with that much skin showing.”
I looked down at myself as we followed behind Fynea. “That’s what I thought.” Perfect. Just fantastic. I didn’t need anything else making me feel out of place in these meetings. They were always a nightmare, and if today’s was an emergency, then I knew something bad was happening.
Ice it all. If they wanted a queen that always looked perfect and proper, then they were going to be disappointed. All they had was me, and I couldn’t be anything other than what I was. I’d done too much pretending in my life. I didn’t have it in me anymore.
I’d survived. Now I was ready to fight back. I just hoped I didn’t disappoint Lorne because that would kill me.
I glanced down and saw that my shirt was a little short. My belly button was exposed, and that wasn’t okay. Freaking Almya cut off too much fabric. I tugged on it, trying to get it to lower a little.
Roan gripped my wrist, stopping me from messing with my top. “I’m pretty sure that if you keep tugging on it like that, the whole shirt’s going to fall off, and I don’t need to be scarred like that. Some shit you just can’t unsee.”
I shoved him.
“Joking.” He held up his hands in surrender. “You look great. You’re going to do fine. You’ve been in so many worse situations than some stupid meeting. And if they don’t like you, who cares?”
“Right.” But I had a feeling he was dead wrong.
Fynea stopped in front of guarded doors. The guards bowed to me quickly before parting.
“Take a breath,” Fynea said.
I nodded, sucking one in and letting it out slowly, evenly, and unmeasured. I wasn’t out of control. I didn’t need the controlled Aunare breath.
At least not yet.
“You’re our future High Queen,” she said it without any doubt or regret. There was only pride and faith in her voice. It weighed so, so heavy on my shoulders, making it hard for me to keep my balance.
“You’re our future. That Council? They’re bad for us. We need you to go in there and fight for us.” She swung the door open, and I knew that’s what I’d do.
I’d fight for them. Even when they screamed at me. Even when they belittled me. Even when they hated me for it. Because I wasn’t fighting for the High Council. I was fighting for the Aunare, who were only just learning how to stand up against injustice.
I was fighting for the Earthers, who were struggling to survive without hope for a future.
I was fighting for myself because no matter what other reasons there were in the universe, this fight against SpaceTech would always be personal for me. If it hadn’t been personal from the years of fighting and patrolling and trying to keep our neighborhood safe despite all of SpaceTech’s corruption, then it became personal the second Jason Murtagh laid a hand on me in that diner. And it wasn’t just me who felt connected to this war. This fight was personal for so many billions of people all over the universe.
SpaceTech was evil. From the big company decisions to the individual attacks it made. Their evil would rot the galaxy if we let it.
I held my head high, feeling the slight weight of the firedrake against my forehead, and I walked through the doors pretending I was fit for the job I’d agreed to fill.
Because this was war, and I—Amihanna, the almost-High Queen—was here to fight.
Chapter Three
LORNE
I wanted to pace back and forth across the room as the meeting continued to spiral into chaos, but I forced myself to stay still, standing off to the side of the High Council table with all of my thoughts and emotions hidden under a guise of serious contemplation. No one was paying attention to me anyway. The Council members were too busy arguing over each other in a show of falsely appointed power.
I was in charge. Beyond anything else, that was essential for me to remember. I was the High King and in charge of whatever the Aunare did next, but I wanted Amihanna here. I wanted to make the next call with her.
Every beat of my heart seemed to urge me into declaring war, but I hadn’t gotten our allies to agree to back us yet. No matter how many meetings I had or how many favors I called in, nothing was working.
Three of the six other kings and queens of the Aunare—those who ruled the colonies—called this meeting because of their concerns with SpaceTech’s looming presence in the outskirts of their territories. They were questioning why I had yet to declare war, and I agreed. That was the problem. That was why I couldn’t speak and why I needed Amihanna here. I completely agreed.
I wanted to declare war, start fighting, and be done with it. They were asking why I hadn’t, and the High Council was providing them with all the reasons why we shouldn’t.
I didn’t care about any of those reasons. None of them mattered.
The only reason I was hesitating was because I didn’t want to face our allies and also SpaceTech in war. I truly believed that would be reckless, but there would come a time when that wouldn’t matter anymore.
And still, I hesitated.
We could win against SpaceTech. It wouldn’t come without cost—a cost of lives, which would be difficult, but their sacrifices would be worth it. We would make each one worth it.
If we went up against SpaceTech and our allies, the cost would go up to an impossible number, with the additional risk of losing.
We couldn’t lose. That wasn’t a risk I was willing to take. I’d lost hope that our allies would join the fight. That was gone. They’d made that clear numerous times, so I switched tactics with them. Now, all I needed was for the allies to agree to stay out of it. Once I had that, I would declare war and we would end this.
But I didn’t have that yet.
I wasn’t ready to give up on that hope. Not yet. Not now.
Soon, there would come a time when I no longer cared about our allies and their actions, but I was attempting to be a good ruler and make smart choices for my people.
Was delaying a mistake? Possibly, but acting rashly could also be a mistake. Only time would tell if I chose wisely or not.
Even if they couldn’t sway my decisions, the Council was finding ways to waste my time.
The High Council room wasn’t especially large. It fit all twenty-five council members at a round table in the center of the room. The middle of the table was hollow, allowing for information or maps or anything else that was the central focus of the meeting to be holo-projected inside it. A few of the dark leather arm chairs were empty today, but held a holo-stream of the person who usually sat there.
Three of the walls in the room were massive vidscreens used for people not on the High Council to call in. Today, one of the walls was broken into three st
rips, one for each of the three Aunare kings and queen present today. They ruled on the Aunare colonies, but all were subject to the laws and rulings I made.
Assistants and security sat in chairs along the edge of the far wall—the only non-vidscreen wall. I kept glancing back to it because that’s where the only entrance and exit to the room was.
Amihanna would be coming through that door any moment now, and I wished she’d hurry up.
The other kings and queen had finished making their case thirty minutes ago, and that’s when the High Council began their arguing.
I was tired of them. I wanted them gone, but I’d been waiting for Amihanna to fire them. Not because I didn’t want to do it, but because I thought it would be a good first political move. I’d given hints here and there that we didn’t need them, but maybe I should be more clear.
I wanted her first act as a political leader to be something she initiated herself without influence from me, but maybe the hints were too forceful. This was new to her, and now I was questioning if her father was right about letting her figure it out herself. Amihanna needed guidance, and I wasn’t about to let her flounder.
But as I listened to them rage on, I decided I was finally and totally done with this council. If she didn’t fire them today, then tonight we’d talk about the High Council and why I thought she needed to get rid of them. Why it was important that it was her first move.
One more second of listening to them argue and I might just kill the lot of them. At least with Amihanna here, I had some measure of control.
I heard the soft whoosh of the door opening because I’d been listening for it.
I turned slowly to her, and only the fact that I was here with all these people kept me from laughing. Not at her, but because I knew she was completely uncomfortable in her clothes. She looked beautiful. That wasn’t any less of a fact today, but she’d gone into long arguments with Almya—and won—over outfits that showed much less skin than this. Why would Almya—
Oh. I knew her workout clothes very well, but I wouldn’t have noticed at a glance. Almya had braided the pants and turned the shirt into a halter. Amihanna must’ve still been teaching and missed the change to her schedule.
Wait. What was that dangling from her hair?
She strode toward me, and I couldn’t stop myself from meeting her halfway and tapping the charm. Now that she was closer, I could see it was my firedrake. I couldn’t help but smile. “Amihanna.”
One word—her name—from my lips had her skin lighting up. I loved it. I knew it drove her crazy, but I loved seeing her skin glow. I loved that I was the one who caused it to glow. And on top of that, I loved that everyone in this room could see how powerful she was.
She might still be getting used to her new role, but they didn’t need to know that. They needed to see her as in charge, and they would never be able to deny that as long as they could see the fao’ana on her skin.
I leaned down to whisper in her ear. “I like the firedrake.”
She rolled her eyes. “You would.”
Yes, I would, and I did. It was my symbol, and maybe it was wrong to feel a sense of pride when she wore it, but that’s how it felt. It was the same feeling I got when I saw her firedrake tattoo, but better because this one wasn’t hidden underneath her clothes. It was almost as good as seeing her wear the ring my mother designed for her, but my firedrake on her felt different. An exchange of rings wasn’t traditional for the Aunare. Our symbols were special. Not every Aunare had one, but I did. Her wearing mine was a declaration to everyone that she was mine.
She gave me a grin, one of her real ones that made my heart tumble and made me feel like I was floating in deep space. It wasn’t a bad feeling, but one that made me feel more than a little breathless and out of control when I couldn’t really afford to feel more of either right now. But if a little bit of control was the cost of loving her so much, then I would willingly pay it.
I forced myself to take a step back from her and waited to see what she would do.
She turned first to the other rulers on the screen. “My apologies for running late. I—”
“If you were a better queen, you’d have made yourself available,” a croaky voice from behind us said.
I turned to the High Council table, scanning the faces. There was a group at the table that didn’t care for her, and a few that actively, openly hated her, but it was Councilman Broff di Yenam who had spoken. He was the first on my list to go. Honestly, they were all on my list to go, but he’d moved to the top with that remark.
I closed my eyes for a moment, hoping that she’d finally do what I shouldn’t do. Getting rid of the council that my father made, filled with idiots and corruption, was essential, but the whole point of keeping it was to let Amihanna learn how to become a politician without any real risk. Rysden said this was the way I learned, and he was right. But now I was here waiting for her to make her move, and I hated it. I wanted to help her and guide her, but Jesmesha—our High Priestess—agreed with Rysden. She said I had to let Amihanna make her choices. I had to let her grow on her own.
I trusted Jesmesha. As our High Priestess, she had the ability to see all the variations our lives could take, and was good at her job of guiding us along the right path.
When Jesmesha spoke, I listened. Right now, the best path, for me, for Amihanna, and for the Aunare, meant that I had to stand aside and let Amihanna grow, but doing that was killing me.
It was time. If she didn’t do something today, tonight we’d talk no matter how much of a mistake Rysden and Jesmesha said—
“I have always made myself available to this council,” Amihanna’s voice was so clear, calm, and confident, that it tore me from my inner ranting.
Maybe Rysden was right after all. A few weeks ago, she would’ve yelled at di Yenam—and rightly so—but this was the voice of a leader. Finally.
One sentence and I wanted to cheer.
“I’m sure someone noticed my absence and sent a messenger?” She gave them a smile, one altogether different than the one she’d given me. It held a threat.
Yes. Yes. This was it. She was going to tear them apart today. I could feel it, and if there was a moment that I could give her a little push, I’d take it.
Neither Rysden nor Jesmesha said anything against little pushes. That was fair.
“Actually, there were four messengers sent to get you,” Fynea said from the back. My best friend was going to get a box of her favorite chocolates for this. She’d resigned from politics a long time ago, but every once in a while, she chimed in.
Today was going to be good. Standing here with Amihanna by my side, I had this overwhelming feeling that something was getting ready to shift, and I was ready for it. This was just the start.
“But oddly, all of the messengers went missing.” Fynea gave the council members a hard look. “Which is why I decided to go myself.”
“We’re looking into what and who waylaid them. I’ll have a report shortly,” Rysden said to Amihanna. “But the colony rulers requested that you be here for this.”
She had a second to look shocked before she hid her emotions. “What happened?”
“SpaceTech has some of their war vessels skirting very close to our territory,” Rysden said. “Not just in one spot, but three. Midian ni Renu the King of Sem’ansh, Ceshal di Noreya the King of Hemt’alan, and Layanae ni Taure the Queen of Veyet have called this meeting.”
Amihanna was quiet for a moment as she studied the queen with dark hair. Her eyes were a light green, a few shades lighter than mine. “ni Taure?” Amihanna asked her.
Laya grinned, and she went from pretty to beautiful. “I have the unfortunate pleasure of being Lorne’s eldest cousin.” She tilted her head as she gazed at me. “He was a beast as a child.”
I’d been trying not to laugh, but her look did it. One slipped.
Amihanna glanced at me. “A beast?” she mouthed.
I gave her a shrug that I hope read as—what can I
say?
She turned back to the vidscreen. “So, SpaceTech is close to your territories, but hasn’t actually entered. Right?”
“Exactly. Not yet,” Queen Layanae said. “But the threat is there. We are very concerned.”
Amihanna thought for a moment, and I would’ve given anything to know what she was running through her mind.
“They’re worried about the possibility of an attack,” Rysden said. “It’s their systems that are at the greatest risk, and because of their placement in the galaxy, they have the least amount of military presence. It wasn’t necessary… until now. They’re requesting immediate support and action against SpaceTech.”
Rysden stated it quickly and plainly, letting Amihanna come to her own conclusions. I noticed the tactic because he’d used it so many times on me.
Amihanna took a breath to process the information, and then turned to face the kings and queen on the vidscreens. “If SpaceTech is moving that close into so many of our colonies, then we have a lot to worry about. I’m glad you didn’t wait for the regular weekly meeting.” She turned to the round table. “And what’s the High Council’s recommendation?”
“To hold strong and not act,” Rysden said before they could start arguing again.
The High Council would feel quite fine sitting here in the comfort and safety of Sel’Ani and let the rest of the Aunare go to ruins.
“What’s your move?” she asked me, dismissing the council entirely.
We were finally getting somewhere. “I have Fynea reaching out to our allies now and—”
She sighed, and I wanted to kiss her.
That was completely out of the question right now, but that’s what I wanted. Because I felt that sigh in my soul, too. I wanted to be done with the allies, but the risk was so great.
“I’ve given up on the notion that they’ll join us in the fight,” I said, hoping she’d understand my motives. “My only thought is to reach out to let them know what our move will be and that they should stay out of our way.”
She looked at me, but she didn’t say anything. She didn’t need to. I saw the relief in her eyes, and I was sorry that I’d done anything to make her doubt my intentions.