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“One member is hardly a quorum.”
“Yes, about that. The members of the security council are decided by the king. It’s just that over the years, no king has taken the seat away from a dome. But the power hasn’t been balanced enough. The seats are going to change. Really, this is one of the few things I have a unilateral ability to do. I’m taking the Tinom seat and giving it to Zaffiro.” He looks at Michio, waiting for a response. He’s impulsive and, unlike Michio and Forrest, doesn’t seem to care about those in the room who don’t have clearance. But he’s right. Holter, Annabelle, and I have more knowledge of the issues at hand than the average citizen.
Michio glances at the marble floor for a second before moving around to a chair at the end of the sofa. “Zaffiro accepts. But I will want changes.”
I feel my stomach tighten. Interesting. I’d not thought of Michio Herod as one who would want to change.
“I too feel the time is right.” Atlas smiles at Annabelle again, and now I feel the need to step in between the two of them. But Eros doesn’t need to worry about Atlas. That’s just who he is, his charm. If he was going to take a mate, he would have already. It certainly would have made things easier for him this year. “Continuity shouldn’t be overlooked. Stele will keep its seat.”
“Stele, Zaffiro.” Atlas glances at me. “The other three in the council—Braesen, Koralli, and Vitrom?”
“Vitrom will remain. Without Tinom, the council will need balance. I wish I could take Vitrom’s seat, but with Bellucci dying in the Maelstrom, it would . . . appear wrong.”
“Then Koralli and Braesen,” I growl.
“May I speak?” Annabelle asks.
“Please.”
“I don’t know about the governor of Koralli, but his mate Porcia saved my life in the Maelstrom. She didn’t need to, not when everyone was bracing for the glass to break. That takes courage and honor.” Annabelle steps up and sits on the arm of the sofa, but it wiggles and she slides down onto the slashed cushion.
“I agree. Ovid Septimus is a male of honor as well.” Atlas turns and looks directly at me. “Then I give Braesen’s seat to Glyden.”
I nod. Because this is a fucking whale of an opportunity for my dome. It’s also a curse. If we are going to expose Braesen for what they are, they are going to fight back. The accusations will fly that we tarnish their name to raise Glyden’s.
“I know you’re a shrewd business male, Castor, but I thought you would have some emotion over this.”
“We have more to tell you, Atlas.” Forrest sits next to the king and puts his hand on Atlas’s knee, like a father about to have a talk with his son. “I don’t want to overstep. Your decree is good. But there are things you aren’t privy to yet. Let us fill you in.”
“Good. Start with where you’ve been.”
Forrest nods. “Eros took us to where his agent equipment is kept.” Atlas flashes his eyes at Eros. “Yes, well, we needed help, and he helped us. He showed us how to use the device to read the blocks Braesen tried to steal.”
“I don’t know where you’re going with this, Governor Mason, but it’s not sounding good for you.” Atlas leans forward.
“Right... I’m getting ahead of myself. But be patient. Eros was going to leave us there until he could clear our name. But after scanning three blocks, we had enough proof.”
“You’ve skipped some steps. How did you get these three blocks? What was the proof, and how and where did you scan them?”
Eros glances at Forrest and Michio. They both shrug. “I’ll answer the proof portion first. We used a secure government scanner. It’s not connected to any network. There are multiple communications from Haden Moretti to the governors of Permula, Seolfor, and Koralli. In the messages, Moretti calls them the lesser domes. It’s as if he’s trying to goad them into some kind of action.”
I can almost understand the Braesen doing research on their own. I would never condone the way they are doing it. But this? This is sedition.
“And how did you get out of the Maelstrom with blocks?”
“We used the personal cloaking tech to swim from the top of the dome before it collapsed,” Michio says.
“I see. That tech is for approved agents only. And to my knowledge, only five sets have been made.”
“Yes, I have Stele’s and Koralli’s.” Forrest doesn’t look at Eros.
“I was given Vitrom’s for an assignment.” Eros holds his chin up.
There’s a tick in Atlas’s jaw. He obviously didn’t know that Eros was an agent of Tristan Bellucci. He recovers, though. “I see.”
“Show him, Annabelle,” I say.
She pulls the disc out of her pocket. “This must be either Tinom’s or Braesen’s.” She walks it over to him, placing it in the palm of Atlas’s hand. “We found it on the sofa.”
