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I was always too weak to fight against her.
I close my eyes to accept the inevitable.
But a sudden commotion has them snapping back open. What—? My mouth drops and my eyes widen. Juliet, she is— But how?
I sit frozen, as astounded as everyone else in the hall as my mate swoops over the gathered throng, flying on golden wings. Wings that are as full and broad as any Draci.
Juliet is bare breasted and magnificent as she flies straight to the throne. The flaps of her wings make the Thraxian banners behind the throne wave and thwap as if in mid-storm.
“Release my mate,” Juliet demands in a voice deeper and stronger than I have ever heard it. “I demand a fair trial. I’m Draci now and I assume it is my right.”
She’s wrong. Draci do not have trials or a law system anything like the humans do, but I take advantage of the distraction Juliet has provided. She is magnificent. And worth fighting for, even to the death if I must. For her, I can be strong.
I finally manage to spit out the gag in my mouth and I do not waste any time. “I did not kill the King,” I bellow. “The Queen did.”
Shocked gasps erupt all over the room.
“Kill that fool,” the Queen yells. “He spreads lies and must die for his crimes.”
But to my shock, my half-brother lowers the blades from my throat ever so slightly. Allowing me to speak.
“What would I have to gain by lying?” I call out. “I do not seek the throne. It is the Queen who lies to you. Look.” I throw a hand out towards Juliet. “Our two races are compatible. Do you not see the proof before your own eyes?”
“Seize him!” The Queen cries. “Seize them both.”
But the guards, so quick to grab me earlier, now hesitate.
I continue before they change their mind. “I have never wanted my father’s throne. It will pass to First as it was always meant to.”
I see my half-brother’s eyes widen but I ignore him and continue. “Father gave my mate and I his blessing. Which is why the Queen killed him. She would have things stay the same. She would have all of your great lines die with you. She would have our entire race die rather than adapt and survive as Draci have always done before.”
I look around the room, making eye contact with individuals. “When our sun died, did we lie down and die with it? No! We fought. We took to the stars in hope of a better future. I ask for the same leap of faith now.”
I take a step forward, pressing back into the blades that First still holds. “Kill me if you will, but do not turn away from our only chance for a future.”
“He lies!” the Queen shrieks, standing up from her throne. “I have been your Queen for almost three hundred years! I have seen you through a treacherous journey through the stars and brought you to a good new home. Do not believe the words of a usurping bastard—”
“Then believe me,” says First, stepping back and lowering his blades. “The Queen killed my father, the King. I witnessed it with my own eyes.”
The hall erupts and the King’s guard leap forward as one to pull the Queen down off her throne.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Juliet
“I still can’t believe your brother did that for us.” I stroke my fingers through the light tuft of golden hair on Shak’s forearm.
We’re laying out by the crystal blue infinity pool of the estate that the Draci purchased for us on the edge of Sacramento. It’s a perfect summer day, hot but not too hot, white clouds in the blue sky, and the man I love on the chaise lounge beside me.
Shak just shakes his head and pulls me into his side. “He did not do it for us. He loved our father and the Queen has been cold and manipulative his entire life.”
“Well, no matter why he did it, it was the right thing to do.” I shake my head. “I don’t get why they exiled him for it.”
Shak leans back and I sink comfortably against him. It’s been strange, adjusting to a life with wings on my back. But I’ve settled in to my new reality far more quickly than I would have imagined. When I’m not using them, they fold like flattened origami. And apart from the pain of when they broke through, they don’t hurt at all. If I wear a bulky enough sweater or multiple layers, I can go out in public and no one knows.
They were the last of the transformation. It’s been a couple of months now and there haven’t been any other patches of scales coming through or other surprises. Just my ever-increasing belly.
Shak is silent a long moment before he finally says, “To betray one’s family is unforgivable.”
