“I see.” The elevator opened. “Then let’s go together.” I gestured for them to enter first, going against royal protocol.
The monarch always went first.
They hesitated. “Majesty?”
Rather than melt their minds, I went first. They’d been trained to follow tradition, so why confuse them?
We rode the elevator in silence, me leaning on the wall.
How to solve the Paris issue? I couldn’t toss him aside while he played such a pivotal role in the journey ahead.
What about letting him use the island as a base? I could fly him anywhere we needed to go as we learned more, or Medusa could ferry him with her portal power. He’d be relatively safe there and I’d keep any visits to a minimum.
A strictly business relationship.
Cracks were already forming inthatline of thinking.
The elevator stopped, the doors opening to an empty corridor. I stepped out, the ballroom door a few meters away, the hum of voices beyond it letting me know it was already full.
This is it. A time for mending.
Panic lanced through the Heart of All, followed by the sound of what must be helicopters approaching.
The guards moved protectively, flanking me.
I sped into the ballroom, appearing at the windows within seconds. I ignored the surprised noises behind me, my eyes on the sky.
There. Approaching from the east, were a line of warchoppers closing in on the palace. A sight we hadn’t seen here in a long time.
A human envoy? I hadn’t received word of the Human Domain’s president coming here, or any Global Order officials.
“Someone get me a phone!” I demanded.
Vaughn held one out to me within half a second. “I have the president on the line.”
I took it. “Madam President.”
“Your Majesty? What can I do for you at this late hour?”her sleepy voice asked.
“Can you tell me why there are warchoppers approaching Hurlock Island?”
“I’m sorry?”
“Are you conducting a military exercise? Testing new choppers?”
She cleared her throat.“I don’t understand.”
How could the president of this domain, its commander-in-chief, know nothing? “I’m going to need answers before there are several violations to the peace accords.”
Anger flared again, a dark flame with a thirst for hurting.
“King Silvanus, I’m telling you there is no?—”
Gunfire cut her off, bullets bursting through the windows. The glass collapsed, the sound incredible, twinned with the screams of my people. Shards flew at my face, slicing my skin.
And then it was over, a silent pause closing its grip, the night air howling through the ballroom.
“Your Majesty?”
