The noise stopped and, with it, the torment.
The sudden absence was like a vacuum sucking out every other sound from the great hall. They were left in crystallized silence, hundreds of bodies paralyzed from shock.
Wolf lay gasping on the ground, wishing he were dead.
He knew the chance would not come again. He knew his punishment had only begun.
Levana was also panting, her eyes ablaze. Her lips looked more red than usual, matched by the blood that was beading up on the side of her neck. “Control him!”
“Yes, My Queen,” said Mistress Bement. “It won’t happen again, My Queen.”
Then, cutting through the heady silence, came a voice. The palace paused to listen. Wolf focused on the ceiling, wondering if the pain had made him delirious.
It was Cinder’s voice.
“h.e.l.lo, dearest Aunt Levana,” she said, her tone light and taunting. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to make sure I had your full attention. First, allow me to congratulate you. It seems you finally have everything you’ve always wanted. Now, it’s my turn.”
There was a long pause. The speakers crackled.
Cinder’s voice was no longer jovial when she said, “You have ten minutes to come to the front gates of your palace and surrender.”
That was all.
The people waited for more. More taunting. More threats. More explanation. But the message was over.
Levana looked visibly shaken, while the emperor looked ready to burst out laughing.
Then Kai’s gaze landed on Wolf and the grin fell. His brow twitched with concern.
Wolf glowered and moved to stand on his weak legs, glad when the thaumaturge didn’t prevent it.
“It’s a trick!” Levana screamed, her voice fragmented. “She can do nothing to me!”
A patter of hurried footsteps broke through the queen’s outrage. They came through one of the side entrances, Head Thaumaturge Aimery Park flanked by two guards.
A snarl tried to rip out of Wolf’s throat and he barely slammed it down again. This man had killed his mother.
“What?” snapped the queen.
“We’ve been informed that since the security breach occurred, our system has been neglecting to relay information from the tunnels—”
“Quickly, Aimery.”
His mouth turned down. “They are inside the city, My Queen. All eight of our barricades are down.”
“Who is inside the city?”
“The cyborg. Civilians from the outer sectors. Even some of our own soldiers have joined them.”
Levana was hyperventilating, burning with rage. “The next person who uses the word cyborg in my presence will be losing a limb.” She took in a sharp breath. “Why haven’t they been stopped?”
“Our resources are thin, Your Majesty. So many of our men were sent to the outer sectors to tame the uprisings. We cannot send reinforcements to meet these rebels without weakening our position here in the palace.”
Gathering her skirt in her hands, Levana drew her shoulders so close to her neck that a spot of blood was left in the crease. “Fine,” she hissed. “This little rebellion will end here.”
“Also, My Queen, we found this in the system control center after we discovered that our security had been tampered with.” Aimery held up a portscreen. “It would appear that it belongs to none other than our honored king consort.”
Levana’s gaze spoke of murder as she turned to Emperor Kaito.
“I was wondering where that had gotten off to,” he said, his mouth twitching with a challenge. “And here I spent all morning looking for it.”
Levana’s nostrils flared, her expression vicious and calculating. She grabbed the portscreen from Aimery and threw it at the altar. The plastic casing shattered.
“This celebration is over,” she said, her voice amplified by speakers around the great hall as she faced the audience. “It appears that some of my subordinates have chosen this night to incite what they see as a rebellion. But do not be alarmed—I am sure it’s little more than a silly demonstration.” She was slowly claiming control over her emotions again. “For your safety, I must ask that all of you, as my distinguished guests, remain seated while I see to the disturbance.”
A rustle pa.s.sed through the crowd.
“Wait,” said a man’s voice, speaking from the rows of Earthens. “You can’t expect us to stay in this room while the palace is under attack. This is your war, not ours. I demand to be allowed to return to my ship at once.”
The man had an Earthen-European accent, and a vision of the red-haired girl flashed through Wolf’s thoughts. He frowned, searching for the man in the crowd as a thrum of agreement rose up from the other Earthens.
Levana’s lips drew back. “You will stay here,” she said, each word hard and cold as an ice cube, “until I give you permission to leave.”
All at once, the Earthen dissent hushed. Levana directed her attention to the guards. “Bar all the doors. No one is to leave this room until I allow it.” She glanced at Wolf and snapped her fingers. “That one stays at my side. He will make the perfect shield should I need one.”
“My Queen,” said one of the guards, “we must insist that you allow us to escort you to safety. The lava tubes beneath the city—”
“Absolutely not,” Levana seethed. “These are my people. This is my kingdom. I will not abandon them now.”
She started marching toward the main exit, but Kai followed beside her. “These Earthens aren’t yours to lock up. We aren’t hostages.”