Chapter 71

“Bring us chains,” Edam says.

Rope won’t contain evians. Most metal won’t either. Titanium bindings are expensive and hard to work with, but they’re the only thing you can count on. I guess there’s a reason most of our sentences end in exile or execution. Imprisonment is impractical in the long run.

“No,” I say. “I won’t imprison her. She’s my Heir, and she will be free.”

“Do you believe me?” Judica asks. “Finally?”

“I do.” My voice drops to a faint whisper. “Marselle said someone named Nereus bought the poison that was used on Mom.” I don’t see Balthasar, so I call out his name.

“Why do you want him?” Judica asks.

“I need to tell him to cancel any plans to bomb China.”

Judica frowns.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

Judica sighs. “It’s too late.”

“But you promised,” I say. “You promised not to bomb them.”

“I agreed because I’d already launched the jets. Two nuclear bombs were en route to a tiny town outside of Shanghai before your jet landed.”

I freeze. “From where?”

“Alaska obviously,” Judica says. “But they’re Russian planes, older tech, and no one will be able to trace them to us.”

I close my eyes and think. “When?”

“I gave the order right before your plane landed.”

It’s only been a few hours. I might be able to catch them if I take a fast enough jet.

“I gave them clear orders, sister. I sent three planes, two to protect the one carrying the nukes. They’ve turned off all communications and are not to abort for any reason. They’ll shoot down anything that comes after them.”

But she said it herself, they’re old Russian tech. If I act fast, I can do something without anyone even knowing what Judica did.

“You should’ve killed her,” Noah says. “She doesn’t deserve your forgiveness.”

Balthasar reaches my side. “Who doesn’t deserve your forgiveness?”

“Judica,” Noah says.

“She’s Heir to the throne of Alamecha.” Balthasar scowls at Noah and quiets, clearly listening for Noah’s heartbeat. “Whoa, you brought a pet human?” His eyes widen at me.

“He doesn’t understand,” I say. “He wasn’t being disrespectful.”

“And he’s not a pet.” Noah splutters indignantly. “I mean me. I’m not a pet.”

“He shouldn’t be here,” Balthasar says, ignoring Noah entirely.

“My mother isn’t Empress anymore.” I stand a little taller. “I am, and I’m eliminating the ban she had in place on humans on Ni’ihau.”

Judica’s eyebrows rise. “Already shaking things up with the hot human boyfriend.”

My face heats. “It’s not like that, but in general, I don’t feel like Mom did about humans.”

“What does that mean?” Balthasar asks.

“It means I like them.”

“Great.” Judica smirks. “I’ve been out of a job for five minutes and the family’s already headed for total ruin.”

I don’t have time for this. “I need all the information on these bombs immediately,” I say. “Bring it all to my room.” There must be something we can do, some back door to crawl through that will stop this.

Balthasar opens his mouth, probably to argue, but then he clicks it shut. Wise man.

I walk toward the door, but before I can leave, Judica says, “I’ve done you a favor, whether you want it or not. You wouldn’t do it yourself, but I’ve gift wrapped China for you. This will set the tone for your rule and keep Alamecha safe from attack and encroachment by the Five. You should thank me.”

I ignore her.

“I need to make a call,” Noah says.

I point at Edam. “Go below and free Inara. Take Noah with you and detain him there. He’s a friend and after this is resolved, we’ll set him up somewhere safe, but for now.” I shake my head. “I can’t trust him not to do something catastrophically stupid.”

Edam beams at me. “With pleasure.”

“You can’t be serious,” Noah says. “You have to let me help, or at least let me warn my family.”

“Your family isn’t anywhere near Shanghai.”

“I have family and friends there, but that’s not the point.”

If his family has pull with the government, they might be able to issue warnings, or maybe even shoot down the planes.

“Let him call his family as long as he tells them he heard this from a tip that came from a classmate with ties to Russia,” I tell Edam. “I can’t have this blowing back on us if we can’t stop it. Once he’s warned them, detain him.”

Judica looks at me as though she’s never seen me before. When she smiles at me, a chill slides down my spine.

I turn on my heel and walk away from both her and the crowds who seem to think celebrations are in order. I have too much to clean up before I’m ready to breathe a sigh of relief, much less party. Frederick trails me as I leave the room. I walk down the long corridor, head held high as I pass the people I grew up with. They all bow as I pass, kneeling before me one-by-one until I reach my room. I throw open the door and stride inside. Devereaux, one of my mom’s old guards, catches me at the entrance to my room and hands me a manila envelope. It should contain all the information we have on the planes.

“Thank you.” I clutch the envelope in my hand and close the door, leaning against it. My knees wobble and I slide to the floor, sitting in the middle of the carpet to review the information. I look over the paperwork until I have the rudiments of a plan worked out.

When I open the door, I expect to see Frederick, not Edam.

“Oh hi,” I say.

Edam doesn’t smile, but his eyes sparkle at me and he cocks one hip. For some reason a thrill runs through me from my toes to my nose.

Which is so inappropriate right now.

“I need our fastest jet. Fuel it up and have it ready to leave immediately,” I say “Where are you going, Your Majesty?” Frederick asks from behind Edam.

“New York,” I say. “I have some pressing business to take care of there. Alora betrayed me and if she doesn’t have some convincing explanations, she may be taking Inara’s vacated cell.”

Frederick’s eyes are sad. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

Edam’s brow furrows. Once Frederick’s out of earshot he asks, “Should that really be our top priority right now?”

I jog toward the ballroom by way of answer, and Edam runs right alongside me. Many people have filtered out after the fight, but dozens are still milling around. I raise my voice. “I need something witnessed and attested. I must see to some urgent business in person. Edam ne’Malessa ex’Alamecha is named Prince Regent in my absence. You will all do exactly as he says. If he is unable to handle a situation for any reason, Inara Alamecha is named Princess Regent, and she will speak for me.”

The evians around me cross their arms over their chests, hands fisted, and bow. “Heard and witnessed,” they say when they straighten.

I march down from the arena and back out through the doors with Edam. I walk immediately out to the landing strip and he follows without saying a word. I look up at the plane and say, “Wait, why are we using Noah’s jet?”

A wiry man I’ve known my entire life runs the airstrip, Filomeno. “Your instructions were for the fastest jet, Your Majesty. It’s a passenger aircraft, but it’s very fast.” He wrings his hands.

“That’s fine,” I say. “Thank you.”

I step up the stairs to the plane, but Edam grabs my hand. “I don’t understand. Did I upset you somehow?”

“I’m going to deal with Alora,” I say, my voice wobbling convincingly. I really am upset about her betrayal, and I still don’t understand it, so he should hear the truth of that in my words. “I need you to take care of things until I return. Only Alora can tell me why she betrayed me and to what extent. I need to know, Edam.”

“What about the bomb?” he asks.

“What about it? You heard Judica, and her paperwork confirms it. She didn’t build in a cancellation of any kind. There’s not much we can do about it now, other than send relief afterward. I wish it wasn’t so, but I won’t spend any more time dwelling on things I can’t change. I’ve done enough of that for a lifetime.”

“Shouldn’t we call the Chinese government and warn them?” he asks. “Or was one call to Noah’s family all you’re planning to do?”

I chafe at the judgment in his tone. “Any real warning would create massive panic, and of course, even with back channels, it could destroy any benefit we otherwise stand to gain. Besides, the Five would perceive that as weakness at best, and as in-fighting at worst. Judica never should have sent that bomb, but it’s done now. If anyone hears I surrendered to Judica, this strike might save my reputation and mitigate the risk to Alamecha.”

Edam holds my gaze for a long time before he finally bows. “As you say, Your Majesty.”

It stings that he believes me capable of abandoning all those people so quickly, but I need him to buy it, so I walk up the steps and onto the jet without looking back.

My fight with Frederick and Arlington takes longer, but I finally succeed in convincing them I’ll wait while they assemble a new team. Then I close the door myself and call out to my pilot. “Hello? Who’s up there?”

“Paul, your majesty.”

He’s my favorite pilot. Filomeno remembered.

I wish he hadn’t.

“I expected Noah’s people.”

“No, Your Majesty, we sent them to rest. They’re not safe to fly right now, so I volunteered,” he says.

“We need to go, now. Like, this second.”

“We haven’t been cleared yet,” he says.

“I’m the Empress, or hadn’t you heard?”

Paul grins. “I heard. But what about your guards?”

“I’m instructing you to take off without them.”

Paul’s eyebrows rise.

“And I have a minor detail to clarify.”

“Yes, Your Majesty?”

“We’re changing our final destination.”

“We aren’t going to New York?”

“No, we’re headed for Shanghai, or more specifically, somewhere over the sea of Okhotsk.”

I pull out my envelope and flip to the flight information. I take it up to the cockpit and hand it to him. “We need to interrupt this flight, and hopefully come down behind them by surprise.”