Page 23 of Royal Mate

23

P aige

Everything was going according to plan. Commander Zeus was taking these evil traitors, one by one, to outer space and would turn them—and all the evidence Hermione, the brilliant house computer, gave me—over to the Coalition’s Intelligence Core. They would investigate further, punish them for their crimes, and, if there was anything left for me, send them back to Insuri for trial.

I didn’t really want to deal with that. I’d told Zeus as much. Let them all rot for the rest of their cold-blooded, cruel, baby-killing, mother-and-father-murdering lives in some prison spaceship. There was only one person I needed to take care of myself, and Zeus gladly left her for me.

She was family. My mother’s own blood. I couldn’t let her off so easily as a life sentence off planet.

No. She would pay, and pay where the entire planet knew what she had done. Who she was. How she’d fooled, tricked and used the entire planet.

Something dark and cold rose inside me as I studied Queen Alienor.

She’d taken everything from me.

Everything.

My parents. My identity. My history. My inheritance. She’d betrayed her own blood. Her own family. And for what?

Money? Power? Control?

I stood tall, my heart racing, but I forced myself to hold steady. The Coalition warriors moved with swift precision around the edges of the chamber. Their strange space armor gleamed black and gray under the ceremonial lights. Their armor lined with more weapons and gadgets than I ever could have dreamed up. I’d thought Insurians, and their high-tech cars and sentient house AI systems, seemed like something straight out of a sci-fi TV show, but my people had nothing on the Coalition warriors.

Each name I called–every single one had been memorized, burned into my brain–sent a ripple through the crowd, their gasps and whispers blending into a rising storm of disbelief.

It proved the deceit ran deep. How had all of these people remained innocent and free, so sure of their deception that they felt free to attend royal weddings, confident no one would learn of the part they played in corruption and a coup. These assholes came here to look me in the eye, smile, and congratulate me on marrying the son of the woman who had murdered my parents. Fucking cold-blooded scum. I had no mercy in my heart for any of them. Not one.

“House Vallen.”

I didn’t waver. Name after name I called felt like shedding a weight, like breaking chains I hadn’t realized I’d been carrying. These were the people who had betrayed my mother, the ones who had torn my family and my kingdom apart for their own gain. They didn’t deserve the titles they wore, the wealth they flaunted, or the trust they had broken.

Nobles shifted uneasily in their seats, their gazes darting toward the exits as if calculating their own odds of escape. I allowed my gaze to sweep the room, linger on the faces of those who still sat frozen in their chairs, their expressions ranging from shock to fear.

Fear. Those were the guilty ones. They knew what was coming for them.

Me.

And then there was House Natosi. Addan’s parents’ and his sisters’ expressions ranged from his mother’s approving smile to young Sorcha’s shocked excitement. Catriona gave me a slight nod of respect. Addan’s father was beaming like a proud papa. The nobles surrounding them preened and cackled with glee. My true allies. The faces I recognized from our brief introductions at Addan’s home.

Lady Natosi hadn’t invited a single traitor to her home that night. She was shrewd. Intelligent. A very strong ally. Since I fully intended to marry her son, it was a good thing I wasn’t going to have to arrest her.

Talk about problems with the in-laws.

Finally, my gaze landed on Queen Alienor where she sat on a throne off to the side of the dais to watch the wedding. She was motionless, her lips pressed into a tight, pale line. Her mask of composure was cracking, the faint tremor in her hand betraying her carefully constructed facade.

I turned back to the gathered nobles, my voice unwavering. “To all of you gathered here, let today serve as a warning. Insuri will not fall to greed. We will not fall to corruption. The traitors among you chose greed over honor, power over loyalty, and now they will face the consequences.”