Chapter 13
Theora
Argos guided Theora into the room with his hand at her back, and it was only his presence that gave her the courage to approach the meeting table, despite her stomach twisting in knots.
Because what could only be Queen Pyre, Exalted One of Vespula, sat on one side of the table. Alone. No second or third to assist in negotiations. A dozen brightly dressed handmaidens sat in the viewing area, like a flock of colorful birds.
All Vespulans looked like they could be cousins, even when they weren’t remotely related—theirs was an aesthetic steeped in an ancient religion that Theora wasn’t entirely familiar with, but she knew it had something to do with the idea that bees had one queen—one mother of many.
Even their surnames weren’t based on their actual parents, but were simply the first name of whichever queen was ruling at the time of their birth.
Most of them had the signature copper brown or honey-colored skin and dark hair, though many of them bleached it blond or chalked it in gold in celebration of their sun goddess.
So, any one of them could’ve been mistaken for the queen, if one had never seen the queen before.
If one had never met Pyre.
Her royalty showed not only in her features, but in her posture.
Straight and regal, her broad shoulders and muscular arms filling out her blouse as if they knew exactly what they were doing even when they weren’t being used to bash heads in.
Even her blouse demanded the attention worthy of a monarch—gold, with what looked like the scales of a dragon layered from the neckline, across her chest, and draped over her shoulder.
Her expression, though not unfriendly, suggested she was not there to make friends.
She was a soldier first, who had become a tyrant queen through violence committed by her own hand.
She was definitely a power to rival any one of Theora’s Warriors.
Just…hopefully not Argos.
Venita sat at the negotiation table while Theora lingered with Argos, hands folded on the table as was customary at a peace talk, as rude as that seemed.
Theora sat in the center chair Argos pulled out for her, forcing herself not to look at the metal wristbands Pyre wore.
Security at the door had put them on her, no doubt, since she had weapons that were as much part of her body as Argos’s fangs were part of his—her stingers.
Long, sharp bones that could be released from every Vespulan’s wrists. All the women, at least.
The weapon that had killed Leveya.
Theora’s scar began to itch from the memory, but she gripped her hands, as Venita did, instead of attending to it. She glanced at Argos, who was entirely too quiet, as if waiting on prey. Dread Sovereign, please don’t attack anyone…not first, anyway.
“To business.” The Judge Imperium stepped up to her podium.
She was a short woman in her seventies, her mostly white bun extra bright against her beautiful dark brown skin.
“I see some new items have been added since the peace talks were requested, which leads me to believe that Queen Pyre may not be as serious about her plea for peace as her application implies. I’d like to address those first.
“Item One: An Aranean silk trading post was seized by Vespulan troops. How do you plead on this count?”
“Not guilty,” Pyre said.
Theora gripped her folded hands. “The Exalted One’s apology letter states otherwise.”
“My apology letter states that the troops were not under orders to act, and that they’ve been disciplined. I have a copy of it if you’d like to refresh your memory.”
“I don’t need to read your lies over again, thank you.”
Venita grabbed Theora’s hand to remind her to shut up, but the judge was one step ahead of her. “That’s a baseless accusation that will be stricken from the record. Piper, read the letter for us, please.”
The assistant did so, and the judge turned to the Aranean side of the table. “And were there any damages?”
“None to the physical post,” Venita said, “but our workers did suffer a fair bit of physical and emotional stress, and because of that, trade was delayed for about a week. I’ve submitted their statements and psychological evaluations, as well as their workforce progress reports.”
Piper handed the judge the paperwork as Venita spoke, and she took a moment to look the reports over.
“They will be compensated,” the judge said. “Queen Pyre Amani will pay twenty-five thousand to you. Any comments before we close out Item One?”
The table was silent, and it took every bit of will in Theora’s body to keep herself that way.
“Item Two: the murder of Vespulan war commander Kenzi Amani. How do you plead?”
“Murder?” Venita asked, her brows furrowed. “Absolutely not guilty. When did this happen?”
“Short memory,” Pyre said with a slight raise of her brow.
“Are you saying you were unaware of this event?” the judge said to Venita and Theora, although she shot Pyre a warning look.
Venita sighed heavily. “I’m sorry if it seems we’re underprepared, but we had a very long train ride this morning. If news of it circulated, we missed it.”
Pyre had one ice-cold blue eye and one warm brown one—a mesmerizing, unnerving feature when paired with a glare. This time, it wasn’t directed at Venita. “We have evidence that says otherwise. You may want to rethink your response.”
“Our response stands.” Theora leveled an equal glare at the evil queen. She was clearly a force to be reckoned with, but all she was spouting now were words and glares, and Theora had never been afraid of those. “Not guilty.”
“For what it’s worth,” Venita cut in, her tone significantly less cold than Theora’s, “my queen and our colony are incredibly sorry for your loss.”
“It would be worth everything, indeed,” Pyre said, “if I actually believed you.”
“Utter nonsense,” Theora scoffed, though her heart was pounding—why did Pyre have to be so suspicious? Why did it feel like Theora’s worst fears were coming true? “Why would we have anything to do with the death of one of your personnel?”
“We have hunting logs for all our Warriors,” Venita added, which only made Theora’s temples pound harder. “They were all accounted for last night. Their handler would’ve informed me if they weren’t.”
“So, if I were to request a summons of all the Warrior logs from last night…” Pyre looked at Argos rather than Venita when she spoke. “Those reports would match what you’re telling me now?”
Theora fought the urge to look at Argos and prove Pyre right. She fought to keep her expression neutral. She fought to keep herself calm.
Sentinels and plagues.
Venita never should have brought up the Warriors or reports—she should have let Argos handle it, as he was brought along in place of Boada, who had knowledge of those things.
But of course she wouldn’t—Venita had no respect for Warriors.
But perhaps if Theora had just let her in on the plan, she would’ve played along.
The only saving grace was that there was no way the reports could be delivered in time to make a difference, not to mention that Boada could easily fudge something for Argos and solve their problem… Right?
Theora was relieved Argos was sitting beside her. Closer than those bleachers fifteen feet behind where she sat. Closer, to shield her from an attack she felt sure would come.
She forced her voice to sound unperturbed as she said, “Judge Imperium, can we move on from this nonsense and get back to discussing a peace between our people—”
“Our war commander was decapitated,” Pyre cut in. “The head was nowhere to be found. Warriors tend to keep trophies from their kills.”
“Your war commander,” Theora said, “was a venomous vulture who got what she deserved. She was, as I’m sure you’re aware, despised by many colonies other than my own.”
“That may be true, but no colony can fight the way yours can,” said Pyre. “And we know your Warriors like to hunt near our shared borders.” Pyre crossed her arms. “Your new husband is a Warrior, is he not?” She gave Argos a deliberate look. “Maybe he could tell us what happened.”
The judge sighed. “To be honest, Queen Pyre, I only allowed the subject to be brought up because I thought you would present proper evidence. After your colony conducts a proper investigation, I am willing to reopen this item. That means viable witness reports, DNA tests, true tangible evidence.” She gave Pyre a stern look, then turned to Theora.
“And for your part, Queen Theora, Warrior logs from that day. Are we all agreed?”
Pyre gave an unsatisfied sigh. “Yes, Your Honor.”
Theora cleared her throat and nodded.
“Good,” said the judge, gathering her papers. “As it’s clear peace is dependent on this issue being resolved, this meeting is adjourned until tomorrow.”