40
With its hue reminiscent of still-warm blood, the Queen’s dress dominated all the colours in the grand hall. The white gold in her hair shimmered with the intensity of a midday sun. Through the window, Antambazi’s orange-red moon peeked in, providing a perfect background for the impending speech.
In the middle of the throne room, her subjects knelt like withered flowers, awaiting permission to return to life.
They adored her. The woman who would gift them their place back on Earth.
“Come, my children.”
The gentle melody in the Queen’s voice was nothing short of enchanting, even though the Mother of the Reptilians possessed no real magic.
In the soft tones of her words, it was hard to detect the simmering fury Kathrine had witnessed minutes before the start of the wedding ceremony.
The Queen held her and Sevar accountable for the slow progress of her war plans.
She blamed them for Mikhail Korovin’s detainment by the Tribunal.
Their failed attempts to uncover who was feeding evidence to the Tribunal about Korovin had shaken the Queen from her usual icy indifference.
Kathrine didn’t get it. The Queen found Mikhail to be a bothersome manticore, obstructing – albeit insignificantly – her aim to weaken the other immortal species. What, then, could she possibly gain by breaking him out of prison, when by all accounts, his imprisonment was in her best interests?
Kathrine glanced at her fiancé on the right side of the throne, standing tall in ceremonial attire adorned with golden embroidery.
He still wasn’t speaking to her – not as he used to.
Not like when they would lie on the grass, gazing at the sky, promising each other that beyond Earth, there were countless territories and stars they would conquer.
Sevar wasn’t a romantic, but his drive was addictive.
With him, Kathrine could believe the world revolved around the two of them.
She observed the two newlyweds before the throne. The butcher’s daughter displayed her gaudy dress and future husband with equal pride. A not-much-smarter smile replaced Branko’s usual dumb scowl.
Kathrine knew the Queen’s wedding speech down to the subtlest inflexion.
First, she would introduce the newlyweds, never missing the chance to exaggerate their qualities and their contributions to Antambazi.
Then, she would extol the virtues of entering a sacred union.
Next, she would point out the witnesses – Kathrine and Sevar.
Praise for the reptilian species would follow.
Finally, the usual rousing tirade, where she claimed that soon the reptilians would rule the entire world and each of them must move towards this victory with a willingness to sacrifice.
Then, they would feast.
***
“Are you ready for your mission at the Al-Hatib Tournament, my daughter?” the Queen asked hours later, after summoning Kathrine and Sevar to her chambers.
Kathrine met her gaze over the crimson tablecloth. “Absolutely, Mother.”
“Don’t come back empty-handed.”
“Never, Mother.”
The Queen smiled.
Something in her expression put Kathrinе on guard. Something that hadn’t been there before the ceremony began. Sevar stood by the window, with his back to them, but judging by the stiff posture of his shoulders, he’d also noticed the shift in the Queen’s energy.
It could be anything. Or it could be nothing.
“In the meantime, I have another task for you both,” the Queen said, directing her attention to Sevar. “I want you to leave for Sofia with your entire crew as soon as possible.”
Sevar lifted his eyes from the window. “The entire crew, Your Majesty? Isn’t it a bit cruel to pull that idiot away from his honeymoon so soon?”
Heavens! Kathrine moved with unease in her chair, fearing for him.
Sevar was exasperated about Branko’s addition to his crew, but he couldn’t display such behaviour.
Sometimes, he acted like a child who provoked his mother.
But when he succeeded and the threat of punishment loomed, he realised what he’d done and backed down.
However, the Queen exhibited a good mood today, and Sevar didn’t get the reaction he was so brazenly asking for.
She poured each of them a glass of raspberry juice from the jug in the middle of the table and began outlining the upcoming mission. While she spoke, the venison Kathrine had eaten during the ceremony threatened to come back up.
The Queen hadn’t blessed Branko and the butcher’s daughter’s marriage to make them happy – she had done it to obtain an alibi if someone accused her of cruelty. After all, why would she bother to celebrate Branko’s wedding if she had planned to use him as a sacrificial lamb?