Part 43 (1/2)
EPILOGUE.
In full emperor's robes, Bastien entered the throne room with Ember by his side. This was the day they'd been waiting for and dreading.
Kyr Zemin, the League prime commander, stood there, waiting with his crew and the Overseer.
Ember's hand trembled in his, but she showed no other sign of her nervousness.
And Bastien showed no emotions whatsoever as he met Alia's cold gaze.
”Well?” he prompted.
”You kept your word,” Alia said with a light note in her voice. ”I will give you that.”
Bastien didn't find any humor in her words. ”And how do you find now, Overseer?”
”Everything you said has been proven. I've ordered Prime Commander Zemin to remove your name as a Ravin. You're free, Emperor. Congratulations.”
Congratulations? Was she f.u.c.king kidding, after everything they'd put him through?
He wanted to bury the axe in her skull.
But he caught himself and, as he'd promised Ember, he inclined his respectfully head to the Overseer, even though it galled him through and through. ”Thank you, my lady.”
Kyr stepped forward. ”Now that you've been exonerated of killing your family, I'm here to accept your loyalty oath to The League and the United Systems.”
Yeah, right.
Bastien sucked his breath in sharply. ”Mmm ... sorry, Kyr. 'Fraid I can't do that, punkin.”
His jaw went slack and the scar around his eyepatch turned whiter. ”Pardon?”
Bastien moved to s.h.i.+eld Ember with his body and pulled his blaster on Kyr. ”Consider yourself arrested by order of the Alliance.”
Kyr's one eye flared. He lunged at Bastien, but Bastien caught him and countered the strike. It took him several minutes, but he finally subdued the prime commander and cuffed him.
”This war ends. Today. I've buried enough people I love. I'm not burying any more.”
Kyr laughed. ”You've no idea what you're doing, Cabarro. You've just made the worst mistake of your life.”
”No. I just ended a war that never should have started.” He shoved Kyr into the hands of his guards. ”Take him to lockup while I call Nykyrian Quiakides to let him know we have Kyr waiting for him.”
Alia went pale. ”What of me?”
”That's for the Alliance to decide.... I hope your son has more mercy on you than you had on him when he stood before your judgement.” Bastien jerked his chin at his captain. ”Take her.”
Ember didn't breathe until they were gone. ”I can't believe that worked.”
”I told you it would. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a call to make.”
Ember bit her lip as she watched her gorgeous husband head for his war room. She still couldn't believe the last few weeks. So much had happened that it all seemed like a dream most days.
”Aldara?”
She turned at the hesitant sound of her secretary's voice. ”Yes?”
”You have an old friend outside who wants to meet with you, but she won't give me her name.”
Ember wished she could say that was weird, but since her coronation, old friends had been turning up everywhere. Wanting money, favors ...
Souvenirs.
It gave her a whole new respect for how normal Bastien had always been, given the attention he'd been exposed to from birth.
With a heavy sigh, she went to her receiving room, expecting to find an old school chum.
But when the pet.i.te blonde turned around, all the air left her lungs.
It was Alura.
”What are you doing here?”
Alura raked her with a snotty glare. ”So you won after all.”
Ember screwed her face up. ”This wasn't about winning. My G.o.d, Alura! Bastien's a person. And I'm your zusa!”
”None of you ever treated me like family. You were all so jealous of me. My beauty and the fact that I was sa-sa's favorite.”
”Is that why you had him killed?”
She hissed at Ember. ”I tried to help him. Tried to warn him. He wouldn't listen!”
Yeah, right. Alura never served anyone but herself. Even now, she was impeccably dressed and it was obvious that she'd suffered no hards.h.i.+p while in hiding.
”Why are you here?”
”Tell Bastien I'm dead. Get him off my back. You owe me that much.”
Was she insane? ”I don't owe you anything!” Other than maybe a severe a.s.s-whipping.
”I'm your zusa!”
”Yeah. And as you said, you never acted like it. You lied and took my husband from me. You knew I was pregnant and you stole even that! And you think I owe you?”
Alura hissed. ”You're such a b.i.t.c.h. Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you.”
”Warn me about what?”