Shilah frowned at the gentle flutters along her mind for a telepathic connection. She closed him out, refusing to connect with him outside of the Psychic Network. It oddly felt like a betrayal to the intimate bond she’d formed with Lachlan Ravenswood.
“Prince Quan broke the laws with his barbaric actions. The foundations of his plan before rested on ending the Symonrah bloodline. He failed. He will have no choice now but to meet you on the floor of the Senate,” Rah said. “We’ve prepared all the legal arguments, and we have been thorough.”
Kala jerked, and a small cry slipped from her. “I see hundreds of soldiers scouring the city, breaking into homes searching for us at his command. They will not rest until our death is secured. Unrest will rise for those who believe he has no right to the throne will be emboldened by our return and will fight. Lives will be lost. Dozens,” she ended hoarsely.
Megladine’s lips flattened. “The Prince will do everything to prevent you both from reaching the Senate.”
“We must hide you until we’ve convened the Senate. And only after you’re both hidden can we let it be known you're alive, princess. And we must assemble the Senate immediately. Too long a delay will be disastrous for our city,” Prince Novar said, moving to stand beside Shilah.
Everyone’s murmur of assent filled the bunker.
“Do we know why Prince Quan has acted with such rank disregard for our laws?”
Prince Novar stared at her for several moments before saying, “He has made a petition to the Senate to repeal aspects of the bloodline laws. He has proposed a motion that Impure be allowed to marry, even if they should remain sterilized.”
Her gaze jumped to Megladine who was looking at Rah with such naked longing it was painful to witness.
Kala stepped forward. “The kingdom of Arcadia sent such a request to our brother. All three Senate branches of the three kingdoms must agree about overturning any part of the law that has been the bedrock to the society we lived in. My brother said no. To allow even an adjustment is to threaten the golden age we live in. It will s
tart with marriage. Then perhaps sterilization will fail. A child will be born in secret. Then another. And another. And before we know it, we may have another Na’Vita. That risk we cannot allow.”
Shilah’s stomach rebelled, but she fought hard to stay in control, breathing deep. “You’ve never told me this, Kala.”
Her sister froze. “I am sorry, sister. I was afraid…afraid you would have agreed with Prince Quan.”
“Do you think so little of me that I would put my desires above the safety of our future generations?” And the temptation was there, the hunger for another life for those who had been branded Impure. But why did Prince Quan seek such an alteration to the law? Was he impure?
Shilah took a bracing breath. “Where is our hovercraft? Has Prince Quan taken command of it?”
“No. All its systems had been shut down, and the prince has not been able to override it.”
The operation and internal defense mechanism of their hovercraft, and home were controlled by Arrow, who was programmed to respond only to Kala and Shilah. Arrow had access to all the databases in Dyxriah. And they had armbands that they uploaded his intelligence on, and once they were within range of any technological construct, he could infect it with a virus and take control of it. Their father had been the creator of the Prime Sentient 2.1, and there had been no development in their realm that surpassed it.
Arrow had been programmed to respond to whoever ruled Castle Ashmir and was the most powerful sentient intelligence of their realm. Almost all other households operated on model 1.5. Knowing that the command of her household interface would be integral to Prince Quan, she had used her telekinetic powers to input the kill code that would deactivate it as she fled. There had been a possibility Arrow would not have responded to the prince’s commands, but his attack had been so well coordinated and brutal she hadn’t taken the chance.
“Your craft is at my hanger below my castle,” Prince Novar said. “In the confusion, I anchored it to my craft and zipped it away. It would be my pleasure for you both to be guests in my home. We must move with the utmost secrecy of course,” he said, removing robes from a bag, and handing them to her. His dark green eyes caressed her face. “With your new Imperial powers, I assume it would be no great feat to scan the minds of those we pass to see if they are suspicious and to plant a suggestion of seeing me with two high priestesses.”
It would be possible but such an intrusion, slipping into citizen’s minds and manipulating their memories, was against the law. And if she were not skilled enough her telepathic breach would alert the network and the PsyNet Protectorate. “Let us keep my return to only those in the room. I know many of our people are with us, but for now, awareness must be contained tightly. We are at war with Prince Quan, not our people. I have no wish to break the law and betray their trust. If it is one of Prince Quan’s supporters who see us, and even with our disguise believes it is me, I will trap them in a temporary illusion. But we must not harm a single one of our denizens.”
They nodded. She faced Prince Novar. “If you have a hovercraft nearby, it should take little effort to slip away to your castle and to the underground docking bay. We are not expected unless the prince has foreseers working with him.”
No one could say, and in short order, they wrapped the meeting up and quietly dispersed. Only Kala and Shilah went with the prince, and as they boarded his hovercraft and whizzed through the sky, there was no alert along the PsyNet or any alarm sounding through the system.
In short order, they reached his castle, and a hole appeared in the mountain as the sleek craft dipped low and swooped down to its hanger. The doors opened, and relief swarmed through her to see her aircraft as he’d said. It looked unscathed, exactly how she’d left it with its smooth curves, alternating panels colored in silver and others in gunmetal blue, and the ruby red Symonrah sigil painted over the entire bow. It was their home away from the castle. It had all the amenities required to house a small family of royals on their journeys about the kingdom.
“Thank you, Novar,” she said, glancing at him.
He nodded, clasping his hand behind his back. “I will have rooms prepared. I’ll have your chamber placed next to mine.”
Her eyes jumped to his, and in his gaze, she spied a feeling that was far too intimate. Lachlan’s promise of death should another man touch her burned through her memory, and Shilah bit back her groan. Not that she was even tempted to entertain her former consort, but she had enough to deal with and now had to add rebuffing his advances to the mix. Their moment had been over fifty years past, and it still shocked her that after all that time, he wished to renew his advances.
“There is ample room in our hovercraft for Kala and me. Your castle is not as contained as it should be, and the secrecy of our presence will be compromised there. Below ground, we will be as safe as possible until we meet with the Senate.”
He hesitated, then said, “That could be days, Shilah. I will work to have the assembly soon, but I cannot promise less than three days. An underground hanger is not fit for you.”
“It will do,” she said firmly. “Our ship has all the necessities to provide for us for a few days. And it will raise suspicion if you are seen coming down here.”
With a soft sigh, he made his way to a door, scanned his eyes, and stepped through when it opened. It closed behind them, and Shilah turned to the craft, reaching out with her telekinesis to the dashboard enclosed within and entered the code that would power the craft and activate Arrow on the vessel.