head at such an awkward position.
Two steps clicked on the floor to Her Majesty’s other side. “My queen asked you a question,” said Aimery, his voice both calm and menacing, like the roll of distant thunder.
The guard cleared his throat. “We have no desire to delay or prevent this wedding, Your Majesty. We only wish to resolve the problems swiftly so that the ceremony can continue as soon as possible.”
“See that you do,” said the queen. “Sybil, Aimery, let us return to our chambers and allow these men to fulfill their responsibilities without toiling over us.” She began to turn, before pausing. Her veil swished past her elbows. “Please, do send word immediately as to the safety of my groom. I will be in fits until I know he is well.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” said the guard. “We will be instating extra protection outside your chambers, as well as His Majesty’s, until this is resolved.”
Sybil waited until they were pacing away, following behind their escorts and guards, before she released her hold on the man. She wondered if those guards had any imagination for the wrath they would incur if this interruption wasn’t resolved.
The delay itself, though, was not what made Sybil anxious. It was what—or who—could have caused such a delay.
Though Levana refused to even speak about the escaped cyborg, other than to rail about the inadequacy of the Earthen military, Sybil had deduced what her queen would not say outright.
It had been easy to extract her hostage’s implications during the interrogation, and the redheaded girl had not been lying. Linh Cinder, the cyborg, was truly Princess Selene.
Sybil had seen the girl’s glamour at the ball. More telling, she had seen Her Majesty’s reaction to it. Her lost niece was the only person in the galaxy who could have caused such an uproar, and the idea that Princess Selene was out there, evading her, taunting her, would be driving the queen mad.
So far, the girl had proven herself to be remarkably resourceful. Escaping from New Beijing. Evading authorities in both Paris and that little African village. Even managing to get away from her.
Could it be that she was behind this? Would she be so reckless as to try to stop the queen’s wedding?
If so, perhaps Sybil had not been giving her enough credit. A palace breach. A security malfunction. A disabled syst—
She almost missed a step. She was not one for clumsiness, and Aimery noticed. She didn’t return his stare. Her thoughts were already racing.
It was not possible. She was jumping to conclusions.
She reached into her sleeve for the miniature portscreen that lived in its own small pocket and pulled up the surveillance feed for New Beijing Palace. All the cameras and trackers she’d painstakingly installed throughout the palace over countless dreary diplomatic meetings and discussions …
UNABLE TO ESTABLISH LINK
She gnashed her teeth.
Not only had the palace’s security been tampered with. Their own surveillance system was down.
The entire system.
It didn’t seem possible, but she knew Crescent’s work when she saw it.
She tucked the port away. “My Queen.”
The group halted.
“I would like to request permission to investigate this security breach myself.”
One of the guards fidgeted. “I do apologize, but we’ve been ordered to return all of you to—”
Sybil twisted the bioelectricity around his head and the guard fell silent with a strangled gasp. “I was not asking your permission.”
After a moment, Levana gave a single nod, the curtain of material barely shifting. “Granted.”
She bowed.
“And, Sybil, should you find these perpetrators, I order their immediate deaths. I cannot be bothered with trivial arrests and trials on my wedding day.”
“Of course, My Queen.”
Fifty-One
Kai laughed, a rough sound that bordered on hyperventilating. He couldn’t tell if this unexpected turn of events was terrible, or very, very funny. “The palace security has been compromised? What exactly does that mean?”
“The royal guard hasn’t had time to document an official report, Your Majesty,” said Torin, “but we do know that all security cameras and scanners, including weapon scanners, have malfunctioned. Or at least that your guards are unable to access their feeds at this time.”
“How long have they been down?”
“Almost eleven minutes.”
Kai paced to the window. He caught sight of a groom in his reflection—a white silk shirt split by a red sash that hung from his shoulder. It made him think of blood every time he saw it. He’d spent the past hour pacing around his private chambers and avoiding his reflection as much as possible.
“Do you think Levana has anything to do with it?”
“It seems