the table. My own heartbeat thundered as I became the sole object of attention for two kings, two queens, and sixteen princes and princesses.
I stopped at the end of the table between Hector and Neelan. Their faces were cold.
King Mikael waved a hand my way. “Get rid of the human trash, Julius. She has no place here.”
Play your own game.
I smiled sweetly at him. “Human mate rights, clause fourteen, section seven. Unless the transition ritual is invoked at the seventh exchange, the human or elevated-human mate will not speak in formal gatherings unless permitted by their Vissimo counterpart.”
The king’s brows slammed together. He wasn’t alone.
I turned to my mate.
Prepared for everything else, I was grossly unprepared to see him now. Toffee strands were slicked back, but I longed to run my fingers through them. Green eyes so piercing, so familiar. I traced the sweeping lines of his lips and the cutting edge of his jaw.
He was wearing my favourite suit.
We studied each other.
Kyros wanted me gone in the biggest way.
What have you got to lose from giving me this last chance? I asked.
Your life, he replied, tapering his other thoughts to project the single answer at me. Why didn’t you get on the plane?
Would you have done it?
King Mikael’s cruel laughter rang out through the amphitheatre. “My son doesn’t wish you here, human. Begone.”
It was the wrong move.
Outwardly calm, Kyros went from panicked to furious in a beat. I blinked as his rage entered me, forcing blood to my cheeks. Shit, that’s stronger. Our emotions had influenced each other before, but not to this degree.
Taking a firm handle on my response, I sent through all the calm I could muster. I’d soothe my true mate because he hated losing control. His sadness was my own.
He stilled and rose from his huge chair. My eyes flickered to his mother and father. Both were impassive. I doubted anyone from Sundulus wanted me here, but they also wouldn’t make Kyros lose face in this setting.
He rounded the table and stopped a metre from me.
I didn’t dare touch him, both of us were battling to control the urge to close the gap and get our seventh exchange on.
King Mikael laughed again.
Fucking tosser.
Kyros’s lips twitched.
Fists balling, I met his green gaze, my heart squeezing within me. So beautiful.
You’ve got to let me try, I begged, prepared to leave my dignity on the floor if that’s what it took.
Searching my face, he turned away. “Let it be noted that I, Kyros Nicholai Atagio, Crown Prince of Clan Sundulus, give permission for my true mate, Basilia Le Spyre, to speak here.”
He was addressing a row of people I hadn’t noticed. Dressed in robes, they sat like a panel of judges on the opposite end of the large room.
The woman in the middle nodded, her eyes settling on me. “Clan Leith notes that mate permission has been granted.”
Kyros left my side and returned to his seat, each step costing him dearly.
I was on my own.
“I object to her presence,” Mikael said, standing. Fury twisted his features.
He didn’t believe I had anything useful, though he had to be wondering what was in the bags. Mikael didn’t want me here because it would be harder to cleave Kyros from me after.
Good luck.
I don’t know if the thought was mine or Kyros’s, but I’d been waiting to say something for a long time.
Kyros, I need you to stay seated. This is part of the plan. The Indebted are in my employ now.
“King Mikael,” I met his gaze. “Shut the fuck up.”
The clans had looked on with nothing more than a murmur, but a shocked gasp hit me from both sides.
I didn’t even see him move.
By the time my eyes caught up, the king stood before me, his chest covered with red dots.
Snarls ripped from Kyros’s chest, but he hadn’t moved, which almost brought tears to my eyes.
Red dots covered my chest also.
“Which of us do you think has a better chance of dodging bullets?” the king asked, regaining his semblance of calm though I could tell he was taken aback.
Laurel held her gun casually as she slid from behind me to stand by my side. “Would you like me to shoot his kneecap off, Miss Le Spyre?”
I pretended to consider that. “Would it grow back?”
“If I blew the whole thing off, it would take a month or so,” she answered coolly.
Mikael’s hooded eyes slid to her, the promise of murder in every line of his face.
I folded my arms. “He’d still