He tsked at her. “Of course, I am. Now if you’re through reaming me, I have a ransom demand to make.”

“Go.” Before she yielded to her desire to gut him where he stood.

Still, Zarya saw red. How could Clarion have been so foolish? How could he think she’d condone this? No wonder he’d refused to elaborate on his grand scheme for bringing the counselor to his knees.

But the deed was done now. There was no way to undo it. The penalty wouldn’t be any less steep if they released the prince now as opposed to after they had the ransom. A ransom they could use to buy supplies to protect and feed Arturo’s innocent victims.

Sick to her stomach with fear and trepidation, she reached for her link, wanting to talk to Kere and ask him what she should do. If anyone could advise her on this matter, it would be he.

She pressed his number.

It went straight to voicemail. “You’ve reached subsector 8-8-4-9-0-5. I can’t take your call right now, but leave a message and I’ll get back with you.”

She savored the rich sound of his deep, masculine voice. “Hey, baby, it’s me. Can you please call me as soon as you get this? I really need to hear from you. Love you.” Sighing, she hung up, then went to her ledger so that she could pull up the news.

Sure enough, they were already reporting the kidnapping.

The male journalist’s eyes glowed with glee. “Yes, you heard that correctly. Darling Cruel, the heir to the Caronese Empire, was taken today from Zanderov in the Garvon Sector by a group who has yet to identify themselves. During the abduction, the Princess Annalise Cruel was shot in the hangar. We have no word on her condition and no word from the abductors…” The reporter kept talking, but Zarya couldn’t hear anything else as her heart pounded in her ears.

Clarion had shot the princess? Why had the moron failed to mention that?

Because he knew I’d kill him for it.

Oh dear gods…

This would call down the League on them in addition to the Caronese. While the counselor wasn’t fond of the Resistance and did make concentrated efforts to put them down, they’d never really been his priority before.

After this, that would change.

Terrified, she left her office and stormed toward Clarion’s. You flipping, stupid, mentally deficient… She couldn’t think of insults foul enough to call him. The Caronese would tear them apart over this. While Darling might be hated by everyone, the princess most certainly wasn’t. Since the moment she’d kissed her father’s coffin during his funeral procession and had said good-bye to him when she’d only been a tiny child, Annalise had held the very heart of their people.

They adored their princess and the people they relied on to help them would be up in arms that anyone had dared to harm her. Especially one of their own…

Everyone would turn against the Resistance now.