“Do you see?” Aclisia asked, turning to the crowd of soldiers, now quiet, as well. Lira chanced a look at Breck and Gilly, their expressions stony as they looked forward. “This is what happens to those who do not believe.”

The guards cut the woman’s bindings loose, and Lira watched as they hauled her away, the woman’s pale hair dragging against the ground as they disappeared through the double doors. Lira continued to stare after the woman, even as the crowd came to life again.

She never wanted to return to that state of desperation. Never wanted to return to that place of feeling, of running and wishing to hide from the truth.

When she left the warehouse with the rest of her unit, Lira’s heart beat steadily in her chest as she stared out across the silver city all around her, as she saw the glorious banners, the Solis crest displayed for all to see.

I will always serve Nor Solis, Lira thought, saluting the symbol of her queen.

She turned her eyes to the sky, the ghost of a smile kissing her lips as she stared up at the distant floating mountain that housed her one true queen.

Beside it, the Nexus satellite winked beneath the starlight.

And all was well in Lira’s soul.

CHAPTER 7

NOR

Her hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

That armor. That voice. Nor’s heels clacked on the polished marble floors as she paced, her mind racing in circles. Who was behind that crimson helmet? She wished, desperately, that her gift went beyond compulsion, that she possessed some greater power that would allow her to see through the shield to the enemy beyond.

“Nor?”

Darai’s voice yanked her back into the present. He pressed his cold hand to her wrist, the feeling like an electric shock. She backed away, her heart racing. Beside him stood the producer, his four arms crossed as he waited for her orders. Despite the sudden shock of the moment, he still looked at her as all the others did—like she was a goddess come down from the stars.

“We’ve managed to trace the origin of Arachnid’s message, Majesty,” the producer told her. “It seems he was filming in a cave on Sora.”

Sora. A moon in the nearby Prime System, virtually uninhabitable due to the poisonous gases in its atmosphere. The perfect place to hide, shivering in the shadows like a spider.

Nor would see the fool squashed beneath her heel.

Zahn’s eyes met hers from across the room. She gave him a quick nod, and though they didn’t share a mental link like she and Valen did, a silent message seemed to pass between them all the same. I’m okay. We’re okay.