Nor lifted her chin and turned to Darai. “His armor is likely the only reason he was able to survive long enough to send us a message from Sora. A clever place to hide, where I cannot easily reach him.”

“Could we send drones in to find him?” Zahn asked as he began to pace, already trying to solve the problem for her. She loved him for his effort, but it would take more than what Zahn could come up with on his own to silence this threat.

For Arachnid knew. Somehow...the man behind that red helmet knew about Nor’s and Valen’s compulsion. But how? It was impossible, and yet Arachnid’s final words were all Nor could hear. You cannot compel me.

“Clear the room,” Nor said. She reached for her crown, straightening it against her curls.

Darai’s jaw looked to be hanging on broken hinges. “My dear...”

She held up her hand, and her adviser fell silent. “I said, clear the room.”

Darai snapped his fingers, ushering the others out. They raced from the room as if it were on fire. As the doors closed behind them, Zahn rushed to her side. Years before, when Xen Ptera was attacked and everything was stolen from her, it was Nor who had picked herself back up. She’d had Darai and Zahn at her side then, as support. But ultimately, the decision had been hers to stand up. To carry on with her life, and make something more of it.

She’d never believed she needed to depend on others until Valen came along—and until Zahn’s heart had merged with hers. She let her lover press his hand against the small of her back as he gazed at her with worried eyes, his soldier’s mask gone now that the room was empty of watching eyes.

“He knows,” Nor said shakily. “If he knows about the compulsion, then there’s a chance he knows about Exonia. And he will try to stop us from reaching the other side.”

“Then we will destroy him before he takes another breath,” Zahn answered. “We’ll tighten the security measures around Nexus, too.”

Nor fell silent as she considered what to do next. She was the queen of Mirabel. The savior of this planet and the many beyond it. She would not bow to any man, especially one too cowardly to show his face.

“Please, Nor, you must tell us what it is you wish to do,” Darai begged. “Do you want to send a team after him? Give another speech? Do you want to have Valen—”

“Valen is not to be disturbed in this chaos,” Nor said. “He needs peace. Time to focus only on his compulsion. If anything, we need to move more quickly now. For if this Arachnid poses a true threat, if he manages to share his knowledge of our compulsion with the other Unaffecteds... Exonia could be at risk.”