“I’ll do whatever it takes to stop this man,” Zahn said. “You give the command, Nor, and I will send every soldier we have.” His dark eyes could have burned a hole in Nor’s soul, for all the fire in them. He’d always been a fighter, leaping to her defense the moment anyone dared speak ill of her name.

“I know what needs to be done,” Nor said, moving toward the window to look out upon her estate. Her kingdom. Zahn shifted to stand behind her, his warm hands closing around her shoulders. She sank back against him—not because she needed his strength, but because she wanted it. Because when he was at her side, she knew she had all the loyalty in the world.

“Phase Two will come soon,” Nor said, pulling away from his touch, turning to face him instead. Darai hovered in the background, a bitter expression on his lips. “But we may as well conduct a test fire, in light of Arachnid’s message.”

She typed a code into the holoscreen on her desk. The lights overhead responded at once, fading to near-darkness. A few more codes, and a map of the galaxy materialized in the office, beautifully rendered orbs of light representing each planet. They danced across the ceiling, and the stars flickered across Zahn’s face, showing his determination.

Nor walked to the front of the desk, her body passing through the holographic orb that represented Arcardius. Just past it, at the edge of the galaxy, was the Void.

A place without any light. Not a single star shining. Not a single planet or satellite to break through the blackness of it all. Soon, it would be torn open, and the people who truly held her heart would come through, to live safely and prosperously under her rule.

Some nights, Nor feared her plan wouldn’t work. That she’d never see Exonia; that Nexus would fail to break open the doorway that kept Nor from her true home.

But that wasn’t an option. Nexus would be finished soon, and as long as Valen held on, his exhaustion carefully monitored, his mind occasionally given time to rest from the compulsion...then all would be well.

“It’s beautiful,” Nor said, trailing her fingers through the dark expanse that was the Void. An entrance to another world. In her mind, she saw the future, the sky opening wide. She saw not one galaxy, but two, bowing to her command.

It would be the greatest achievement Mirabel had ever witnessed. Nor was sure that the story of her reign—the creation of the Nexus satellite, the complete command of every planet in Mirabel—would be written down in the archives. Songs would be composed about it, paintings created in reverence.

“I can taste it,” Nor murmured, closing her eyes. “I can taste the glory, not only of Mirabel, but of Exonia.”