What did he steal?” Lashyla demanded. The guardsman shook his head. “I don’t know, but the queen is not happy about it.” “Fool!” she hissed. Her guard flinched, but the exclamation wasn’t directed at him. “He is ruining everything!” “Your apologies, princess, I didn’t mean to—” She made a sharp gesture with her hand, cutting him off, and then began descending the ladder. A moment later she stood scowling before him. “Were you one of my witnesses?” “I was.” “And the other?” The man shrugged. “Guarding our beauteous queen perhaps.” “Fetch him and meet me at the queen’s chambers. We have no time to lose.” With that, the princess stalked away. She could feel her fury coming and going on pulsing waves that throbbed insistently in her forehead. What had Aurelius been thinking to steal from her mother? He’d left her with only one choice, and it wasn’t a good one. * * * Gabrian waited a long time in the sepulchral stillness of the submarine’s cargo hold.
