“My sincerest apologies, Your Majesty,” the Earthen guard began with a quick bow.
Sybil glowered, and with a twitch of her fingers, the guard dropped to one knee. He grunted.
“You will show my queen proper respect when addressing her,” Sybil said, slipping her hands into her sleeves.
It took a moment for the guard to recover from his shock. She did not allow him to stand or even raise his head from its lowered, respectful position, and finally he cleared his throat and proceeded, his voice more strained than before. “Your Majesty, we are experiencing an unanticipated malfunction of our security systems. We’ve determined that for your safety, and the safety of Emperor Kaito, we must delay the ceremony.” He paused to inhale. “We’re optimistic that the delay will be short. However, I’m afraid I must ask you to return to your quarters. We will inform you immediately once this matter is cleared and we can proceed with the ceremony.” A drop of sweat traced down his neck. “Your escorts will happily return you to—”
“What sort of malfunction?” asked the queen.
“I’m afraid I can’t divulge any details at this point, but we are working to correct the—”
“That is not an acceptable answer to my queen’s reasonable question,” said Sybil. “You have suggested that my queen may be in danger. I demand to know what details you have of the situation, so that I may personally see to her safety. We will not be kept ignorant on these matters. Now, what sort of malfunction are you experiencing?”
She could see his jaw flexing, his eyes fixed on the ground before the queen’s feet. Sybil doubted he was high ranking enough to answer the question, but his fear was working against his resolve. The two lower-ranked guards that had accompanied him didn’t move or fidget, and yet their rigid posture hinted at their own discomfort. Perhaps she should prostrate them all.
“A manual one,” the guard said finally. “Our security system has been shut down, which can only be done at the central control room.”
“And that is within the palace?”
“Yes, Thaumaturge Mira.”
“You’re telling me that your malfunction is truly a security breach.”
“It is a possibility we are considering. Our number one priority is the safety of our guests. Again, I must ask that you return to your quarters, Your Majesty.”
Sybil laughed. “The palace may have been infiltrated. You can’t keep someone away from your own security mainframe, and yet you think we’ll be safe in the guest quarters?”
“That’s enough, Sybil.”
Sybil froze and glanced at her queen. Her long, pale fingers were interlaced over her skirt, but Sybil guessed that beneath the veil, her eyes would be sharp as needles.
“My Queen?”
“I am sure these men are well aware of the importance of this wedding ceremony, and the global repercussions that could follow should anything prevent this marriage from taking place. Aren’t you, gentlemen?”
The guards said nothing. The kneeling man was beginning to tremble. Sybil could guess that his neck was aching from holding his head at such an awkward position.
Two steps clicked on the floor to Her Majesty’s other side. “My queen asked you a question,” said Aimery, his voice both calm and menacing, like the roll of distant thunder.
The guard cleared his throat. “We have no desire to delay or prevent this wedding, Your Majesty. We only wish to resolve the problems swiftly so that the ceremony can continue as soon as possible.”
“See that you do,” said the queen. “Sybil, Aimery, let us return to our chambers and allow these men to fulfill their responsibilities without toiling over us.” She began to turn, before pausing. Her veil swished past her elbows. “Please, do send word immediately as to the safety of my groom. I will be in fits until I know he is well.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” said the guard. “We will be instating extra protection outside your chambers, as well as His Majesty’s, until this is resolved.”
Sybil waited until they were pacing away, following behind their escorts and guards, before she released her hold on the man. She wondered if those guards had any imagination for the wrath they would incur if this interruption wasn’t resolved.
The delay itself, though, was not what made Sybil anxious. It was what—or who—could have caused such a delay.
Though Levana refused to even speak about the escaped cyborg, other than to rail about the inadequacy of the Earthen military, Sybil had deduced what her queen would not say outright.
It had been easy to extract her hostage’s implications during the interrogation, and the redheaded girl had not been lying. Linh Cinder, the cyborg, was truly Princess Selene.
Sybil had seen the girl’s glamour at the ball. More telling, she had seen Her Majesty’s reaction to it. Her lost niece was the only person in the galaxy who could have caused such an uproar, and the idea that Princess Selene was out there, evading her, taunting her, would be driving the queen mad.
So far, the girl had proven herself to be remarkably resourceful. Escaping from New Beijing. Evading authorities in both Paris and that little African village. Even managing to get away from her.
Could it be that she was behind this? Would she be so reckless as to try to stop the queen’s wedding?
If so, perhaps Sybil had not been giving her enough credit. A palace breach. A security malfunction. A disabled syst—
She almost missed a step. She was not one for clumsiness, and Aimery noticed. She didn’t return his stare. Her thoughts were already racing.
It was not possible. She was jumping to conclusions.
She reached into her sleeve for the miniature portscreen that lived in its own small pocket and pulled up the surveillance feed for New Beijing Palace. All the cameras and trackers she’d painstakingly installed throughout the palace over countless dreary diplomatic meetings and discussions …
UNABLE TO ESTABLISH LINK
She gnashed her teeth.
Not only had the palace’s security been tampered with. Their own surveillance system was down.
The entire system.
It didn’t seem possible, but she knew Crescent’s work when she saw it.
She tucked the port away. “My Queen.”
The group halted.
“I would like to request permission to investigate this security breach myself.”
One of the guards fidgeted. “I do apologize, but we’ve been ordered to return all of you to—”
Sybil twisted the bioelectricity around his head and the guard fell silent with a strangled gasp. “I was not asking your permission.”
After a moment, Levana gave a single nod, the curtain of material barely shifting. “Granted.”
She bowed.
“And, Sybil, should you find these perpetrators, I order their immediate deaths. I cannot be bothered with trivial arrests and trials on my wedding day.”
“Of course, My Queen.”
Fifty-One
Kai laughed, a rough sound that bordered on hyperventilating. He couldn’t tell if this unexpected turn of events was terrible, or very, very funny. “The palace security has been compromised? What exactly does that mean?”
“The royal guard hasn’t had time to document an official report, Your Majesty,” said Torin, “but we do know that all security cameras and scanners, including weapon scanners, have malfunctioned. Or at least that your guards are unable to access their feeds at this time.”