CHAPTER ELEVEN

ZANE

I left the conservatory and did another lap through the castle, checking on everyone and making sure the structure was secured, along with the surrounding grounds. I also gave some final instructions to the House Rojillo guards, along with the Imperium soldiers, investigators, engineers, and scientists who had arrived to examine the Techwave ship. Finally, around three in the morning, I got into the House Zimmer carriage with my father and my grandmother, and we returned to the spaceport and took a private transport back to the city.

It was creeping up on sunrise when we stepped into my grandmother’s library in Castle Zimmer. Several servants were waiting to see if we needed anything, including Fergus. I asked one of the servants to take Silas’s tablet to my tower library, along with his hand cannon. I wanted to examine both devices before I turned them over to my father, and eventually, the Imperium investigators.

Once that was done, Beatrice told everyone to get some rest and dismissed the servants.

Fergus stopped beside me and eyed the scorched fabric on my chest. “Are you really okay, Zane?”

“Right as acid rain,” I chirped. “Although I am very sorry about the tailcoat. I know how long and hard you worked on it.”

Fergus waved his hand. “I never get attached to any of my designs. Clothes are made to be worn, enjoyed, and admired. And even destroyed on occasion.” A sly, teasing grin crept across the tailor’s face. “Although no one destroys clothes quite as spectacularly as you do, my lord.”

I snorted. “I’m glad one of us can joke about this.”

Fergus’s grin grew a little wider. He clapped me on the shoulder, then left the library, shutting the doors behind him.

“What a bloody night,” my grandmother muttered, pouring herself a hefty snifter of strawberry brandy.

She tossed the brandy back in one long gulp, then refilled her snifter. She offered some to my father and me, but we both declined. Beatrice went over and sat down in the chair behind her desk. Despite the long night and the trying events of the solstice celebration, her posture remained ramrod straight as always. I admired her stamina, even as I sprawled across one of the overstuffed settees, digging the toes of my boots into the floor to keep from sliding off the slick cushions.

My father let out a weary sigh and eased down into a chair across from me. “Have you learned anything more about the Techwave attack? Or what they might be plotting to do with Jorge’s temperature-shielding technology?”

“Not yet. Although Holloway sent me a message earlier that was short and sweet and practically dripping with fury.”

Beatrice snorted. “You mean Holloway is furious about how the attack is playing out on the gossipcasts. How many Regals are openly questioning his leadership and blaming him because the Techwavers haven’t been neutralized yet.”

I slumped a little deeper into the cushions, too tired to even agree with her. Holloway put on a good show for the gossipcasts, but we all knew that he only cared about himself.

After ordering me to spin the story, the Imperium leader hadn’t contacted me since then. No doubt he was too busy trying to reassure the more important, demanding Regals that everything was under control to bother with threatening me, although I was sure that would change soon enough. But for now, I would enjoy the relative quiet.

I looked at my father. “What could the Techwave do with Lord Jorge’s stolen tech? You saw the schematics. Is the design as promising as he seemed to think?”

Jorge’s temperature-shielding wristwatch was nestled in my pocket, right next to the jewelry box I was still carrying around like a lumpy, melted albatross. I didn’t mention the watch, though. My father would chastise me for taking it, and I had no desire to listen to a lecture right now. Besides, I had a strange feeling that Jorge’s watch was one of the keys to the Techwave’s ultimate plot, whatever it was, and I wanted to glean as much information from the device as possible.

My father spread his hands out wide. “It’s hard to say without studying the schematics in greater detail, but Jorge has been bragging about his climate-control technology for months to anyone who would listen. If he’s really come up with some sort of breakthrough, then the Techwave could use it in numerous ways. They might even be able to weaponize the technology in some way.”

More weariness crashed over me. The Techwave was already developing weapons to use against the Arrows and other powerful psions, and this theft was just another nail in what the terrorist group wanted to be the collective coffin of the Imperium.

My father fell silent, while my grandmother continued to drink her brandy. My gaze strayed up to the portrait of Miriol on the wall. Had it only been a few hours since my father and I had been looking at my mother’s picture? It seemed like a lifetime.

I glanced back and forth between my father and my grandmother, and anger spurted through me, burning away my weariness. I had been waiting for them to reveal the truth about Vesper for the last two weeks, but they had remained silent, and they would continue to remain silent—unless I dragged this unexpected family secret out into the light.

I straightened up on the settee and put my feet on the floor. I studied my father and my grandmother, plotting the best method of attack. Then I cleared my throat, drawing their attention. “There’s something else. I’ll be leaving soon. Perhaps in a day or two.”

Beatrice frowned at me over the rim of her brandy snifter. “To go where and do what?”

“Hunt down Kyrion Caldaren and Vesper Quill,” I replied in a calm, even voice. “I’ve finally figured out where they’re hiding. Or at least where they are going to hide.”

My father tensed. “What will you do once you find them?”

I shrugged. “Exactly what Holloway has ordered: drag them both back to Corios. Given tonight’s attack, Holloway will be even more eager and desperate to take their truebond power so he can shore up his rule.”

Wendell glanced over at Beatrice, whose fingers tightened around her brandy snifter. She shook her head the tiniest bit in warning. My father’s jaw clenched, and his hands curled into fists.

More anger flooded my chest. They were still clinging to their stubborn silence. Well, the time for secrets was over. Now it was time for us all to face some hard truths.

“I’ll concentrate my efforts on Vesper,” I continued in a light, breezy tone. “She will be much easier to subdue than Kyrion. I captured her before on Tropics 33, and I have no doubt I can do it again.”

“Holloway wants Vesper brought back to Corios unharmed, yes?” my father asked, an apprehensive note creeping into his voice.

I laughed, but it was a low, ugly, mocking sound. “Of course not. Holloway told me to do whatever is necessary to separate Vesper from Kyrion. Holloway doesn’t care what shape Vesper is in when I dump her at his feet, just that she’s alive enough for him to siphon off her power.”

I gave my father a careless shrug. “I’ll probably have to chop off a few of her fingers, maybe even a toe or two, to break her spirit, but sooner or later, Vesper will do whatever Holloway wants. She’ll quickly become his living, breathing battery. So will Kyrion, just like Desdemona and Chauncey Caldaren before them.”

My father jerked upright in his chair, and all the color drained from his face. “No! No, Zane, you can’t do that! You can’t hurt Vesper!”

“Why not? Vesper Quill is just some little lab rat who lucked into being a Regal lady.” I gave him another careless shrug. “No one important enough to care about.”

My father recoiled as if I was some horrific monster he had never seen before. Wendell might know I was an Arrow, might know about all the horrific things I did to please Holloway and help maintain House Zimmer’s exalted status, but to him, the battles and killings and assassinations were abstract theories. Whereas to me, they were only cruel choices and the evil constants that shaped my existence.

“Zane is right,” Beatrice said in a cool, measured voice. “Vesper Quill is no one important, and she won’t escape Holloway’s clutches, no matter how powerful her truebond is with Kyrion Caldaren.”

My father jerked in his chair again, and his mouth gaped as he looked at my grandmother. Beatrice shook her head again, a clear warning to stay quiet. My father’s mouth snapped shut, and an angry red flush zoomed up his neck and stained his cheeks, but he remained stiff and silent in his chair.

Something cracked open deep inside my chest, and a laugh burst out of my mouth, like water spurting through a broken dam. Then another one . . . then another one . . .

My father and my grandmother both frowned, clearly confused, but I couldn’t stop my loud, harsh, mirthless cackles, even though they made my ribs ache and brought tears to my eyes.

Finally, all the laughter had escaped, although a cold, bitter sensation flooded my chest in the empty space that was left behind.

I looked at my grandmother. “I’ve watched you plot and scheme and manipulate people my entire life. And I’ve endured your plots, schemes, and manipulations myself, including your attempts to force me into a relationship with Lady Asterin, all so you—and by extension House Zimmer—can get your hands on the mineral rights she controls. But . . .” My voice trailed off, and I shook my head.

“But what?” Beatrice asked in the tense, charged silence.

I stared her in the eyes. “But this is the first time that I’ve ever been ashamed of you.”

Beatrice flinched as though I had slapped her.

I leaned forward and stabbed my finger at her. “My whole life—my whole bloody life—you have drilled one thing into my head: Family first, House Zimmer second, then the galaxy could take everyone else. It’s practically our family fucking motto, but it’s all a lie. You have never put family first.”

I leaned forward a little more, and when I spoke, my voice and body vibrated with dark fury. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t have abandoned your own granddaughter.”

Beatrice’s lips pinched together, while Wendell sucked in a ragged breath. I kept staring at my grandmother. Her perfect posture slipped, and she slumped down over her desk.

“You know about Vesper?” my grandmother asked in a high, shaky voice.

“That she’s my sister? Oh, yes. Kyrion informed me of that pertinent fact right before the midnight ball. And then, of course, we all heard Vesper confront Nerezza Blackwell about being her biological mother.”

I swung my furious gaze over to Wendell, who grimaced and shot a guilty look up at Miriol’s portrait. “Don’t worry, Father. I’ve done the math. Your affair with Nerezza started after my mother died.”

His grimace deepened, and regret sparked in my chest. My father hadn’t known about Vesper until the night of the Regal ball. For that, he was blameless, although I was still pissed at him for keeping this secret from me for the last few weeks. Then again, I supposed I had done the same thing to him.

“I understand,” I said in a softer, gentler voice. “You were grieving Mother’s loss, and Nerezza was Nerezza. It’s not your fault.”

I stabbed my finger at my grandmother again. “It’s her fault.”

Beatrice lifted her chin and straightened up in her chair. “I did what I thought was best for our family. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Another harsh laugh erupted from my mouth. “But you did a whole lot less for Vesper, didn’t you?”

Beatrice glowered at me, her icy eyes glittering with anger. “You have no idea what I’ve done for Vesper.”

Given my own research and the information my sources had uncovered, I had a pretty good idea of the things she’d done, but that didn’t matter right now. I surged to my feet. So did Wendell, who glanced back and forth between Beatrice and me. My grandmother remained in her chair, although she sat up even straighter and stiffer than before, as if girding herself for the battle she knew was coming next.

“Tell me, Grandmother. When Vesper revealed that Nerezza was her mother, how desperate were you to keep your bastard granddaughter a secret from the other Regals?” I asked, my voice a low, dangerous snarl. “Would you have let Holloway kill Vesper the night of the Regal ball? Because it sure looked like you weren’t going to lift a finger to help her.”

“Holloway was never going to kill Vesper or Kyrion,” she countered. “His lust for truebonds is too strong. He would have kept them both alive as long as possible, just as he did to the Caldarens. Sooner or later, I would have found some way to help Vesper.”

I stabbed my finger at her yet again. “But you knew—you bloody knew—that Holloway had sent me to drag Vesper back to Corios. I told you how he siphoned off her magic in the throne room before the midnight ball, and I even gave you the footage from the spy camera hidden in my Arrow jacket. You saw exactly how much Holloway hurt Vesper when he took her psion power, and yet you still said nothing about our connection.”

Beatrice shook her head. “There were extenuating circumstances. I had my suspicions, but I didn’t know who Vesper truly was until after she confronted Nerezza at the midnight ball.”

I kept glowering at her. “It doesn’t matter when you found out who Vesper really was. You didn’t tell me Vesper was part of our family, the one thing you’ve always told me—ordered me—to cherish, protect, and defend above all others. Well, you might not have done your job, but I did mine.”

My father’s eyes widened in surprise. “You helped them escape. Somehow you helped Vesper and Kyrion get out of the throne room and out of the palace the night of the ball.”

“Of course I did,” I snarled. “The two of you weren’t going to do anything, so I took matters into my own hands.”

Beatrice’s fingers clenched into fists on top of her desk, worry creasing her face. “What did you do, Zane?”

“Nothing that can be traced back to me. Vesper’s friends did most of the heavy lifting. I just gave her and Kyrion a little push when they needed it most.”

I’d given them a literal push. During the throne room fight, I had used a tiny bit of my telekinesis to help Vesper and Kyrion wriggle free of the Imperium soldiers and Bronze Hand guards attacking them so the couple could finally reach each other and unleash their truebond power.

Wendell exhaled a relieved breath and raked his fingers through his hair. More disgust shot through me.

“I might have done a lot of horrible things in my life, Father, but even I draw the line at murdering my own sister.”

He flinched again, but I ignored his hurt and turned my attention back to my grandmother.

“Why did you do it?” I demanded. “Why did you keep Vesper’s existence a secret all these years?”

“Because Nerezza Blackwell would have used Vesper to sink her claws into your father, into House Zimmer,” Beatrice said, a defensive note creeping into her voice. “I couldn’t let that happen. Nerezza would have ruined our family.”

She drew in a breath, then let it out, along with a rush of words. “Nerezza wouldn’t have been satisfied with being Wendell’s wife. Sooner or later, she would have moved against us and tried to position herself as the sole head of House Zimmer. Me, your father, even you, Zane. Nerezza would have eliminated us one by one until only she was left. I could see it all playing out so clearly—the deaths of everyone I loved.”

That familiar chime rang in my mind, and my power whispered the truth of her worries. My grandmother might have been wrong about everything else, but she had been right about Nerezza. The Regal climber would have eliminated us one by one—and perhaps even Vesper too—in order to take complete control of House Zimmer.

Beatrice shuddered as though the visions still haunted her. Then she straightened up in her chair again, her face as hard as granite. “I couldn’t let that happen to our House, and I would not let that happen to my family.”

“So you sacrificed an innocent child to hold on to your position. Just like Nerezza abandoned Vesper to become a Regal climber.” I shook my head, more disgust filling me. “Perhaps you and Nerezza are more alike than you think.”

Beatrice’s lips pinched together, but she remained silent.

“Vesper is not Nerezza,” I snapped. “You could have gotten to know her when she came to Corios a few months ago, but you didn’t even give her a chance. Well, that was a grave error on your part, because Vesper is amazing—smart, strong, capable, and exceptionally clever. And now she has a truebond with Kyrion, which makes her even more dangerous and powerful. Why, Vesper Quill could be the queen of the whole bloody Imperium if she wanted to be.”

Once again, that soft, telltale chime sounded in my mind. Vesper Quill, the queen of the Imperium? Now, that would be an interesting wrinkle.

“If you didn’t know the truth about Vesper, then you would do exactly what Holloway ordered. You would drag Vesper back to Corios, cut off her fingers and toes, shove her in one of the palace medical labs, and not think twice about any of it,” Beatrice snapped back at me. “In some ways, you’re even more vicious and ruthless than I am, so don’t be so damn self-righteous with me, my darling boy.”

“Absolutely,” I agreed. “But I do know the truth, and unlike you, I’m going to actually do something about it.”

Wendell looked at me, and the burgeoning hope on his face made another sharp dagger of regret twist in my gut.

“Oh, why do you even care so much?” Beatrice snapped again. “You’ve been perfectly happy being an only child and the heir to House Zimmer for the last thirty-eight years.”

“Because I could have had a sister,” I said in a soft, tired voice. “I could have had someone to help me, someone to help shoulder the burden of House Zimmer. I could have had someone else to trust.”

I could have had someone else to love.

The thought popped into my mind, and the truth of it sliced straight through my heart. I rubbed my chest, but that didn’t banish the dull, hollow ache.

Once again, Beatrice’s posture cracked. Her shoulders sagged, and she braced an elbow against her desk, as if she needed its solid support to hold herself upright. Lines of pain and regret grooved into her face, making her look every single one of her eighty-some years. “I just did what I thought was best for everyone.”

Her strained, shaky voice added to the ache in my chest.

“I know,” I replied, all the heat and anger gone from my own voice. “But you took my sister away from me, and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to forgive you for that.”

I ignored Beatrice’s stricken expression, along with Wendell’s, and stalked out of the library.