by SJ West
“As I have stated before, I did not kill Augustus Amador.”
“Without any concrete evidence against Anna,” Olivia states, “the video made by those responsible is simply hearsay. In fact, I put forth that it could have happened to any of us. They could have just as easily laid the blame on you, Empress Helena.”
“Then why did they choose to use Anna as their patsy?” Levi questions, sounding doubtful about Olivia’s suggestion.
“Everyone in the world knows that she has been accused of Augustus’ death,” Olivia reasons. “Perhaps they saw an opportunity with her weakened standing among us and decided to take advantage of it.”
“To what end?” Helena asks.
“What better way to win Catherine Amador the election than to discredit and demonize her adversary?” Olivia says. “It could be that this rebel faction is actually working for someone else to ensure Catherine wins the throne.”
An excited murmur ignites the crowd. I can see that her words have caused doubt in their minds about my guilt.
“And who exactly would do something so atrocious?” Helena asks. “I hope you’re not suggesting it’s one of us.”
“I would never insinuate such a thing,” Olivia says smoothly. “I only ask that you consider the possibility that Empress Anna is being set up to take the fall by an outside force that is beyond her control. Any of us could have been targeted by this group of radicals. I don’t believe any of us is safe as long as they’re still out there. Perhaps we should be focusing on finding the true identities of these rebels instead of accusing an innocent woman of genocide.”
“Yet,” Helena says, taking a long pause before continuing, “we don’t know that she’s innocent, do we?”
“Perhaps we should have a trial to determine whether or not the Empress of Cirrus is actually guilty of this crime,” Callum suggests. “I, for one, need to know who is responsible, and if you believe she’s innocent, a trial should prove that.”
“If a trial will put these rumors about me to rest once and for all,” I say, “then I’m willing to do it, but I’m confident you won’t be able to find any concrete evidence that I’m responsible for the travesties that have befallen Virga or Stratus.”
As if he heard his cloud city mentioned, Lorcan Halloran teleports into the building onto the Stratus dais.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” he apologizes, looking haggard. “I’m still trying to deal with the aftermath of the attack on my city. Have I missed anything important?” he asks Olivia.
“We were just discussing the possibility of a trial to determine the guilt or innocence of Empress Anna,” Olivia tells him.
“I see,” Lorcan says, looking my way. “I think a trial is just what we need. I fully support the idea.”
“If she’s found guilty, I want her publicly executed,” Callum says, venom drenching his every word.
“Execution is not on the table,” Bianca Rossi is quick to say, coming to my defense. “I will not vote for it.”
“Neither will I,” Olivia adds in.
“Since the execution of a royal has to be a unanimous decision,” Baal says as Ryo Mori, “I believe exile to an off-world planet is the only other punishment that can be handed down.”
“I accept the terms of exile,” I say. I knew this was how today would go and am willing to do whatever it takes to prove my innocence. “However, I don’t believe it will ever happen because I am not guilty of these crimes.”
“We’ll see,” Lorcan says scornfully. “And we’ll also see how you explain the evidence I found of your guilt.”
The crowd in the room erupts with excitement. Several people shout out, “What proof?” and “Show us what you have!”
I turn my head to look at Malcolm but don’t say anything to him. My husband knows the one question going through my mind. What proof does Lorcan believe he has to substantiate my guilt?
“Please, ladies and gentlemen,” Olivia says, trying to bring the proceedings under control, “let’s not get out of hand here. Everything will be brought out in the trial. Please, sit down and remain quiet until this meeting is adjourned.”
People begin to quiet and retake their seats, but I can feel almost everyone gazing at me accusingly.
Once things have settled, Olivia turns to Lorcan and asks, “I presume you intend to act as the prosecutor in this case, Emperor Halloran, since you claim to have evidence of the crime?”
“I’m fine with that role,” he says, holding his head up a notch. “I have no qualms about bringing a murderer to justice.”
“Then it’s settled,” Olivia says with finality. “We shall reconvene here tomorrow morning to give each side a moment to gather evidence for their cases. I thank you all for coming and kindly ask that you vacate the pavilion as soon as it’s convenient.”
Malcolm doesn’t waste any time. He takes ahold of my hand and phases us to our bedroom in our New Orleans home.
He immediately brings me into his arms and doesn’t say a word. I cling to him like my life depends on it.
After a while he says, “Well, that went about as well as we expected.”
“I suppose,” I reply, not feeling any better about the situation. “What kind of proof do you think Lorcan has against me?”
“I have no idea,” Malcolm says, sounding as puzzled as I feel about the situation, “but I wouldn’t credit him too quickly with finding something. He isn’t that smart.”
I lean back as far as I can in order to look at Malcolm’s face without having to loosen my hold on him.
“He seemed confident he has something damning,” I say.
“You need to listen to me very carefully,” Malcolm tells me in a serious tone. “You will not be found guilty. We will not be moving to an off-world planet, and you will remain the Empress of Cirrus.”
“You can’t know all of that for sure,” I say, still feeling the weight of all those accusing glares on me.
“You’re being falsely accused for something you didn’t do,” he reminds me. “And the more people tell lies about it, the easier it is to prove they’re lying. This will all work out in the end, Anna. You need to believe that. I do.”
“Then I’ll have to lean on your confidence for now,” I say, laying my head back on his chest and listening to the steady beat of his heart.
Malcolm is a constant in my life that I can’t live without. If his heart ever stopped beating before mine, I know I would be lost in a grief so fierce only death would be able to take it away. His faith in our future is the only thing keeping me together right now. I just hope he never loses it.
Chapter 17
(Helena’s Point of View)
Watching Anna look so pathetic as she stands on the Cirrus dais makes my heart rejoice. My plan has worked perfectly so far, and now the people of Earth are asking for her to be exiled to an off-world. I would laugh, but the Empress of Nimbo wouldn’t react so coldheartedly. The persona I’ve created for myself would be more empathetic toward the situation. Millions of lives have been destroyed, but even though I get to watch my sister take the fall for something I did myself, I don’t need to gloat over the fact in public.
As soon as Olivia calls the meeting to an end, I feel a sense of relief that I can leave and go back to Cade. Perpetuating the pretense that we are a loving couple, Levi and I teleport out of the Mars pavilion together not long after Anna and Malcolm do.
“I think that went well, don’t you?” Levi asks as we stand in my quarters in the Nimbo palace.
“Yes,” I say. “It went as expected.” I begin to walk to my bedroom. “I won’t be back here until the trial, so don’t come looking for me.”
“Wouldn’t it be wiser to stay here so your people at least think you care about their welfare? What am I supposed to say when they ask where you are?”
“Just tell them that the stress has been too much for me and I’m bedridden. Honestly, Levi, I don’t understand how you’ve lasted this long. Why must I always be the one who thin
ks for you?”
Levi narrows his hazel eyes at me. “I just needed to know what you wanted me to say. Knowing you, if I chose to say something else, you’d get pissy with me like you are now.”
“Just handle it!” I yell, slamming the door to my bedroom behind me after I enter. “He’s such an idiot,” I complain to myself as I begin to disrobe. I lay the dress I wore to the meeting on my bed and grab the black wool slacks in the same motion.
After I recovered from the initial absorption of souls from Virga, I had quickly phased Cade and me to Sierra. I don’t want him to know what I’ve done yet. I feel sure he’ll leave me as soon as he does, even with our bargain still in place. He won’t be able to understand my actions. His heart is too pure to fully realize that sometimes bad things have to happen to the innocent. Although it’s apparent to me now that not everyone in Virga was so innocent, considering the deluge of new souls I received after its destruction. It was almost like re-experiencing the Great War all over again. I collected so many souls during that time that Hell became nirvana.
Intent on getting back to Cade as quickly as possible, I slip on my tight-fitting red cashmere sweater and black heeled boots. I had one of the servants here bring me the casual set of clothing while I was at the meeting. I needed something that was comfortable and warm, considering where I left Cade on Sierra.
When we got there yesterday, we went straight to The Grace House to find Evelyn. To say she wasn’t pleased to see us again is an understatement. Nevertheless, after I told her what we needed, she took us directly to a remote cabin she had built in the mountains surrounding her city of Arcas. She told us that we could use it for as long as we wanted and gave us money in case we needed to buy things in town. Personally, I think she just wanted to make sure we didn’t bother her again. That is fine by me. I don’t like her attitude toward me anyway, and I know if I have to spend any more time around Evelyn, I might end up killing her in front of Cade. That certainly wouldn’t perpetuate the intimacy I am trying to sustain between us.
I ended up leaving Cade in the cabin overnight. I needed to come back to Earth to make sure everything was running smoothly with my plan. I certainly couldn’t trust Levi not to screw things up for me. He is an imbecile. I wouldn’t trust him to pour me a glass of water correctly, much less coordinate Anna’s downfall. In fact, it was a good thing that I did come back. I was able to learn of General Stewart’s plans to testify on my sister’s behalf. If I hadn’t discovered that fact, the meeting on Mars would not have gone as smoothly.
Now that I know things are going just as I planned, I can relax a little bit and work on figuring Cade out.
I grab my black wool coat from the bed and phase back to the living room in the cabin on Sierra. Evelyn’s cabin is very modern in style. Many of the outside walls are made of glass held in place by iron beams. Stone and wood harvested from the mountain itself comprises the rest of the structure. Its design is clean and simplistic.
I don’t see Cade or feel his presence in the house. I walk over to the center glass wall in the room and peer outside. I find him standing in the snow, swinging an ax as he splits a short log of wood into two pieces. He’s shirtless, which I can appreciate, but considering how cold it is outside, I’m not sure why he felt the need to shed his clothes.
As I turn around to locate the staircase that leads to the bottom floor, I slip my arms through the sleeves of my coat. It doesn’t take me long to find the doorway leading out to the back porch. I walk over to the railing and lean my arms against the top of it. Just as Cade swings the ax above his head with both hands, he pauses as if sensing my presence and lowers his arms to turn his head to find me.
“Aren’t you cold?” I ask him, unable to keep my eyes from darting down to his bare chest.
“I tried doing this with my shirt on, but I ended up tearing it down the back when I made my first swing.”
I smile. “I’m definitely not complaining about your half-naked state. In fact, if you feel as though those jeans are a little too tight, feel free to dispose of them as well.”
Cade chuckles and shakes his head at me in exasperation before continuing to cut the last log beside him.
“Was that wood already here and waiting to be cut?” I ask.
“No,” he grunts, swinging the ax down toward the large stump he used to chop the small logs on. “I had to cut this tree down first.”
“How resourceful of you,” I reply, somewhat impressed. “A regular Paul Bunyan in our midst.”
Cade places the head of the ax on the ground beside his right foot and looks up at me.
“Do you ever wonder what it would be like to just live off the land and not have to bother with the troubles of the world?” he ponders seriously, gazing up at me.
“Honestly? That sounds a little boring,” I answer.
“Maybe,” Cade concedes, looking at me contemplatively. “Or maybe it would be paradise.”
“You shouldn’t waste your time thinking about things that can never happen,” I tell him. “Problems always have a way of finding the living eventually. It’s just a part of life.”
Cade does a one-arm swing of the ax in his hand and buries half the cutting edge into the stump. He then proceeds to lean over at the waist and gather up the pieces of wood he’s split from the snow-covered ground. The angle of my vantage point allows me to admire his assets quite clearly. I sigh in slight disappointment when he stands straight again to turn around and make his way up the porch steps.
“I do believe this house has a heating system,” I tell him as he comes to stand beside me on the porch. “It wasn’t really necessary for you to cut up all that wood.”
Cade smiles, lighting my heart with a fire that could keep me warm through any cold night.
“To be honest, I was getting bored here,” he confesses. “I wasn’t sure when you would be back from causing your chaos back on Earth.”
“Chaos,” I repeat with a roll of my eyes. “You make it sound like such a bad thing. I simply had matters that needed to be attended to, that’s all.”
“And have you gotten your wish yet?” Cade asks, all humor gone from his voice. “Have you found a way to force Anna off her throne?”
“Yes,” I state, not seeing any reason to lie about my accomplishment. Cade has known my plans for Anna even before we ever set eyes on one another. “I believe I have. And before you ask, she and her family are safe and sound. Not a single hair on any of their heads has been set out of place, much less harmed.”
“I wish you could find a reason to end this vendetta you have against Anna. She hasn’t done anything to you. Why do you insist on making her pay for what Lucifer did?”
“It’s not just that,” I say, becoming irritable with the direction our conversation is going. “She represents hope to humanity, and that is something I have to get rid of.”
“Why?” Cade asks, looking perplexed by my reasoning. “And what exactly do you mean by ‘get rid of’?”
“I’m not talking about her death,” I assure him. “Just an exile to an off-world planet.”
“And how exactly did you manage that?” Cade thunders.
“I haven’t yet,” I snap back. “But it’s only a matter of time before it happens.”
Cade’s shoulders instantly relax. “Oh, I thought it was a done deal. If you’re still waiting for it to happen, it probably won’t. Anna won’t leave Earth unprotected from you. She doesn’t run away from fights. I thought you knew her better than that.”
“That may be the case, dear heart, but this isn’t exactly a fight she can win by wielding her flaming sword. Things are far more complicated this time around.”
Cade sighs and looks at me hard, like he can’t quite understand what feeds my insatiable anger.
“Do you know what’s sad about this situation, Helena?” he asks, looking at me as if he pities me for some reason.
“No, but I’m sure you’re about to tell me,” I quip.
“It’s sad tha
t you won’t even try to get to know Anna. I think deep down you want someone to truly care about you. She’s one of the few people in the world who might actually be able to do that. Why can’t you at least try to befriend her instead of antagonizing her all the time?”
“I just told you why; weren’t you listening?”
“Because she brings hope to the world?” Cade questions incredulously. “I don’t think that’s much of a reason, especially when she could help you grow as a person.”
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” I say, storming back into the house and up the stairs to the living room.
I notice that he follows me inside, but I don’t say anything to him. I don’t even look in his general vicinity. I take my coat off and throw it onto the gray suede couch beside me. How dare he spout the virtues of my sister to me! I don’t need to be lectured by him about “growing as a person.” I like who I am just fine.
I hear him set the logs in the steel box by the fireplace in the room. The hearth is the centerpiece of the whole cabin, really. It acts as a separating wall between the living room and the dining room.
“Helena,” I hear him say behind me, “don’t do that.”
“Do what?” I ask angrily, examining a nonexistent piece of lint on my coat as it lays on the couch.
“Close yourself off to me,” he explains. “You have to know that all I want is to find a way for us both to be happy.”
Still, I don’t turn around as I ask, “Then why do you insist on bringing Anna up every chance you get? If this is going to work between us, I need to know that I come first, not her.”
“And do I come first above everything else in your life?” he asks me in return.
