“They have dragged their feet, claiming we don’t yet have all the information we need . . .”
It was true. Nero didn’t have all the information, but he was motivated by grief and fear. Rhee knew all too well what that was like. He wanted to send a message, and he wanted justice.
Don’t confuse retaliation with fairness, her mother had said once, gripping Rhee and Joss by the ears. More forgotten memories. Her mother wrenching Joss and Rhee apart after they fought over who knows what. “You don’t resort to violence just because you’re sad or angry . . .”
Rhee wanted to tell Nero that now.
“For too long have we ignored the threat that these savages have posed,” Nero continued. Savages? Rhee had never heard him use that kind of language before. “For too long have our immigration policies been lax. We let a Wraetan onto our planet, let him serve in our army and wear our uniform, gave him a place that could’ve belonged to one of your children instead. And he repays us by killing our princess!”
Rhee was surprised to hear murmurs of agreement. “Dusties,” someone next to her muttered, and she felt a sharp twisting in her stomach. Was there really so much hatred in the universe, so much prejudice, even among people who claimed to be unbiased? Had this always been true? Or had something changed in the week since she was supposedly killed?
Where are they going? Rhee remembered asking as a kid when she’d seen footage of the Wraetan refugees traveling on the holos. It seemed like they’d walked forever, across an entire season when the flowers bloomed and died again. Yet another organic memory she had to shake away.
“They’re looking for a new home,” Joss had told her. Rhee picked up a stylus and began to draw all the houses they’d build for them on Kalu. At first, Joss’s pout got a little bigger—like it did when she got sad and might cry—but then she’d just said: “Grow up.”
The Kalusian woman who’d caused the outburst earlier let out a cry, and even though several people looked in her direction, the cameras didn’t. She was being dragged out by two Tasinn, thrashing and kicking, and no one moved to help her. Not even Rhee. She stood perfectly still, shame burning her face, as the woman was taken.
“The Rose of the Galaxy is gone,” Nero said once the woman had exited and he had everyone’s focus once more. His face looked like it was carved from marble by a master sculptor. He’d never looked more handsome, or more ruthless. “As a planet, we should rally together and vow, once and for all: Wraeta, and any planet foolish enough to back them, will pay.”
The energy in the car frightened her: It wasn’t curious. It was charged, electric, angry.
“What’s the status of the investigation of Alyosha Myraz?” a reporter now called out. “Was he receiving directions?”
“We think it is likely he was reporting to a larger terrorist organization, yes,” Nero said, nodding his head.
“And his hostage? Vincent, from The Revolutionary Boys?”
“No word yet. We’ve been in touch with his family . . .”
“Any idea where the fugitive has gone?” someone interrupted.
“We’ve got every UniForce cruiser from here to the Outer Belt looking for him, and a bounty on his head that will make his captor rich for life. We’re confident we’ll find him.”
A Toncdel whose camera was built right into the hardware of his exoskeleton spoke up next. “Have you determined how he fled the scene? I have an anonymous source that says a royal escape pod is unaccounted for.”
She straightened up. She’d assumed that the royal escape pod had been lost to the dark folds of the universe. Otherwise, someone would have found Veyron’s body, and her braid. Someone would know she’d made it out alive. And the question had in fact caused a stir: Everyone was whispering, muttering, straining to catch a glimpse of the reporter.
“I’m afraid that’s untrue,” Nero said, and Rhee felt all the air go out of her chest. “All the pods were accounted for. The pods were used to ferry off the only survivors, an evacuation effort I and Regent Seotra were involved in.”
Nero was lying. Not all the pods were accounted for . . .
The icy feeling spread to her head and built pressure behind her eyes. Tai Reyanna had said that Veyron must have planted an explosive device in case his attempt on Rhee’s life failed. But how had they known to evacuate even before the initial blast?