Page 38 of Lacey's Warriors

“My Lady,” Lord Rell said in a smooth voice, “we do not disagree that Warrior Gwarnon and Healer Chel made poor decisions, but they did so out of concern not only for the Earth women, but also for their good friends and fellow Warriors, Nosa and Cormac. They sought no personal gain.”

“They should have contacted the High Congress. We would have been able to safely send a delegation to retrieve the women,” Lady Yanush replied with a bite in her voice.

Lord Rell, as unruffled as ever, said, “Our Warriors originally went with the intention of rescuing the women. When it quickly became apparent that there was no way they would be able to remove them from the Baladium, they instead did what they needed to do to save their lives. Lady Lacey Taylor is Gwarnon and Chel’s bondmate.”

“Yes,” Lady Yanush gave them a wide-eyed look, her dark gaze flashing irritation. “Where is Lady Lacey? Oh, that is right, you do not know. How convenient.”

“Lies!” the odious Lord Pompour shouted from near the middle of the table.

The big Warrior married to the Matriarch of a large Territory in the Cliffs of Goeth region stood abruptly, his square jaw clenched as he glared at Gwarnon and Chel. One of Lady Melissi’s pets, Lord Pompour’s hatred for Gwarnon was real after Gwarnon had humiliated the older man by winning a dual against him when he was younger. It had been in front of Lady Melissi’s court, and of course his mother had loved the ability to irritate Lord Pompour’s injured pride every chance she got by taunting him about losing to a child.

Lady Elsin gave Lord Pompour an icy glare. “Lord Pompour, do you have something to add?”

“If they were truly bondmates, they never would have let Lady Taylor out of their sight. They got rid of her because they knew we would soon find out about their duplicity.” He turned to the audience of Warriors, his deep voice booming around the hall. “How convenient for them that this mysterious Earth woman, who somehow managed to defeat the Hive, is now missing and their claims cannot be validated. Tell me, how did two such fine Warriors as yourself manage to lose your bondmate? Is her protection not your most sacred duty? Funny, that if Lady Taylor is not found, you become the inheritors of her Baladium winnings. All that wealth must be very tempting for a man whose real Matriarch supposedly died years ago. Everyone here knows that Gwarnon’s first blood brother found their Matriarch then died. Sadly, men like Gwarnon and Chel, those with no Matriarch to look forward to, fall to the Madness sooner than others. Perhaps that is what happened here. Perhaps they are finally devolving without a Matriarch to keep them whole.”

The beast inside of Gwarnon roared in wounded rage, but through years of training, he managed to keep his response under control.

Even if he did want to leap across the room and beat the shit out of Lord Pompour.

“That is a compelling argument.” Lady Yanush gave Lord Rell an arch look. “Does the Defense have a reply?”

“Actually, I do. If it pleases the High Congress, I would like to call Lady Lacey Taylor as a witness.”

Gwarnon practically dropped to his knees as a hologram of theiralyahjoined Lord Rell, looking every inch the Kadothian Matriarch she would someday be. Wearing a long vibrant lavender gown cinched at her lean waist with a gold and gemstone studded girdle, she strode across the room like a Warrior, her bright red lipstick gleaming wetly on her lips. His cock tried to stir even as his mind and heart rejoiced that she appeared to be completely fine.

Better than he’d ever seen her, in fact.

Her normally blonde curls now had shimmering purple streaks in them, and a subtle dusting of glitter caught the light along her elegant collarbone and pale skin. With her chin lifted, she surveyed the enormous High Congress hall with no outward signs of fear—a Queen surveying her enemies. This was the woman who had withstood the horrors of the Baladium, and she wasn’t going to let a High Congress intimidate her.

When she caught sight of them, her stern face broke into a stunning smile, and Gwarnon’s heart gave a hard thump. She hurried to their side, her dress flowing out behind her and leaving little golden sparks in its wake. When Lacey reached the defense circle, she reached out as if to touch them, but her illusionary hands passed through what would be holographs of them on Kadothia. Giving them both a bemused look, she nodded at Lord Rell then turned her attention to the High Congress, once again the strong, unsmiling woman who’d made the Hive tremble.

“What is Lacey doing on Kadothia?”Gwarnon mentally sent Lord Rell, but the older man in his dark blue Negotiator armor ignored him.

“As you can see,” Lord Rell said as he held his hand out to Lacey. “Lady Lacey Taylor is alive and doing very well.”

“Hi guys,”Lacey sent via their crystal implants.“You ready to watch me make the High Congress and Lady Melissi eat shit?”

That mental image shocked Gwarnon so badly his cold expression broke for a moment and he gaped at her as Chel mentally said to them both,“Please, my bride, tell me that is some kind of Earth metaphor?”

“I want her arrested immediately!” another of Lady Melissi’s supporters said, this time a Matriarch with flame orange and red hair held back in a glittering crystal net. “The High Congress didn’t approve her application to enter Kadothia. She is here illegally.”

Lady Elsin appeared unmoved by the Matriarch’s outburst as she calmly said to Lord Rell, “Care to explain how Lady Taylor managed to find her way to Kadothia?”

“A few weeks ago, Lady Lacey’s mother, Tara Taylor, became a Kadothian Matriarch,” Lord Rell said in a smooth voice, pausing for a moment as the shocked murmurs and whispers died down. “As you know, Lady Lacey is engaged but unbonded. Her mother had her full rights to bring her daughter to Kadothia. Especially when Lacey’s own infant daughter is here, living with her grandmother.”

“Jillian is five. She’s hardly an infant,” Lacey muttered, ducking her head as she caught Lord Rell’s quelling look.

Returning his attention to a focused audience, Lord Rell lifted his arm, the lights gleaming over the hidden teal blue undertones of his armor. “Who among you would deny a mother her daughter, or a newly born daughter her mother?”

There were a few High Congress members that looked like they wished they could object, but didn’t.

“Be that as it may,” Lady Yanush said placing her palms on the table so her beaded braids fell forward, “There is still the matter of Warrior Gwarnon and Healer Chel’s punishment. As much as I sympathize with their situation, we cannot allow them to break the law without repercussion. We will open the debate to discussion about what punishment is fair and just.”

Various points were debated ranging from all out forgiveness to multiple requests for exile to an island for the safety of Kadothia. It surprised him how many on the High Congress not associated with his mother gave Lacey leery looks, and suggested that she was too dangerous to be allowed to roam Kadothia after her fight with the Hive. More than one High Congress member demanded to know how Lacey defeated the Hive.

Lady Yanush stood at this point, turning to face Lacey with a hard look on her face that made Gwarnon’s gut clench.

“Lady Taylor, how did you manage to escape the Hive?”

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