Page 80 of The Alien Warlord's Fated Mate

When the two stopped, Zoran addressed the assembly. “You have heard the tale of thevyirkolen’s attacks. Now hear the deeds of this female in relation to that attack.”

Mia had been warned that she’d be expected to testify. Carefully, she outlined the events of that day, beginning with the conflict between Zoran and Lord Kaelen and ending with the last thing she remembered before she passed out: the weight of thevyirkolenon her back and the pain it inflicted before its venom seeped into her bloodstream.

She let no emotion color her voice, not even the anger and frustration and bitterness she’d felt when she’d realized Raelka had deliberately locked her out. Zoran’s warriors had found evidence of her tampering with the security system, and others had seen her in the hallways near the science center’s rear exit around the time of the attack.

There was no question as to the young woman’s guilt. Her punishment, however…

Mia hardened her heart. Raelka Korlis represented a clear threat not just to her, but to the other humans and to the work her fellow scientists were conducting. She was a snake in the grass, though not a very clever one. Regardless of any other punishment, Mia had already decided that Raelka’s time at the science center was at an end.

When Mia was finished, Zoran leveled an emotionless gaze on the young woman. “Did you set loose thevyirkolenupon my mate?”

“No!” Raelka shouted. “I had nothing to do with that.”

“Yet did you know to delete Lady Kerus’s passcode and biometrics from the science center’s security system beforehand. This suggests foreknowledge of the attack. Do you deny this as well?”

“I didn’t do it! Can’t you see what that, that filthyklikais doing to our people?”

Zoran rose to a stand in one powerful move. “You dare insult my mate?”

The young warrior holding Raelka upright shook her hard. “Tell them the truth of it, that I might call you sister one last time.”

Mia’s heart sank. Oh, God, she thought. That poor man. Were his and Raelka’s parents in the crowd, too? Were they watching as their daughter brought shame and dishonor on their family?

Not that she would judge them, but the Xeruvians might. As much as Mia hated what Raelka had done to her, she hated more what the young woman had done to her own family.

Raelka collapsed sobbing. “I had to get rid of her,” she whispered. “Had to get rid of the human taint. Don’t you see? I was doing it for you, Zoran.”

“Lord Kerus,” Zoran corrected coldly. “Who released thevyirkolenon my mate?”

Raelka shook her head, her gaze firmly on the ground.

“Very well. Until such time as you can speak the names of your conspirators, I hold you solely responsible for the attacks on your lord and his mate.”

“No!” Raelka cried. “I had nothing to do with thevyirkolen.”

Mia glanced around the crowd, judging the reactions of those present. No one looked kindly upon the young woman. Kaelen Drexus caught her eye and nodded. Mia returned his nod with one of her own. He had saved her. She would never forget that.

“Raelka Korlis,” Zoran said. “You are stripped of your family name and affiliation with the clan of your birth and branded a clanless traitor of the lowest order. From now to the end of your days, you are forbidden to set foot within the Kerusjutji. Furthermore, until such time as you release the names of those who aided you, you will serve as a drone in the quarries of Clan Drexus. No mate shall you have. No child shall you bear. No succor shall you find upon the land.”

“Mercy,” Raelka whispered.

Mia leaned forward and laid her hand on Zoran’s calf. “What mercy did you have for me?”

A low murmur ran through the crowd. Everyone present knew exactly how little mercy Raelka had given to Mia.

The young man holding Raelka’s arm let her go and stepped away from her. “You are no sister of mine, nameless one.”

He turned his back on her. A couple directly across the circle from Mia turned around as well, nudging a prepubescent girl to turn with them. One by one, the people standing around the warlords averted their faces until only her parents were left.

Paulina nodded once, her mouth pressed into a firm line, then she and Anthony pivoted until they faced away from the woman once known as Raelka Korlis.

The warlords rose and did the same, then Zoran, and finally, Mia levered herself upright using the cane she was forced to rely on until she fully healed. She stared down at the woman who’d inflicted so much damage on the people around her, and could find only pity in her heart.

“There are worse things than death,” she said softly.

The whip of a breeze carried the words over the assemblage as Mia turned slowly around and completed the symbolic death to which Zoran had sentenced her rival.

The pall of the day’s events lifted once the Council meeting was completed. Mia allowed Zoran to carry her from the Council Grounds to his conveyance and pack her inside as if she were a child in need of tending.

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