Page 66 of Her Lawless Prince

“You can wait there,” a Federation soldier stated, blocking Justina from entering.

“She has every—” Roderic tried to protest.

Justina took hold of his arm and motioned for him to go inside. “I trust you. I’ll be right here. Whatever it takes to get this over with.”

For the dragons, King Ualan and his son Grier sat next to Commander Zoran. They’d been waiting in the conference room. She wished Grier’s wife, Princess Salena, could be there since she was a truth receiver that no one could lie to. It would take two seconds for her to draw all the deceptions out of the Federation’s representatives. Unfortunately, the former general had wrongfully imprisoned Salena and her sister, and Grier would not risk his wife to their exposure. Payton understood. She wanted to hide Nyle from exposure as well.

For the cats, King Kirill and the heir prince Korbin were next to Payton and her father. No one directly represented the Cysgodians.

“Be seated. There is no reason not to get through this quickly and with civility,” the general said. Her entourage instantly obeyed the command, except for two soldiers who stood at the wall behind her.

“We should include the Cysgodian leader,” Payton put forth, not taking a seat. “Justina has a right to be represented here.”

Roderic nodded in agreement. “She—”

“There is no recognized Cysgodian leader. They are our wards. We will speak for them,” General Griggs stated. The muscles along her eyes tensed as if trying to project control but failing.

“We recognize Lady Justina,” Roderic said.

“As a leader or as a princess by marriage?” Griggs asked.

“Both,” Roderic said.

“The Cysgodians areourwards,” King Kirill corrected. “General Sten lost that privilege.”

“I am not General Sten,” Griggs said before sighing. “We both want a favorable outcome to these proceedings.”

“Yes, favorable,” the general’s sidekick repeated as if those were the wisest words ever stated.

“I think we have different definitions of that word,” Payton grumbled.

Falke placed his hand on her shoulder. He gave her a stern look before taking a seat, prompting her to do the same.

Payton reluctantly sat. Like the other shifters, she found it horrible that the very people who were held hostage on the planet by the Federation were given no say as to their future by that same organization.

“This is too important.”

Payton realized her claws had extended, and she drew them back in. She pushed the tips of her fingers to her thighs under the table to try to keep the need to slash something under control.

“Shall we start? We have a long session ahead, and I’d like to get through it.” The general held out her hand. A soldier placed an electronic clipboard in it. “I think we can all agree that this comes down to a contractual dispute. I’d like to begin with our agreement, and we need to be thorough.”

“I don’t think we all would agree,” Payton grumbled. She couldn’t help herself.

The general handed the clipboard back to the soldier, who promptly began to read aloud, “Cysgodian-Qurilixen Settlement Agreement between the Federation Military, the Royal House of Draig, and the Royal House of Var. Final agreed upon version star dated—”

“We’ve all read the document,” King Ualan interrupted.

“We have marked pauses so that we may discuss any portion,” the general said before motioning for the man to continue reading.

“Final agreed upon version…”

Time sometimes felt endless, the seconds, minutes, and hours stretching beyond their limits, more so under the droning monotone of arrogance. The man kept speaking, and Payton found it hard to concentrate on what the words meant. Not that it mattered. Once Yevgen sent his presentation, none of this would make a difference. Payton told herself they were merely humoring the Federation, all in the name of diplomacy.

“…off-world prisoner brought to, or captured on this planet by visiting authority must be divulged to the royal shifter families immediate—”

“Ughhhh,” Payton groaned, dropping her head forward onto the table to bounce against her folded hands. She lifted her head, realizing she’d groaned out loud.

General Griggs stared at her in irritation.

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