Page 73 of Her Lawless Prince

“What prisoner?” Payton asked.

“What prisoner?” Falke repeated, louder.

“The one responsible for the virus…” the general began.

“Cysgodian Nyle, bastard son of an unknown off-worlder and Diana,” the ass-kisser supplied.

“No!” Payton ran to jump in front of them to keep them from leaving. “None of the Cysgodians are to be touched. He is Cysgodian.”

“You said you didn’t know the origin of the virus,” Kirill countered.

“I said the medical team discovered nothing at that time of their search.” Griggs gave an arrogant smile. “Nyle is not a resident of Shelter City, and the newspaper chip evidence we recovered offers proof of his involvement. Unlike you, we were completely within our rights to read everything transmitted over our secure communication lines.”

“No,” Payton repeated, flooded with fear and rage.

“I’m not surprised you feel that way. Captain Rita sent us the recording of your dalliance in the supply room. You’re lucky we’re not interested in holding you accountable for the death of her crewman,” the general continued.

“You mean that mercenary who kidnapped us,” Payton countered. “We had every right to escape when our lives were threatened.”

“As per the agreement, the Federation must be able to act to preserve our good name as the primary rescuers and defenders of the Cysgodian people within the galaxies. The execution of the person responsible after decades of hunting those accountable and assurance of continued galactic wellbeing is just the symbol that we need to prove it was time to safely pass off our protection of the Cysgodians.”

And there it was. The loophole in their simple agreement she had feared.

“You can’t have him,” Payton denied, feeling the rage build.

“Sit down, general. We will discuss the article,” Falke stated, putting a hand on Payton’s trembling shoulder as if he could hold her back if she decided to attack. “And I would like to point out that you had my daughter kidnapped by space mercenaries to get it.”

“We already had the information. After we discovered the hidden documents in our supply log transmissions, we sent a team of contractors to collect the cyborg living within the borders of our city,” the general corrected. “The Federation is not responsible for any alleged kidnapping that ensued at the hands of others. All we wanted was to take custody of the machine hacking into our private databases and stealing information. You are welcome to go after Captain Rita and her crew if you like, but I hardly see the need to waste resources on that matter.”

“Alleged kidnapping?” Payton demanded. “Are you calling me a liar?”

“We did not agree to a prisoner transfer,” Falke stated.

General Griggs looked to her minion, who in turn answered, “He’s already been transferred. They’re dispensing justice as we speak. After we finish our business here, we’ll be ready to go on our way.”

“Nyle is at the palace. Unless you attacked, there is no way they would hand him over,” Payton denied. Fur sprouted over her cheeks and neck. Her voice became a low growl. “An attack on the palace is an act of war.”

“Until a few moments ago, this was still our base,” the general stated. “We sent a communication to your guards to have him delivered. If you have a problem with your guards following orders, I suggest you discipline them accordingly. This is not negotiable. We were always taking him. The man is responsible for genocide, and we have a duty to the universes to set things right—”

“No. Yeven Genetic Cyborgtronics used Nyle’s organs. He didn’t know what they were doing and would never have agreed to let them—” Payton argued.

“You might want to explain how the universes work to your daughter, Commander Falke. The Cysgodians deserve justice. This is a big win for the Federation, and for Qurilixen. We might not get what we want, but we both get what we need. Of course, if this man’s life is that important to you, we can always try to stop the execution in return for a new agreement giving us complete access to the mines.”

“We can’t allow that,” Kirill answered quietly. “I’m sorry, Payton.”

His voice sounded far away. Execution? Payton felt like someone wrapped their hands around her throat as she struggled to breathe. This couldn’t be happening.

“Did you know?” she asked her father. “Is that why I’m here and not at the palace?”

The commander’s expression did not change. He grabbed her arm and leaned close to her ear. “We knew it was a possibility that the Federation saw the old newspaper chip. We did not agree to surrender Nyle, though when I spoke to him, he knew it was a possibility. He has accepted—”

“Where is he?” Payton yelled, fighting the tiger’s need to take full control. She wanted to slash the superior, annoyed look off the general’s face and rip the smug head off the ass-kisser. White fur spread down her arm to her clawed hand. Her fingers throbbed as they widened.

How they got here didn’t matter now. All that mattered was that she needed to stop it.

“Get control of your daughter,” the general ordered.

“Where?” Payton roared, ripping from her father’s grasp as she fully shifted. She felt her delicate princess gown rip along the seams as she unleashed the tiger. If the commander had really wanted to hold her back, he could have forced her to stay next to him.

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