Page 65 of Her Lawless Prince

It was only the echo of Nyle’s voice in her head saying, “This is too important,” over and over that kept her from screeching and brandishing her claws.

Oh, but she wanted to scratch General Griggs’s smug face off.

And maybe rip the heart out of the forked-tongue ass-kisser next to her. The slargnot repeated a version of everything the general said but added more slime to it. If those two weren’t in some kind of fucked up lovers’ situation, Payton was absolutely no judge of character.

I am the best lover,the general would say.

Yes, you are the goddess of all that is dominant, with gilded spanking hands of—

“Payton.” Her father’s whisper snapped her out of her mocking thoughts. “Try not to glare at our guests.”

The commander’s eyes darted down to her hand. Payton instantly retracted her claws.

Roderic and Justina watched her from the small land craft’s deck. The transport hovered over the ground and would make for a smooth glide over the terrain. Payton hopped up and stood next to the rail to stare at the Federation members climbing onboard their own craft. Others boarded behind her, but she ignored them.

“The general doesn’t appear scary up close.” Roderic joined her against the railing as they pulled away from the palace. His Cysgodian wife sat on the floor behind them, her arms crossed and her head down. The open craft let the air rush around them. Shifters didn’t notice the chill, but Cysgodians weren’t immune.

“And yet she is capable of causing great harm,” Payton said. “Griggs is full of herself.”

“Yevgen is going to send the data to the fortress once it’s presentable.” Roderic touched the bag hanging by his hip. “I have a communicator if there are any issues so he can contact us directly.”

She nodded in acknowledgment. “You reminded him not to mention how the virus came to be? It’s not pertinent to removing the Federation from the planet, and we don’t wish to give them a reason to blame the Cysgodians.”

Roderic nodded. “I reminded him.”

Payton couldn’t help but glance back at the palace as it faded from view. She’d run this path so many times, never looking back as she fled toward something else. Now, she wished more than anything to be back inside the walls, safely tucked away in Nyle’s arms. She felt like there was more to say to him, and yet everything that needed to be said had been.

“I am not worthy of you, Princess, and I have fallen in love with you anyway.”

“I’ve fallen in love with you too, Nyle.”

His voice echoed in her mind. Each moment fought its way to the top of her memory. They had lived a lifetime of adventure together in a short span of time—mercenaries, crash pod landings, black markets, and a well-intentioned brother. Fear crept inside her. What if that is all the gods would give her? What if there was a before and an after, but very little actual love story?

Her hands shook, and she thought about jumping over the side and running back to him.

“This is too important.”

Nyle had been right. If she ran from her duty now, how could she face him?

“Payton?” Roderic touched her arm. “Are you that worried?”

She realized she’d not schooled her expression. “I want today to be over.”

He nodded in understanding. “It’s been a long time due.”

When the land crafts finally docked near the Federation stronghold towering over Shelter City, Payton couldn’t help but whisper to her cousin, “They mock our palace, but their buildings are hardly a testament to beauty. It looks like a hard fungus that needs to be scraped from the surface.”

Roderic’s lip twitched at the corner, but he did not react otherwise.

The stark military buildings looked the same no matter which planet they were dropped on. They did not consider nature’s shape or the landscape’s flow. This monstrosity was what Griggs used as a gauge for true civilization.

Plus, how Griggs could look down her nose at them when her organization was responsible for the falling structures of rust and rot that they called Shelter City just below the stronghold was beyond Payton.

The general and her entourage led the way into the stronghold facility like the shifters were their guests. The white interior lacked style and craftsmanship. Unless one could call oppressive utilitarian military a style and white on boring white a color palette. Payton resisted pointing out that if Griggs wanted to control the building so badly, she was welcome to take the eyesore with her.

Because the white walls, ceilings, and floors needed constant cleaning, the stronghold carried the faint char of disinfectant lasers. The smell always made Payton’s stomach curl, and she tried not to breathe too deeply.

The general led them to a conference room where a large table’s glossy finish reflected everyone’s faces when they gathered around it.

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