“Out of the question.”

“But—”

Amneris crossed her arms. “You’re not coming with us.”

Maddie’s voice was on the verge of breaking as she begged, “She’s our best friend! We want to help!”

The rest of the group – Sky, Imogene, Isaiah and Troy – nodded.

Amneris was having none of it. “You can help by joining the search for other survivors at the Academy and leave the dangerous rescue missions to those of us who can handle them.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Troy growled.

Amneris’ eyes flicked down to his arm, now bandaged properly and in a sling. “You really think I’ll let you go in that state? We are going into unknown territory possibly filled to the brim with Rebels. Even if you weren’t injured, I wouldn’t allow it. That goes for all of you.”

The group looked down, accepting defeat.

Except for one.

Troy wasn’t taking no for an answer. “You can’t stop us from coming.”

“I am your Queen,” Amneris countered. “I can stop you with a thought.”

The Wolf Shifter held her gaze. “What’s the real reason you won’t let me – us – come?”

Amneris flicked his injured shoulder. Troy yelped and moved away. “You were shot. You ran toward Nephthys and were shot with a new type of bullet able to keep immortals down for longer. You misjudged the situation. You leapt straight into danger without taking the situation into consideration.” Her voice continued to rise. “You could have died. To act that way, even if you did have immortal healing abilities, would be a bad move. If you had any room in your brain to care for my daughter or her feelings—”

Whack!

Amneris moved back a step to regain her footing. The group behind Troy were in varying stages of shock. The guards around the throne room moved forward, weapons raised and aimed at the Wolf Shifter. Amneris held out a hand and they stood down. Barely knowing what she was doing, Amneris raised a hand to her cheek. The boy had a good swing, she’d give him that much. She turned her gaze on Troy, her power flaring to life around her.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she registered Imogene yelling, “Are you insane?!” followed by Sky’s “You just punched the Queen! What the fuck!” followed by Isaiah’s “She could throw you in prison for that!” and Maddie’s “What is wrong with you?!”

Amneris took a breath. Her power dulled, returning to slumber. As his friends continued to scold him, Amneris moved toward Troy. The boy paled as she walked. His friends moved out of the way. Though she was much shorter than him, Amneris appeared to tower over the Wolf Shifter.

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She spoke with a calmness that surprised herself. “I know you’re concerned for your friend, but you’re far off staying here. If you want to help people, help the people at the Academy, help hand out supplies or move people into their temporary rooms, or even help the Healers.”

“But—”

Amneris held up a hand. “I’ll let you see her as soon as we get back, but nothing you say will change my mind. You are staying on Lyriumia. Am I understood?”

Troy looked away. “Understood.”

“Good. You can all leave now.”

The group knew better than to argue. They scurried out of the throne room.

The moment they were gone, Jay asked, “Well?”

Amneris turned back to her throne. “I like him.”

“You’re just saying that ‘cause he hit you without your noticing.”

She smirked as she sat. “Well, yeah.”

The Fae male shared an all too familiar look with Colt, Carmin, Dan and Zoe. They all shook their heads. The conversation was over before it begun. It was probably for the best.

Amneris crossed one leg over the other, her eyes carefully going over her Courtiers in the room. Only half of them, including herself. Nikki and Kayla had remained at the Academy to begin the search and rescue and do what they could for the wounded before they were moved. Kayla had taken a lot of her Healers with her. Nikki had found a lot of volunteers to help. Leo was coordinating the guards and soldiers around the planet, making sure there were ships in the sky. He'd said something about being ‘better safe than sorry’. Unfortunately, Amneris had agreed. Which left her with the people standing before her.

Amneris’ eyes landed on Zoe. “Remind me why you aren’t at the Academy.”

The Light-Bender shrugged. “Thought I’d be of more use here.”

“Zoe, sweetie, you’re an engineer. Go engineer something.”

Zoe glared.

Amneris sighed. “As useful as you are in combat, this is really where you should be and you know it.”

Zoe huffed, clearly disagreeing. She turned on her heel and stormed out of the room.

“Okay,” Amneris said, ignoring the feeling of the bad vibes Zoe sent her way. “I have one more question: Jason Winston, what in the name of the Gods could be so important that you’re staring at your phone during a meeting?”

Everyone stared at Jay, even the guards.

“I’m texting Ema,” he answered as though it were the most obvious answer.

“And why, pray tell, are you doing that?”

“She just texted me saying she’s found Hathy.”

Dan snatched the phone from his hand, holding it out of Jay’s reach. With his spare hand, Dan held the Fae back as he read the conversation. “Yep, that’s what she said. He’s also said a few things about—”

“IT’S A PLANET CALLED APEP!” Jay yelled over Dan, snatching the phone back with a withering glare. “Em sent coordinates so we don’t have to go looking or end up on the wrong version.”

“‘Em’?” Carmin asked with a sideways smile.

“Shut. Up.”

Amneris wasn’t listening. “Apep, huh? It sounds familiar.” She hummed, then sat upright. “Of course! ‘Follow the Serpent’s path across eternal night to where Apep slumbers, fangs forever sinking into follower and prey.’.”

“The fuck does that mean?” Jay asked.

“No idea,” she answered cheerfully.

“You know what, it doesn’t matter.” His eyes lit up with excitement. “We know where Hathy is. Let’s go get her!”

Amneris nodded. “I hate to say it, but I’m with the Fae on this one.”

“Thank you. Wait, what?”

“You and Colt will come with me to get her.” Amneris pushed herself to her feet, stepping down from the dais. “Carmin, you’re still on maternity leave and you know it. Go away. Dan, you can either take care of her or help at the Academy.”

The Dragonoids let out frustrated cries.

Amneris glanced over her shoulder. “Hey, you’re the ones who wanted a baby.”

As she moved away, Amneris heard Jay mutter, “You know she’s right, right?”

Carmin growled, and Amneris and Colt stifled their laughs. Jay was at their side moments later.