Page 20 of Warrior's Reign
“It’s not her fault,” Reign said. “I should know better. The bodies always try to skirt the rules. They can’t help it. They pay us to check the worst of their stupidity.”
Ibukay sputtered.
Vykhan, torn between amusement and irritation, remained silent. There might be some advantage in having Reign, Ibukay’s personal friend, as her guard. There was a distinct lack of awe in how Reign treated the Jorokai Youngest Daughter, which solved certain problems. New warriors were always too deferential and often learned the hard way they must not always be so. Preserving Ibukay’s life came above showing her the proper deference.
The doors slid open and a tall, elegant female swathed in rich robes rushed in, two warriors at her back. “Niece!”EyahunAdevega halted, a hand on her chest, her eyes wide. “I was at a function in the arts district and was informed of your brush with death. Why were you unprotected!”
Vykhan observed Reign’s subtle stillness, her utter focus on the newcomer.
“I’m well, aunt,” Ibukay said. “And I wasn’t unprotected. It was because of my guard’s protection I still live.”
Adevega failed to notice Reign, and with the size of the room, that was deliberate. “My reports said a human was involved. Have I not told you—”
Ibukay held up a hand, nostrils flaring. “Aunt. I will attend you shortly and answer any concerns.”
Vykhan stepped forward, and inclined his head. “Eyahun.” It was a dismissal. The female left a few minutes later, still doing a poor job of pretending Reign was not present.
“Pleasant,” Reign muttered. Ibukay only grimaced.
“Word traveled fast,” Tai’ri said, face creasing in irritation. “I’ll plug the leaks.”
Vykhan nodded. “We return to the palace.”
His Second slipped out of the apartment. He would begin the investigation into who had attempted to kill Ibukay this time, and how. Because of Lohail’s information, that investigation would begin within, rather than without, combing through the multiple death threats Ibukay received weekly.
They returned in silence, Vykhan responding to the hail from his mother demanding an accounting. The ImperialBdahnwould expect to be fully apprised before the hour was out, but first he must deal with Reign. It was expected.
After depositing Ibukay in her suite, they strode to Vykhan’s office. Reign walked at his side stiffly, her human skin a touch too pale under the golden brown. She’d divested herself of that ridiculous blue enhancement already, or he would have ordered it. Some of the strain around her eyes he suspected was more than anger. Vykhan suppressed a sigh and gestured to his desk.
She stood at attention as he moved to the other side, her wide dark eyes staring over his shoulder. Despite sleek appearances, he knew she was not unscathed. She was concealing an injury of some kind, a dangerous habit.
Anger flickered deep within.
“Report,” Vykhan said in a clipped tone. His hands rested on his desk, still. Relaxed even, if one did not know him well.
“Approximately twenty minutes after entering the restaurant, we took fire from a cloaked drone. Thirty seconds before taking fire, I observed that the patio doors were opening, despite instructions to the manager to keep the outdoor dining area closed while theBdakhunwas on the premises.”
“How did you detect a cloaked drone?”
She hesitated a beat. “I have an ocular enhancement.”
“Interesting. You will notate your file in the morning.” He waited until she nodded. “Evvek confirmed an offsite hack.”
Reign nodded again. “I examined pieces of the drone before your team arrived. It’s elementary tech; it would have been cloaked and waiting in hibernation no more than a kilometer away until commanded to fire. Someone knew Ibukay would be at the restaurant eventually, just not when. I’d do another sweep of all her known locations for other such plants.”
He refrained from offering thanks for the counsel on how to carry out the duties he had performed admirably for the last several decades—but was pleased she appeared competent.
“There is a protocol we follow when Youngest Daughter wishes to leave palace grounds. I expect you to familiarize yourself with it. The protocol is designed to prevent death or injury due to incidents like the one tonight. Not just her death or injury. You are here because a lapse in protocol killed one of our own.“
Her face settled into a hard expression. “Sir.”
Anyone else, and he might have thought them recalcitrant. But this was Reign Obe’shan. She never immersed herself in recalcitrance where self-loathing would do. She flogged herself with each and every failure, no matter how small. He could give her no encouraging word though—she must learn this lesson for herself.
“Are you injured?” he asked, hand curling into a fist before he caught himself, and forced it to relax again.
“Negative, sir.”
Still a poor liar. He hated that she lied to him. That she did not trust him with her weakness. “Report to the medbay to be cleared. Dismissed.”
