Chapter 242: The Grand Ceremony (2)
Everybody in the Empire was watching that screen, even some people in a secret meeting in an underground room. The light from the TV flickered on their faces.
They had been getting ready for years, meeting here in secret for this big plan. The timing seemed good; the Queen hadn’t been seen much because she was sick.
Someone had even found out a big secret about the Tower, and it got everyone pumped for what was coming.
Just when they were all set and the tension was super high, out of nowhere comes this news about crowning a new heir. Nobody saw it coming.
"No matter who the new heir is, we stick with our original plan," someone finally said, breaking the silence.
"We’ve been preparing for ages, we can’t back off now. If we start doubting, it’ll mess up everyone’s confidence. Plus, with how many of us are involved, there’s a chance someone could spill the beans."
"I agree; anyone in that spot is our enemy," lots of people said, all agreeing at once.
"She’s not against us," a voice cut through the rising noise.
Ren was standing next to Brandon, dressed in a black uniform and a black mask. He was the one who had just spoken.
The room went silent for a bit. Everyone knew who he was—the hero who had gone solo to save his friends while sneaking into the top floors of the Tower.
"Do you know something about this new heir?"
"Got any inside info?"
"Why are you saying she’s not against us?" Questions started pouring in.
Ren shut his eyes for a second. His thoughts were more mixed-up and confusing than anyone else’s.
Just a day or two before, he’d been on a date with Kestrel. She’d kissed him as fireworks faded in the sky, casually mentioning near a dessert stand on the street that she was headed to the Tower.
Ren was totally clueless why things had changed so fast.
He thought back to that kiss under the fireworks, Kestrel’s finger on his lips telling him to be quiet, her easy-going smiles and chill attitude... everything felt like it had a deeper meaning now.
His heart was all over the place, feeling like it was on fire. He wished he could leave, go to the Tower’s top, and ask her what went down, what she had run into, and if she needed his help.
Even with all this confusion, his voice stayed steady but sure, leaving no space for doubt.
"She’s not going to be against us," Ren said again.
Everyone at the meeting wore masks so they wouldn’t give away who they were in case someone got caught and had their mind read.
Still, lots of people there knew each other well enough to tell who was behind the masks.
"We can’t let feelings take over right now," a disagreeing voice came from the crowd.
The one talking clearly knew Ren, and knew that Ren had once been close to Kestrel as her exclusive alpha.
"I get that you know this heir, but this is super important for a whole lot of people."
"You can’t just decide this based on how you feel. You gotta realize, this is the heir to the most powerful position in the Empire, something no one can resist."
"Thinking she’s our friend and letting our guard down is really risky. It puts everyone here in danger, including you."
"What if she turns out to be really bad, with powers like the Queen’s? We should change our plans."
The way he talked was convincing but also a little let down by Ren’s decision based on his feelings.
"Kestrel’s not gonna be against us," another voice joined in.
The guy’s mask had a little star on it, showing he was a fighter who’d come from an outpost to help out. He stood for the battle power of that outpost.
Brandon looked his way and knew who it was. It was Parfit, the leader from the East Shore outpost. This guy was a hero who had been in the super cold border areas for years. Next to him was a fighter who had a sort of tiger-like psychic power vibe.
"Kestrel won’t be against us; she’ll be on our side," Parfit stepped up, waving his hand. "I’m on the same page as ’Avenger.’"
"Same here, Kestrel is our friend," another masked alpha raised their hand.
This one was a tall, sporty woman in the uniform of the royal guard. "I’d bet my life on it; she’s not an enemy," she said, totally sure about it.
Lots of people recognized her. She was the one with the psychic power that looked like a panda, and she’d been secretly with the underground fighters for a long time.
Then more people stood up. So many that people started to wonder what was so special about Kestrel; she got support from warriors from all over, even ones who’d been undercover in enemy areas for years.
"I agree, even though I’ve only met the beta one time," said another female alpha. She had long hair tied back in braids, and almost everyone knew her. Right now, she was the head of the royal blimp’s guard. A bunch of weapons and people who were snuck into Imperial Nexus had come through her, secretly on the blimp.
The young captain took a step forward with two folks beside her and said, "Years ago, we were low-level alphas. But that beta stood at the front of the ship, putting her life on the line to keep me safe. I get why so many of you trust her. I wanna say she’s got my vote too."
Finally, Brandon, the guy running the meeting, reached out his hand to everybody. He said, "Okay, we’re all agreeing that the heir is our friend. We stick to our first plan, thinking that’s true."
Hands from all around the table reached out, making fists, and touched each other. Then, deep promises filled the dim room.
"We’re not farm chickens!"
"We won’t stay locked up!"
"We gotta live."
"So nobody in our families starve."
"So we don’t lose more of our buddies."
"For our kids, to live on land that’s really ours."
"Better off dead."
"Better off dead!"
"If we don’t win, we don’t come back."
Ren could hear voices from men and women, old folks and young ones, and there was even a kid’s voice in there too.
To not go hungry, to not freeze in the harsh cold, to just stay alive—they were ready to give up everything, even if it meant getting blown up.
Their voices mixed together, deep and powerful. They rang out from deep within the Empire, coming together like an amazing song.
