Warlord Conquering (The Great Insurrection Book 3) by David Beers (best historical fiction books of all time txt) 📗

elevator and get the medbay ready. We're going to fix this bitch's face, then she's going to tell us what we want to know."

Chapter Four

“The Commonwealth rules the universe. Managing it is easier, though, when we pretend we don’t.”

—Alexander de Finita, Imperial Ascendant

"How did I do?" Luna asked as soon as the recording was finished. She knew it’d take some time to reach her husband, though not how much. She’d limited her questions, not out of fear, but because she was smart. Asking this man anything was dangerous, but too many questions might be deadly.

"You did great," he told her. "Truly, if your husband will listen to anyone, it's you."

Luna didn't want to ask the next question. Everything in her said it was the wrong thing to do, but she couldn't help herself. This was her husband they were discussing. "What happens next?"

She swallowed as the Ascendant stepped away from the communication chamber they'd been using. Their recordings had already left Earth and were flying through the fifth dimension toward Alistair. What would he think when he saw it? Would he think she believed those things? Would he think she no longer loved him? There were so many questions she couldn't answer and so many that wouldn't be answered for her either.

The Ascendant placed his hands behind his back. "’What comes next?’ What do you mean?"

The question didn't sound like he was curious, but as if he wanted to know why she was asking.

"With Alistair." Luna had to walk a careful path. "Is there anything else you need me to do, my liege?"

The Ascendant shook his head. "No, that's all for now. Thank you for your help today, Luna. I know that was hard."

"I'll do anything for the Commonwealth, my liege. I hope you know that."

De Finita stared at her for a long moment. Luna didn't drop her eyes but kept gazing at him as if she had nothing to hide. Finally, he said, "I know. If you'll excuse me, Luna, I have other matters I must attend to now."

"Of course, my liege." Luna bowed slightly and left the room.

She went into the hall, then moved quickly toward her quarters. She hadn't left the Imperial Residence since she’d arrived and had no idea when she'd be allowed to. Right now, all she could think about was her quarters.

Luna reached the door, stepped inside, and didn't slow down. She made it to the bathroom and shut the door easily, then collapsed on the floor.

She didn't know if she was watched in here, but it was the only place she thought there might be any privacy. Her hands started shaking, and the tremors traveled up her arms and gripped her entire body.

She rolled onto her side, tears streaming down her face, and wrapped her arms around her body. Luna hadn't wanted to betray her husband, and right now, she felt as if that was exactly what she'd done. There was no one she could call. Her family couldn't intervene. Her friends would be killed without a thought.

She hardly understood what was happening. All of this energy to get her husband back? The Ascendant hadn't discussed killing him, but she understood it had to be on the table.

What am I doing? she asked herself. What have I done, Allie?

There were no answers for Luna Kane. Only pain and the knowledge that it was nowhere near finished.

The Ascendant knew his fathers wanted to see him, but he had no desire to speak to them. They had of course heard about what the damned former Titan had done: taken over a whole dreadnought with two Primuses on it. Such a thing shouldn’t be possible, let alone probable, and yet, here Alexander was.

He'd heard the bastard's little speech. The man had acted as if he'd won a decisive battle. True, he'd gotten himself a dreadnought and captured some valuable personnel, but did he not realize where he was? In the middle of a galaxy he didn't know, surrounded by enemies, with only a handful of people to help him. Alexander had received the recordings from the ship. It had been programmed to stream the take constantly and had done so until the Titan had cut it off.

The Ascendant wouldn’t lie and say he hadn't been impressed. Kane was a special creature, but he was up against odds he didn’t seem to understand or care about. Either way, the odds were there, and the Ascendant didn't need to speak to his fathers to know what to do.

The Ascendant was simply using the wife to buy time. There was no other need for her. Alexander no longer wanted to bring the miscreant back, he wanted him dead. Before, it had been about proving something to the fathers. Showing them he could move the middle-aged Titan around as he saw fit. No longer. Now he wanted the man fucking erased, and that was what he was going to do.

Using the wife had been a ploy to get him to act rashly and do something stupid. He hadn't lied about the dreadnoughts in the fourth dimension. They were there and waiting. More were on the way and would arrive shortly. There was nowhere for him to run, and if he tried, he would be followed. Alexander could simply drop out of the fourth dimension now, but he didn't want to risk this odds beater surviving again. Two dreadnoughts versus one weren't enough for him after watching those videos. No, the Ascendant wanted the other three dreadnoughts there as well.

It would be five against one.

His Primuses would die, but what of it? They had failed the Commonwealth again and again and had thus lost any right to their titles. Hel would die as well, but that would be a blessing.

Let Kane do something rash. Anything to keep him busy for a bit longer, then he and his movement would be space debris.

Chapter Five

“Anger is the tool of the young.”

—The AllSeer

A day had passed, and Alistair sat with the assassin