Regina had thought she'd had a good handle on the palace. Recent events were making her reconsider that assessment.

It was the early hours of the morning now, before sunrise. Regina hadn't slept at all that night. Most of the guests at her ill-fated Christmas party had gone home already, except for those staying in the palace, obviously. Even many of the drones that didn't usually sleep here had hung around.

Tiredness was starting to drag her down, but she was still angry enough that it barely seemed to touch her. Instead, her anger was keeping her warm and alert. She had made an effort to rein herself in, for the sake of June and the others, particularly since she could tell that her own state of mind was being reflected by the drones again. But she was still pretty upset.

Someone had dared to come here, into the home of many of her family and herself, a center of her territory, and had attacked her adopted sister, young and vulnerable drones and a vulnerable child under her protection. In this instance, both the Hivekind side of her mind and her human mind were in full agreement; they couldn't tolerate this.

Unfortunately, as much as she wanted to punish someone, they still had to find the guilty party first, and that was proving frustratingly elusive.

Although she was quite sure she knew who was behind it. Maybe not the specifics, but in general?

Obviously, her enemies among the Esemen and the Western Confederation, and the temples of the gods, were behind this — they were all obviously working with each other anyway.

"I think they might have been doing this specifically to provoke us," Janis muttered when she stated the obvious.

They were currently having another meeting, sitting together in person and speaking out loud for the benefit of June and, to be honest, others who had overtaxed their psychic muscles. Even Regina felt the strain, although she could certainly continue. There weren't many of them present, just a few senior drones, Janis, June, Kiara, and for once, Florance Lyns; she'd refused to be excluded and Regina had permitted it, under the circumstances. Luckily, Janis' aunt wasn't in the city at the moment or she might have to deal with even more of that.

"No, really?" June asked, earning a dirty look from her friend.

Regina cleared her throat. "I'm afraid Janis is likely correct. There is more news which may confirm this, in my view. Please remember to stay calm," she reminded them, maybe a little hypocritically.

They exchanged a concerned look, then turned to her with expectant gazes.

"We've got some news from our contacts further afield," she said. The psychic link was proving its use yet again. "The powers that be in the Western Confederation reacted quite quickly. Almost as if they'd expected it, although I'm sure there are other possible reasons. The Esemen, too, apparently. Their leaders have half-heartedly offered us good wishes for a speedy recovery of the little prince and the princess, but that was clearly only noise. Some elements in their government and the temples are a bit clearer."

"What did they say," Janis asked, frowning but still pretty calm.

"There has been criticism of our Christmas party, of all things. They made some noise about the Empire daring to perform pagan rituals and therefore clearly attracting the wrath of the gods." Regina snorted and shook her head. "To call it pagan, of all things. I wouldn't believe they even knew that word."

"It does just mean belonging to a different religion," Janis pointed out.

"Yes, I know, but still, it's just ironic …"

"So, they condemned you as a pagan?" June interrupted.

"They didn't go quite that far, although that would be the obvious conclusion. More importantly, they not-so-subtly said that, clearly, Robin's and Janis' illness — which they overstated, perhaps they were just expecting more? — either way, that it's clearly a punishment from the gods. You know, for the godless pagan feast."

There was a moment of silence as the others took that in. Regina could sense their emotional reactions, and noted the looks they shot each other.

"I see what you mean," Kiara said, her jaw clenched so she had to force the words out. "They must have been expecting something. That means they knew what was happening."

"Or someone in a position to coordinate them did," Tim put in. "I doubt they would have shared the news widely; that would pose far too high a risk of word getting out to warn us."

Regina nodded. "True, but that's details. The point is, this was clearly concerted enemy action."

Janis leaned forward in her seat, her eyes burning with a low brewing storm that hadn't really stopped since yesterday. "I get you're all angry — I am too, they targeted me — but we need to think about this. There are too many open questions, not just regarding how they managed it. But before we discuss how we should respond, we ought to consider why they would do something like this."

"Why didn't they just try to kill Regina?" Kiara asked. "She seems like the obvious target."

"Maybe it was a matter of feasibility?" Janis suggested. "They poisoned some younger drones, those more likely to succumb. It would make sense if it was a test, and they wanted to see if it would affect Hivekind at all. Perhaps they didn't think their poison could hurt Regina, so they went for the best available targets."

"It still seems like a risky play," Max said.

"Was it actually, though?" June asked, sitting back in her seat and crossing her arms. "I mean, I think it's clear what they wanted —"

"To provoke us?" Tim repeated.

"Yes, and they basically meet that goal either way, right? I mean, I'm sure they'd rather they succeeded. It would take Janis out, one of our best military commanders and the Imperial heir, but they would've also made us really angry. I don't think it's a coincidence that Robin and Janis were targeted. They clearly wanted Regina and Kiara blinded by rage."

"And a failed assassination attempt is still quite the provocation," Janis agreed. She ran a hand through her hair, clearly thinking through the situation. "Even if we caught whoever their person on the spot was, they could've just disavowed them and claimed it was all some plot against them or whatever. It would've come down to their word against ours. And if we didn't catch anyone or get any proof, then you would just attack them over groundless allegations. They could easily paint themselves as innocent victims of aggression, get the moral high ground in others' eyes."

Regina made a face. "That sounds just about right."

"Which leaves the question of why now," Janis continued, "but I guess the simplest answer is likely the correct one. They just thought we were getting too strong."

"So they wanted the Empire to attack now, at a time and with circumstances of their choosing," Kiara muttered. "We still have the advantage, I think. But it's true that the gap between the Empire's capabilities and theirs is likely to only grow wider. If they want a war, they may want it as soon as possible."

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"And then it follows that we should not grant them that wish," Regina said, raising an eyebrow and sweeping her gaze over them. Janis met her eyes calmly, then picked up the cup of tea she'd brought with her and took a sip, visibly unconcerned. Over the psychic link, Regina could sense the nonchalance was a bit of a front, but Janis was quite sincere.

She didn't disagree with her, of course. Her prior reasons all still stood, and she disliked the idea of doing anything their enemies wanted her to do.

"We do need to offer some kind of response," Kiara pointed out. "We can't just let this happen and not do anything."

She could feel her anxiety and even a hint of fear, but Kiara was locking them away quite well and presenting a composed front. She wasn't the only one, either; the prospect of a major war with the Western Confederation and Esemen — everyone knew they would fight together — clearly had an effect on the group. Regina herself felt some trepidation, if she was honest. But it was manageable.

Regina nodded in response. That was the bad thing about politics sometimes, you always had to consider how something looked and what message it sent. Not that she would have wanted to let them get away with it. "It will be easier to decide what to do if we catch whoever is behind this," she pointed out. "Thoughts?"

The others were quiet for a bit, again exchanging glances. Regina caught the existence of several side conversations happening psychically, but didn't pry into them to learn what they were saying.

"I think our best bet is the two servants who are apparently missing, leaving before the lockdown," Janis finally offered.

Regina nodded. "I'm not sure about the decision to send Helen with some guards to apprehend them," she noted. "Can I ask about your reasoning?"

Janis shrugged. "That was on June." She glanced at her and mouthed 'sorry'.

June gave her a brief, distracted smile and focused on Regina. "She was insistent, probably eager to prove herself, and I didn't see the harm. After all, if she screened them, she does know their minds best and would be better-placed to recognize them, and it seemed prudent to send a psychic along with the Star Guard. After all, we needed to send more than just one person, and backup is good, right?"

Regina nodded, mostly satisfied with that explanation. "They haven't checked in yet, have they, Max?"

He shook his head. "We got a brief update when they left the city, but nothing since."

Regina frowned, reaching out with the psychic link. She held up a hand to stall the conversation, finding it needed more focus than she had thought. "Something is up," she muttered, to warn the others. "Give me a minute …"

It took her a while to actually find the group. And a bit longer to figure out why. Their number was cut down. For a heart-stopping moment, she thought the guards had been killed. But no, they're still there, just very faint … Unconscious. Had to be. Unconscious minds were more difficult to detect with psychic powers, but they were still there, unlike people who died. And these were very faintly stirring, probably getting close to waking up.

She also, with some effort, found Helen, who was shielding her mind hard, further away. For the moment, Regina focused on the guards. Only a few of them were sleeping. Three others were stationary and seemed awake if tired, clearly having stayed behind at some point. She quickly contacted them. The group were already quite a distance from the palace, but they were still inside her range.

What is going on? she asked them.

They all snapped to attention, metaphorically speaking. My Empress, the senior guard reported, we are currently waiting to hear back from the rest of the unit. Madam Helen found our quarry and warned that they were on the alert, so we let the most stealthy members approach while staying back to provide support and backup. She should check in soon.

He didn't say it, but it was clear that he was a bit anxious because she hadn't actually checked in yet.

Regina frowned. They had clearly ridden Swarm Drone Mounts to get here, she could still sense the flying drones, minus a missing one, nearby. That was not unusual; the Star Guard had an assigned complement, and at least her senior psychic students were generally included in a blanket order to Swarm Drones in the palace to obey their orders, and had traveled on flying drones in the past. They were currently in a dense patch of forest somewhere in northern Nerlia — breaking their sightlines — and far from any village or town. It wasn't unreasonable to think some fugitives might have tried to hide here, but she certainly couldn't find the two of them anywhere close by.

Your comrades are knocked unconscious, she told them. There is no one else around. Go and retrieve them. Hurry.

They responded with hurried affirmations, and Regina left them to it, focusing on her wayward student instead. This was starting to look very concerning and she disliked what it implied.

She took a closer look at Helen's mind — or what little she could sense of it, since her mental defenses were very much up. In fact, they put anything she'd ever seen from her to shame. It was like the mental shields from her one of her students had suddenly jumped in quality so much to make her almost unrecognizable. … Although, it has been a while since I even watched her seriously try to shield her mind, Regina admitted to herself. The thought made her a bit uneasy, but she focused on Helen again.

The young woman (probably a bit older than Regina had been) was moving quickly, despite being alone. Regina recognized the effects of a Class Skill from one of the female Star Guard, who was currently unconscious. Helen must have had the soldier cast it on her before that happened. Regina didn't recall how long it lasted, but Helen was moving quickly towards the border.

Resolved, Regina gathered herself and lightly pushed on the metaphorical wall around her mind. If she'd expected it to make way and Helen to let her in, however, she was disappointed.

She tried again, pushing a bit harder and sending a mental call to Helen through it. She could sense a reaction, faintly, but it was indistinct, and nothing more. Helen's speed picked up slightly.

Regina clenched her teeth. She tried to muster more of her focus. They were pretty close to the edge of her range by now, and even just talking to the soldiers had involved a not inconsiderable effort. Trying to force her way into someone's mind was much harder. But she'd be damned if she didn't try.

So she rammed her mental shields with all the grace of a rampaging bull, then quickly followed up with several needle-like precision strikes. It helped her feel out her target's defenses. Unlike the visualization technique she'd taught her students, there was barely anything in that vein, just a simply image of a labyrinth with high walls; mostly, it was just a sheer wall of determination and willpower weaponized to deter intruders.

Regina didn't stop, but kept it up, varying her approach a few times. This might be new, but she still knew Helen, and she was a much more powerful psychic. She'd get through eventually.

Just as she was starting to get the wall broken up, it broke on its own. In a deliberate, targeted manner that Regina hadn't seen before. She tried to metaphorically jump in after it, but she was too slow — it had already resealed, or maybe revealed a second layer of defenses. She could sense Helen's surface emotions and the occasional stray thought much better now, she had more access, but she could tell it came at an even worse cost — the other woman had locked her core self, her deeper emotions and mind and motivations, deeply inside her mind, sealing it with even more impenetrable mental defenses.

And since one of her main drivers at the moment was burning determination to keep going — which she might have been psychically magnifying, even — Regina wouldn't be able to make her stop moving.

What the hell are you doing? Regina asked.

Right now? Running away, Helen admitted freely, stating the obvious.

What did you do, Helen?

Do you actually need to ask, Your Majesty?

Regina didn't answer that. Who put you up to this?

Helen didn't answer this time, although there was a faint feeling of woudn't-you-like-to-know in the background.

I didn't teach you to shield like that.

Well, as it happens you're not the only psychic in the world, Master. Helen paused for a deliberate instant. Or rather, 'former master'.

Regina gritted her teeth harder, but reigned in her anger. There would be time to rage at this betrayal later, she couldn't afford to get sloppy right now.

Clearly, you're not the person I thought you were. You tried to murder an innocent toddler. What sort of monster does that?

Now she could sense a faint impression of guilt. I didn't murder him, Helen said tightly.

But you tried.

There was no answer again.

You will answer for this, Helen. But I can be merciful. Turn back while you still can.

I don't need your mercy. You're not the woman you claim to be, either.

After that, no matter what Regina tried, Helen wouldn't answer her anymore. She was fairly sure her messages were still getting through, she was just ignoring them. Regina mustered another attempt to break through her mental defenses and control her, but it made little discernible progress, and eventually, she had to withdraw. Her target was getting further away and she was already mentally exhausted.

Instead, Regina very grudgingly broadened her focus again and turned to inform the others of what had happened.

She'd found their traitor, and it had not come from a direction she had anticipated at all. Regina hadn't actually taken a deeper look into Helen's mind in a while, so she didn't know when she'd turned — been turned? Had she always been a spy? That seemed unlikely. But she hated not knowing.

She hadn't been close to her on a personal level, but to have one of her own students betray her … she didn't know what to do with that.

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