The utter silence of the B’Kaar in their suits lent a surreal air to proceedings. He heard none of the normal coughing or feet shuffling of a large group of people. Just… nothing, except the sound of breathing and the awareness of thousands of pairs of eyes watching and analyzing his every movement. It was like being under a microscope, only worse. Normally a specimen under a microscope was only being observed by one scientist, not thousands of battle-hardened troops with onboard weaponry.
“It’s like being watched by fucking zombies. Ain’t it?” Jay muttered, his words distorted by the way he kept his lips thin and flattened. For a moment Cade looked at him and then realized he was doing it so the B’Kaar couldn’t lipread.
He wasn’t stupid. He might not have an advanced-level education. He'd lost that chance the moment he’d been ruled ineligible to train as an imperial warrior. The fact that Vorr weren’t permitted to travel from their home planets was another factor against it, but he wasn’t stupid.
“So what’s the secret?” he murmured back, making sure to keep his expression level and his lips barely moving. They might know he was talking, but hopefully they wouldn’t have a clue what he actually said.
“What do you mean?” Jay cut him a look and Cade snorted.
“I’m not stupid,” he said, turning slightly toward Jay. “You’re concealing what you’re saying. And there’s no point in doing that if the B’Kaar can simply record and voice match the audio.”
The human male grinned and gave a slight wink. “I have my ways and means. Stick with me, kid, and I’ll see you right.”
Cade nodded as the music started to announced the arrival of the VIPs along with War Commander Risyn. He didn’t bother to correct Jay or explain that the Lathar aged differently to humans. He had no idea how old Jay was, but Cade had no doubt that he was, in fact, older than the human chronologically.
“So if it’s all a show of power, why aren’t Risyn and Berrick in their exosuits?” Jay asked as the VIP group entered the hall to begin the inspection.
They were an impressive group. Cade had to give them that. Risyn and Berrick were joined by the emperor as well as a heavily muscled male who had to be the emperor’s champion. A healer who looked like this inspection was his personal idea of hell and a dark-haired warrior also tagged along behind.
They were flanked by the emperor's drakeen, each of the heavily armored combat machines fully armed and on alert. Risyn and Berrick walked with the emperor, unarmored and out of their kasivar exosuits. Neither looked particularly worried, nor was their ke’lath, the B’Kaar’s internal wiring, active.
“To prove they’re not threatened by the emperor or his drakeen,” Cade murmured, nodding toward the small group. “Notice how Berrick is flanking the general while Risyn shadows the emperor. They’re ready to take them on at a moment's notice.”
“Good luck with that. Have you ever seen Xaan in combat? I have. He’s fucking lethal.”
The familiar way Jay spoke about General Xaandril, the emperor’s champion, reminded Cade that the human was mated to the general’s daughter, Keris. He shook his head.
Jay grunted, his sharp gaze following the small group. “Okay, so who’s the own brand with them?”
Perhaps as a result of his unusual bloodlines, Cade normally had no issues working out the strange way humans spoke. This one, though, completely eluded him and a frown of confusion creased his brow. “Own brand?”
“Yeah… like the emperor but a cheaper version?” Jay explained with a lift of his eyebrow, motioning toward the younger warrior behind the emperor.
Even though Cade had never met either K’Saan in person, he knew exactly who it was. Only one warrior in the empire would swagger around in such a manner in front of the emperor himself.
“That’s Rohn K’Saan. Second cousin of the emperor. He’s third… No, fourth in line to the throne. Wait… actually, it would be fifth, if Isan of Izaea had accepted his place in the line of succession, but he refused.” He nodded toward the heavily scarred healer.
“Izaean? That the dude who looks like he lost an argument with a wood chipper?” When Cade nodded, the human whistled through his teeth. “Fuck me, that training must be brutal.”
Cade chuckled. “Izaean training is. It’s the worst in the empire, but that’s not what the scars are from. He is… was a healer. Now he’s his father, Raalt’s, ambassador at court. He and the emperor don’t get on.”
“Wait… what? He refused a place in the line of succession? Does that mean he’s related to the emperor? Is this Raalt the big guy's brother then?”
Cade shook his head, keeping his gaze forward as the group made their way down the hall, Rohn in front as though this whole thing was for him.
“No. Isan’s mother, Miisan, was Daaynal’s litaan. His twin.”
Jay’s expression suddenly went blank and closed over. It was such a difference in the normally talkative human that Cade frowned. Something was wrong. Before he could ask, though, a sneering voice cut through the air.
“And just why have the B’Kaar decided to parade trallshit in front of our glorious emperor?”
He turned to find Rohn K’Saan glaring down his nose like Cade was something obnoxious he’d just scraped off his boot.
The temperature in the hall dropped as he stared the arrogant princeling down. He stood there, all puffed up with his own importance like he was the emperor himself.
“I am a member of the Devan’kra crew,” he replied, resisting the urge to spread the arrogant draanthic’s nose all over his face. “With just as much right to be here as anyone else to honor our Emperor.”
“Like I believe anything a lying piece of Vorr trall says,” Rohn growled, stepping forward. Cade hid his amusement. If the male was trying to use his bigger frame to intimidate Cade, he was barking up the wrong tree.
“Just because your ancestor created the empire,” Rohn leaned in to hiss, his severe features twisted with anger. “Don’t you go eyeing up the throne, Vorr trall.”
Cade scored his reactions, well aware he was surrounded by thousands of B’Kaar warriors, and that the emperor’s drakeen were mere feet away. Sure, all the rumors said that Daaynal didn’t like the jumped-up piece of trall, but there was no way he could get away with knocking him on his ass without being slaughtered on the spot.
But he couldn’t let the prince’s words go unchallenged.
He curled his lip back. “Doesn’t look like I’m the one with the eye on the throne. Careful the emperor doesn’t find himself a little human mate. You wouldn’t even be… What are you now? The spare spare spare?”
Rohn snarled, his expression twisting with fury. Cade had less than half a second’s warning before the bigger warrior launched himself forward, fist wound back.
But Cade didn’t need even that long. He twisted just as the blow was about to land, leaning back so Rohn missed his mark by a fraction of an inch. Committed to the blow, he stumbled as his momentum took him around.
Cade exploded into movement, grabbing the prince’s shoulders and twisting to slam a hard knee up into his guts. Rohn doubled over, his breath exiting his lungs on a short grunt of pain, so Cade took the opening to plant a heavy boot in his ass, sending him sprawling to the floor at the emperor’s feet.