"If he doesn't want to accept it, I'll make him," the warlord announced.
Aria was taken aback by the ferocity of the commander. The Koliars were known for their temper, but the man had seemed sensible before, during the conflict. His outburst worried her a little, but no one else reacted, including Ryden.
"Very well," Klaen said. "The council accepts Commander Stavor's promise. We will now read the charges."
When a clerk got up and started reciting all the things the council found to be wrong with Ryden's conduct, Aria saw Wellack grin.
"I am honestly amazed they actually made a list," he said.
Meaning they didn't expect any of this to happen. Meaning they've already found him guilty.
Aria stayed silent despite her blood boiling, listening to the endless accusations of brutality and exceeding authority, not to mention letting Ilotra be damaged.
Politics. How could she ever have thought she'd have a knack for that? It was starting to become very clear to her that she and the other council members didn't live in the same world.
The clerk finished at last. Aria saw Ryden nod approvingly, as if it was exactly what he'd predicted. Klaen addressed the council again.
"Does anyone have something to add?" he asked.
The Koliar delegation jumped on the opportunity to bash Brions, quickly going from the matter at hand to ancient feuds. The Brions interfered at last, but Ryden stayed as silent as he had been from the beginning.
Others spoke too, of their experiences during the siege and their impressions of Ryden. Of his decision to put Ilotra under martial law and lock them all away.
Not all of the arguments were against Ryden. Wellack, the Brions, and a few more pointed out that in the end, they'd won. Not to mention that the general had come to Ilotra in the first place because the council had invited him.
It was all pointless, Aria thought to herself. They repeated the words that had already been spoken, discussed theories that had passed through everyone's minds, picked up old problems and probably created a few new ones. Her older naïve self was watching it all unfold with terrible sorrow. Even as she stood up to speak for the first time before a full council, Aria knew her words had no weight. And if they didn't, what was the point of being an ambassador?
The point was, of course, that she would open her mouth and tell the truth. Sota had tried to convince her that since she wouldn't be able to change anything, she shouldn't try in the first place. Aria couldn't accept that. She would speak her mind and they could do with that as they wished.
The Galaya Hall fell silent when she stood. Ryden, who hadn't paid much attention to any of the arguments that broke around him, turned her way too.
"You are unbelievable cowards," Aria said.
The council welcomed that with stunned silence. Ryden was regarding her with a pleased look on his face.
"I went to see my rooms today," she went on. "And you are right. They were destroyed, blasted apart beyond repair. Everywhere on this moon there is damage that will take years to replace and mend. I could tell you exactly how we could have avoided most of it in advance, but I already did a year ago and I don't think you'll pay more attention to my words now than you did then."#p#分页标题#e#
She took a pause to look at Klaen and the Koliars directly.
"You want to get rid of Ryden, want to humiliate the Brions for coming to your aid. If you do not see the dishonor and fault with that yourself, I can't help you."
Aria then turned so that most of the council was before her.
"But above all, do you know what else I saw on my way to my quarters? People. Everywhere. I had to push through crowds at some point to get to where I needed to be. And that applies to all of you too. How many empty seats do you see? We are all here. The only reason for that is the things you protested against.
If we would have evacuated to the lower levels any later, many of us would have died in the bombardment or by the hands of the Clayors. I don't know what else I need to say. I would think you valued the lives of the people on Ilotra more than Ilotra itself, more than your wounded pride at being told to go and not die."
There was deafening silence around Aria by then. She gave them one more look and sat down. Wellack smiled to her encouragingly.
"Thank you, Ambassador Aria," Klaen said slowly. "The council will rule now."
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
Ryden
He had to admit a part of him had doubted.
After Aria's initial dislike of him and her disapproval of the way he waged war, Ryden hadn't been sure if her support was sincere. It was known that bonded couples resonated with each other, but they also shared the other's mindset and opinions.
Even the cold general Faren had shown some emotion after binding to his lively, bright gesha. The girl herself, a pacifist, known for her opinions across all Briolina, had in turn admitted that some things were worth going to war for.
Hearing Aria speak, calling the council out, Ryden silently thanked the fates. He had waited for his gesha, wondering what she might be like. The bindings had always been a central part of the lives of Brions, but recent events had started to shake some old beliefs.
Truths that had not been widely known before started to emerge, stories that had been hidden were coming to light. And among them was the lie the Elders had kept in the hope of protecting their people: that all binds were made to work.
The High Senator Eleya had been the first to publicly admit to it. Her broken bind to the treacherous Senator Eren was common knowledge now, but it had taken Eleya many months to gather the courage to speak of it. She was the one who refused the binding, despising the man who the fates had brought her, now dead by General Diego Grothan's hand. After a powerful, influential figure like her had brought the lie to light, others dared to speak up too.
Brions had taken the lie in their stride with their unflappability. The news that not all binds were made to work had shocked them, but it hadn't broken them like some had feared. They merely hoped more, hoped for a true, good bond.
That was all Ryden had wanted as well. A gesha he would like, not just love. For other species, that distinction went the other way, but not for them. The binding worked, it always worked. The pull, the desire, the absolute commitment was always there. But nothing could force two people to like each other.
Aria was destined to be his world, his everything, from the moment he recognized her as his own. But with every moment he spent with the little Terran, he wanted her more. Ryden wasn't pulled along by some unseen force of the fates; he was willingly casting himself into the current that she was.
It was the reason he had decided to go about things the way he was. Not to create trouble for Aria, not to shed more blood. That wasn't his real trial. The only ones who could judge his actions were the Brion Elders, but he was certain they'd approve.
Her words were simple and true and he loved her for them, for the innocence he couldn't match. Aria's voice was hopeless. She knew she was speaking to a deaf crowd, but she still seemed to think of it as a process. Ryden knew it was all over a while ago.
The council had set its table and he had set his. Now they were playing chess, but he wouldn't have been a true general if he'd shown all his pieces at the very start.
The look on Aria's beautiful face was hollow when the council members finished voting on the matter. Ryden watched them with detached curiosity, more interested in whether he'd predicted everyone's votes correctly than the outcome.
After all of the ambassadors had made their mark on the screen implanted into their seats, Klaen pulled up the results. The general watched him intensely as a peculiar array of emotions warred across Klaen's face.
First, there was joy, then fear, then hesitation, and finally forced courage.#p#分页标题#e#
The decision is guilty, but he doesn't dare announce it.
It seemed that many in the hall had figured out the same or predicted it like he had. Ryden noticed quite a few sitting tensely, ready to flee behind their guards. It was truly vexing, the way they continued to believe that any of them could stand in his way. Stavor, perhaps, would slow him down.
"General," Klaen said. "This council regrets that it has decided to convict you on the charges of an attempted coup."
Ryden could scarcely hold back the grin. His mistrust and hate toward politicians was known—in fact all of the generals shared that particular opinion—but this was on a new level. They were accusing him of trying to take over Ilotra after he'd handed it back to them. It was said fear had big eyes.
Stavor was beaming, but Ryden read his posturing without trouble. The warlord wasn't sure he would emerge from a duel with him. The general swore to give him a quick death because for all of that, the Koliar stood, ready to fulfill his promise.
"Time for justice," the warrior growled.
Voices rose, filling the Galaya Hall with noise. Several delegations, including the Brions and the Palians were protesting the decision, saying it was illegal. Ryden didn't bother himself with trying to listen to their reasoning. It was pointless.
Aria had stood up too, pressing through the crowds to come his way, but the general signaled Wellack before she got very far. The Palian caught her, pulling her back to her seat. He was speaking urgently to her and after a long moment, Aria relaxed.
Seeing another man's hands on his gesha set his valor squares pulsing, but the Palians knew better. The moment Aria stopped struggling, he let go, retreating to a respectful distance.