Prince Ksar inclined his head, conceding the point, which caused a murmur of displeasure in the Council chamber. While the scandals regarding Prince Warrehn and Tai’Lehr made most people forget about Prince Ksar’s recent misbehavior [Read here about Prince Ksar’s dissolution of his childhood bond to Prince Seyn, his scandalously broken engagement to Lady Leylen and reunion with Prince Seyn], there are still quite a few Council members displeased with the Lord Chancellor’s uncharacteristically irresponsible behavior. There have even been calls to remove Prince Ksar from the position of the Lord Chancellor, but they were not supported by the majority.
“Legalizing divorce does seem like the next logical step,” Prince Ksar said. “There should not be loopholes in the law.”
That no one argued against, and Queen-Consort Zeyneb took it upon herself to prepare the bill that would address divorce for the next session of the Council.
Although his previous concern was dismissed, Councilor Derves spoke up again. “Even if Tai’Lehrians are not dangerous to us, they still have the descendants of the renegades among them!”
“With all due respect, Councilor,” Lord Tai’Lehr said. “The only crime the ‘renegades’ committed was disagreeing with one particular law that took away their children’s freedom of choice. They didn’t commit any crimes. They simply chose to leave Calluvia, which is every sentient being’s right. Do we not live in a democratic world? If we didn’t, this Council wouldn’t exist in its current form. Back when the Bonding Law was first introduced, the Council consisted only of the monarchs of the twelve grand clans; there were no representatives of the middle and lower classes, such as yourself.”
A murmur ran through the Council chamber. Some members were nodding, others looked thoughtful.
“Councilors, I understand that granting one colony an exemption from the Bonding Law might cause discontent on other Calluvian worlds,” Lord Tai’Lehr said. “But Tai’Lehr is a special case, has always been. We are cut off from Calluvia and its other colonies by the Shibal-Kuvasi war zone, has been for centuries, and our culture is extremely unlikely to have any impact on other Calluvian worlds. Tai’Lehr is a perfect colony to grant an exemption for.” Lord Tai’Lehr glanced around the Council chamber. “Of course, if it is too much to ask for, Tai’Lehr is ready to give a petition for independence to the Galactic Council on the basis of lack of protection from Calluvia over the past centuries.”
An uneasy murmur rippled through the Council chamber.
Although politics is not This Author’s specialty, even she knows this is an outcome no one in the Council would like. Tai’Lehr is one of the main Calluvian sources for the korviu crystals, which are necessary for the function of transgalactic teleporters. It is also worth noting that when a colony files a complaint with the Galactic Council about lack of protection from its home planet, it destabilizes the entire economy as the stocks plummet.
“Of course, it would be a last resort,” Lord Tai’Lehr added calmly. “We would prefer to stay part of Calluvia, as it is our home planet and we have cultural ties to it.” He bowed. “Thank you, Councilors, for your time. I’ll leave you to discuss this among yourselves.”
As soon as Lord Tai’Lehr left, chaos reigned.
Chapter 35
“I can’t believe you actually did it!” Sirri laughed and hugged him tightly. “We did it!”
Rohan smiled faintly as he hugged her back.
This past month had been exhausting and beyond stressful while they waited for the Council’s decision. Bribes, manipulations, dealings with bastards like Idhron: it had all made him feel incredibly dirty. He’d always prided himself on being a pretty fair, decent politician, and resorting to the tactics that he’d always detested didn’t sit well with him. Many times, Rohan had been this close to just saying fuck it and appealing to the Galactic Council.
But he owed it to his people to try to resolve things peacefully, without completely alienating Calluvia. It was their home planet, their cultural home, and selfishly, Rohan didn’t want to burn the bridges if he absolutely didn’t have to. Not that he would have left the planet without Jamil and Tmynne—he had been ready to grab them and leave had the negotiations fallen through—but it would have been a last resort. Not to mention that Jamil didn’t exactly say yes when Rohan had asked him to leave everything for him. He hadn’t said no, but neither had he said yes.
Fuck, it had been a long month. He’d moved to a hotel and avoided the Third Royal Palace, unable to bear seeing Jamil with his husband. It was bad enough that he couldn’t escape the thoughts that plagued him at night, couldn’t help wondering if Jamil had given up, if he let his husband back into his bed, if their daughter started thinking of Mehmer as her father and wouldn’t even recognize him. Those thoughts drove Rohan crazy, fueling his determination to end this legal battle as soon as possible and take his family away from another man.