As they settled around the massive table, Aurelius’s deanor shifted slightly. The theatrical energy remained, but underneath it, Noah detected sothing more serious.
"I know you must be wondering why I invited you here," the king said, serving himself what appeared to be at that still glowed with internal heat. "The disappearances. The pattern of family heads vanishing without explanation. You’re investigating the Eighth Ancestor."
Lucy’s fork paused halfway to her mouth. "You know about the Eighth?"
"My dear princess, I know many things that would surprise you," Aurelius replied, his amber eyes taking on a more calculating gleam. "Including the fact that most families have made their... accommodations with this situation."
Lucas leaned forward. "Accommodations?"
"The agreent," Aurelius said simply. "One family head per generation, offered to maintain peace. To prevent open warfare that would devastate our civilization."
The team exchanged glances. This confird what Uncle Dom had told them, but hearing it from another family head made it feel more real, more imdiate.
"My father made that journey just one month ago," Aurelius continued, his voice carrying no trace of grief. "According to official reports, he took a ship and traveled alone to conduct diplomatic business in the outer systems. He never returned."
"I’m sorry for your loss," Sophie said gently.
Aurelius waved dismissively. "Don’t be. My father was a decent man, but he was a terrible king. Weak-willed, indecisive, more concerned with maintaining traditions than making necessary changes. He treated his wives like decorative objects and his children like disappointnts."
The casual brutality of his assessnt made everyone uncomfortable. Diana shifted in her seat, while Lucas looked like he wanted to change the subject.
"He spent most of his reign drunk or bedding servants while leaving actual governance to a council of advisors who cared more about their own power than our people’s welfare," Aurelius continued with the sa cheerful tone he’d used to introduce his wives. "Honestly, his disappearance improved our fleet’s efficiency by about thirty percent."
Uncle Dom nodded approvingly. "Practical assessnt! I appreciate honesty in royal evaluations!"
"That said," Aurelius added, his expression shifting slightly, "if it was up to , I wouldn’t have sent him to his fate. It wasn’t the ideal way for anyone to end their reign, regardless of their shortcomings. The old man deserved better than whatever the Eighth has planned."
"You want him back," Lucas observed.
"I want justice," Aurelius corrected. "For him, for your father, for all the family heads who’ve been taken over the centuries. This arrangent our ancestors made isn’t sustainable, and it certainly isn’t honorable."
Kelvin looked up from where he’d been cautiously examining a dish that seed to be breathing. "Wait, so you knew about the Eighth this whole ti? How co other families seed to be in the dark about it?"
"Because knowledge is dangerous," Aurelius replied. "The more people who know about the arrangent, the more likely soone talks. The more likely panic spreads. Better to keep the information contained to those who need to know."
"But you knew," Diana pressed. "How did you learn about it?"
Aurelius smiled grimly. "Because unlike most family heads, I paid attention to the patterns. Kings don’t just disappear randomly, and they certainly don’t all die of natural causes in their early fifties. Once you start looking for the pattern, it becos obvious."
"What about the process?" Lucy asked. "How does the Eighth actually take them? Does he send representatives? Attack directly?"
"From what I’ve been able to piece together, it’s remarkably civilized," Aurelius said, cutting into what appeared to be a steak that was still sizzling on his plate. "The family head receives a summons—usually disguised as a diplomatic mission or urgent business requiring personal attention. They travel alone, as tradition dictates for sensitive family matters. And then..."
He shrugged eloquently. "They never co back."
"No resistance? No attempts to fight or escape?" Sophie asked.
"How do you fight an enemy you can’t find? How do you resist when you don’t know you’re walking into a trap until it’s too late?" Aurelius’s voice carried a note of frustration. "The Eighth has had centuries to perfect his thods. By the ti our people realize what’s happening, they’re already his prisoners."
Lucas set down his fork, his appetite apparently lost. "So we’re dealing with soone who’s been refining his tactics for generations."
"Precisely. Which is why," Aurelius said, his theatrical energy returning, "I believe it’s ti to change the ga entirely. Instead of reacting to his moves, we force him to react to ours."
"You want to help us?" Noah asked.
"My dear boy, I don’t just want to help—I insist on it!" Aurelius stood up, his presence filling the feast hall with renewed energy. "The Eighth has been picking off our families one by one for too long. Ti to show him what happens when the younger generation stops playing by the old rules!"
"But first," he continued, his grin becoming absolutely wicked, "you are my guests for tonight. Tomorrow we plan war. Tonight, we celebrate!"
"Celebrate what?" Diana asked suspiciously.
Aurelius spread his arms wide, encompassing his fourteen wives with obvious pride. "Tonight marks the anniversary of my marriage to my seventh wife! A sacred occasion that demands proper observation!"
Kelvin’s brain seed to short-circuit again. "Wait, you married all these won at different tis?"
"Of course! Each marriage was a unique celebration, a distinct mont of joy and commitnt!"
"But you can’t be older than twenty-five!" Kelvin protested, his cybernetic arms gesticulating wildly.
"I began taking brides when I was sixteen," Aurelius said proudly. "When you encounter true beauty and excellence, why wait? Life is too short to spend it alone when you could be surrounded by magnificent won who challenge and inspire you!"
Uncle Dom was practically bouncing in his seat with delight. "Excellent approach! I’ve always believed in embracing opportunity when it presents itself!"
"Sixteen?" Sophie asked, her voice faint with disbelief.
"The Ares family believes in following passion wherever it leads," Aurelius explained with the confidence of soone who’d never doubted his life choices. "When I t Lyanna, I knew imdiately she was ant to be part of my life. Sa with Sera, and Thessa, and all the others. Why deny such obvious destiny?"
The conversation continued as they finished their al, Aurelius regaling them with stories of how he’d t each of his wives while his team struggled to process the sheer audacity of his romantic life. By the ti they were ready to leave the feast hall, even Diana was smiling at his infectious enthusiasm.
"Now," Aurelius said, standing and offering his arm to Lucy, "let show you where you’ll be staying while my beloved wives prepare for tonight’s celebration!"
---
The tour of the royal quarters was a journey through spaces that redefined luxury. Each guest room was larger than most apartnts, with walls that radiated gentle heat and furniture that seed to adjust automatically to the occupant’s preferences. The beds were enormous, covered in fabrics that felt like sleeping on controlled fire—warm but never burning.
"Your wives won’t be joining us for the tour?" Noah asked as they walked through corridors lined with artwork that seed to co from several civilizations.
"They have preparations to make!" Aurelius declared with obvious excitent. "Tonight’s celebration requires extensive coordination—decorations, music, ceremonial arrangents. The anniversary of a royal marriage is serious business!"
"How serious?" Sophie asked, though her tone suggested she wasn’t sure she wanted the answer.
"Serious enough to require the participation of every soul aboard the fleet!" Aurelius’s grin was absolutely radiant. "Music that can be heard across dinsional space, dancing that defies conventional physics, celebrations that create their own gravitational fields!"
Uncle Dom clapped his hands together. "Oh, this is going to be spectacular! I haven’t attended an Ares celebration before!"
As they completed the tour, Aurelius led them to an observation deck that overlooked the preparation areas for the evening’s festivities. Below them, Noah could see hundreds of people working with coordination to transform entire sections of the ship into sothing that looked like a cross between a concert venue and a religious temple.
The space was vast—easily capable of holding thousands of people—with a central stage that rose from the floor in organic curves. Sound systems that looked more like art installations than speakers were being installed at strategic points, while lighting arrays that pulsed with the sa molten energy as the ship’s power grid created patterns that danced across the walls.
"Impressive," Diana admitted, watching teams of workers coordinate their efforts with clockwork precision.
"Wait until you see it in operation," Aurelius replied. "Ares celebrations don’t just entertain—they transform. By the end of tonight, everyone who participates will feel more alive, more connected, more aware of the beauty that exists in our universe."
As if summoned by his words, music began to drift up from the preparation area below. It was unlike anything Noah had heard before—electronic beats layered with organic instrunts, creating a sound that seed to pulse with the ship’s thermal energy.
//Bass drop heavy like a star collapse//
//Fire in my veins, never gonna stop//
//Moving through the void at the speed of light//
//Ares fleet burning through eternal night//
Uncle Dom’s response was imdiate and enthusiastic. He began moving to the beat with surprising grace for soone his age, his whole body swaying as the music flowed through the observation deck’s sound systems.
//Crown of fla, heart of gold//
//Stories of passion that will never grow old//
//Fourteen queens beside my throne//
//Together we rise, never alone//
"Oh, this is excellent!" Dom declared, his voice rising over the music. "Proper rhythm, aningful lyrics, perfect for dancing!"
Kelvin was staring down at the preparation area with obvious delight, his eyes tracking the movents of nurous people, won alike, who were testing sound systems and adjusting equipnt. "Your Majesty," he said with barely contained excitent, "I have to ask—are all the won in your fleet as... enthusiastic about celebration as your wives appear to be?"
Aurelius laughed, the sound booming across the observation deck. "Young man, the Ares approach to life emphasizes passion in all its forms! Our people believe in embracing joy, beauty, and connection wherever they find it!"
"That’s not really an answer," Kelvin pointed out, though his grin suggested he was enjoying the evasion.
"Because the answer," Aurelius said with a wink that suggested conspiracy, "is sothing you’ll discover for yourself tonight!"
Kelvin’s chanical arms began making small adjustnts to his appearance—smoothing his hair, checking his reflection in their polished surfaces. "Your Majesty, hypothetically speaking, how do Ares won feel about charming off-world visitors with cybernetic enhancents and winning personalities?"
"Hypothetically," Aurelius replied with obvious amusent, "I’d say your chances are excellent, young soldier."
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