“I know, and I’m asking you to find another way. Don’t make me join in a civil conversation with the people who murdered Micah. I can’t do it when I want them all dead.”
Borin rubs his temples like he’s trying to gain even the smallest reprieve from this torturous day. “You and Kyron are young leaders. They will view you as weak and look for an opportunity to take advantage. You need to do whatever it takes to have Esmeray safely returned home. They know Stigian is strong because of her. She is a force to be reckoned with.”
“Then I hope the scouts locate her, and she can quickly resume her royal duties,” I say with an unwavering resolve.
“If that is your stance, Your Majesty,” Borin says, dipping his head. He doesn’t appear angered by my choice. I doubt he wants to hand his husband’s murderers our land, but he will always advise on the side of our people and the route that bears the safest results.
“It is my stance,” I say to everyone in the room.
Kyron nods and turns to his general and the other Stigian officer. “You have two days to locate her. If the queen isn’t found by then, we’ll reconvene and plan our next steps.”
“As you wish, Your Grace.” They say with a bow and exit the room.
My parah’s gaze softens as he meets mine. “We’ll do all we can to not bend to their will, but you need to prepare yourself that negotiations may be the only way to end this for now. I can’t go in on this alone. They will want the word of a queen, not a prince.”
“I understand. Thank you for buying me a couple of days.”
This is just another blow to the most terrible day of my life. No one in this room is ignorant to the disadvantage we already hold against the Allaji. Every minute that passes pushes us further away from winning this war. I pray that my request for time doesn’t put us at more of a disadvantage. I hope it gives me the clarity I need to beat our enemy in the same fashion they have attacked us—swiftly and with an element of surprise.
Twenty-One
As the second day since Esmeray’s capture ends, my panic mounts. The Stigian scouts have had no luck in finding where she’s located. Allaji is mostly a wasteland of dirt and little vegetation. There are no villages, or at least not like ours, and it’s impossible to stumble upon any information when most of the citizens of the kingdom prefer their animal forms.
Solving our dilemma with the Allaji has become Kyron’s primary focus. He spends every possible minute with Lucent and Stigian’s top strategy advisors, concocting spy missions and mapping out the best ways to scour a desolate land. For the past two nights, he has remained in his office reading about every war the Allaji fought in, learning their tactics. He refuses to rest until his mother is home, and our kingdoms have a plan to ensure our peoples’ safety.
Borin hasn’t been much better than my parah. He has spent countless hours researching our adversary, reading through tomes, and visiting elders who are rumored to have visited Allaji before the shifters depleted the land. He has a knack for finding information. But I’m positive he’s in it for the distraction it offers, giving him a small reprieve from the memories that haunt him.
I spend my days with my father and his soldiers training. If we’regoing into battle, I want to lead the way. My people need to see a queen who doesn’t fear the Allaji and will fight alongside them. Greer challenges me in ways that no one else has. She is ruthless in her training tactics, and if I’m being honest, I like it. The strenuous regiment dulls the constant ache inside me.
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said at night. I eat dinner with my family and friends, leaving the host’s chair at the head of the table empty and hoping Kyron will make an appearance. He doesn’t, opting to eat in his office while he continues to work. When I retreat to the room I stayed in during my last visit, my thoughts turn dark. I lay in the ostentatious bed, blanketed in satin sheets, and think of everything I held at bay during my day. Visions of Micah dying on the palace lawn appear every time I close my eyes. If I’m able to keep my eyes open, I’m staring at the carvings in the gilded ceiling and contemplating the future of every Lucent, including my family. My mind is in constant torment.
Tonight, I’ve chosen a different route. Instead of lying in bed doing nothing, I’m going to make something right. It’s a conversation long in the making, and the results will be lifechanging for two people.
A gentle rap comes from my door, and I smooth down the full skirt of my dark-gray dress as I cross the room. Taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling, I cleanse all my other worries and focus on what I’m about to do. I open the door, and for the first time in days, my lips pull into a genuine smile.
“You wanted to see me?” Leif asks.
“I did,” I say, stepping aside and gesturing for him to enter.
He breezes past me with his normal carefree stride and collapses on the plush settee next to the fireplace. “Kyron is trying to kill me. He’s non-stop, question after question. I think I’ve given him every feasible way to move through Allaji and minimize detection, but he wants more.”
I cross my arms over my chest and watch as my best friend shrugs out of his uniform jacket and kicks his feet up on the table in front of him. He is so comfortable in my presence, as I am in his. Things between us are always this easy.
He stops pulling loose the string at the neck of his tunic, and his eyes dart around the room. “What? Did you expect me to bow?”
The question makes me laugh. “No. Please don’t bow. Salone has been ‘Your Majesty-ing’ me to death. I can’t stand anotherperson doing it too.”
“The girl takes her job seriously.”
I ease into the chair across from him and fidget with the iron ring on my finger. “I get that. I suppose I’m the same way with my new job. It’s not like I was given a choice.”
“Yeah. This wasn’t an easy transition,” Leif says, some of the luster fading from his voice.
I didn’t bring my best friend here to dwell on what we cannot change. Far from it. I push forward and lighten the conversation. “No, but it comes with some perks.”
“You don’t say. Like what? A vacation to a Stigian palace and endless strategy meetings?”
Quirking my lips, I tilt my head side to side. “I was thinking more like having the power to change someone’s life.”
