My throat tightens with emotion, and I croak out, “I don’t know.”
“They say if she would’ve let your mother hurt you, the Statera would have protected her from the Allaji king. But if that were true, she would have a broken heart because you wouldn’tremember her anymore. And the Allaji king would have still taken the Cyffreds in Lucent.” Her small shoulders lift and fall as she catches her breath. “I think she did the right thing.”
“Me too.”
“I heard Mama and Papa talking, and they’re worried that if you rescue Raelle, Pliris will go to war with the Allaji. You will have broken the bond made in the treaty and the Statera might punish you for that. Our people could be hurt if you save her, but I hate to think I’ll never see her again.”
I remove the gold and iron crown from my head and run my fingers through my black hair. Crouching in front of Ansley, I bring us face to face. Tears pool in her eyes and she quirks her mouth to fight against her trembling chin. This little girl has brought me more clarity and truth than anyone since taking the crown. She doesn’t hide her feelings or accept my bullshit. Ansley doesn’t care that I’m king. She only sees me as the man who loves her sister. She holds me to high expectations, and it kills me to think I could let her down.
I place my finger under her chin and tilt her head up. “I will find her. Not even the Statera will stop me from bringing her home and making her my queen. She will rule Pliris with me and keep our people safe. Do you understand me?”
She wipes the back of her hand over her eyes. “Yes, I understand.”
“Good.”
“You remind me of Raelle when she left to save Papa. She said she would do it and she did. I believe you will save her, too.”
“I will.”Or at least I will die trying.
Ansley throws her chubby arms around my neck and buries her face against my chest, her voice muffled as she asks, “Kyron, can we spar today?”
I laugh, and it reminds me of the most important reason I like Ansley’s company. Even in my darkest moments, she canbring a smile to my face. I could have spent the entire day listening to the grievances of the Khiros who want me to resume the amplification ceremonies or sat in council meetings where I was informed that Raelle and the others are a lost cause, and Ansley would be able to coax a hysterical fit of laughter from me.
I pull away from the hug and study her face. “Is sparring the real reason why you came to find me?”
“You’re better than anyone else, and you don’t let me win,” she says with a bright smile.
I ruffle her curly hair and stand. “That’s because a real threat won’t let you win. You have to work hard to be victorious.”
“Papa always says that.”
“Who do you think I learned it from, short stack?”
She rolls her eyes at the nickname I’ve chosen for her. At first, she put up a fight, insisting that one day she would be taller than me. I told her that when that day came, I’d stop calling her short stack. I have a feeling the name is here to stay.
“I’ll have the house staff bring us lunch in the training room, since I know howimportantit is to you that I eat. Go get the sparring swords ready and I’ll be down there in a minute.”
She hisses an excitedyesand skips out the sanctuary’s side archways and into the hallway leading back to the palace.
I take in the statue lying face down on the floor and the unobstructed view of the waterfall pouring in through the ceiling. It’s amazing how one alteration can change the view. Everything is brighter, clearer, and less gaudy. The holy space actually looks ethereal without my mother’s likeness looming over it. Piece by piece, the demolition crew will chisel away at the last reminder of what once happened in this place. It will be a tedious task to dismantle it, much like the fear and self-doubt I’m slowly working to overcome. But eventually, it will happen.
Pivoting on the heels of my black riding boots, I move to leave the way Ansley did but come up short.
Leif’s muscular frame sprints out of the archway, waving an opened letter in his hand. His perfectly coiffed sandy blond hair barely sways with the movement, and his hazel eyes sparkle with excitement. It’s the most emotion I’ve seen from Raelle’s best friend since the Allaji took her. He has spent every day studying maps of the terrain and analyzing the locations he thinks are most likely to house a king and his captive. He has dispatched several units of Pliris’ newly unified army to scour the desolate land to the west. Under his directions, they’ve hiked deep into caves, unearthed underground burrows, and watched every animal they encounter for any sign of greater intelligence. Despite his efforts, my soldiers have returned with the same report every morning and night. Raelle and the others have not been located. Any reasonable leader would call off the search and redirect their focus on the matters within their control. I never considered it, and neither did Leif.
When we’re face to face, I’m taken aback by his dimpled smile. It has been a long minute since I’ve seen anything but pure determination shining in his eyes. A spark ignites inside me, jolting my heart and sending it racing. I fight to suffocate the hope, holding my breath to deprive it of life. Each disappointment so far has chipped away at me, and I fear there may be nothing left once we do find my parah.
Leif holds out a note and with a charming arrogance that is uniquely his, he says, “I’ve figured it out. I know where to find Raelle.”
Two
RAELLE
Heights, I hate heights. Yet here I am, perched on the thick branches of the tallest trees I’ve ever seen. Granted, I’m not literally sitting on a limb with my legs dangling over the side, but it doesn’t make it any less terrifying. I have four walls around me and two sizable windows to look out of, but a structure—no matter how sturdy—has no business looming in the treetops. Leave it to past Allaji rulers to defy reasoning, make their own rules, and build their capital above the ground.
I rest my head against the cool glass of my tower room window and curl my legs beneath me on the built-in seat. The book in my hand beckons me to get lost in its pages, but I can’t help but take in the breathtaking panoramic view. Various shades of green leaves kiss the clouds stretched across the blue sky. Under the trees’ canopies sits a bustling town. Wood and rope bridges connect one building to the next. They’re rickety atrocities that sway in the slightest breeze and set my nerves on edge. Homes and stores are constructed of a hodgepodge of old ships, carriages, and other wooden structures that blend in withtheir surroundings. Children run, skip, and jump along planked walkways spiraling the thick tree trunks. They race toward the outside diners and playgrounds built on broad balconies. Life in Allaji isn’t that different from Lucent, yet it is.
The sound of groaning wood penetrates through the glass, intensifying the anxiety brewing within me. The shifters pay no attention to it, carrying on with fuzzy, pointed ears perked, beaks agape in what can only be smiles, and tails swishing behind them. Deep down, they know their living arrangement is precarious. That’s why they remain in their human forms with hints of their animal counterparts on display. It’s unnatural for anything but birds and squirrels to reside in the trees, but here I am, trapped amongst the constant rattle of three-pointed leaves and guarded by shifters.
