I study Harem Hall. Howl modeled every building exactly on the real palace that he destroyed. Somehow, I don’t think the former King kept a harem. “What was this building in the real palace?”
She sighs. “It was Healing Hall. It was where the Priestesses lived.”
I say, “Nobody will want to live here now.”
“Nobody.” She shakes her head, her hair waving around her face, black strands like ropes around her neck.
“Then I will destroy it. Just tell me when.”
Gilda opens her eyes. Tears stream out of them. She counts the females around her. “We’re all outside. It’s safe to destroy it now.”
I close my own eyes for a moment. The destructive power in the Queen’s heart wants to be released. I let it go and it’s scarily easy. Silver light streaks from the heart, forming four giant strands like ropes. Two of the strands stretch around each side of the Hall, extending all the way to the rock face and pulling taut against the external walls. The light spreads outward, sizzling across the surface of the building from verandah to roof, lighting up the entire structure like a skeleton. Wood and material pop and hiss as if the whole thing were dipped in acid. The building creaks, collapses, and dissolves. Just like Howl.
Within minutes, a giant pile of dust remains.
The females clutch each other, sobbing, barely standing. I wait for them, giving them all the time they need, standing with them.
Eventually, I say, “Tell me what you need.”
Carmen wipes her streaming eyes. “You must divorce us from our husbands.”
I stop myself before I react too quickly. “Divorce you? But your husbands love you. More than life itself.”
Carmen says, “We can’t go back to them after what Howl did to us.”
Gilda nods. “We can’t be their wives like this.”
Another female speaks behind Carmen. “We can’t share our bodies now.”
“Of course not,” I whisper. “But if Howl’s actions continue to break your lives, then he may as well still be here.”
Gilda shakes her head vehemently. “We need to divorce our husbands so we can marry them again.”
Carmen adds, “So we can start fresh.”
“Oh.” Well, thank the ancients because it would have broken Roar apart if Gilda wanted to leave him.
Carmen says, “You know our customs: the female chooses her mate. We have to choose our husbands again. For some of us, that might take some time. You must tell them… that we will come to them when we’re ready. But if they want us… they must show us their worth. They’ll know what that means.”
The females join hands and turn away from the fire. “We are going to get our children now, Lady Storm,” Gilda says. “Make sure the males know their children will be safe.”
The wall of flame has blocked the males from seeing behind it for a while now. I wait for the females to disappear into the night before I let the fiery curtain down.
Roar stops pacing, searching the darkness, but the females are gone. “Where are they? Please tell me that Gilda is okay.”
“She will be.” I turn to them all, waving them forward. “I have to tell you all something and I need you to hear me out before you react. Can you promise me you will do that?”
They are all searching the darkness for the one they love, many of them startled to see Harem Hall reduced to dust.
I begin slowly. “As Supreme Incorruptible I apparently have the power to divorce married couples. Your wives have asked for this.” I wait for this news to sink in. Roar is stunned, but I’m proud of the way he and the others recover, indicating they will keep listening.
“Your wives do not exist anymore. They are free females. Free to choose again. If you want them, you must show them your worth.”
Roar processes this for a moment before turning to the other males. “Show them… our worth.” His face clears and so do theirs. More than a couple sink to the ground and tip their heads back in relief. “Praise the ancients. They still want us.”
“They have gone to get your children. They want you to know your children will be safe.”
Roar sweeps me up in his arms in a giant hug that turns into flight. As we soar over the forest, he says, “Thank you, Lady Storm. I will return you to the Residence now.”
