“No! Don’t let her run off. No, no. Not like that. Now you’re holding her too tight! She doesn’t like to be held like that. Like that, that’s better.”

Felitïa did her best to approach the throne without drawing attention to herself. Even though the herald had announced her arrival, she felt it best not to interrupt anything. Sinitïa was making enough noise as it was anyway.

Sinitïa had an easel and paints set up at the foot of the stairs leading up to the throne. Anita sat on the throne, trying to hold onto a shaggy, brown-haired dog that clearly did not want to be there. Standing beside the throne, with a somewhat bemused look on her face was Nin-Akna.

“Your Highness,” Anita said as the dog tried to yank itself from her grip, “while I appreciate you doing this, it is supposed to be an official portrait. The dog isn’t mine, so why should I be holding onto it?”

“Her,” Sinitïa said. “She’s a she, not an it.”

“Sorry, but why do I need her?”

“Because cute animals make people like you more. When people look at your portrait, they’ll think, what a nice person. I like her. I’m glad she’s my ruler.”

Anita frowned and continued to struggle with the dog.

“That seems a little far-fetched,” Nin-Akna said. “I certainly don’t look at portraits like that.”

“Well, I do,” Sinitïa said.

“If I might interject, your Ladyship…” Etiënne Gen, who had been standing off to the side amongst a small group of courtiers, came forward to stand beside Sinitïa.

Anita managed to hold the dog’s head down, so her own was visible. She nodded.

“I have to agree with her Highness. She may not be the most worldly person and is probably basing her judgement on instinct, but I can speak from experience that would support her supposition. People do react better to such things. It’s not so much the cute animal, as her Highness puts it, but rather the general air of calm and kindness it represents. People do react subconsciously to images around them. A picture of you seated on your throne with a warrior woman at your side projects strength, which is a nice thing to have in a portrait, but having Jeanne there as well, also projects kindness. People seeing your portrait, will see you as both a strong ruler and a kind, just one.”

Sinitïa grinned. “Thank you, Etiënne!”

Etiënne gave a deep, flourishing bow. “My pleasure, your Highness.”

“Oh, very well,” Anita said, “but can you please help me calm her down? She keeps panting in my face, and her breath...oh my, can anything be done about her breath?”

“Apologies, your Ladyship.” Gen strode up the steps to the throne, and looked at the dog sternly. “Jeanne.”

The dog stared at him, mouth open, tongue hanging out.

“Be a good girl and lie down on her Ladyship’s lap.”

The dog continued to stare, head tilted, and pant.

“Jeanne! Lie down.”

With a tilt of her head to the other side, Jeanne finally lowered herself down to lie in Anita’s lap.

“Apologies, your Ladyship,” Gen said. “She’s well trained, but not accustomed to lying in someone’s lap. This is a new thing started by her Highness.”

Anita simply nodded.

“Okay,” Sinitïa said, “try to keep as still as possible.”

Jeanne raised her head.

“And keep Jeanne’s head down!”

Anita used her hands to gently push the dog’s head back down.

“I’ll stay nearby in case I’m needed,” Etiënne said as Sinitïa set to work.

Again, trying to be unobtrusive, Felitïa decided to cross the room to where the courtiers were standing. Gen’s first mate, Miana Ting was standing with them. A meeting with Anita, Gen, and Ting was the reason she was here.

Her path took her close to Sinitïa, who spread her arms and tried to cover the easel. “Don’t look! It’s not ready!”

“Don’t worry, I won’t.” She had actually caught a glimpse of what was there: just a few charcoal outlines. Sinitïa had nothing to be embarrassed by, but it was best just to let Sinitïa be Sinitïa.

When she reached Miana Ting, the first mate bowed their head slightly. “Your Highness, it is good to see you again.”

“Please, just—”

“Felitïa, of course. Sorry, I get so used to formalities that it can be hard to ignore them sometimes. You’re looking well. Much better than the last time I saw you, I think. More...rested?”

Felitïa nodded with a smile. “Yes, I’m actually sleeping again. How much have you heard about...well, everything?”

“A little. I know you were prevented from sleeping for quite some time.” They looked up at Felitïa with those piercing grey eyes. “I confess I also asked Meleng about the images in your head you mentioned last time. I was...curious since you said I was one of them.”

Felitïa grimaced a little. She had forgotten about that. Truth be told, she had forgotten most of that encounter, and only knew what Zandrue kept teasing her about.

Miana had not broken eye contact, and Felitïa began to feel a little self-conscious, so she sputtered, “Yes, the...uh...line-up I call it. Or just the queue. I’m not really sure how to refer to it.” She looked away, towards the throne, where Anita was struggling with the dog again.

“So, tell me about it,” Miana said.

“Huh?” Felitïa looked back at them. “The line-up? Oh, it’s a bit hard to explain. Sometimes, when I meet someone… Sorry, that’s a bit inaccurate. It actually seems to be when I first learn of someone. It’s not necessarily when I meet them. But anyway, when I first learn of them, I get an image of them in my head. Or rather, the image was already there, just blurred out. When I learn of a person, that person’s image clears. You’re the eleventh in the line. The line is in the order that I meet them, even if that’s different from when I learn of them. My friend, Quilla, for example, I learned of her before I met her and her image cleared before some of the ones in front of her. Does that make sense?”

Miana raised their thin eyebrows. “It was a bit rambly, but I think I understand.”

“You don’t find it strange?”

A light hint of a smile crossed Miana’s lips. “Of course I find it strange. I only said I understood what you were saying.”

“Right, that’s good, because it is pretty strange. I don’t really understand it, though I think the images might have been put there by a woman I might have met when I was very young.”

“And these images, do they do anything?”

Felitïa shook her head. “They stand still as statues, each looking forward at the person in front of them. Well, except for Zandrue, who’s at the very front. She just...sort of stares straight ahead. They do seem to reflect your current state though.”

“So my image is currently dressed as I am right now, in uniform with my cap in my hands?”

“Uh, no, not exactly. I actually can’t see you right now because Mikranasta over there is blocking it, but, um…” Her cheeks warmed. “When you’re there, you’re all...um...naked. By state, I mean if you’re injured or something like that.” She was grateful she couldn’t see the image right now.

Miana looked up at her with raised eyebrows. “So there’s a naked image of me in your head.”

Felitïa tried to avoid eye contact, but those eyes just drew attention to them. “Well, like I said, technically not right at this moment, but yes.” Her cheeks warmed more. “I hope that doesn’t bother you.”

Miana cracked a smile. “To be honest, I’m not sure what to think, but I will confess, Meleng warned me of that part in advance. I just wanted to hear you explain it.”

“Ah, right.” Felitïa broke eye contact and looked back over at Anita and Nin-Akna. The dog had turned around but was back to lying in Anita’s lap.

Miana chuckled. “You don’t need to be embarrassed.”

“Thank you,” Felitïa said.

Awkward silence between them followed. Felitïa tried to watch Sinitïa paint, afraid to look back at Miana. She wanted to look back, but also didn’t want them to think she was staring at them.

Eventually, she said, “So...um...you ferried Sinitïa around. And Meleng and Jorvan, of course.”

“Yes.”

“What was that like?” She risked a quick glance at Miana, who was looking up at her with raised eyebrows.

“Your sister is…” Miana looked over at Sinitïa, and took some time to answer.

“You can be honest,” Felitïa said. “I won’t be offended.”

“A handful.” Miana looked back at Felitïa and smiled. “But most of the difficulties of our trip were not her fault. We had some problems in Beldrum that could possibly be attributed to her. People were looking for her because she had run away. But other than that, nothing else had anything to do with her.”

“I’m glad she wasn’t a problem for you,” Felitïa said. “I’ve travelled with her before. I know what she can be like.”

Miana chuckled. “As I said, she can be a handful. We failed to complete almost our entire trade route. Lost a lot of profit.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. If there’s anything I can—”

Miana chuckled again and shook their head. “No, it’s fine. Sinitïa paid us enough to more than double what we’d hoped to earn. I would never have let Etiënne break our route otherwise.”

“Isn’t he the captain?”

“Yes, but he knows when to defer to me.” They looked up at Felitïa and grinned.

Felitïa laughed.

“I will confess, I’ve grown very fond of Sinitïa. But don’t tell her that.”

Felitïa looked them in the eyes.

“I have a reputation to maintain.”

“I promise I wouldn’t dare.” She didn’t look away this time.

Miana stepped up closer beside Felitïa, close enough that their arms almost touched. They looked up and lowered their voice. “It occurs to me, you do owe me something though, if you’re up for it.” Their hand brushed against hers.

“Oh?” She almost looked away again, but she forced herself not to. Her heart beat faster.

“That image of me sometimes in your head. You’ve gotten to see me in such a state, you should return the favour.”

Felitïa gulped, her heart racing. Gods, she hoped her face wasn’t too red. What would anyone looking at her think was going on? “I, um…” She gulped again. “I think I’d like that. Unfortunately, there are a few complications.”

Miana raised their eyebrows. “What complications?”

Felitïa nodded towards Mikranasta, who was standing some distance away. The Isyar was watching the two of them, but Felitïa was reasonably sure she couldn’t hear what they were saying. “Her, for one. I can’t do anything without her or her son monitoring me.”

Miana glanced momentarily in Mikranasta’s direction, appeared to think for a moment, then shrugged. “It doesn’t bother me if it doesn’t bother you.”

Felitïa gulped. “It does, kind of.”

Miana shrugged again, and stepped back to where they had been standing before. “A shame, but I understand.”

“Thanks, I…” She wanted to explain herself more, but the right words were not suggesting themselves.

“Lady Zandromeda Armida!”

At the sound of the herald’s voice, Felitïa looked straight over towards the main entrance doors, glad of a reason to break eye contact with Miana.

Zandrue hurried straight over to Felitïa, receiving a brief “Shoo!” from Sinitïa when she passed between Sinitïa and the throne.

“Zandrue!” Felitïa said. “Have you...um…” She indicated Miana. “Have you met Miana?”

Zandrue glanced briefly at Miana and nodded. “Yes, same time you did, remember?”

Felitïa frowned. “Right, of course. I...uh...forgot.” Her cheeks warmed again. Gods, she was so out of sorts around Miana. She had thought the first time had been because of her tiredness, but now… She really needed to stop letting a simple attraction get the better of her.

Zandrue looked again at Miana, who looked back, head tilted upwards, eyes angled almost down as a result. They said nothing.

“We’ve just been chatting about Sinitïa, and what it’s like to travel with her,” Felitïa said.

Zandrue looked back at Felitïa. “Right. Listen, can I speak to you for a moment?”

“Of course.”

“Sorry, Miana. I’ll bring her back to you in a moment. Good to see you again.” Zandrue took Felitïa’s arm and led her off to the side a little.

“What’s up?” Felitïa asked.

Zandrue paced a little before saying anything. “I’ve been thinking.”

Felitïa waited a moment. “About?”

Zandrue stopped pacing and looked her in the eyes. “About the business with the church and the messages. I’m starting to think the problem isn’t here. It’s in Arnor City. I think I should go to Arnor City.”

“Zandrue, you found three dead bodies in the cathedral. How is that not something?”

“Yes, okay, that’s something. I agree. However, I found nothing else. I’m sure there are Darkness Worshippers at work, but I doubt Bandren is one of them. I suspect the problems with the messages are on Arnor City’s side.”

Felitïa watched Zandrue a moment and sighed.

“Well?” Zandrue prodded.

“You’re sure this isn’t because of Rudiger?”

“Of course it’s about Rudiger. I’m fucking worried about him. But that’s not the only reason. I really am convinced the source of the problem is there.”

“It’ll take months to get there.”

Zandrue half-nodded, half-shrugged. “Yes, but there’s a faster way. The Pearl. It got me here. It can get me back.”

Felitïa sighed again. She’d expected Zandrue to bring that up. “We don’t know how to use the Pearl.”

Zandrue grabbed Felitïa’s arm again and leaned in close. “Then we figure it out. Insist that Agernon start work on it.”

“He refuses to start without me there, and he won’t do it if either Mikranasta or Hedromornasta is there.”

“Then insist, like I said. Tell him he has to do it. He has to fucking get over his dislike of those two. I don’t like them much either, but I’ll work with them, and he needs to, too.”

Felitïa sighed and stared into Zandrue’s eyes for a moment. Gods, she wished she could sense emotions right now. She hated having to go by instinct, but she was fairly certain there was fear in those eyes, and she remembered well what Zandrue’s fear was like.

There was also the fact Zandrue was right. She needed to be more insistent with Agernon, as much as she didn’t want to—as much as she didn’t want to confirm his fears that she was becoming too much of a noble. Too much of a princess. But they needed to know what was happening in Arnor City, regardless of what was or wasn’t happening here. And to know that, they needed the Pearl.

The side door near where they were standing opened. A courtier entered and hurried towards the throne.

“Please,” Zandrue said.

Felitïa nodded. “All right. I’ll talk to him. I’ll try to make him understand.”

Zandrue gave a thin smile. “Thanks.”

Felitïa hugged her. “I’m sure Rudiger will be fine.”

Zandrue shuddered in her arms. “I know. I just…” She shook a little more and hugged Felitïa tighter. “I just need to know for sure.”

“I understand.”

They held each other for a moment, while Zandrue’s shuddering gradually calmed.

There was a bark from the dog, and they let go of each other and looked over to the throne.

Anita had stood up, and the dog was waddling back over to Captain Gen. The courtier who had entered a few moments ago hurried away again.

“I’m sorry, your Highness. We’ll have to continue this later. Something’s come up.”

Sinitïa nodded sadly. “That’s okay.”

Anita looked aside and beckoned in Felitïa’s direction. “Your Highness, I think you should come join me over here.”

Felitïa nodded and approached the throne, Zandrue beside her. “Honestly, Anita, you can just call me Felitïa.”

Anita gave a small smile. “In private, of course, but I’d prefer to maintain the proper decorum in the audience chamber, especially when we’re about to have an audience.”

Felitïa curtsied. “As you wish, your Ladyship.”

“What’s up?” Zandrue asked.

“Father Bandren from Saints Cathedral is here with news from Arnor City.”

“What news?” Zandrue asked.

Anita shook her head. “I don’t know yet. He’s being shown in shortly.” She indicated the throne. “Your Highness?”

Felitïa shook her head. “Oh no, I couldn’t. It’s your…” She trailed off at the exasperated look from Anita. “All right.” With a silent groan, she went over to the throne and sat down. Despite its cushions, she really didn’t find it to be a comfortable seat.

Nin-Akna leaned over. “You actually do look good in it.”

Felitïa allowed an audible groan this time. “Please, I…”

Nin-Akna laughed and stood back up straight again. “Sorry.”

Zandrue came over to Felitïa’s other side. “Do you think I should leave?”

“No, stay. You’ve been banned from the Cathedral, not here. If he wants to come here, he can put up with your presence.”

Zandrue leaned her arm over the back of the throne and smiled. “Thanks.”

Mikranasta approached the throne and walked around behind it.

In the centre of the room, Sinitïa was packing up her paint supplies. Several courtiers were assisting.

“Careful with that!” she said as one went for the easel. “Don’t smudge the paint.”

The courtier bowed and carefully lifted the easel, still with the canvas on it, up and carried it away.

As other courtiers carried away her paints and brushes, Sinitïa came over to the throne and stood beside Nin-Akna. She smiled at Felitïa, her cheeks and nose smudged with paint.

After another moment, Anita moved over beside Felitïa, Nin-Akna backing behind the throne to give her space. Elsewhere in the room, Captain Gen had taken up a spot beside Miana, the dog lying on the floor between them. Anita’s mother, Siba, and her Uncle Horaz were also present.

Anita nodded to a courtier, who hurried out the side door.

Then they waited in silence, the only sounds being the ragged breathing of some of the people around Felitïa—and the sound of her own heart beating. Her stomach was also starting to tie itself in knots. This is what they had been hoping for for what seemed forever now.

At last, the herald’s voice rang out, “Father Victrin Bandren of Saints Cathedral!”

The main doors opened and a short, balding Folith in gold priestly robes with green trim walked into the room and along the carpet towards the throne. He stopped several feet before the steps to the throne, and bowed. “Your Highness.” His eyes darted across the dais, and he corrected himself, “Highnesses. Your Ladyship.” His gaze stopped on Zandrue. “My Lady.” He looked around the room. “My Lords and Ladies.”

There was silence for a moment before Anita nudged Felitïa.

Felitïa gulped. She’d been waiting for Anita to say something, but of course, everyone had been waiting for her. “Welcome, Father. I understand you’ve had news from Arnor City.”

He bowed again. “Yes, your Highness.”

“I take it the reason you’ve come personally to deliver it is because it is...somehow concerning?”

He closed his eyes and nodded sadly. “I’m afraid so your Highness.”

“Is there something wrong?” Sinitïa asked.

“Unfortunately, yes, your Highness.”

Sinitïa whimpered, and croaked, “What?”

“Please, tell us the message,” Felitïa said.

“In the last few hours, we have actually received several messages, your Highness. The first was dated the twelfth.”

Felitïa leaned forward. “So a little over two weeks ago.”

Bandren nodded.

“Isn’t that a long delay?”

Bandren nodded again and shifted the weight on his feet. He was sweating. “Yes, though I would remind you that it is still much faster than conventional means would allow.”

“Let’s not bandy words, Father.” Felitïa reached over and took Zandrue’s hand. Zandrue was shaking—or maybe they both were. “It’s obvious you’re disturbed by what you’ve received. Please tell us the message.”

Bandren cleared his throat and shifted his weight again. He unrolled a sheaf of papers. He looked at the words, then looked up at the throne, and then back at the papers, clearing his throat once more. “Help. Fire. So much fire. They’re killing us. Please help.” He lowered the papers. Despite the lack of emotion in which he had read the message, he was visibly shaking. Even his thick robes couldn’t hide that.

Another—louder—whimper emerged from Sinitïa.

Zandrue’s fingernails were digging painfully into Felitïa’s hand. Felitïa paid it no mind and just clutched Zandrue’s hand even tighter.

“And the next message?” Anita asked.

Bandren moved the first page to the back of his small stack, and looked down at the next. “The second message is dated four days later. It is more coherent and is signed by his Grace, Patriarch Ardon. It reads as follows.” He took a deep breath and cleared his throat once more. “We can confirm at this time that Lady Lidda Plavin of Plavin-Tyl has staged a coup at the Royal Palace. With the aid of traitorous Palace staff in league with Darkness Worshippers…” His voice cracked, and he glanced again in Zandrue’s direction. “And a…” He cleared his throat several times. “A...a dragon, they have attacked the Palace and have executed several members of the Royal Family, and killed countless loyal soldiers in the Royal Family’s service.”

Sinitïa began to whimper again.

Bandren glanced briefly at her before continuing. “Confirmed dead: King Wavon. Queen Annai.”

Sinitïa’s whimper turned into a wail and then a scream, and she doubled over, hands over her mouth. Anita bent over her, offering a comforting arm, and Captain Gen rushed to her side.

Zandrue’s nails dug deeper, and Felitïa found her jaw trembling. Her stomach tied itself in an even tighter knot.

Bandren continued. “Princess Gabriella and Prince Thilin. Missing, presumed dead: Prince Pastrin and Princess Annai. Confirmed alive: Prince Malef, who remains in the Palace, and is presumably being kept alive due to his engagement to Lady Plavin to provide her a claim to the throne. Also confirmed alive due to not being at the Palace at the time: Prince Cerus, currently in Lockanith, and Princesses Felitïa and Sinitïa, both currently in Quorge.”

Sinitïa’s screams continued, as both Gen and Anita tried to comfort her. Gen took her arm and gently led her away. “I’ll look after her.” He guided her, still wailing, across the room towards the side door.

When they were gone, Felitïa looked back to Bandren. It was hard to get words out, but somehow, she managed it. “Is there more to the message?”

“Yes, your Highness. It goes on to say, ‘We believe Lady Plavin is attempting a takeover of Arnor, and we urge all provinces to begin organising a defence against her. The greatest threat is the dragon at her command, which is capable of killing dozens at a time.’” He lowered the papers again and wiped his brow with the sleeve of his other arm.

“Does it say anything about anyone else?” Zandrue asked. “About any of the other lords and ladies at the Palace, or anyone else?”

Bandren shook his. “I am sorry, but no, my Lady. I have read you the entire message.”

Zandrue’s nails pressed deeply enough that they broke the surface of Felitïa’s skin.

Felitïa let her be, though she could see blood pooling. She opened her mouth to say something, but she wasn’t sure what.

“Thank you, Father,” Anita said, taking Felitïa’s other hand. “We will plan a response and have that—”

“I’m sorry, your Ladyship,” Bandren said, “but there’s more.”

“More?”

“Shortly after receiving those two messages, we received four more messages in quick succession. All of them are dated yesterday, and all are one word in length. None of them are signed.”

Felitïa blinked tears from her eyes. “What do they say?”

Bandren didn’t even look at his papers this time. “The first says, ‘Burn’. The second, ‘Crumble’. The third, ‘Drown’. The fourth, ‘Suffocate’. We have no idea what they mean.”

Burn. That was the word Meleng had said the creature that attacked him and Feviona had said repeatedly.

“Is that it?” Anita asked.

Bandren bowed his head. “It is. I will now excuse myself to allow you to plan your response.” He looked at Felitïa. “My deepest condolences, your Highness, for your loss.” He bowed deeply.

“No,” Felitïa croaked. “Please stay. I will have a response for you very shortly.” She gently pulled her hand away from Anita and motioned to one of the courtiers, who came forward. “Please take down what I’m about to say exactly. The letter is to be addressed to Lidda Plavin. Under no circumstances is she to be addressed as Lady. Is that understood?”

The courtier bowed. “Yes, your Highness.”

Another courtier came forward with paper and a pen, which the first took. The second also held out a jar of ink for the first to use as needed. The first bowed again. “Ready, your Highness.”

Felitïa closed her eyes and took a moment to go through her concentration exercises. Calm. She needed to be calm right now. There would be time to grieve later. Gods, she wasn’t even certain what her grief would be like for a family that had… No. No distractions. Calm, but firm. Forthright. She opened her eyes and began.

“Cousin, your disgusting attack on the Royal Palace, along with the resulting deaths of my father and other family members, is a declaration of war against the rest of Arnor, and we will respond accordingly. You have made a mistake in your timing as we are already well into the process of preparing for war. We will not hesitate to turn that preparation against you. Enjoy your short-lived victory while you can. I promise you I will see you, your dragon, and your Darkness Worshipper allies dead at my feet.”

She paused and blinked away more tears. “Bring it forward so I can see it and sign it.”

The courtier bowed and approached the throne. He held out the paper to her, along with the wooden board providing the backing for the paper, then handed her the pen. The second courtier came forward with the ink jar.

Felitïa dipped the pen and looked over the letter. It said everything she’d said. She held the pen over the spot where she should sign her name, but hesitated—long enough that a drop of ink fell onto the paper. However, it didn’t blot out anything, so she didn’t worry about it. Beside the blot, she signed something different.

“Will-Breaker?” Anita said.

Felitïa allowed herself a small smile. “She knows who I am. Her kind fear the Will-Breaker far more than they fear Princess Felitïa. She chose to fuck with me. I’ll fuck her right back.” She handed the paper back to the courtier, who carried it over to Father Bandren.

Bandren bowed. “I will have this delivered immediately, your Highness. However, it will go to the Cathedral of the Gods, not directly to Lidda Plavin.”

“That’s fine,” Felitïa said. “It’ll get to her. His Grace is a wily fellow.”

Bandren smiled and bowed again. “He is, indeed, your Highness.”

“There will be more messages soon, Father. I will be sending messages out to the other provinces. Be ready for them.”

“I will, your Highness. Once again, my condolences.” He bowed once more, and retreated to the doors.

Felitïa looked at Anita. “Your Ladyship, can I trust you to handle the other letters?”

“Of course, your Highness.”

“First and foremost, I want a letter sent to Cerus in Lockanith. He’s king now. Tell his Majesty I’d like to discuss our response together. I want letters sent to all the other provinces as well, except Orwin. I’ll do that myself as I know Lord Padara. I’d like to write a more personal one.”

“Of course, your Highness. They will be done.”

“Also, can you send someone to get Agernon? Don’t force him to come, but tell him it’s an emergency, I need his help, and I am begging him to come.”

Anita started to respond, but Miana came forward. “My apologies, Felitïa, your Highness, but perhaps I can go instead. I’ve only met him briefly, but from what I know of him, he will not respond well to courtiers or guards. I can be very persuasive and I’m certain I can convince him. Plus, I’d like to help if I can.”

Felitïa nodded. “Thank you, Miana. I appreciate it.”

Miana bowed and headed from the room.

Felitïa turned her attention back to Anita again. “Now, your Ladyship, I’m going to retire for a short while. I need…” She breathed in noisily through her stuffed nose, and wiped her eyes with her free hand. “I just need…”

Anita smiled comfortingly. “I completely understand, your Highness. I will see that you’re not disturbed.”

Felitïa placed her free hand over the one Zandrue was still gripping. “Zandrue?”

Zandrue was staring ahead.

“Zandrue?”

With a shake of her head, Zandrue blinked several times, and looked down. “Oh gods, Felitïa, I’m so sorry!” She let go of Felitïa’s hand and pulled away. “I didn’t mean…”

Felitïa cradled her hand. The wounds weren’t bad. “It’s all right. Don’t worry about it.”

Zandrue looked furtively about and settled her gaze on Mikranasta. “Felitïa, Rudiger. Please, I need to know.”

Felitïa leaned around the side of the throne to look at Mikranasta, who was standing behind her, near Nin-Akna, expressionless. She motioned Mikranasta over. “Please lower the shield.”

“I don’t recommend that,” Mikranasta said.

“Just a few seconds. That’s all I need.”

Mikranasta shook her head.

Gods, she didn’t need this right now. “Lower the fucking shield, or I’ll tear it down myself. You know I can do it!”

“And you know I can respond with something stronger.”

“Please, Mikranasta. I’m begging you. Just a couple seconds. Please.”

Mikranasta stared blankly at her for a moment, but then sighed. “Very well. A couple seconds. No more.”

Felitïa quickly spread out the Room in her head. As the walls formed, the line of figures reappeared, as did the Staff above.

Emotions flooded in as well. As did thoughts. So many thoughts. She did her best to ignore them and focused on Rudiger in the line-up. “Rudiger’s alive.”

“Oh, thank the gods,” Zandrue said, her voice hoarse.

“His condition is pretty much the same as last time. A broken leg, but I think it’s healing.” She moved to the next in line. “Borisin is alive too. Still suffering those burns, but alive.” She zipped farther down the line. “And Quilla’s alive too. She looks sad, but in good physical shape as best I can tell.”

With a sigh of relief, Felitïa prepared for the shield to go back up. It could only have been a fraction of a second, but in that time, some of the thoughts around her grew in volume, louder and louder until they filled the volume of her head.

Kill.

Disparate images flickered about her, most of them barely discernible, there for a moment and then gone. But one lasted longer and was a little more clear and solid. A woman. She looked a little like Zandrue, only older. Zandrue’s mother. There was warmth and affection there. Love. Heavy love, but overshadowed by the fear and anger that was everywhere else.

That is the only response to those who hurt you. Kill them. Without mercy.

Was that Zandrue’s mother speaking? Felitïa couldn’t tell.

Gods, Zandrue. I wish I knew what I could do to help you. There was so much fear and anger, most of it buried deep down, but ready to explode at any moment.

And some of the images. Such pain.

And then there was Rudiger. Like a shining beacon amidst all the darkness around him. So much love was centred there.

Then it all vanished as the shield went back up.

Felitïa looked up and realised she was crying. The tears started to flow more freely.

Zandrue took her hand and helped her to her feet, then hugged her tightly. “Thank you.”

Felitïa couldn’t hold it back any longer, and she started to wail.

Zandrue continued to hold her tightly.

Felitïa didn’t really notice the movement, but somehow Zandrue led her back to her room. At least, she assumed it had been Zandrue. All that really mattered is that she ended up back in her room with just Zandrue and Mikranasta there. There, she and Zandrue cradled each other for the next while, sobbing into each other’s arms.