Page 33 of Lethal Souls

Be with her for just a second.

But it’s too late.

The Council vanishes from the room, taking my mate and my cousin with them.

TWENTY

THE REGALS

The turquoise water sparkles beneath golden streaks of sunlight as the laughter of children bounces in the air.

Sitting at the shore, Hassha watches her daughters play knee deep in the sea, their hair damp and their spirits high.

All she wants for them is a safe place. A refuge. Yet she can’t help feeling like the peace she’s built will be obliterated sooner rather than later.

“Mum, I found another one!” Minka shrieks as she sloshes through the water. Her white braids cling to her back as she rushes across the sand to reach Hassha, handing her a green sea star. “Isn’t it beautiful?” she asks, eyeing her.

“It is very beautiful,” Hassha says, watching the sea star wriggle in her hand. “Why don’t you take it back to the water? Let it live?”

“Yes, mum!” Minka collects the sea star and dashes away.

When she’s back to playing, Hassha says, “There is nothing wrong with me. I’m only thinking.” Turning her head, she puts her attention on Milandra who stands beneath a palm tree with a fruit in hand.

“You know I hate it when you read my mind,” Milandra says, walking toward her queen. She sits cross-legged beside her, a rare sight for even Hassha to see. Milandra never sits. She’s always on guard, even when there is no danger. “I just worry about you, your majesty. I’ve never seen you so…still.”

Hassha can’t help the laugh that tumbles out of her. All these years, she thought she was being still.

This sort of stillness is different though, Hassha thinks. She’s still inside is what Milandra means.

Quiet.

But only because she wishes not to reveal her true demeanor.

Worry.

Frustration.

Fear for the lives of her people.

“The last person you should be worried about is me.” Hassha pats Milandra’s hand with a warm smile.

“Is there something else I should be worried about?”

The Regal looks into Milandra’s eyes, wishing she could answer that. At this point, Hassha can smell the danger. She can sense it, even from thousands of miles away.

As the thought occurs, the sky darkens.

She peers up as a cloud appears before the sun, then she swallows and closes her eyes, attempting to push the cloud away. The cloud is stubborn, just like her feelings.

It won’t budge, and it soon becomes bloated with a gray underbelly. The rain starts as a drizzle, and she hears the girls whine from the ocean with their friends.

“Mum, please!” Maia calls.

“Just a few more minutes!” Minka pleads.

Hassha opens her eyes and tips her chin to glare at the cloud. “Go,” she commands. Still, it doesn’t budge. Sighing, she caves and looks to the twins’ caretaker. “Take them to be washed, Carra.”

Minka and Maia whine, of course, and Hassha smiles, apologizing with her eyes. When the shore is clear and the only person left is Milandra, Hassha feels a change in the air.

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