Page 36 of Crowned

Malia nods, her face pale and lined with worry. I can see the questions in her eyes, the need for answers gnawing at her just as fiercely as it is at me. But there’s no time for that now. We need to find out what’s going on before it’s too late.

As we step inside, I can’t shake the feeling that we’re being watched, just like Reef warned. The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, and I have to fight the urge to look over my shoulder. The palace may be desolate, but I suspect it’s far from empty.

However, we’re the only ones permitted in the queen’s chambers, so we should be safe here. We’ll still need to set up a schedule to keep watch though, I’m not willing to risk Malia’s safety on a ‘should be’.

“Where is everyone?” Malia asks, her voice trembling slightly.

“They’re...hiding,” Cove replies, his eyes scanning the room as if expecting someone to jump out at any moment. “Or they’ve fled. After what happened...”

He doesn’t finish the sentence, but he doesn’t have to. The weight of his words hangs heavy in the air, filling the silence with a suffocating tension. I want to ask him what he means, but there’s something in his expression that stops me. Something dark and haunted. It’s a look I’m not used to seeing on Cove’s usually bright, untroubled face.

We move further into the room, and that’s when I see it – the portrait of the queen – or I guess I should say former queen – hanging above the fireplace. Her eyes seem to follow me as I cross the room, a silent reminder of everything that’s been lost.

Stopping, I turn and stare at the portrait, studying it intently, searching for any resemblance between Yemaya and Malia. Are they really mother and daughter? It’s not that I doubt the truth of my queen’s words…it’s just so mind blowing. The two could not be more different.

And yet, there’s something about the knowing tilt of her lips in this portrait that reminds me of Malia. They both have the same stubborn gleam in their eye.

A lump forms in my throat, but I swallow it down, forcing myself to stay focused.

“There’s something you need to see,” Bhodi says, breaking the silence. He moves to the far side of the room, where a large, ornate mirror hangs on the wall. But instead of showing our reflection, the glass is dark, almost black, as if it’s been stained by shadows.

“What is it?” Malia asks, stepping closer.

She hesitates for a moment, then reaches out to touch the surface of the mirror.

All of us, aside from Malia, are familiar with the queen’s foresight glass. A magical mirror that’s only ever revealed its secrets within to the queen, but Yemaya trusted the four of us as more than just her guards. We were her confidantes and her most trusted advisors. Which is why we know exactly what the mirror can do. Or could do, if the queen was here to activate the magic within to reveal the future of Aerwyna.

As Malia’s fingers make contact, the dark surface seems to ripple, like a stone being dropped into still water. I gasp, my brother’s reactions reflecting my own shock as the shadowed image begins to shift and change, revealing a scene that makes my blood run cold.

It’s the throne room here in the palace, but it’s not like anything I’ve ever seen before. The walls are cracked and crumbling, the floor littered with debris. And in the centre of it all, sitting on the throne, is a figure cloaked in shadow. Their face is hidden, but I can feel their gaze, cold and malevolent, piercing through the darkness. They’re surrounded by a vast army of Shikari.

“What…what is this?” Malia asks, trembling.

“I think it’s a warning of what’s coming,” Reef replies, his voice grim. “If we don’t stop it.”

The room seems to close in around me, the air growing colder, heavier.

Malia reaches for my hand, her grip tight. I can feel her fear, but also her resolve. She must be thinking the same as me, remembering the queen’s warning.

“What do we do?” she asks, her voice steady despite the terror in her eyes.

“We fight,” I say, surprising even myself with the conviction in my voice. “We fight, and we win. We have to.”

Malia’s exhaustion is evident in the way her shoulders droop, the light in her eyes dimming as the weight of everything we’ve seen and heard settles on her. The overwhelming aura of the palace and the tension that hangs in the air seem to be too much for her to bear. Reef is the first to notice, gently guiding her towards the large bed that dominates the queen’s chambers.

“You need rest,” he says softly, his voice filled with concern.

Malia hesitates, looking around at all of us as if seeking permission, before finally nodding. “Just for a little while.”

I step forward, taking her hand and guiding her to the bed. The sheets are cool and soft, the pillows plush, but the room still feels like a mausoleum. I pull the covers up over her, tucking her in gently as she sinks into the mattress.

“Vance…what’s going on? They said I was in a coma and you were d–dead. But we were together, weren’t we?”

I nod. “I remember everything, my love. We were together and I’m convinced that our time there was as real as we are standing here right now.”

“I can’t bear the thought of a world without you in it,” she tells me, her eyes filling with tears.

I shake my head. “Never going to happen, my love. You’re stuck with me for all eternity, in every life beyond this one and the next.”

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