Page 67 of Princess

I stared in open-mouth shock.“You brought soybeans?”I couldn’t have heard her right.

“Yes, we are vegetarian and eat quite a bit of it.Your island has a wide variety of beans, which is also good for us, but we brought our own food so we would not be a burden.”

“You aren’t,” I assured both women.“We will gladly share what we have, especially in exchange for the soy.”

“Anything we can do to help,” Endura said.

“I’m having trouble with the timeline you gave me,” I said hesitantly.“I’ve reached out to the homesteads looking for information about the Federation’s movements.They haven’t seen anything.I feel like the situation is up in the air, and it makes me apprehensive.I took that out on you yesterday.Forgive me, please.”

“We are facing our own troubles,” Endura replied.“The Shadow Warriors make us feel unstable.We didn’t expect it to be this hard.”

“Are they bothering you?”I asked.Maybe I needed to knock a few heads.

“They stare when they think we are not watching, but one or more of the women is always watching.We had hoped to help the island people, but you have everything organized, and we find ourselves at loose ends.”

“Do you do any type of self-defense training?”

“We do.Hapkido and Aikido are our main focus, but we also practice Tai Chi for relaxation.We’re unsure where to practice.”

“We have a training field that would do nicely.Would you consider working with the Shadow Warriors?”I held a hand up at the expression that crossed her face.“They are beyond curious.If I allowed them to work with you, they would get over their infatuation quickly.You would be training them.I’ve already incorporated meditation into their daily routine.Your brand of self-defense training would be good for them.”

Amissa placed her hand on Endura’s arm.“It would be a good thing,” she said.“We need to heal the past.Would one-hour a day work?”

“That would be perfect.”

“I will hold a meeting with my personal guard.These are the men who lead the Warriors in battle.If you’re okay with starting tomorrow morning, I will see it done.”

“Tomorrow will work.We will head to our rooms, pick up soybeans, and take them to the kitchen.”

Nikayla started fussing.It’s time for her to eat and take a nap.I need one too.If you run into a problem, send someone for me.”

“Thank you,” they said before leaving me.

My Warrior body healed at a miraculous rate, but I was tired from the all-night feedings.I saw it with King too.We worked as a team, which meant we were both cranky.

I lay with Nikayla and thought about the Shadow Warriors.They were fascinated by the women.I had given the order that they would not approach or speak to them unless the women opened the communication.I hadn’t mentioned staring at them, but from the way it sounded, the women stared too.

I finally fell asleep and woke about two hours later.I changed and fed Nikayla and decided to visit the quarters I’d given to the women.

They had an entire wing.I looked around at what they had done.It was set up with their personal belongings, which included colorful silks and wall hangings that fit in with the Cuban accents.

They passed the baby around and admired her while I looked on nervously.They were strangers, and it was hard for me.But Ms.Beast didn’t grumble.I was glad I went to see them.

I ran into Caleb after I left the women.“Have the guard meet me in the argument room in one hour.”

He nodded, did an about-face, and returned in the direction he came from.I took a breath, turned around, and went back to the women's quarters.They agreed to watch Nikayla during the meeting.

“I will play with her,” Sweeting said.“She will be happy.”

That more than anything soothed my heart.

An hour later, the men stared at me expectantly.

“You will begin training with the Shadow Women tomorrow morning.They will teach you Hapkido, Aikido, and Tai Chi for one hour each day.You will use it as your warm-up.”I stopped Beck’s next words with a flash of my eyes.“This is an order.The men are staring at the women, and the women at the men.You do not fear them, but they fear you.You will follow their dictates until the training is finished.It replaces the morning meditation.”

I looked around the room.“Is this understood?”

They weren’t happy, but they didn’t argue.

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