The hover hummed to life, the sleek silver craft emitting the softest frequency as it powered up. They walked up to the ramp, and the door opened, sensing the signature of both. They went on board. Within the craft it was designed for relaxing comfort, the main room was softly furnished in shades of pale blues with a carpet of deep green and windows out into the night. Shilah barely glanced at the main cabin her mind concentrated on instructing Arrow where it was to take them and what it was to do.
“Welcome, Princess Shilah, Princess Kala,” a melodious electronic voice said from the speakers of the vessel.
“Arrow, I need all views and angles of the city upon the monitors,” she ordered her PSI. “And the laws enacted since the rebellion on bloodline inheritance and separation of powers.”
“Permission to access the city’s mainframe, and great archives princess,” he replied, the walls of the hovercraft rippling as a holographic computer screen opened in the center of the ship, a blue light glowing at its center.
“Permission granted,” Shilah said, flowing over, and swiping her fingers across the large screen which had displayed the laws of the kingdom as outlined by her ancestors and read for several minutes. The law was clear, and the rule of Dxyriah would soon return to her bloodline.
“Shilah,” Kala said softly.
She closed her eyes and faced her sister. Kala’s dark red hair was tangled around her face, and bruises were evident under her eyes. “You look tired, Kala. Get some food from the processor, and then rest. The next few days will be challenging.”
Kala looked on the verge of tears, but she squared her shoulders. “We need to talk.”
“We do not.”
“Shilah please, I thought it insignificant and I—”
“You thought it insignificant to mention that Prince Quan, the only man to do so in over seven hundred years, petitioned for my brother to revise the treaties on bloodline inheritance and support such a motion to the Federated Coalition?” Shilah bit out furiously. “Or thought it insignificant even after our brother, his wife, our nephews, our uncle and aunt were murdered? You thought it insufficient to not tell me even after he attacked my coronation?”
The craft trembled at the wash of energy which leaked from her emotion.
Tears slipped down Kala’s cheeks, but Shilah felt unmoved.
“We scoured the files for evidence on who could have murdered Torren. We found no petition from Prince Quan and the Kingdom of Arcadia, so that means someone hacked our mainframe and stole them. But you knew the petition had been made to Torren, and the revelation of that knowledge would have pointed us to a suspect, and perhaps prepared us for the attack.”
“It wouldn’t have prepared us!” Kala cried. “If I had known…If I had known Shilah that Prince Quan would have acted with such cruelty, I would have mentioned it. I never dreamt of such betrayal. I was afraid….”
Shilah advanced on her, hot anger riding her. “Afraid that because I am an Impure, and as I hunger for life beyond duty to the realm. I would have…what? What would I have done, Kala? Ignored our history and laws for my selfish desires? Supported the prince in his request? Revealed my status as an Impure and the shame that I’d been hiding it for so long?”
Her sister ran into her arms and hugged her tightly. “I am so sorry,” she whispered hoarsely. “I was so stupid, and I did not think. I let fear and grief rule my actions when I should have been more sensible.”
Shilah returned the hug, wanting to scream at Kala, but also understanding what had driven her actions. Battling the emotions pounding through her Shilah thought logically. “Prince Quan did not plot this in weeks, Kala. Or months. This was years of machinations, and even if our investigators had been led to his door, I am certain he had a plan for that eventuality.”
She held her sister as she cried for several moments. “Come, let us wash, eat, and then get some rest. Dawn will be here within a few hours, and we can do nothing with our tired brains.”
They parted, and Shilah made her way down the long steel-plated corridors of the ship, and to her room. Pressing her palm to the identification pad, the door slid opened, and she stepped inside. Nothing had changed since she last saw it, the design was still programmed to her last request, blacks, and deep purples to match her depressed state at the time, and various images of her lost loved ones fading in a
nd out with different patterns across the surfaces of the room. With a weary sigh, she made her way over to the bed and lowered herself.
“Arrow display starry skies and sounds of flowing rivers.”
“As you command Princess.” The calming sound of rivers filled the room, and the walls went ice black with the sparkle of stars from various constellations covering the ceiling.
Grief rolled over her like the roaring waves of an ocean. They spun through her, swarming her senses, and drowning her in pain. For the first time in months, Shilah allowed herself to cry unchecked, without berating herself for the weakness. She cried until her throat felt raw, her eyes felt swollen, a desperate hole in her heart that would not ease. Shilah did not understand it, but her chest pained her.
Frantically she rubbed at the spot and almost against her will, the mating thread flared to life, and with a sense of shock, she felt the resonance vibrated and reach through the stars. Her heart leaped with joy despite her determination to keep her perspective. Their thread opened even wider, and she became a stealthy shadow in his mind, powerful enough where it was as if she saw through his eyes. She watched him as he administered justice in the court of his keep. Two men who’d fought over a female had been ordered to fight to the death. Curled onto her side, exhaustion pulling at her, Shilah watched the two Darkans as they battled for hours, bleeding and torn, tired but each determined to be the conqueror.
Lachlan observed it all with impassive coldness from atop steps. His people stared at him, but instead of showing apprehension at the ruthless changes evident in him, admiration and respect flavored their chakras. As if he tired of the display, he ordered them to be thrown into the dungeon for three days to cool their ardor and then they would be released.
The crowd in the hall of the court solarium dispersed, and a Darkan appeared before him.
“I’ve found the warlord.”
The words came as if they had been said to her. A wave of primal vengeance and bloodthirsty triumph slashed through Lachlan and echoed through her bones. Their link vibrated harshly, reverberating with a discordant sound. Shilah gasped and closed the link, trembling. Something dark and powerful slammed against her shields, and her throat closed. Damn her curiosity and her need for him.
No more, she silently vowed, as exhaustion and the stress of the upcoming battle finally pulled her into the comforting arms of sleep.