Maya led Chantal to the second level. Sunlight flooded through the enormous windows lining the hallway. Without the thick glass panes contained in them throughout the winter, a cool breeze flowed through the hall.

  “I can’t see the Wastelands,” Chantal whispered.

  Maya looked back at the girl who had fallen still, staring out over Reiont’s southern lands. She sensed conflicted emotions from Chantal: joy and sadness, hope and loss, with fear covering it all. Maya remembered feeling much the same way when she first came to Reiont. She placed a reassuring hand on Chantal’s shoulder.

  “It’s so strange,” said Chantal. “I could always see the Wastelands from my window.” She laughed. “I used to think it the world’s edge, as if nothing existed beyond.”

  “It’s an easy thing for those who live in castles,” Maya answered, “forgetting a world lies beyond the horizon.”

  “I am happy to be here,” Chantal said, looking over at Maya. “Everything’s just so different.”

  “I understand, believe me,” Maya answered. She squeezed the girl’s shoulder. “You get used to it after a while.”

  “Well, the forest is beautiful.”

  “That it is,” Maya agreed. “Come now. I want to see your grandfather before his meeting with Elder Councilor Caprie.”

  Chantal nodded and followed. A large man stood guard outside the throne room. He looked straight ahead, and his expression was hard. Any who didn’t know the man behind the scowl would think twice before approaching him, but Maya had known him from her fourth year.

  “Good morning, Raman,” she said as they approached. “Would you tell the king I’m here with a guest he’ll wish to meet?”

  His eyes raked over Chantal; assessing her as they did any new visitor. Maya glanced back at the girl, noticing her gaze had fallen to the sword Raman wore at his side. She turned back to the guard as he bowed, then pulled the heavy door open and entered the room beyond.

  “No need to be nervous,” Maya said. “He’s a good man with a kind heart.”

  “King Aligh or the guard?” Chantal asked.

  “Both,” Maya answered.

  One door swung open, and Raman stepped back outside. “The king will see you now, ladies.”

  “Thank you, Raman,” Maya said and moved through the door he held open with Chantal following close behind. Her stomach gurgled at the lingering aroma of roast and bitter herbs from Aligh’s midday meal. She smoothed her hands over her abdomen as if they could muffle the sound.

  Maya curtsied before the dais. Following Maya’s example, Chantal curtsied as well. Hampered by her wide-eyed wonder at the immense room hung with rich tapestries, she wobbled and stepped forward to keep from toppling.

  Aligh nodded his recognition, a motion noticeable only by the change of light glancing off his silver hair. He grew more unkempt by the day; he refused to have his beard trimmed or his tunics taken in. The tunic’s light material hung from his thinning frame, his skin had grown sallow and dull. Yet, his dark grayish-green eyes remained unchanged, shining out from under heavy brows.

  “Your Majesty,” Maya began. “I’ve come about a matter of some importance.” The older man straightened and raised his brows. “It seems Count Ralic had a child he neglected to mention. This young woman is his daughter, Chantal.”

  “Are you certain?” Aligh asked. “I remember a boy child who passed the same time as Valera. Am I wrong?”

  “No, Sire,” she answered. “If you please, Your Majesty,” Chantal broke in, and she curtsied again. “My mother’s name was Annadel Richards. She and Father married in a private ceremony at Tembar Castle.”

  The king seemed to notice Chantal for the first time. His brow knit as he scrutinized her.

  “She does look like Hitrata, doesn’t she?” he asked.

  Maya looked at Chantal again, paying close attention to her face and trying to call up recollections of the Queen. “Yes, she has her eyes,” she agreed.

  “Come here, child,” Aligh called. She walked forward and knelt at his feet. He shook his head and reached out to her with trembling hands. “Stand up, darling, and give your old grandfather a hug.”

  Chantal stood, beaming, and threw her arms about the elderly man.

  The room’s heavy wooden doors swooshed open and banged into the wall. They all jumped and turned as a tall gentleman rushed into the room. He stopped just inside the door, his head snapping around to glare at Maya. She gulped as she watched him stalk toward her.

  “Ignore your cousin, dear,” Maya heard Aligh say to Chantal. “He’s prone to dramatics when the castle is as full as it is with their wedding days away.”

  “Good day, my lord,” she thought at Lanre and dropped into an exaggerated curtsy.

  “Where have you been?” he snapped through their link. Maya’s eyes fell to the floor as she tried to think of how to respond. “The Wastelands! Tembar Castle! You spoke to Ralic!” he shouted in her mind.

  “Yes,” Maya thought. She winced as she realized she’d let her shield slip. “Don’t worry, Lanre.”

  “Why shouldn’t I worry? Someone attacked my mother, and we don’t know who it was. Yet, somehow you think it’s okay to sneak out of Reiont without a guard!”

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “He won’t do anything.”

  “How do you know?” Lanre asked. His mouth curled into a mischievous grin. “I’m the telepath, after all.”

  “Woman’s intuition.” Maya nodded toward Chantal and Aligh. “Have you noticed what I brought home?”

  “The girl?” he asked. “What of her?”

  “She’s Ralic’s daughter.”

  “But I thought...”

  “So did I,” Maya answered, “But something happened when I tried to read her. I saw images of a younger Ralic as if I was a child sitting on his knee.”

  “Her memories?” Lanre asked. His shocked expression matched his mental tone. “How’s that possible? Empaths can’t go that far.”

  “I know,” Maya answered, “but it happened. Maybe it’s similar to our connection,” she mused. “She could have some level of telepathy. Tembar Flats does have a high utronumite concentration.”

  “Perhaps,” Lanre agreed. “Still, I’d feel better if I could see for myself.”

  Maya raised her right hand and touched the tips of her fingers to her forehead. She bowed and extended her hand toward Lanre as if giving him her thoughts. The familiar buzzing warmth of Lanre’s mental probe touched the edges of her awareness. She opened her mind to him, closing her eyes to keep from going cross-eyed.

  The crushing rush of information, images, and emotion was the fastest and easiest way to give Lanre the entire story. It was disorienting for her to watch the memories flash over her field of vision, so she'd learned to close her eyes years ago. Seconds later the buzzing stopped as Lanre retreated. Panting in the wake of an emotional riptide, Maya opened her eyes again. She began rebuilding her mental walls and tried to force her heartbeat and breathing back to normal.

  “Borcon?” he asked. There was pain and hope in his expression making it clear he still clung to the belief Kalie was alive but feared he might be wrong.

  “I’m not sure,” Maya answered. She wrung her hands. “That image is all I got, and I was so shaken by what happened, I didn’t think to ask.”

  “I see.” Lanre frowned. “She needs to be asked. If what she said is true, there’s no time to waste.”

  “I’ll speak with her,” Maya answered. “She’s beginning to trust me.”

  “Alright,” he agreed with a mental sigh. “I’ll leave her in your hands then. Now, if you don’t mind, I think I’ll go meet my long-lost cousin.”

  “Don’t call her by name,” Maya thought. “Wait to be introduced.”

  “Thank you for the reminder,” Lanre blushed.

  “That’s why you have me, dear.”

  Lanre smiled, laughing mentally as he agreed, and turned back toward the throne. Maya followed as he walked to the head of the room where Chantal and the king discussed her mother and the late Queen Hitrata.

  “Good morning, Grandfather,” Lanre said before turning to Chantal. “And to you madam…”

  “Lady Chantal Virchow,” Aligh answered for her, “of Tembar.”

  “Of Tembar?” Lanre asked making a show of innocent curiosity. “Isn’t she rather young for Ralic?”

  “Don’t be daft,” Aligh chided. “She’s Ralic’s daughter, not his wife.”

  “Ah, much more appropriate,” Lanre answered. He bowed and kissed the back of her hand.

  “Thank you,” Chantal answered. “What brings you to Reiont?”

  “I’ve come to report unlawful activity in Tembar,” Chantal answered. She looked to Aligh as if to apologize.

  “Shouldn’t you report this to your father?” Lanre asked. “It’s his jurisdiction.”

  “I-I know,” she said as her gaze fell to the floor. “But, my father’s the criminal I'm here to report.”

  “Ralic?” Aligh asked growing serious and leaning forward.

  “Yes, Sire,” answered Chantal. “I witnessed him abusing the people of Tembar and found records of other suspicious activities.” She pulled a collection of folded papers from one of her deep pockets and handed them to the king. Maya breathed a sigh of relief at the sight. She’d forgotten about the papers until Chantal mentioned them.

  “Oh my.” Aligh sighed as he read through the documents. “I must ask you to stay here, Chantal,” he continued after a moment, “at least until an investigation is complete.”

  “I had hoped you’d say that,” Chantal answered. “Father knows I left, and I suspect he knows why. His guards have been hunting for me.”

  Aligh nodded and handed the papers over to Lanre. “Take those to Judge Marx, Lanre. Ask him to review them and prepare a hearing. Then, have a vacant set of rooms prepared for Chantal.”

  “Of course,” the prince said. “I’ll see you at dinner.”

  “Didn’t you have a matter of some urgency to discuss?” Maya asked as Lanre turned to leave.

  “It can wait,” he answered with a mischievous grin. She answered with an amused smirk before he hurried out the door.

  “That boy has more mood swings than ten pregnant women,” Aligh said. He shook his head before returning his attention to Chantal. “Is your Yekaran companion settled?” he asked.

  “I don’t have one,” she answered. “I’ve only ever seen two Yekarans, and I’ve never met one.”

  “How sad. Wonderful creatures, Yekarans.” He turned to Maya. “You should take Chantal to meet the orphans. Perhaps she’ll find a companion after all.”

  “Excellent idea,” Maya agreed. The two species had been socially and politically linked for centuries. It was unheard of to find a young woman of noble birth Chantal’s age who had never spoken with a Yekaran.

  “I wish I’d more time to speak with you, child,” Aligh said as he took Chantal’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “But I am expecting an ambassador from the Yekaran Council.”

  “I don’t want to distract you,” Chantal answered.

  “Never a chance,” he reassured her. “I look forward to seeing you this evening.”

  Maya’s stomach ached, reminding her she’d skipped the morning meal, and it was midday. Then, it occurred to her Chantal mentioned she’d run out of supplies the day before. How thoughtless she’d been in her haste! If she was hungry after several hours’ fast, how much more would the girl be after a full day?

  “If you please,” Maya interrupted. “Perhaps Chantal and I could take our midday meal along the coast?”

  “Yes, of course,” Aligh agreed. “Fair journey to you, and don’t be late for the evening meal. The discovery of my only granddaughter is cause enough for feasting.”