3
Antambazi was a place on Earth, and at the same time, out of it.
The realm was cradled in the bays of the Black Sea, hidden from the rest of the world by a veil, with threads stronger than magic.
It was a land of cliffs and poor soil, wintry days and even colder nights, order and discipline, shades of grey and monotony.
Many longed for Earth for its vivid colours, but to Kathrine, no night sky was more beautiful than the one above Antambazi.
Here, the sky was always predictable, and during the bleeding days, when the sea reflected the Ninth Moon of the month, the entire land glowed in blood-orange hues, as if the earth were on fire and flames blazed along the cliffs.
Sevar was waiting for her at the edge of the cave. His familiar face always brought her a sense of relief upon returning home. He had her leather coat folded over his arm and a bouquet of annies – rare purple flowers with a heavenly fragrance – in his hand.
“I like this place less and less by the minute. It’s fuckin’ freezing!” Kristo, her alternate – a high-ranking soldier – hopped out of the front seat, buttoning up his coat. The SUV engine died behind him.
“You speak as if you’ve spent your entire life in the earthly realm.” Lina, the driver, stepped onto the ground, still wearing her sunglasses.
“Hello, violet love,” Sevar greeted Kathrine.
Her cheeks warmed at the nickname – because of her violet-coloured eyes.
He helped her into her coat, then handed her the bouquet of annies.
Kathrine wrapped her fingers carefully around it – annies’ thorns were potent enough to knock down a horse – but soon realised Sevar had removed them.
She inhaled the familiar fragrance of her favourite flowers, grateful for his thoughtfulness.
“Do you need us for anything else, Commander?” Lina asked, using the nickname that irritated Kathrine to no end. She was a leader of their team, but didn’t see herself as superior to any of her friends.
“No. Rest well,” Kathrine dismissed them.
As soon as the rest of her team disappeared into the darkness, Sevar took her hand. “Did you miss me?” he asked in that rich, sensual voice that always made Kathrine’s heart skip a beat.
Sevar was incredible – a gentleman with seductive lips, a quick mind, and all of it wrapped in six-feet-two-inches of power and influence. There were rumours that women from the lower classes still fought for him, even now, when it was well known he had committed to Kathrine forever.
“I always miss you.” She missed him, and she missed Antambazi. Outside of Antambazi, Kathrine felt alien , as the Earth dwellers liked to say.
“Kiss me and show me how much you missed me,” he said.
Kathrine stood on her toes and lifted her chin to meet Sevar’s lips.
While she waited for the kiss, she gazed into his black eyes and found herself once again unable to read them.
Had she not known him so well, she might have mistaken his lack of obvious emotion for impassivity.
But Sevar had shown his feelings time and time again through his actions, and they were anything but passive.
It was dangerous to show emotion on Antambazi, and Sevar was far too experienced to reveal his weaknesses. As the Queen’s right-hand man, he had to maintain a stony composure.
Kathrine brushed his lips with hers and then pulled away. “I’m tired.”
“ She ’s waiting for you, love.”
“Now?”
Sevar smiled. “I’m sure she missed you as well. Let’s go, and later we can figure out a way for you to get some proper rest.”
They exited the cave and soon found themselves in the dusty territories outside the city.
Every encounter with the gloomy hillsides of Antambazi filled Kathrine with a sense of pride.
The realm was misty during the day, but at night, when the peaks of the cliffs blended seamlessly with the sky, the city resembled a black veil glittering with a myriad of stars.
At the uppermost part of the veil, like a golden brooch, sat the royal palace.
The road to it was steep, but once there, the hills offered a breathtaking view of the neighbourhoods of Antambazi.
The ground beneath Kathrine’s boots felt ice cold and unyielding while she and Sevar walked along the cliffs, which stood tall like guards before the outermost houses of the city.
The Black River flowed from the cliffs in the south, twisted around the city in a crescent shape, and emptied into the waters of the Black Sea.
The small stone buildings of the suburbs, with their tiny windows and sharp-tipped roofs, housed those who had lost the Queen’s favour.
Separated from the rest of the city’s inhabitants by the deep basin of the Black River, these outcasts were prohibited from entering the heart of the city.
Being sent across the river was considered worse than a death sentence by some because, beyond the river, there was nothing.
Sometimes Kathrine wondered if these outcasts weren’t, in fact, blessed with the freedom to escape the Queen’s lofty expectations.
Yes, they lived in poverty and would be abandoned here after the migration to Earth – as was the Queen’s plan for the rest of the reptilians.
But at least these poor wretched souls owned themselves, unlike the creatures on the other side of the river, who were privileged… prisoners.
When they reached the electric car stand, Sevar opened the door for Kathrine to climb in, then took the driver’s seat.
They travelled in silence, the car bumping along the cobblestone roads of the poor suburbs.
Through the window, Kathrine observed the creatures outside.
Most were dressed in rags as dirty as the streets they walked on barefoot.
She ran a hand over her knee, feeling the texture of her blue jeans. In Antambazi, jeans didn’t exist; the Queen found them tasteless and only allowed her people to wear them so they could fit in during their missions on Earth.
From the tall bridge connecting the suburbs to the heart of the city, Kathrine observed children playing in the black waters. All creatures of her kind were exceptional swimmers even before they reached immortality, so this was nothing out of the ordinary.
“Something troubles you,” Sevar said.
Kathrine kept her head turned towards the river as they crossed the bridge, her gaze lingering on the water-frolicking children. When they disappeared, she shifted her focus to the Queen’s castle looming in the distance.
She frowned. “We almost killed a child.”
“Don’t start again, Kathrine.”
“I can’t forget it.”
Sevar expelled a breath. “For the last time – it wasn’t us .”
“It was her order.”
“It was that nymph’s initiative.”
“Approved by her, ” Kathrine retorted, unable to hide her disapproval. It wasn’t fair to blame Sevar, yet his ease and acceptance of the Queen’s every action made her stomach churn.
But then, she was just as guilty. She had done nothing to dissuade the Queen from her war plans, remaining a silent observer like Sevar.
And a traitor. Memories of the dim lights at the Seven Horses flashed through her mind, but she quickly shoved them aside.
“Forget it,” Sevar said, his voice firm.
Kathrine turned her gaze towards the city. They were already ascending through the inner parts of The Low, where grey stone buildings lined the crooked paths between the hills. This was the vendor area, where everything from local produce to imported goods from Earth was sold.
“I don’t understand you, Kathrine. The Queen has always been more than generous to you. She raised you as her own. She even forgave that incident. And yet, you seem intent on finding fault with her actions.”
Kathrine didn’t need reminding – the guilt followed her, regardless. Sevar was right. The Queen had always acted like a mother to her, despite Kathrine’s orphan origins.
And how had she repaid her?
With betrayal.
The electric car stopped at a red light at the border between The Low and Middlehoud.
A woman in a typical schoolteacher uniform crossed the street, clutching a thick binder under one arm.
She was probably on her way to the nearby school, one of the two places where young creatures learnt about Antambazi and everything beyond this realm.
“I’m sorry. I’m exhausted. This last month has been tough,” Kathrine said.
“I know.” Sevar stroked her cheek with the back of his index finger. The car resumed its journey, only to stop again at another light. “Damn it! Travelling was much easier in the olden days, without lights all over Antambazi.”
“But there were many car crashes back then,” Kathrine reminded him. “I believe that whoever suggested this idea of the traffic lights to the Queen is a genius. I wonder who that was…”
Sevar shook his head. “No idea.”
Katrine grinned. “Try to guess. She’s smart, funny and wonderful.”
“Still no idea…”
“And she is engaged to the sexiest man in at least a few realms.” Kathrine lifted her right hand, drawing his attention to the enormous glimmering emerald on her ring finger.
“The butcher’s daughter?” Sevar guessed.
“What?”
“You said she was engaged to the sexiest man, love.”
Kathrine knew the butcher’s daughter, and she wasn’t engaged… or, at least, she hadn’t been. “Who is the butcher’s daughter engaged to?”
“Branko. They got engaged while you were on Earth. They came to the castle to ask for the Queen’s permission.”