THIRTY-TWO
THE REGALS
The island brews with a chaos that has never spurred before.
The warriors are on guard as they shout for the women and children to meet at the shore.
From above, Hassha watches it all happen. She feels her tribe’s desperation, their confusion, their fear .
She promised to protect them—it has been an oath of hers for as long as any of them can remember—but she can’t help feeling like she’s failing.
She’s lost Lilith, one of her best warriors. A woman she’d practically raised. She refuses to lose any more of her people.
“Mum!” Maia screams beneath her. Hassha’s eyes dart to one of her daughters. From where she floats, she can see her little girl’s eyes are full of tears. From a short distance, Minka appears as well, rushing toward her twin on the sand.
Hassha flies down, landing and wrapping both of them in her arms. Heat pools behind her eyelids. She can feel them so much—their strong emotions coursing through them. No longer are they fueled with joy. They’re riddled with terror.
“Mum, please come with us,” Maia pleads, peering up at Hassha with glistening eyes.
“I can’t go with you, darling.” Hassha blinks away her tears. “In order to keep you safe, you have to go into hiding with the rest of the tribe.”
“But I can fight,” Minka counters. Her bottom lip trembles as she grips the handle of her sword.
Hassha can only smile. “My brave warrior Minka.” She rubs her thumb over the stray tear on her cheek. “You can fight. This I know. But this battle is not yours. It’s one I started a long time ago, and now I must finish it.”
Hassha’s eyes shift upward when she spots Carra near a palm tree. With a sigh, she plants kisses on both girls’ heads then sends them off with their caretaker.
“Protect them at all costs,” Hassha demands of Carra.
“I’ll do so with my life,” Carra promises, taking the girls by hand and rushing to the shoreline.
When the girls look back, an ache develops in Hassha’s chest. It feels like her heart is splintering to pieces. It’s only done this once before, after an unbearable loss many, many years ago.
Hassha floats into the sky again and scans the island, making sure no one is left behind. When she doesn’t find a trace, she drops her eyes to Milandra and a row of warriors.
“It’s time,” she declares.
Milandra nods, though reluctant. Hassha smiles and plants a whisper into Milandra’s mind. Don’t worry about me. Worry about keeping our people safe.
Milandra’s nostrils flare, but she nods again then shouts an order for the warriors to surround the women and children. Once everyone is lined up at the shore, Hassha raises her hands to part the ocean.
She grunts. Water is much harder for her to control, but she manages, using copious amounts of energy so her tribe will have safe passage.
A wet path forms, and Milandra leads the way. She doesn’t stop until she reaches a cavern. Milandra stands back, allowing the women and children to rush down the stairs of the cavern to reach safety.
Once they’re all in, Hassha nods and Milandra takes the stairs too. Shuddering a breath, Hassha allows a blanket of safety to conceal the cavern. There is plenty inside for her people. Food, water, shelter, light. They’ll be safe for now.
Knowing this, she allows the ocean to spill back into place, and just as it does, she senses Korah.
“I tried to stop him,” Korah says when Hassha lands next to her on the island. “One of those Council members was there. He stabbed Caspian and gave the blood to her before I could reach him. She’s out there , Hassha.”
“I figured as much.” Hassha frowns as she studies the island. “What she did here was a distraction. Warren, the Garrett man from Earth, Lilith—all a distraction. It was enough to keep one of our hands tied while Caspian journeyed there.”
“None of that matters. She’s can’t defeat both of us, that’s why she created the distractions. If we can find her while she’s weak, we can put an end to this before anything begins. I’ve protected Blackwater for now, so as long as Caspian remains within his territory, she won’t be able to get to him.”
Hassha starts to speak, but both sisters freeze when they feel a hot sensation drag across the backs of their necks. Hassha doesn’t think as she twists around and throws her hands in the air to deflect a flaming ball of fire. The fire bursts into more flames and spills down like fiery rain drops on the sand.
Both Hassha and Korah tap into full energy as they look toward the sky, grimacing at their sister.
“Sisters!” Selah sings, floating above the island. She’s completely nude. “Making a plan without me?” she asks before flinging another fire ball. Korah slices through it with her conjured sword before looking at Hassha.
Both fly toward Selah at full speed, but Selah dodges them by vanishing. She appears several meters away, smiling.
“The one thing I hate most in all the universes is a traitor. But when there are two ? Oh, I hate it twice as much.” Selah’s hands spark with orange flames.
“If anyone is the traitor, it is you, Selah,” Hassha returns. “Look what you’ve become! You are so full of anger that you want to destroy a place that was given to us.”
“It makes no sense to care for this world anymore!” Selah shoots back. “Look at it. We may as well burn it and start anew.”
“That is what you want,” Hassha snaps. “That is not what we desire.”
“Ah, right. Because you have a tribe. Children. Where are they anyway?” Selah’s eyes dart around the island, searching. “Surely they cannot be too far. They should come out to meet their aunt. I am the fun one.”
“You will never set an eye on them,” Hassha growls. “Not while breath still fills my lungs.”
“Well, how about I rip those lungs out of you.”
In a flash, Selah slams into Hassha, sending her hurtling toward the ocean in a chaotic splash. Korah belts out a battle cry as she rushes for Selah, wrapping her in her arms from behind and pressing the blade of her flaming double-edged sword to her throat.
“You won’t do it!” Selah chuckles. “You know what happens if you do.”
“You’re right.” Korah grips her by the hair and spins her around. With a solid blow to the face, Selah sails to the ground. When she lands, the ground splits beneath her.
A gust of water surges up, and Hassha returns with not a drop of liquid on her. She vanishes from the air, only to appear next to Selah who sways as she stands. Korah lands, and she and Hassha withdraw their swords to slice through Selah’s thighs.
With a cry that shakes the island, Selah drops to her knees. Blood pools around her as she plants her hands on the ground, laughing.
“It is just like you to attack me at your fullest while I’m at my weakest.” Blood drips from her nose and mouth as she turns her head, glaring at her sisters through a gap in her hair.
“Just stop and listen,” Hassha insists. “There is no need to destroy Vakeeli. You wanted this world. You wanted the people. They idolize you on the main lands and think Korah and I are useless. Isn’t that what you wanted? To be worshipped?”
“No,” Selah growls, swiping the back of her arm over her mouth. “What I wanted, you took away from me!”
“We took nothing away from you, Selah. What happened to Kronos was his fate, not ours.”
“And we should have died with him. But just like you’ve done to me, you did to him. You betrayed him—you betrayed me ! And for what? So you could have your own world? So you could have people worship you like they did the gods on Earth? How has that worked out? You have both been in hiding, fearing for your lives because the commoners will not accept you. They will never accept us, and this is why we should be working together . I made a mistake, and we must erase them all and start anew. We must let it be known that we are the most powerful. That we should not be tampered with or attacked or disrespected.”
“That isn’t going to happen,” Korah says. “Not all the commoners are bad. Some of them are good. Some of them want to restore the order.”
“Like the weak, angry little wolf you have drifting about the Blackwater territory?” Selah’s eyes flash as she rises to her feet. Hassha raises her sword while Korah does the same, eyes flaring. “I will kill your chosen one and absorb the Seed of Yuri,” Selah breathes. “And when it is mine, it will be too late to stop me.”
“You’ll have to get past us first,” Hassha growls.
Blue and lavender rope wrap around Selah’s body, squeezing tight. The ropes throb with energy, working to restrain her.
But Selah only smirks. “If that’s you want it, so be it.”
In a flurry of flames, Selah vanishes. The flames she leaves behind drench the island and start to spread, but Korah swipes a hand in the air to bring them to an end.
“She’s weak, but not as weak as we thought.” Hassha sheaths her sword, peering around the island.
“We can find her.” Korah swings her gaze to her sister. “We can try to restrain her again. We just need more energy.”
“Restraining her will only last for so long.” Hassha sighs. “We can’t keep her bound while keeping the people safe. It’ll drain us, and she’ll wait it out just to free herself again. We can’t put her into another slumber either. Not without another sacrifice.”
Korah starts to speak but clamps her mouth shut just as quickly.
“We cannot sacrifice him, sister. He is the only way this world will be saved.”
“But his blood?—”
“Cannot ever be transferred!” Hassha grips Korah’s shoulder. “You know we cannot risk it, sister.”
“Then that leaves us with only one other solution,” Korah murmurs.
“Yes.” Hassha looks into Korah’s eyes, watching them glisten. “I’m afraid it’s the only way.”
Korah releases a deflated sigh. “I’ll get Willow back to Caspian. Knowing Selah, she’s on her way to Luxor. She cannot be in the same place as his mate. She’ll use her just to get to him.”
Hassha nods.
In the blink of an eye, Korah is gone.