Kingdom

by Kyle West

  “Most are securing the palace grounds; perhaps fifty remained behind in the castle itself. My lord, they probably know you are here.”

  “You knew I was here. That was why you set up the ambush.”

  The man swallowed. “Yes. We were in there, playing cards; we heard someone enter. We heard a woman’s voice, it did not sound like Captain Jharka. Forgive me, Prince Nabea. Please, have mercy.”

  “What do we do with him?” Shara asked.

  “He’s answered my questions,” Nabea said. “Raising a weapon against your prince is treason. Do you know that, soldier?”

  The man closed his eyes, tears falling. “Yes. I know.”

  The man was such a pitiful sight, and he had mentioned his sick wife.

  “Perhaps I shall keep you in chains until I discover the truth of your story regarding your wife,” Nabea said. “If it is true . . . then I may have mercy.”

  The man swallowed and looked very afraid.

  “Kill me now then,” he said. “Be done with it.”

  There was a flash of anger on Nabea’s face.

  “Back up,” Nabea said to us.

  Knowing exactly what he was going to do, all of us backed away. None raised a protest as he sliced the man’s throat deeply. Blood ran fast and hard. The man sagged and was dead in seconds.

  “Better than he deserved,” Nabea said disgusted. “A traitor and a liar.” He wiped his blade clean on the man’s uniform.

  “Let’s go,” I said.

  We ran the rest of the way down the hall, finding nothing on the final room on the left.

  We unbarred the double door at the end of the hall, and Nabea shouldered them open.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  SUNLIGHT BATHED AN OPEN SPACE from a set of windows that formed the entirety of the room’s walls. Ornate furniture filled the space before us, which, to my surprise, was completely undamaged. The room seemed empty, but as Nabea ran off to the right, I saw that the room seemed to wrap around the entirety of the building.

  If Nabea’s parents were not in sight, they would be somewhere else in here.

  We ran past more furniture, rich rugs, and hanging chandeliers. It made for a lavish prison.

  “Mother?” Nabea called. “Father? Are you here?”

  “Nabea?” It was a female voice, coming from somewhere far away.

  “She’s on the other side of the building,” Nabea said. “Let’s go!”

  We followed him until we reached the other side. There, on one of the couches, were three people—a middle-aged man and woman, both with dark skin like Nabea. Both were reclining on two separate couches, eyes closed. Standing between them stood a young, pretty woman with similarly dark skin, dressed in an elegant turquoise dress laced with gold.

  “Abena?” Nabea said. “What are you doing here? I thought you to be in Tenise . . .” His eyes went to his parents. “They’re not . . .?”

  She shook her head, her intricate braids moving with her. “They live. They put up a fight so they were both drugged with something.”

  We followed Nabea to the couches where he embraced the young woman.

  “Your sister?”

  Nabea nodded as Abena gave us a look over. “Thank you. If you’re here, then you must have taken the castle back.”

  Nabea nodded. “Yes. With help from my friends, here.”

  “Praise God,” Abena said.

  I went to the father, shaking his arm. I remembered Nabea had been named after him. “King Nabea? Can you hear me?”

  “It’s no use,” Abena said. “I’m not sure when they’ll wake, but nothing seems to stir them. Nabea . . . how did the four of you ever get in here? Kachar took over the entire castle . . . and the dragons! I saw them with my own eyes, Nabea. They wrecked the city. I watched it from here. You did see them, didn’t you?”

  “I’m in control of the castle now,” Nabea said. “And yes. We came here because of the dragons. They’ve moved on, but there’s still a lot of mess to clean up.”

  “What about Kachar?”

  “Dead,” Nabea said. “His men surrendered rather than cross me. They’re locked in the dungeons.”

  “The snake,” Abena said. “I always knew he was bad news. Father never heeded my warnings. His power grew until he secured the loyalty of a large part of the guard.” She shook her head. “I am only sorry that there has been so much death.”

  “I came with a contingent of Seekers,” Nabea said. He then nodded toward me. “Shanti here was responsible for ending his coup.”

  Abena inclined her head to me nobly. “Thank you, Shanti. How did you do it, if I might ask?”

  “With my mind. It’s an Elekai Gift that doesn’t really have a name.” Before she could ask more, I continued, “We can’t stay here. We need to get both you and your parents downstairs. They’ll be safe aboard Odin until things calm down here.” I looked to Nabea. “If that sounds good to you?”

  Nabea nodded his agreement.

  “Wait,” Abena said. “I can help. Many of the men loyal to my father were rounded up and thrown in the dungeon to be executed later.”

  “Where is Lord Enu? If you are here, then where is the lord of Tenise?”

  Abena’s expression became even more hostile. “My once-betrothed has betrayed us too, Nabea. His betrayal is the reason for my return to Atlantea. Even at a full gallop and changing horses in every town, I still couldn’t warn our parents in time. The peace our parents had arranged between our kingdoms . . . it is all dust, now.”

  “You left Lord Enu in Tenise, then?” Nabea asked.

  She nodded. “He threw in his lot with Kachar. The wards we kept here aided Kachar, even those we thought loyal, like Jharka.”

  “There will be war again,” Nabea said sadly. “I thought the peace too good to be true. At the least, you will no longer have to marry that traitor. Father was mad to support that arrangement, but I could do nothing stuck at the Sanctum.

  Abena nodded, her face firming. “How well I know that, brother. The fact that it was so close makes me feel as if I’ve swallowed something vile.” She looked at her parents. “That’s not the worst of it. He was hoping, with our parents gone, to claim the kingdom through me. Of course, that would have meant killing you.” Abena then turned to me. I could tell she was fighting tears. “Seeker . . . Shanti, was it? Did you say you have a place to take them? A ship, docked at Savannah, perhaps? Isn’t that a bit far from here?”

  “It’s a spaceship,” I said. “And it’s right outside this building.”

  “A spaceship?” Abena asked. “What is that?”

  “A ship that flies very, very fast,” I said.

  Abena’s eyebrows arched at that, but thinking I was telling a joke, she turned to her brother for an explanation.

  “She’s Annara Reborn, Abena. You know those stories about the old gods and their flying ship? Well, she is one of those old gods—Annara, the Mother of the Elekai. She exists in truth, and she stands before you now. As proof, her ship is here, and though she might not look it from her size, she is the strongest Elekai to be born since Ragnarok.”

  Abena’s eyes widened at that, and from the way her lips moved but no words came, she didn’t know how to respond.

  “I’m not a god,” I said. “Anna and the rest of them were human, just like us. History has forgotten that fact. My given name is Shanti, so you can just call me that.”

  “This isn’t some joke?”

  “Nabea will explain it when we have time,” I said. “For now, let’s get your parents on the ship.”

  “Of course,” Abena said. “Between the five of us, I’m sure we can move them downstairs.”

  “That’s too much work,” Shara said. “Besides, the building might not be safe. It might be better to stand guard here until they wake up.”

  “Isandru and Fiona returned to Odin,” I said. “Surely they’ll—”

  At that point, I was interrupted by the roar of Odin’s engines thrumming outside. I ran to the gl
ass to get a look, Abena at my side. Together, we watched as Odin lifted itself from the ground, higher and higher toward our position.

  “It’s true, then,” Abena said. “You are Anna.”

  “What are they doing?” Shara asked.

  “Helping us,” I said. I looked at Abena. “Is there a way to get outside?”

  “Yes,” she said. “There’s a deck. We can carry my parents there.”

  Together, all of us lifted the king and queen of Atlantea from the couches and followed Abena to a glass door leading out to a deck that overlooked the city. Carrying them this way wasn’t very dignified, but it was the only way. Abena held the door open while we walked out into the cool, windy air. Out here, the ship was near-deafening. The sound did nothing to disturb the king and queen, both of whom were sleeping like babes. Odin’s starboard side was to us, and its blast door opened to reveal Pallos. The boarding ramp extended until it touched down on the rail enclosing the deck.

  The ship locked into position, not moving an inch. We’d have to climb the railing to get to the ramp, but other than that, we would be safe.

  “Get them on!” I shouted over the din. “And don’t look down!”

  Together, we lifted the queen onto the ramp first. Nabea jumped up and single-handedly pulled her the remaining distance until she was on board, safe and sound. We did the same with King Nabea, though it took a couple more of us to lift him since he was a lot heavier. All the same, we had him on board in another minute.

  I waited for everyone else to get on, rushing them onward. Shara was paler than I’d ever seen her, and she ran quickly to get inside the ship. I was the last one to climb onto the ramp. Once inside the wardroom, Pallos pressed the door shut, mitigating the thunderous thrum of the engines.

  “Lay them on my bed,” I said. “Abena can keep watch over them.”

  Abena was gawking at the ship’s interior, but my voice brought her back to attention. Fiona, Isa, and Nabea worked to move them to my bed in the cabin adjacent to the wardroom.

  Nabea returned from my cabin, along with Fiona and Isa, Abena having remained behind. The prince shook his head sadly. “It’s a mess. A terrible mess.”

  “We must get back to what we were doing,” Isandru said. “After Kachar, is there anyone left to challenge your authority?”

  Nabea shook his head. “If any do, they have not just me, but this ship and everyone on it, to contest. As soon as we release my father’s men from the dungeons and get Tellor and the boys back, then I can go about restoring order. I will need help in this, for the next few hours at least. After that I must remain here, cleaning up after Kachar’s treachery.” Nabea looked at me. “I hope you understand.”

  I nodded. I knew that saving the Kingdom of Atlantea came before my mission, at least for Prince Nabea. “Do what you need to do, Nabea. There are people here that need saving, and I’m willing to do anything I can to secure your place here.”

  “When I have enough soldiers behind me, and when they realize the king is well, all those loyal to him will fall behind me. After that, we can figure out what to do about the dragons and Lord Enu in Tenise.”

  “We still don’t know who is friend and foe,” Abena said. “No doubt, Kachar rallied some of the court to his cause. I doubt it’s anywhere approaching a majority, though.”

  “No doubt,” Nabea said. “Well, they’ll find no haven here. Reinforcements from the outer bannermen might take time if I don’t have enough loyal men in the city.”

  “Perhaps Elder Tellor could stay on in an advisory capacity,” Isandru said. “Having a Seeker in your court—a loyal Seeker—would do much for your legitimacy.”

  “I’m already legitimate,” Nabea said, in protest.

  “Of course,” Abena said. “No one is arguing against that. However, for many, the one with the most power is the one crowned legitimate. It’s a tenuous time for the kingdom. I would welcome this Elder’s help.” She looked at Isandru. “Is he here?”

  “He is helping some of the others in the dungeons,” he said. “Of course, he would need to be part of the discussion. However, the Eastern Kingdoms are an important area to secure . . . and with the dragons, they cannot be ignored.”

  “True,” Nabea said. “I mean, if it’s all right with Shanti.”

  I would miss having Tellor around—the best fighter we had. I remembered all the training he had given me. Even with the couple of weeks we had together, I’d progressed enormously, unlocking so much of my hidden potential.

  “We’ll revisit this question when we’re all together again,” I said. “For now, we need to clean up the mess so we can get back to hunting Isaru and the swarm.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  BY THE TIME WE WERE all together again, with Ret, Samal, and Elder Tellor crowded in the lobby of the Castle Tower, it was to my great surprise that Elder Tellor agreed to stay on with Nabea without any encouragement from me.

  “Of course. This is the kind of work I’m good at . . . a problem that is direct, which can be solved with the swing of a sword,” he paused. “But I will need help, once again.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “I sense much potential in Samal and Ret, and both are fast friends of Nabea. Under my wing, they will grow even stronger.”

  I understood immediately what he was asking. “You would like me to leave both with you?”

  “It would be an honor,” Samal said.

  Ret seemed a little less enthusiastic. “I will do whatever everyone requires me. I came to serve because I believe in the cause.” He looked at me, somewhat sadly. “Even if I have to serve here.”

  “We all have a duty, child, and must serve where we are most needed,” Tellor said. “Shanti, someday, will need an army, and an army needs commanders. By the time I’m done with you two, I hope to have those commanders.”

  Ret seemed to brighten at that. “Well . . . I suppose I wouldn’t be against being trained for a command position.”

  “Nor I,” Samal said. “Besides, Nabea needs our help. With all of us together, we’ll have things fixed here in no time.”

  I was sure it was going to be a bit more complicated than that, but I appreciated the positivity all the same.

  “Furthermore,” Tellor said, “the dragons will create a lot of chaos in the Eastern Kingdoms . . . chaos I will need to avert. Though Atlantea was the first struck, I will need to be the shield to protect others. The unification of the kingdoms has been a long-time dream of many Eastern kings. Perhaps the dragons are the crisis that just might catalyze that dream into reality.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  Tellor nodded. “They’re separate now, but it’s been said, in prophecy or not, that the disparate kingdoms of the east would one day stand united in time for the Second Darkness. That Second Darkness is coming, so united they must stand.”

  Nabea nodded. “Elder Tellor is right. Despite our differences, all the Eastern Kingdoms have a common culture and history. We are all the heirs of America. Perhaps Tellor is right. Perhaps the kingdoms can be reunited, just like the old days.”

  “The United Kingdoms?” Isa asked.

  “No,” Nabea said. “The United States.”

  Before Ragnarok, I knew there was an almost mythical country that had stretched from the Eastern Ocean to the Western Ocean. It was destroyed by the meteor, Ragnarok, and all hope of its rising from the ashes had been snuffed by the first Radaskim invasion.

  But in the centuries since the Elekai’s victory, the idea of it still lingered. Perhaps there was enough of that idea for it to become a reality.

  “How many kingdoms must be brought together for that to happen?” Shara asked.

  “Many,” Nabea said. “Besides the fifty-two officially ratified kingdoms recognized by the Eastern Council, there are some that are not official. If I can get most of those fifty-two to agree to a new President and to reenact the repealed Constitution . . . then it will become law. Such a thing was unimaginable ju
st a year ago. Today, however, it is necessary for survival.”

  “Elder Tellor,” I said.

  The Elder turned to face me, along with the rest of the crew.

  “What you’re doing will be dangerous. I just want you to be very careful. There are too few of us who know the truth . . . what all must happen in the next two years if we are to have any hope of victory. If we lose four of you here, it would be devastating.”

  Tellor nodded gravely. “You are right, of course. Every path we must walk is filled with dangers. Those dangers must be fought and overcome. You will need a Seeker here in this isolated part of the world. The Eastern Kingdoms cannot be brought together without boots on the ground.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  WITHIN AN HOUR, ALL OF us were gathered in the throne room. The palace administrators and servants had been freed and were already hurrying to restore order. Kachar’s body was removed and his blood wiped clean, as if he had never been there. An army of servants cleaned furiously. The king and queen, although still incapacitated, sat in their rightful places, guarded by Samal and Ret along with some of the loyal men that had been locked up by Kachar.

  “Can we at least stay until the king and queen wake up?” I asked.

  “The dragons are the main threat, Shanti,” Tellor said. “If you stay, nothing will change about that fact.”

  I knew he was right. Seeing the castle transformed and the band of guards surrounding Prince Nabea let me know things were under control. Not that there wasn’t more work to be done. There was, only we were not going to be the ones to do it.

  “The time has come to say goodbye,” I said. “I’ll come back as soon as I can to check on your progress.”

  Tellor turned, waving over Ret and Samal. They left their posts by the king and queen and joined us.

  “Leaving?” Samal asked.

  I nodded. “It’s time.”

  Nabea rushed to join us from where he had been talking to one of the many castle administrators. “Thank you for your help, Shanti. I can’t say that enough.”