REONE
Reone tightened his grip on Lyrian's limp body and crossed the threshold of the King's hollow.
Warm lanterns glowed from the walls, illuminating carved patterns and archways.
"Fair warning, there is a slight chance my dad won't be too pleased when he sees you," Anika said quietly.
"Who can blame him?" Primi said.
Anika sighed.
"It's like you're a younger version of him," she said.
"Thanks for the compliment," Primi said, causing Anika to sigh and roll her eyes.
They arrived at what Reone assumed was the living room. It was empty.
Anika looked around, calling out, "Daddy?"
Silence.
"Daddy, where are you?"
Then a voice answered from another room—steady, deep, unmistakably regal.
"Anika? Is that you?"
"Yeah! Where are you?"
"I'm in the great room. Come."
She nodded for Reone and Primi to follow her. "This way."
As they made their way through a corridor, Anika called ahead awkwardly, raising her voice.
"Um—Daddy, I should warn you that I'm not alone. I'm here with Primi and… uhm... and—"
"Two outsiders," King Arnab finished calmly, his arms folded as they entered the great room.
Reone froze.
The Diviner King stood tall, wrapped in layered robes of deep blue and black. His long ears were adorned with thin gold rings. Behind him stood a rectangular stone table—and seated around it were six other Diviners, their eyes sharp and unblinking.
Anika's eyes widened. "What are the elders doing here? And how did you know?"
"I know because I'm the king," Arnab said matter-of-factly. "It's my duty to know everything. As for the elders—" his voice dropped with clear annoyance, "—it's a small Nest. Word travels fast. Too fast. They heard something was happening and showed up."
Anika narrowed her eyes. "Still… so quickly? Wait… Are you having our people spy on me?"
King Arnab cleared his throat, suddenly very interested in the ceiling. "…My sweet, perhaps now isn't the ideal time to discuss that. There are more important matters at hand. Aren't you going to introduce us to your new friends?"
Anika pressed her lips together in anger but answered anyway.
"Dad, Elders—this is Reone. Reone, this is my father, King Arnab, and the Elders—his trusted advisors."
Reone managed a small bow, still holding Lyrian in his arms. "It's an honor to meet you… Your Majesty."
"And likewise," the king replied. "Now tell me—what brings you to our Nest, Reone?"
Reone swallowed, his voice thick. "Lyrian and I were passing through the forest when we encountered Nullborn Extractors. They attacked us. She was drained of her resonance, and now she's… she's gone." His voice cracked.
"So he came to us hoping for help," Primi added.
"And how did this outsider find us?" an elder snapped.
Silence weighed heavily in the room.
Anika's shoulders slumped. "A Nullborn Extractor saw me sneaking back into the cave. He told him."
King Arnab's face darkened. "What? Anika…"
"I know, Dad. I messed up."
"Messed up?" His voice boomed through the chamber. "Nullborn Extractors know where we are because of you. You made a disaster."
"I'm sorry," she whispered, looking genuinely remorseful.
"This is exactly why I didn't want you joining the Guard," he said sharply. "It's not meant for you. Your place as a princess is in the Nest."
Anika bit her lip, hurt by his words.
She wanted him and everyone to see her as more than a princess, as a warrior and as capable as the rest.
But that just wasn't happening. To them, she was and would always be a weak little girl.
Primi stepped forward. "If I may, Your Majesty—Anika has proven herself more than competent as a member of the Guard. If she hadn't drawn the Extractors away, they would've found the Nest already. Yes, they found us anyway, but she bought us time."
Anika's head snapped toward him—shocked but clearly grateful.
"And what about the Extractor knowing our location? It's only a matter of time before he leads all of them to us," an elder demanded.
"The Extractor hasn't told anyone else. I've already sent my guards to deal with him where the outsider tied him up," Primi replied.
King Arnab blinked. "So you're saying Anika… saved the Nest?"
"I am," Primi said firmly. "You should be proud."
"Well." King Arnab scratched his beard. "That's unexpected." Then he turned to Anika, softer. "I seem to have been wrong about you, Anika. I'm sorry. I should have had more faith in you."
Emotion flooded her face. "Thanks, Dad." She then wiped her eyes quickly and turned toward Reone. "Anyway—Your Majesty, can you help Reone's girlfriend?"
Reone stepped forward, voice breaking. "Please. I'm begging you. I can't lose her."
King Arnab stroked his beard, troubled. "Theoretically… it is possible for a Diviner to save her. But that comes with complications."
"Complications doesn't even begin to describe it," a female elder muttered.
"What does that mean?" Anika asked, frowning.
The king stepped forward. "Let me explain. The act of bestowing resonance—of restoring it—is incredibly dangerous."
"How?" Anika pressed.
"Because the process has the potential to either instill resonance in an individual… or to transform them into an unfeeling, violent creature—and kill the Diviner performing it."
Anika went pale. "What?"
Reone felt the words like a blade slipping between his ribs.
Lyrian—a monster?
No, Reone thought. He would rather she die like this than become something twisted. He couldn't do that to her.
Primi asked quietly, "And there is no survival for the Diviner?"
"Exactly," King Arnab said.
Anika's voice shook. "But from what you said, that's only a possibility, right? She could come back to life as her normal self and no one dies?"
"That depends entirely on the recipient," her father said gravely.
Reone looked up sharply. "Lyrian? What do you mean?"
"She must be pure of heart. Her soul must be free of cruelty or malice. If she isn't—the transformation will be her fate. And nature punishes the Diviner for bestowing resonance upon the impure with death."
"Impure?" Reone whispered. "Tell me again, what makes someone impure?"
"Those who harm others. Those who act with malicious intent. Those whose hearts are filled with evil."
Relief pierced Reone's despair as he thought back on all that Lyrian was. "Lyrian is none of those things. She is one of the kindest, most sensitive people I know. She is very pure. If what you're saying is true—then I guarantee you nothing bad will happen if you heal her."
"See, Dad?" Anika said, smiling. "Will you do it?"
An elder scoffed. "We cannot risk our king for outsiders."
"Yes," another added coldly. "And for all we know, the boy is lying and the Sylph is evil."
"I swear she isn't," Reone begged. "Please—"
"Dad?" Anika appealed.
"I'm sorry," King Arnab said, voice heavy. "If anything goes wrong and I were to die, in these difficult times, the entire Nest will fall into chaos. I cannot take that risk."
Reone gritted his teeth. His tears fell onto Lyrian's cheek.
He had dared to hope. But it turned out to be all for nothing.
Closing his eyes, he let out a small cry.
Anika watched him break—and her heart went out to him. Still looking at him, something fierce lit inside her.
She stepped forward. "If you won't do it, Your Majesty… then I will."
The room erupted in shock.
"Princess, absolutely not!" an elder barked.
"That is out of the question, Anika!" the king said.
"Why?" Anika demanded. "I'm a Diviner too. This is what I was meant to do."
"You don't even know how," her father said, but he looked at her suspiciously.
Anika rolled her eyes.
"Of course I don't. But you will tell me," Anika said in a confident voice.
"No, I won't. It is too dangerous," Arnab insisted.
"No. It's not." Her voice was steady, sure. "Because I trust Reone when he says Lyrian is pure. I know she is."
"Anika—" her father protested.
"Dad… listen. There's something I didn't tell you." She swallowed. "When I was on a mission, leading the Extractors away… I got hurt. I hid in the trees to heal myself. But before I could, Lyrian found me. I panicked—I attacked her, thinking she was the enemy. She beat me."
"What?" her father exclaimed.
"Yes. She easily overpowered me. And she could've ended me." Anika closed her eyes. "But she didn't. Instead, seeing that I was hurt, she wanted to help me."
The king stared at her in shock.
"Really?"
Anika nodded.
"Does that sound like someone impure to you?" she asked softly.
"I mean… no," he admitted.
"Exactly. So let me heal her."
King Arnab looked tortured. Then he shook his head. "You're my daughter. I can't let you risk yourself. So I'll do it."
Anika shook her head, feeling stubborn.
"Your Majesty, I'm the one who's vouching for her. So I'm the one who has to do it. You can guide me, of course."
He hesitated.
Anika stepped closer and placed a hand on his arm. "You said you were proud of me. And that you regretted not believing in me. Prove it. Let me do this."
King Arnab closed his eyes and exhaled.
"You're right, my stubborn daughter."
"Your Majesty—" an elder protested again.
"I've made my decision," Arnab said firmly. "We trust Anika."
A slow, grateful smile spread across her face. "Thank you, Dad."
She turned to Reone triumphantly. In response, Reone smiled at her gratefully.
"Let's save her," Anika told him. Reone nodded frantically.
"Please, lay her on the couch," Arnab told Reone.
Reone obeyed instantly, placing Lyrian's body gently on the soft woven cushions.
"Princess," her father instructed, "place your hands over her chest."
Anika knelt beside the couch and did as told.
"Now concentrate all your energy into your hands and repeat after me," Arnab said, his voice lowering as he began to chant in their old tongue—a flowing, ancient language Reone had never heard.
Anika repeated the words easily, a soft glow forming beneath her palms.
Then it brightened.
And brightened.
Until the entire room was bathed in blinding white light, forcing Reone to shield his eyes, which he didn't mind much. He was too scared to look.