“Lay back,” I commanded, admiring her looks for a moment, as the struggles made her brown curls shake loose and frame her face, toned arms struggling against the grip of the techs. “You don’t need to be afraid. I have no reason to kill you. Don’t give me one.”
I closed my eyes and sat back in the seat, waiting for the needle prick. Maybe it was a longshot, but if there was something special about these Earthling women, I was determined to find out what it was. No matter whose life I took. After all, my hands were plenty bloody already.
Fifteen
Kajo
I handed Daphne the cup of tea as a loud rapping rang out on the door. I looked at her for permission, surprising myself again for this immediate deference I felt for her, for anything she wanted, anything she ever needed: she could demand anything of me.
She nodded permission, taking the tea, but still holding her dizzy head in her hands. The ceremony had been a lot for her.
“Come in!”
The door burst open at my words and one of my magical technicians barreled through, breathless.
“Rhone has Vania!”
Daphne dropped the cup. It shattered on the floor and splashed tea onto her yellow gown.
“My Vania? From Earth?”
“Yes. Apparently, he made the trip there a few days ago. He has her held captive at his lair in Bordash country. We don’t know what he is trying to do with her, but word is he may be trying to use all her blood, the way you used Daphne’s.”
“That was different. She is my Destin. We could merge in that way.”
“Well, he is trying for a transfusion. Or a forced conversion and then going to drain her.”
Daphne was on her feet, her hands gripping my arm.
“Please, Kajo…” She didn’t need to plead. I was already strategizing.
“Call Commander Sasrin. Get the rest of our troops ready. We are attacking Rhone and his Bordash army.”
“When shall they be prepared by?”
“Immediately. And send word to my Cohort. We are leaving now.”
The technician saluted and ran out of the room. My Cohort consisted of fifty of my strongest warriors and twenty leaders from around Farian. They would command their own fleet of fifty. The purpose of having the Cohort system was that they could be prepared to attack or defend at a moment’s notice.
I turned to Daphne. “Will you be able—”
“You’re not leaving without me.”
“It will be dangerous.”
“You’re not leaving without me.” Her fierce eyes, even balanced with the quivering lip, dared me to contradict her.
I looked around. “Smash that mirror. Telekinetically.”
She looked at the mirror, raised her hands, then stopped. She looked at the ground and dropped her hands. “Can I smash something else, please?”
“Why?”
“On Earth, breaking a mirror is considered seven years bad luck.”
I was silent, thinking she must be joking. She just turned redder. I laughed. “Sure. How about you lift the pieces of the mug you dropped off the ground. Lift up the tea droplets and put them back in the teapot.”
Daphne set her jaw, flexed her fingers, and concentrated on the mug. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the ceramic shards started to tremble. I noticed tears swell in her eyes. Oh, no…
The shards of the mug shattered into dust, imploding. The puddle of tea was swept from the floor and she dashed it across the room into the wall, as if it had slipped out from under her power.
She turned to me as the powder of the obliterated mug pieces settled to the ground, making a sticky paste in the remaining tea spots.
“Well, as long as you concentrate your power on the enemy, I think we will be okay.”
“What happened?”
“You got too emotional. Were you thinking about Vania?”
“Yes.”
“Moving things with your mind is a delicate process between destruction of the object and creation of a path for it to move upon. You just destroyed that mug because your mind was too motivated for revenge.”
“Ok…” Daphne looked at the chair beside the table. She gently moved it back from its spot, then rushed it and slammed it across the room into the wall. Her eyes glowed with the new power.
I smiled with pride, chest swelling, desire growing. My Destin was powerful…
As long as she aimed her uncontrolled, volatile, immature skills at someone or something we didn’t mind hurting, we would all be all right.
“How long will it take your Cohort to gather? We need to go get Vania right away.”
“They should be—”
The soldier who had come to alert them that Rhone was holding Vania teleported into the room.
“They are ready, your Highness. The Commanders have gathered in the Great Hall.”
Though we had just recently had a betrayal, by Galoon and by the Bordash in the southern region of Farian, all my other Commanders were loyal, through and through. They ruled their regions as kings and I respected them as such; they just had to show me the same.
I grabbed my sword from the bedroom table and clipped it to my belt.
“Let us go.” I extended my hand to Daphne, my Queen, and she took it. She was clearly afraid for her friend, but character was what was tested when your courage was on the line.
We held hands and teleported to the Great Hall. Daphne would eventually learn that skill, too, but for now, I just carried her along in my wake.
The twenty Commanders and their Seconds were in the Great Hall. I was told that the armies of fifty a piece were gathered in the pasture outside.
We were finely-tuned, ferocious, fighting machines, both men and women, both Bordash and Curan.
And now one Earthling.
It was time to finally take Rhone down.
“Rhone has abducted Queen Daphne’s best friend from Earth. He is likely seeking her as his Destin, which is highly unlikely. This means he will kill her soon. While that event is the catalyst for our fight today, it is not the reason. We all know that Rhone must be taken down, that his Bordash must be
