Page 117 of Midnightsong
Cassia.
The room went silent, and Kaden stared at Varin’s seaflute.
Varin yanked the seaflute from his pack. “Cassia? What’s wrong?”
“The queendom is under siege. Landwalkers have found us.”
No. Kaden looked at his advisors and Marron and Narea, but all appeared deep in thought, or wore masks of worry.
“What?” Varin paled.
“Nanhai has arrived and we’re holding them back for now. Stay at Haibei. Don’t come back now.”
The seaflute went silent, and Varin floated, gaping, stroking one of his eyebrows. “I can’t leave her there to fight for herself. I need to go back.”
“She asked you to stay,” Kaden replied. “There’s a greater chance of you being hurt, or killed if you’re wandering through human attackers, even if you’re protected.”
“But I cannot–” A quake outside cut off Varin’s protests.
For a moment, all was quiet.
Still.
“These damned undersea quakes,” Marron grunted.
They got those every now and again, and Kaden rubbed his cheeks.
“I cannot leave her there. You must understand,” Varin said.
Another quake jolted the room. This wasn’t normal. In his twenty-five tidesyears, Kaden had never experienced two quakes in a row.
“A moment.” Narea glided to the rock door and pulled it open and swam outside. Outside, panicked cries filled his ears, and Kaden’s pulse raced with fear.
What was happening?
Narea returned, panic-stricken. “We’re under attack. Landwalkers and their vessels have been spotted. We are trying to hold them off before they break the barrier entirely. There are divers here. Hundreds. They’re sneaking through and infiltrating the palace halls.”
Kaden’s tail grew stiff and the color drained from his cheeks and neck. “Humans,” he repeated with a hoarse voice. “No. How many vessels?”
“I saw two,” Narea offered. “They’ve struck two of our villages, decimated them. We have units addressing the vessels and divers, but they are camouflaged and have scattered. The divers are infused with our magic. Marron, I need you with me to gather the rest of the sentinels. King Kaden, King Varin, do not leave here. We will ensure you’re protected.”
Kaden took in their words, his chest tightening. He was speechless and needed more water, more oxygen to process what they were telling him.
“Let’s go. We cannot waste more time,” Marron said to Narea, his voice sharp. “We’ve lost our queen already. Nearly lost our crown prince. So many have died, been captured. We cannot lose you, too.”
Kaden snapped back to reality and gave a vehement nod, staying back with Varin as the Shangjiangs and combat advisors left the room, leaving them guarded by two sentinels, and trapped.
Fifty
Angie
Angie watched after Bàba as heclosed the door behind him to the outpatient physical therapy clinic, and when his therapist came to walk with him to their treatment area, she pulled out of her parking spot and drove back to Celia’s house.
The text from the younger woman sat unanswered in Angie’s phone from earlier in the morning, asking if she would meet her at her house again.
She hovered outside and chewed on her bottom lip before putting the car into park.
Celia answered the door a moment after Angie rang her bell.
