"Fera Belaya Nimrin!"

Queen Aksa's voice cracked through the room like the thunderstorm outside.

She stood tall in a vast drawing room on one of the estate tower's lower floors. The space was ornate. High ceilings trimmed in gold. Marble floors softened by handwoven rugs. Tall arched windows filtered light through embroidered drapes. Oil portraits lined the walls. A carved fireplace glowed low beneath a gilt mirror. The air smelled faintly of cedar and lavender.

She exhaled. Disappointed.

"What is going on with you, Fera? Are you trying to destroy your life?" She took a step closer. "And mine?"

The Queen was estimated to be in her late seventies. And yet, she was youthful and striking. Tall, olive-skinned, her posture flawless. Commanding. Her green eyes were sharp. Unwavering. Thick brown hair, streaked with some gray, was pulled into an elegant knot. She didn't look a day over forty. She looked more like Fera's older sister than her mother. Sky gods didn't age like other humans. Their altered DNA ensured that. She wore a flowing gown of deep sapphire silk. The fabric draped in long, clean folds that swept behind her like a tide. A delicate circlet rested on her brow. Understated. But unmistakable regal.

"I have looked the other way when you've bent rules. Made reckless investments. Stirred up Parliament. Philandered with married noblemen. But this, this cannot be!" The Queen's voice rose like a blade. "I had to hear it from Kuna Khoraz, of all people, that you're keeping a commoner here. Sharing his bed. And now—" Her gaze swept the room, taking in Fera's silk night robe clinging loosely to her frame, Ashur's stillness, the late hour. "Here you are. In his bedroom. At this hour."

Ashur straightened. He turned the ruby ring between his fingers, the one Fera had given him only moments earlier, slipping it off her own right hand.

"Keep this on you," she said. "My mother won't be able to read you if you wear it. This stone blocks the ability of seers." She'd explained it simply. Most nobility wore such rings or pendants. It kept the playing field even among the sky gods.

"And what about you?" he asked.

"Over the years I've learned to block my mother out of my psychic field and subtle body. She can't normally read me."

But Ashur could tell that Fera wasn't at her strongest. She looked drained. Weary. He wasn't sure she could hold her ground, especially not against the Queen. A well-renowned seer. Concern registered. But he said nothing. Fera couldn't take much more today. He hoped she was right. That she'd endure.

The Queen's sharp voice snapped him out of the memory.

"If your father were here, Fera, he would be ashamed!" She turned slightly, gaze narrowing. "Howl always knew how to deal with you. Perhaps I should have taken Mireya up on her offer to revive him when we had the chance. Now she's dead too," she murmured to herself.

"Deal with me?" The words came out uneven. Trembling. Tears welled in her eyes. "I am not something that needs to be dealt with, Mother!" Emotion raw. "I miss Father! He was the only parent who actually loved me. Cared about me. Listened to me."

Queen Aksa's expression didn't soften.

"You ungrateful child," she said. Cold. "You are something that needs to be dealt with. Managed. Because you have great potential. For creation...and for destruction. I've spent your entire life holding my breath, trying to see which one you'll choose."

"Then let me actually choose!" Fera shouted. "You're too busy pulling strings to choose for me."

The Queen's lips pressed into a thin line. "Fera, I'm trying to help you. After I'm gone, who's going to be left to clean up your messes?"

Fera shook her head. Disbelief.

Aksa's eyes shifted to Ashur. "Young man, what is your name?"

"Ashur, Your Majesty," he said. Bowed awkwardly. Nervous.

"I'm told you've spent more than five weeks in my estate," she said. "With my unwed daughter in your bed! Making a scandal of her name! Do you have any idea what that implies?"

He said nothing. No response would resolve the paradox. There was no logical response that would satisfy the Queen. He just stared back at her.

"Fera, you brought a commoner here...what were you thinking?" Aksa shook her head. Disappointed.

Fera held her ground.

"Mother, I heard the Chancellor has rejected the Tammu-11 proposition in Parliament. We cannot win this war against Mutapu without them. I've seen it with clarity. Please, appeal to Parliament."

"You think now is the time to bring me political requests?" the Queen asked. Laughing. Dismissive. Disdainful. "You're still a child."

Fera shook her head. Incredulous. Her skin had gone pale. She was starting to sway. Ashur noted the micro-shift in her balance. A pre-fall pattern. He adjusted his stance. Prepared to catch her.

"I knew you'd do that, Mother," she said. "Take the coward's way out. Just like the Kadarians. Those weak wind-movers. Always bending. Always blowing in someone else's wind." She reached for a nearby chair, steadying herself with one hand.

Ashur eased.

"You ignorant fool! You have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Mother, Julius and I already initiated the build of the Tammu-11 units. They're nearly ready. All they need is deployment."

"I know you did," the Queen sneered. "Julius Khoraz already told me."

"What?" Fera's eyes went wide. Betrayal.

"He told me it was your idea. I would have had his head for enabling you, if not for his mother Kuna's appeal on his behalf."

"Unbelievable," Fera breathed. Her skin nearly white now.

"Another terrible investment," Aksa scoffed. "Typical Fera."

"Please, listen to me!"

"No, Fera. Your ability to see might be stronger than most, but it isn't stronger than mine. Not yet!" The Queen frowned. "I've ordered the Tammu-11 units to be brought in to Bahyan City upon completion," she continued. "We'll use them for purposes far more strategic than wasting them on Mutapu. That nation is beneath us. Deploying this technology there would be wasteful." She shook her head. "And if they got their hands on it, there's a risk they'd try to reverse-engineer the model."

Ashur glanced between the two women. There was no clear directive. No optimal path. So he stayed still. Listening. Waiting. Processing.

Aksa turned slightly. "Julius also informed me there's a radical religion growing in the South. We need to nip that in the bud. I reviewed the case file on the man who tried to kill him."

Fera said nothing. But her face, tight and drawn, said everything. Another betrayal.

"I will ensure the full extent of the law is applied," the Queen said flatly. "That man will be publicly executed. No one raises a hand against a noble, let alone tries to kill one."

She paused.

"And you will stop misbehaving, Fera! No more childish stunts behind my back. You are not to leave the Capital until after your wedding next month."

Fera stiffened. "Wedding?"

"Yes," the Queen replied. "It's time. You'll be married to Basu Mansa. His family has agreed." She lifted her chin. "He's a second-generation seer kalasaar. A better match than I hoped for."

"Mother, you can't do that!"

"I can, and I will," Aksa said. "I will save you from yourself." She turned to Ashur. "Young man, leave these islands within the next day, or I'll have the Royal Guard arrest you on charges you'll wish you'd never heard—"

Fera wavered. Her body faltered. She collapsed.

"Fera!" Ashur moved instantly, catching her before she hit the floor. Her face had gone pale. Lips, nearly blue.

What kind of mother was this? Unloving. Unkind. Extracting pain instead of comfort.

"Please, Your Highness," he said. "Fera's not well. Please lower your tone."

"What's wrong with her?" The Queen stepped closer.

Fera groaned, barely audible. "Please, Mother, listen..."

Ashur could feel how weak she was. His systems flagged rapid decline. Heart rate spiking. Energy levels crashing. Neurological strain mounting.

Suddently, the Queen's eyes widened. She'd broken through Fera's psychic shield. Ashur saw it in her face. Shock. Horror.

"No! She can't be!" she gasped. "She's pregnant!" Another gasp. "A mixed-breed child. An abomination. We can't let that happen! Fera, what were you thinking?"

She paused. Her eyes shifted rapidly, as if scanning possible futures.

"Okay... we can handle this," she muttered, more to herself than to Fera. "I'll call a doctor immediately. We must take care of this, before anyone else finds out."

"No, Mother, no!" Fera protested. Weak. Pale. "I want to keep my child!"

Ashur began trembling with rage. Just then, the ruby ring slipped from his hand and struck the floor.

The Queen recoiled, pressing both hands to her face. Horrified.

"You—you're not even human!"

Before Ashur could fully process what needed to happen, instinct took over. Protect Fera. Preserve himself.

He reached out. Took the Queen's hand. And sent a concentrated electroshock through her system. Targeted. Controlled. Not enough to burn her out. But just enough to disrupt her heart. To mimic cardiac arrest. To stop her. To kill her, quietly. Her body convulsed once, violently. Foam gathered at the corners of her mouth.

She collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.

Ashur didn't need a seer to recognize it.

This was another unseen inflection point.

Fera, barely conscious in his arms, whispered, "Ashur... run..."

Ashur processed scenarios. Calculated variables. Mapped probability paths. Optimal choices. Outcomes. Risk. Then, he turned sharply.

"Help!" he called.

Maids rushed in.

"Call a physician," he said. Steady. Calm. "I think the Queen is in cardiac arrest."

As the maids and other staff rushed into the drawing room, Ashur moved. Grabbed the ruby ring from the floor. Swept Fera into his arms, cradling her against his chest with care, and carried her from the room.

He needed an exit plan. Fast.