Before Felitïa could say anything, the herald’s voice rang out again. “Etiënne Gen, Captain of the Lustrous Rose, and his first mate, Miana Ting.”

Felitïa wasn’t sure whether to be grateful for the new arrivals or to wonder how people she’d never heard of before had been invited to this gathering.

Sinitïa spun and waved to the people entering the room. “Oh, you have to meet Etiënne and Miana! I hope you don’t mind that I invited them. Etiënne’s captain of the…”

Etiënne.

Felitïa lowered her head, as it started to pound, drowning out Sinitïa’s words.

Miana.

In the Room in her head, the voices were speaking again.

Zandrue, Rudiger, Borisin…

The next figure in the line-up—the tallish, thin one—began to clear, revealing a lanky man with stringy black hair.

Meleng, Corvinian, Jorvanultumn…

His hands were calloused, and well tanned. Despite his lanky frame, there were well-developed muscles there—not Rudiger-strength, but probably stronger than anything Felitïa could muster.

Quilla, Kindanog, Nin-Akna…

His teeth were crooked and yellow, and several were chipped. Hid eyes were thin and deep-set, but piercing.

Etiënne…

Number Ten.

And behind him, Number Eleven was clearing as well. This one was much smaller, but had something about their stance which made them seem bigger. They had short, but thick black hair, and their eyes… If Felitïa had thought Etiënne’s were piercing, his had nothing on this person’s. Deep grey and almost shiny.

Miana…

There were still more names in the list, still more figures in the line, but they remained obscured.

“Felitïa!”

Felitïa opened her eyes and sat up. It wasn’t clear who had called her name. Possibly, it was several people. Everyone was gathered around her. Zandrue had her arms around her, and Mikranasta was bent down in front of her. Nin-Akna was on her other side, and squeezing between her and Mikranasta was Sinitïa.

“This makes no sense,” Mikranasta said.

Felitïa tried to wave them all off. “I’m fine. I was just…” She looked at Meleng who was craning his head behind Mikranasta. “Ten and Eleven.”

Meleng’s eyes widened. “You mean…Captain Gen and…?”

Felitïa nodded.

Mikranasta leaned forward, blocking all of Felitïa’s view and stared her in the eyes. “My spell translates words, but not necessarily meaning. Ten and eleven? Explain this to me.”

“Next figures in the line-up in my head,” Felitïa said.

Mikranasta moved back a small distance. “Ah. Jorvanultumn has told me about these. The Captain and his first mate are revealed to be in the line? This still makes no sense.”

“It just happens sometimes, though it’s been awhile.”

“No, that is not what I mean. Something bypassed the shield. That should be impossible.”

“The voices in my head spoke again,” Felitïa said.

“Another thing that should be impossible.”

“But you said it was a weak shield. Just strong enough to block my uncontrolled powers. I was able to break through when I pushed, remember?”

Mikranasta’s eyes narrowed. “I’ll assume it’s your exhaustion making you so dim. Yes, it’s a weak shield, and if something had broken through, I would not be concerned at all. Well, I might be concerned about what did it, but not that it happened. But this didn’t break through. It bypassed the shield, as if it wasn’t even there. That should be impossible.”

Felitïa sat back. Mikranasta was right. The shield was still there, still blocking her abilities from getting out, and other things from getting in. It was completely undamaged. The voices in her head were silent again, too.

“Excuse me.” The voice was Etiënne’s, though Felitïa had never heard it before. “I don’t mean to intrude, but is her Highness well? We can excuse ourselves and come back later if needed.”

“Her Highness is indeed not well,” Mikranasta said, “though I suspect you should stay given what has just happened.”

“Yes, it’s fine.” Felitïa motioned at the people around her to back up a bit. “I just need some space, thanks.”

“You sure?” Zandrue said.

Felitïa nodded, and Zandrue and the others backed away. Felitïa then motioned to Etiënne and Miana. “Please, Captain, come forward.”

Etiënne and Miana approached, They both doffed their caps and bowed. Felitïa really wished she wasn’t sitting in this throne.

“Welcome, both of you,” Felitïa said.

Etiënne bowed once more. “Thank you, your Highness. It’s an honour to meet you at last. We’ve been ferrying her Highness, your sister, around for quite some time now.”

“I hope she hasn’t been too much trouble. I know she can be a handful.” Felitïa grinned, hoping in her tired state, people would still know she was joking.

Sinitïa stuck out her tongue at her. That cleared things up pretty well.

“Not at all, your Highness. She, Meleng, and Jorvanultumn—and more recently, the other Isyar—have been excellent passengers. We have had some grand adventures.”

The barest hint of a scoff came from Miana. “Captain Gen has a way of understating things. Not all of us would describe what we have been through as adventures. However, it is an honour to meet you, your Highness.”

Felitïa smiled at them. She wasn’t sure how she knew to think of Miana in a genderless manner, but that was obviously something to do with the weirdness in her head. “Perhaps, Captain, you could learn from your first mate. You don’t need to colour your words to avoid offending me.”

The Captain bowed again. “Just attempting to be polite, your Highness.”

“You also don’t need to keep bowing and calling me Highness. I prefer to keep it casual.”

Etiënne nodded. “As you wish.”

“So, you took Sinitïa, Meleng, and Jorvan to Isyaria?”

“We did, your High--” He cleared his throat. “Yes, we did, and them brought them back here afterwards. Your sister paid us handsomely, though of course, it wasn’t just for the money. We were happy to be of service.”

Miana looked at their captain with a raised eyebrow.

Etiënne cleared his throat softly again. “Uh, yes, well. It was an interesting voyage that I’d love to discuss with you in more detail at another time, but I can see you are exhausted. We won’t bother you any longer.”

Felitïa smiled at both of them. “Thank you for everything you’ve done.”

“Have you been okay since our arrival?” Meleng asked. “Sorry we haven’t been able to get back to check on you, but I was a little worried.”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Etiënne waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t worry, lad. We were fine. The local constabulary forgot about us after the fires started. They went to fight those and didn’t bother us again.” He turned to Mikranasta and bowed. “Something I wanted to thank you for, Madame. Without your and your siare’s distractions, we might not have come out of it so well.”

Mikranasta raised an eyebrow. “You are welcome, Captain, but the fires had nothing to do with us. We created distractions, yes, but not the fires. I don’t know what started them, though they were...fortuitous.”

Etiënne looked blankly at her for a moment. “But if not you, then…” He straightened up and breathed in sharply. “Fortuitous, as you say.”

Felitïa sighed. She didn’t know anything about any fires. Clearly she had a lot to catch up on, but now was not the time for it. Her headache was getting worse. “I think we should...um…” She waved her hand in circles, trying to think of the next word.

“Depart?” Zandrue said.

Felitïa nodded. “That’s it. Thank you, everyone, but I need to get some sleep. We’ll all speak again soon. Zandrue, can...can you help me?”

Zandrue held out her arm. Felitïa took it and used it to help her stand.

The others parted to let them past.

“If you need anything,” Anita said, “just let me know.”

“I will, thank you.”

With Zandrue’s help, she walked slowly to the side door. Mikranasta walked behind them. They’d only made it a short distance through the adjoining room when a voice called, “Your Highness?”

Felitïa turned around and Mikranasta stepped out of the way. Miana was at the door, blocked by a pair of guards

“May I?” Miana asked.

Felitïa nodded to the guards and they let Miana pass.

“What can I do for you, Miana?”

Miana approached and bowed low.

“Miana, I told you—”

“Please, your Highness, allow me this one moment.”

Felitïa nodded. “Go ahead.”

“I will honour your request to treat you casually. However, it is custom with my people, that when we first meet royalty, we present them with a gift. I was not able to do so with your sister as we had to pretend she was someone else, and it has weighed heavily on me. Allow me the opportunity to make up for that with you.”

“Of course.”

Miana knelt and took out a piece of cloth folded over several times. They held it out before them and bowed their head low. “Your Highness, please accept this gift from a lowly, unworthy peasant.”

Felitïa grimaced and was glad Miana couldn’t have seen it. She took the cloth. It was soft and silky. She began to unfold it.

“It is Singean silk.” Miana did not look up as they spoke. “My mother wove it many years ago. She gave it to me on my eighteenth birthday, just before I left home to become a sailor.”

Felitïa finished unfolding it. The outer border was green with a yellow circle in the centre. In the circle, stitched in red thread, were several Singean characters. “It’s beautiful. Thank you. Now, please stand.” She held out a hand to them.

Miana looked up and gave a slight smile. They took Felitïa’s hand and stood up.

“What does it say?” Felitïa asked.

“Affection, love. My mother was a sentimental person.”

“I will treasure it. Thank you.” She started folding it again, trying to follow the existing creases. Somehow, it got tangled. Gods, she was tired.

“Allow me.” Miana took the cloth, undid a couple of the folds, and then correctly folded it back up. They placed it back in Felitïa’s hand.

“Thank you. I’m so tired I can’t even do simple things, it seems.”

“It’s a complicated folding pattern.” They looked up at Felitïa, again with just a hint of a smile. Their eyes were incredibly piercing.

“That’s kind of you to say.” The image of Miana in the line-up flashed in front of Felitïa’s eyes. She realised Miana was still touching her hand and her cheeks warmed. If only she could sense what Miana was feeling.

“Are you all right, Felitïa?” Miana asked.

Felitïa nodded. “Yes. Yes, just...the vision of you in my head...I mean...just tired, like I said.”

“There’s a vision of me in your head?” They were still touching her hand, still staring up at her with those piercing eyes.

“Yes, um...long story. I’ll tell you later.”

“I look forward to hearing it.” Miana let go of Felitïa’s hand and stepped back. “But I will let you rest for now. You clearly need it.”

Gods, she wanted her abilities back!

“Until later, Felitïa.” Miana bowed their head slightly, then turned and headed back to the audience chamber.

Felitïa watched them until the door closed and Zandrue waved a hand in front of her eyes.

“Still there?”

Felitïa snorted. “Yes, I’m here.”

“I don’t think I’ve seen you look so lustfully at someone since you met Rudiger. That woman on Scovese. What was her name?”

“Maneshka.”

“Right, Maneshka. Did you look at her like that?”

Felitïa jabbed her lightly with her elbow. “Fuck you.”

Zandrue laughed. “You really are exhausted.”

“Yes, and I need to get to bed.” She took Zandrue’s arm again, and they continued to her room.

Once they were there, Zandrue helped her undress and get ready for bed. Mikranasta watched silently the whole time.

Felitïa sat on her bed, as Lon as Nesh scurried about. “I’m going to need your help in the coming weeks, Zandrue.”

Zandrue sat beside her. “You know you have it.”

“I’ve made a lot of mistakes while you’ve been away.”

“There were extenuating circumstances. You couldn’t sleep. Anyone would make mistakes.”

Felitïa sighed. “But it started before that. I shouldn’t have split us up. That was a huge mistake.”

“One I helped partake in. I agreed to it, remember.”

“Yes, and now we don’t know what’s happened to Rudiger and Quilla.”

Zandrue put her arm around Felitïa. “We know they’re alive though, right?”

“They’re alive, but hurt. Rudiger has a broken leg, and Borisin’s badly burned.” She leaned her head on Zandrue’s shoulder. “Gods, Zandrue, the blisters. If you could see the blisters.”

Zandrue hugged her tight. “And Quilla?”

Felitïa took a moment to look at Quilla in the line-up. “She’s fine physically, but she doesn’t look happy.”

“Rudiger’s a big boy, Felitïa. He can look after himself. And Quilla...well, hopefully, she’s got Rudiger to look after her. Or someone else.”

“You don’t worry about him?”

Zandrue took a moment before answering. “Yeah, I do. But like I said, he can take care of himself. I trust him to survive, and if he doesn’t, I’ll kill the motherfucker who kills him.”

Felitïa smiled and chuckled. “I have no doubt you will.”

They sat in silence for a while before Zandrue said, “You better get some sleep. I’ll see you later.” She started to get up, but Felitïa grabbed her arm.

“I said I needed your help, Zandrue. I need you to do more than just root out the Darkers in the palace here.” She glanced at Mikranasta, who watched impassionately. “I want to take the fight to them. No more being the victims. I’m sick of it. You said Dyle’s dead, right?”

Zandrue nodded.

“Then he’s just the first. We need to stop Lidda Plavin, Mister Speedy, Castroff, and all the others. No more sitting around. It’s time we became the hunters. Are you with me?”

Zandrue grinned. “You know I am.” She leaned over and kissed Felitïa on the forehead. “Now get some fucking sleep before I thump you into unconsciousness.”

Felitïa laughed. “I will. I promise.”

Zandrue pulled away and headed to the door. She looked over at Mikranasta. “Look after her.”

Mikranasta nodded once, and Zandrue left the room.

Felitïa shooed Lon and Nesh from her pillow and lay down. She wasn’t sure yet how they were going to become the hunters like she had told Zandrue, but it was overdue time. With luck, Agernon could figure out the Staff, now he had the Pearl to go with it as well. She also needed to get the prayer beads to him and the crystal Zandrue had taken from Dyle.

But she couldn’t wait on Agernon finishing. She had to start as soon as possible. The first step was learning to control her powers so she didn’t need Mikranasta or Hedromornasta shielding her all the time. There was no telling how long that would take, so the sooner she started, the better.

But even before that: sleep. She closed her eyes and let beautiful, gorgeous sleep overtake her.

THE END OF PART TWO OF

The Will-Breaker