Postulating and planning about a conversation was preferable than being spontaneously tossed into said conversation, especially when you thought you had several days and an ocean journey to deliberate what you would say and anticipate how the other person would react. Alexia gasped as Azi pulled her toward Emir Leoquo Mahagan. Body tensing, Alexia dragged her feet. She couldn't find a single word to say as she plunged into panic, like being pulled under the cold depths of a turbulent river.

She could hear plenty of words, slamming into her like violent currents. I cannot do this. It won't work. They won't like me. I'll fail. The internal chorus rang loud enough to drown out the Divincor's bells.

Panic opened the floodgates to the past. As she sank her hips fighting against Azi's powerful grip, she gazed into the hellscapes of her own head. Alexia was in Ferrickton, running from angry men with swords, then watching a sweet girl go from loving her to hating her in an instant of realization. She was in the Arcanium, being bombarded with questions by lordlings that she couldn't make herself answer, listening as they laughed at her back as she fled. In the halls of Saphirhold, Queen Hellena snapped at her, calling her a pretty little head with not much in it as she hid behind Azi.

"Alexia," Azi snapped, her voice a whisper.

She found words, though they were the same ones her mind provided in every situation like this one. "I can't."

Azi bent, making her eyes level, then twined her small finger with Alexia's. "You can," she said, her voice steady as a sequoia in a whirlwind. "All you need to do is beam that beautiful smile of yours and say your name. I will handle the rest."

Alexia kept her finger around Azi's. She felt her friend there with her, grounding her like only she could. Still trembling, still in a hundred different places and none at all, Alexia nodded. The princess no longer dragged her forward as much as she tailored her gait to match Alexia's cautious approach.

The emir's six companions, the three Mahagan bondpairs, formed a protective ring around him, closing tighter as Alexia and Azi neared.

Was Alexia imagining nervous expressions or merely projecting her own?

Azi's welcome sent a rumble through Alexia. "Dear friends from the Mahogany Isles, welcome to Saphirhold!"

The Mahagan did a double take, before flashing what was perhaps the best smile Alexia had ever seen with pristine pearly teeth set against his obsidian tone. And she grew up daughter to Eron Bluerose, whose beaming grin was legendary.

He bowed, his lion cloak fluttering at his sides, bare, muscular chest exposed. "I am blessed by your warmth. I am Leoquo Mahagan."

Alexia knew Azi would fall in love with that Islander accent, and didn't blame her. The princess stood taller, shoulders back to press her chest forward—as if she needed the help. Azi's pinky tightened around Alexia's, the excitement infectious. "Your warmth is a blessing that I shall treasure, Emir Leoquo. I am Princess Azurianna Sapphire and this is my dearest friend—"

Alexia froze. Her smile twisting with irritation, Azi nudged Alexia with her elbow.

"Alexia," she whispered, eyes going down.

"In the Mahogany Isles, we say a sultan's greatest treasure is his sultana, and his second greatest treasure is his people." Leoquo Mahagan dropped his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, "His emir is a distant third."

Azi's giddy grin was one alexia would never have for herself, confirming again that her true feelings weren't shared. "In Sapphirica, the emir is a most treasured friend."

Like every man Alexia knew besides Zander and King Gideon, Leoquo Mahagan was shorter than Azi. That wasn't to say he was short; his eyes were still level with Alexia's. Those said eyes shifted from Azi to Alexia and back to Azi, his smile a sunbeam in the courtyard. "You are King Gideon Sapphire's greatest treasures. The Love Queen blesses me this day more than I could ever have prayed for."

"You have good eyes, Emir Leoquo," Azi said. "Let me show you to a shaded place and offer you our coolest water."

All those etiquette classes the queen forced Azi to endure paid off, the Emir's eyes lighting at the familiar greeting. He didn't glance at Alexia at all, keeping his gaze on Azi. That was like shade and cool water for her anxiety.

Emir and Princess interlocked their arms, Alexia feeling the chemistry like a potion flashing in a cauldron. Still, despite being off the center stage, Alexia felt like stranded at sea without Azi to be her buoy. Her awareness went into a corner and she watched Azi and Leoquo interact from afar or as if she were submerged under icy water.

The envious part of her was attuned to the obvious attraction between Azi and the emir. When Leoquo Mahagan told Azi that her eyes were as blue and pure as the Endless Blue off the shores of Caleel, Azi's cheeks went a color Alexia could never make them go. The same feeling surfaced when Leoquo laughed at Azi's wordplay about how his vest's feathered plumage made her feel like she was riding the winds with his graceful escort. It was clear as the Endless Blue that they looked at each other with eyes that Azi would never see Alexia with.

Yet, a greater part of Alexia was happy that her best friend finally had a man who saw how beautiful she was. Azi deserved to fall madly in love and raise eleven children—with a broad diversity in the selection of their names—in a household where the mother and father taught them what love looked like. She hoped this seedling grew into a great blooming flower, like the thousands Azi had helped flourish in her gardens.

Neither the envy nor the joy was enough to allow her to bring her awareness fully out of the corner where it hid. The same self-consciousness that had always been there still was, keeping Alexia locked inside of herself screaming to escape when she was around anyone she didn't feel fully comfortable with, which was a short list of about five people.

She studied the scene with her peripheral vision while her mind tuned out. Leoquo's escorts were just as silent as she was, their eyes darting away from Alexia whenever she looked at them. Yet, each time she looked away, they seemed to be staring at her from the corner of their eyes. Alexia feared for her safety, noting the proximity of their weapons and how fast a Mahagan bondpair could strike.

She reached for divine energy, seizing whichever came first and found only Celegana's earth at the ready beside her. Azi laughed and Leoquo smiled as Alexia quaked internally, fearing for her life. She kept her hands wrapped around her staff, pulling Celegana's power into her as if it were a fountain beside her. Alexia focused on Aurora, a gift from Azi made from the very acacia in this courtyard and amplified by the ruby, emerald, topaz, peridot, tourmaline, amethyst, and sapphire gemstones embedded into Aurora's seven notches. Then, holding Celegana's divine energy, she rationalized her fear as the illogical reactions of a traumatized soul based on the discomfort of six people trying to protect their prince inside of a castle full of soldiers and a cognitive-affectomancer who could set them all ablaze in a heartbeat.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Yes, Alexia, it makes sense that they're nervous about you, she told herself. You must remember that in any place at any time, you are the most dangerous person, and that people who don't know you or understand what you do, will be afraid of you.

The reflection helped a little, allowing her to be more aware when Azi ushered them into Celegana's Hall. The banquet hall fed all two thousand who resided in Saphirhold with the banners of the Sapphire archlords hung over the thirteen hearths. Azi invited Leoquo and his companions to eat with her and Alexia on the royal dais that overlooked the hall. Leoquo Mahagan tensed, requesting to speak to the two of them in private, in a room with maps, before having an audience with the king.

After that, the playful, flirty banter grew formal. Azi led them through the halls, still locking arms with Emir Leoquo, to the war room. She dismissed two knights at the war table, a massive map of Leveria carved into the oak table large enough to seat thirty—with mahogany chairs for each. Then Azi commanded a squire to deliver food and drink to the war room and stationed Sir Gyan outside the door with orders to prevent any from entering.

"Princess," Gyan objected, "I really shouldn't leave you alone in there."

Azi raised a brow. "If we live in a world where I cannot trust our closest allies, I'd rather be dead. Besides, I have our kingdom's most powerful warrior with me. You can tend the door, my good sir."

Leoquo Mahagan nodded, admiringly, at Azi's strong words and the confidence with which she took command. Alexia smiled, noting that the sultana was the sultan's greatest treasure. She put the envy aside, offering gratitude to Leverith that such an answer may come to Azi's long-neglected prayers.

"You would make a fine captain, Azurianna Sapphire," the Lion Prince said.

She beamed at him, eyes and mouth wide with glee. "Be seated," she said, head held high. "Captain Azi commands it."

"Azi?" the emir said. "That rolls of the tongue very nicely, more like a name for one from the Isles than a Leverian princess."

"Perhaps I was born in the wrong place," Azi said. "Because that is my preferred sobriquet, though I only allow my most cherished friends to use it."

"Azi would belong in the Isles," he said, gesturing for his six guards to take their seats as he took his own on the southwest corner of the map at Cherin's Point, the closest he could be to the Mahogany Isles. "Strong of mind and body with the soul of a captain and the eyes of the Endless Blue. The Mahagan hope to be among your cherished friends, Azurianna Sapphire."

"That's Azi to you, Leoquo Mahagan."

He nodded, that pristine smile flashing. "And I am Leoquo to you, Azi. My closest friends do not need to call me by title or my family name." He shifted his grin to Alexia. "Nor you, Great Wizard."

Was she imagining it, or did he look nervous to address her? What sort of stories did they tell of cognitive-affectomancy, or specifically, of her, in the Isles?

"Alexia," Azi said, as if realizing she was there, "would you be my best friend and close the windows."

Alexia channeled Zafrir, then used a series of wind gusts to seal the windows, even twisting the lock mechanisms into place, sealing their privacy. Several of the Mahagans shuddered, though no wind had blown upon them.

"Blessed by Zafrir," Leoquo said. "You're very fortunate to have each other as best friends."

"Alexia has been a divinesent in my life," Azi said. "I'd go to Zamael's Hells and back for her, and may soon have to." She took her seat near the Mahagans, at Sapphirica on the map and motioned for Alexia to sit beside her.

"I sense a tale," Leoquo said.

"One that I will gladly tell you after you let me know how I can help you."

The Lion Prince frowned, leaning on his interlocked hands. His eyes briefly went to Alexia before his gaze shot down to the table. Alexia recognized the sensation of shame. How often had her shoulders slumped like that and her eyes bowed to the floor? The emir exhaled morosely. "I come seeking my people's salvation."

"Meladon's Mercy," Azi gasped. "The Celegans have attacked the Mahogany Isles!"

Leoquo's head shot up. His eyes were wide, his jaw slack. "How? How did you know?" he stammered.

Azi nudged Alexia. "Wake up, Sunrise."

Alexia faltered. Put on the spot, seven sets of dark eyes locking on her, something between desperation and dread on their faces, or perhaps the melding of both, she struggled to translate her thoughts into speech.

"Alexia has fought the Celegans twice already," Azi said, stepping in for her. "As Master Herbology and Crown Princess, I have some influence on the Arcanium. I will commission a study with our ethologists on beast attacks in the Sapphire Kingdom to see if we can identify how long and how intense their intrusion has been."

Alexia looked down. Ashamed again at her own cursed shyness. She felt a surge of frustration with herself. She thought she was working through this! She'd managed to make progress in Mirrevar, in Maypine, and again at the Little Bridge. Yet here she was, as shy as she had been as an eleven-year-old hiding in the corners of the Grand Library, hoping to avoid contact with everybody. When would this end? When would she just be able to talk, like a normal person, and not wither like a flower in extreme temperature each time the attention was on her?

"They've taken the Everrain," Leoquo confessed.

All of his bondpair companions let out some sign of surprise: a gasp, a rapid twist of the head, eyes going wide, jaws ajar. This honesty wasn't the plan. The Lion Prince went off script, revealing the extent of their desperation.

"The Isles are overrun. Our sacred empagong and lions have turned against us. Even our birds spy on us. My people flee to the sea and our boats are destroyed by kalagoth. My father is captured and..." This strained-faced boy wasn't the charming man, but a tormented soul on the verge of breaking. He looked right into Alexia's eyes. "Without you, we are lost."

Azi rushed to his side. She put her hand on his shoulder. He shook with withheld tears, trying to hold in a sadness so deep Alexia had no doubts about the truth of his pain.

"I'm sorry," Azi said. "Your people, your greatest treasures, are suffering. You are not alone," she promised.

The Lion Prince leaned into the Sapphire princess. He gripped her waist and the sadness he withheld poured out like the rains of Dalazuli. Trails of sadness marked the faces of his companions as they wiped at their eyes. One woman gasped as tightly held agony escaped from her stoic disguise. They looked from Leoquo to Alexia, shifting their eyes whenever Alexia met theirs. Alexia was too stunned to do anything other than stare. Her chest ached, and the Celegan threat that she had hoped was so far away, was standing right in front of her.

The Mahogany Isles had at least a hundred thousand citizens, perhaps two or three times that many. That much pain and suffering broke Alexia's heart. It was easy for Alexia to imagine the same fate for Leveria and to look forward and see that this pain that would come to her home was in somebody else's home. Right now. A hundred thousand people were in grave danger, their leader taken, their own sacred animals hunting them.

But it wasn't their suffering alone. Soon, little girls who dreamt of becoming cognitive-affectomancers, mothers trying their best to survive without husbands, fathers fighting a war for archaic purposes, would feel this pain too. It could be her own parents held captive or killed by the Chimaera while she sought a stranger's help.

But neither were the Mahagans strangers from a faraway land. This suffering, this pain, was happening in somebody's house and that somebody was right here. Right in front of her. Crying his eyes out into the abdomen of her best friend as he held onto her for life, for the faintest hope that somebody else cared and could help.

Tears filled Alexia's eyes. Like one of her heroes who had fought against Celegan tyranny, she would do whatever she could to make his pain smaller.

Azi, bless her beautiful soul, was crying too. She pulled Leoquo in close to her, and Alexia knew that feelings of love blossomed in her chest as she too shared Leoquo's pain. Amidst the ugliness in their world, this scene of beauty stirred Alexia's heart, flashing the way forward like Norali's light of hope. Watching her best friend create a safe harbor for the Mahagan emir, made her believe in human goodness even with all the evil that happened in Leveria, in the Isles, and across the sea in Vesarra where the Celegans orchestrated all this suffering. She could be silent no more.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.