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She leaned forward, voice dropping. "That carcass may shift the balance for a century. The star core from its glands can catapult a six-star to eight or even nine star in a single ascension. Dust scraped from its carapace seeds new life in barren soil. Even one scale sells for enough grain to feed a city."
Kai felt his pulse drum. "A single scale..."
"But," Mia finished, "the Queen’s order does not surprise . She hoards relics the way spiders hoard flies. And she will bring no rivals. The queen wants to rank up to Nine stars with the desert ruler star core."
Kai set down his cup. "Then let join the march." The words leapt out before he could temper them. "I have to grow stronger, Princess. The field of a dying Ruler sounds... brutal." He swallowed. "Exactly the crucible I need."
Mia’s brow tightened. "You’re barely three-star, Kai. The desert will eat you alive."
"So assign to a banner where my claws can contribute. I want to join. Please!" Kai requests her.
Anger flashed in her red eyes then faded to tired resignation. "I will... consider," she said softly. "But not because I think you’re ready. Because you won’t stop demanding."
She rose. Kai did too. They stood too close, the mory of last night still prickling the air between them. Mia cleared her throat. "The royal scribes will finalize the rosters in two days. Return to your quarter, rest, I will keep Renna alive." Her voice softened.
Kai nodded. "Thank you."
They parted at the inner door no hand clasp, no lingering look. Just a quick nod, professional, distant. Yet as Mia’s cloak swished around the corner, Kai caught a tremor in her shoulders, as though the weight of politics suddenly bent her small fra.
"You’re tired of war," he rembered her whisper. "One day... I will take you out of this kingdom. We will go on an adventure." He vowed to win her that rest.
Two evenings later Kai received a sealed scroll. The ssage says, "et at the outer area Chamber. Ti: crescent moonrise. Co alone." The wax bore Mia’s crest.
A few hours later... Kai found the hallway lit by a single brass lamp. The chamber door stood half open. He stepped inside and stopped.
A scent of jasmine and hot water filled the air. Steam coiled from a bathing room draped in sheer curtains. There was no door in the bathing room. It was covered with a curtain and light ca from a cluster of glow-beads in colored jars, throwing ruby and amber pools across silk-padded floorboards.
No one else was present. Kai frowned. Had he arrived too soon? This question ran through his mind.
Soft splashes betrayed movent behind the curtain. He heard a pitcher pour, water cascade. Then Mia’s voice muffled, singing a lullaby in an old ant tongue. Kai’s heart knocked once, hard.
He faced the wall, hands clasped, trying to fix his eyes on anything but the curtain. Seconds crawled. Steam rose. The lullaby ended. A pause, then the whisper of bare feet on tile.
The curtain drew back.
Princess Mia stepped out, wrapped only in a towel of translucent green gauze. Droplets slid down her pale shoulders, along the gentle slope of her clavicles, disappearing beneath the flimsy fabric that clung to every curve. Moonlight from a high skylight painted her skin silver.
She froze mid-step. Crimson eyes widened. "Kai?" Her voice squeaked, equal parts shock and embarrassnt. "I... I didn’t expect you so quickly.... Do you have so kind of premonition or sothing? Again you found bathing."
Kai swallowed so hard it hurt. "Your note said moonrise, Princess. I... ca at once. Please don’t tease . It was a misunderstanding."
Color raced across her cheeks, down to her neck. The towel shifted dangerously. Reflexively she clutched it tighter, which only accentuated the swell of her breasts, the narrow dip of waist, the flare of hips.
Kai’s eyes snapped to the far wall, face burning. "I will wait outside."
"No!" She caught herself, lowered her tone. "No. It was my error. You’re here... we will talk." She shuffled to a partition, snatched a simple shift of sky-blue silk, and slipped it over her dripping form. The material molded to her like second skin, turning opaque only where it t damp heat.
When she faced him again the anger ca first. Her eyes narrow, lips tense. Yet behind it Kai saw sothing raw: confusion, sha, perhaps a flicker of that night’s hurt. She sat on a low couch, legs folded under, and motioned him opposite.
"Sit down."
He sat opposite her, hands on knees, gaze respectfully lowered. The tension coiled with the air.
Finally Mia exhaled. "I owe you an apology. That day, I was... abrupt."
Kai shook his head. "No. No. It was my mistake. I apologize for that."
"Yes it was your mistake. You took advantage of and saw without clothes," she murmured. Draped sleeve fell from one shoulder. She pulled it back absently. Then she changed the subject, "I t with the queen again, I told the Queen about you, I spoke of courage, of loyalty, of potential. I asked her to recognize your worth."
Kai’s chest ward. "Thank you, Princess. I appreciate that."
She laughed... brittle. " Yet, It accomplished nothing. Mother sees weapons, not souls. She dismissed my petition. "I asked her to give you a vice captain position. I also asked her to remove Darius from his position as a punishnt."
Mia’s fingers knotted in her lap. "But she will not punish Darius. He is shielded by blood. The Queen ordered to accept the cost, focus on the desert campaign. So..." Her eyes glistened. Lomar’s death, Thren’s sacrifice was washed away like sand.
Kai leaned forward. "I am here for you," he whispered, his words out before he considered them.
She looked up, surprised at the tenderness. In that mont their eyes locked. A pulse jumped in Kai’s throat and lower, primal instinct flared.
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