Taming the Queen of Beasts

WANNA SNEAK PEEK? Are you reading QUEEN OF BEASTS but have never read FALLING IN LOVE WITH THE KING OF BEASTS? I'm looking for a couple volunteers to read a scene and make sure it gives enough information for those who don't have the background of KING. If you're one of those, and would like to read a minor spoiler scene ahead of publication, let me know! (You can just click comment at the bottom of this chapter.) 

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AARYN

Aaryn watched Elreth. He could feel the tension building in her—see her becoming overwhelmed. She needed a rest. She needed to stop receiving information and take time to process what she already knew. And she needed to stop hearing bad news!

Anger flared in his chest, but he pushed it away.

"The humans…" Elreth said calmly, though Aaryn could feel her muscles tense. "They're crossing the traverse multiple times. The same ones?"

Rika frowned. "Not usually the same ones as I think about it. But I've only met them a couple times before the others arrived, so… no, it was two different people."

Elreth turned to look at him, her eyes fearful and sad in the same moment, her fingers flashing, 'Humans have the voices."

He nodded. It was likely that the humans were infected by the voices. The Anima certainly needed to act as if it was the case until they learned differently. The thought was… ugly.

Murmurs rippled through the elders. They knew what Elreth was getting at—and they were even less comfortable with the idea than Elreth was.

Rika, the human, looked around the room, confused. But Elreth was so preoccupied, she didn't notice.

"The voices, they can… attach themselves to people," he said carefully. "Our concern is that the humans that come through the portal—especially if they're travelling it more than once—that they'll fall prey to the voices and be spreading their evil back in your world. Or ours."

"Attach themselves? How?"

Aaryn looked at Gar. He probably knew more about this since he'd been through the portal. "I'll tell you later," Gar said to her quietly. "I think… I think we all need a little bit of a break on the bad news."

Rika frowned, but nodded and went quiet.

Aaryn turned back to Elreth, his chest tight as if someone were holding him too tightly. She sat, staring at the floor, her eyes fixed in the middle distance. He wasn't sure if it was the bond between them, or only that he knew her so well, but he could physically feel her drowning under the revelations of the day. It wasn't even lunchtime and her face was pale and haggard, and she was struggling to concentrate.

He nudged her to get her attention, then signed, 'You need a break. Everyone does.'

She huffed. 'No time,' she signed back.

Aaryn was about to argue, but she'd obviously realized she'd been drifting. She blinked and held his gaze. "You're my advisor, and my King," she said, and her voice was strong even if her eyes were pinched with worry. "What do you advise? What should my next step be?"

Aaryn scanned the room—the elders in hushed corners, Gar hovering over Rika. The Messengers lining the walls, awaiting instructions. When he tried to mentally file through everything they'd learned… all the risks, all the threats… it was no wonder Elreth looked like she'd been run over by a bear.

His teeth clenched and another wave of anger—impotent and formless—washed over him. He shook it off. He didn't have time!

"I think we have to start looking for the things we haven't connected. It seems like… hearing Rika's story, it seems like we might have more of the puzzle pieces than we think. But it's hard to keep it all straight. I say we take a break. While we do, pull in Hannah and Marryk, any of the disformed who've been across in the past two months since the humans started arriving. And… your parents…" he trailed off, uncertain whether the elders were aware of the rumors of another branch of Anima. His suspicions about banished anima they'd been sending disformed to find were even stronger now, hearing Rika's story. He cleared his throat. "You need time to digest what you've heard. Then we can begin to put all the stories together to make a better decision about the best way forward."

"I don't see time for breaks. The humans could already be on their way!"

"That's unlikely," Rika piped up. "If they survived the clash with Gar, they would have to travel to the portal to get across, and there's… other barriers on the other side. Even with our best technology, It's two days travel to the portal, and the crossing and returning to inform? That's almost another day. Even if they left the moment we did—which they wouldn't have—they wouldn't have told anyone for close to three days. And the others would have to prepare before moving this way. It takes time to move that many people—and they wouldn't have been ready for it… I really think you have at least a week. Possibly more. And that's assuming that someone survived in good enough shape to travel—and that the bosses decide to move in right away."

Elreth stared at the woman, looking as if she might growl. Aaryn put a hand to her arm, though his own irritation was a spear in his stomach. She had no sense of hierarchy, or who to address.

She was just like Gar.

Aaryn almost laughed. What a pair they were going to make.

"That only convinces me further that you need a break—as do we all. Let's give the messengers time to collect all the people we want to bring together. We can return here after lunch and we will see things more clearly," he said firmly.

Elreth's jaw was tight, but he could see that she needed the break. He prayed she'd give it to herself.

"Okay," she said a moment later. "Let's send messengers to bring the disformed you think we need after lunch. The elders, us, we can all take a break for a couple hours. But when we return, we don't leave this building until we are certain of the next steps forward."

"I think that's wise," Lhern said quietly. Aaryn blinked. The male had been unusually quiet through all of this. Tarkyn nodded as well, and many of the others. Aaryn was glad. It wasn't just Elreth who needed a break.

"I'll watch over Rika and tell Mom and Dad to come," Gar said quietly.

Aaryn's stomach dropped when Elreth bristled.