Dawn of Cobalt Shadows (Burning Empire Book 2) by Emma Hamm (best e ink reader for manga .txt) 📕

The man had then taken Raheem back to meet his wife and daughter, speaking in another language. His daughter had known more of the common tongue, her voice sparkling with laughter as she explained her father hadn’t ever left the farm before. It was his father’s, and his father’s before that, so long a lineage on the same land that no one had ever felt the need to leave it.

This was mostly the same reaction he’d had throughout all of his travels. The Earthen folk who weren’t really connected to the kingdom, but only to the land itself, were the ones who were much kinder than their leaders

War was something that had never touched them before. They couldn’t remember the last time someone had gotten into a fight, other than the butcher’s boy. But that child was always picking fights with whomever he could.

In time, Raheem realized there was a severe disconnect between the leaders of this country and their people. It was almost as if two castes lived in this kingdom. The people with money and royal blood, and those that didn’t.

He explained all this to Camilla quickly, hoping it would distract her from the dark thoughts that likely still plagued her.

When he was finished, Camilla nodded. “That’s how it’s always been, but I’m glad to know they still don’t think we’re real. That will make things easier in the long run.”

“How so?”

“If they don’t know we exist, then they won’t ever have to see us. We’re content to be alone here.”

The mere idea made Raheem’s head hurt. “But that’s not creating a kingdom? Don’t you see that? The whole point of unifying the two kingdoms of Beastkin was to create a third kingdom where those who were different could be accepted. Interacting with other kingdoms is crucial to that goal.”

She moved away from him then, wrapping an arm around her belly and looking decidedly disturbed. “That’s not what Jabbar thinks. If we’re isolated, then no one can hurt us.”

“And since when has Jabbar been right?” Raheem reached out for her hand and tugged on it, forcing her to look at him again. “The Earthen King relinquished his hold on this land only because he thought you would make a kingdom out of it. If you don’t become a prosperous neighbor, I would bet my firstborn that he’ll take this gift back. There’s no other option.”

Her gaze became haunted with a weight she hadn’t yet explained. Camilla slowly stood from the bed, moving a hand to her back like an old woman, and then walked to the window overlooking the keep. “Sigrid left me in charge, and I’m not sure she knew what she was doing.”

“Why’s that?”

“I don’t feel strong enough to control them without her. Sigrid was...” she paused. “Larger than life.”

“Don’t say it like she’s gone. You said yourself, she’s still alive out there somewhere.”

The sun outlined Camilla until she was nothing more than a dark silhouette standing before the window. A beautiful, strong woman, although she might not see it herself. He had half a mind to shake her for the loss of that vision. He believed in her. Hell, most of the other Beastkin believed in her. But she had to believe in herself for this to work.

Raheem stood as well, stepping beside her and clutching his hands behind his back. “She put you in charge, because she knew you could do it,” he said. “I know you can as well. I have no question at all that you will bring this kingdom into a prosperity that no one else could have dreamed to be possible.”

“Not without her.”

“I think you’ll do better without her. You aren’t afraid to be alone, you know. You’re afraid of your own potential. Limitless and vast, the world you could create now overwhelms you.” Raheem cleared his throat, horribly uncomfortable that he was the one saying this. It should have been Sigrid, but she’d never been particularly good at the emotional aspects of life. “Once you figure out your vision, I think you’ll be much less afraid.”

She didn’t reply. Instead, she stared down at the Beastkin brothers and sisters who had given her so much in this life. He understood her connection to them. It was very much the same connection he had with Nadir.

Raheem cleared his throat again, unhooked his fingers, and placed his hands on his hips. “I should be going.”

“Where are you going now?”

He strode from her side and back toward the blasted stairs that would hurt his knees. “To find her, of course.”

“You can’t do that.”

“Why not?” He paused to look back at her.

“Sigrid needs to do this alone. If the ancients want her to find them, then she’s already within their grasp. You wouldn’t have a chance to even find her. They’ll leave you out on the mountain peaks as a warning to all others who seek their hidden homes without permission.”

“I thought you said the ancients weren’t real?” he muttered, a cold chill dancing down his spine.

“I always thought they were myths, just stories that my mother told us to calm us down.” The haunted look returned to her eyes. “But now, I’m not so sure. I think you should go back to Bymere, as quickly as possible. Change is coming, and Nadir is going to need your guidance more than ever.”

“Why do you say that?”

She shook her head. “Something’s coming, Raheem. We can all feel it in our bones. It’s not the humans in us who are afraid. The beasts are restless.”

He felt the blood drain from his face, nodded once, and then made his way down the long stairs. He’d return to Bymere before madness descended upon the ranks of the Beastkin.

10

Nadir

Slumped on the throne, he stared at the long line of people waiting to be heard by the sultan. How many times had he done this in the recent months? This wasn’t what he thought a sultan should do.

In answer to that, how many times had he told