The Pendant of Hyacinth by Riley S Quinn

Author:Riley S Quinn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Riley S. Quinn

Chapter Thirteen

Taken For Granted

Arael had never used the palace’s pool, but it was one of Anyah’s favorite spots to pass time. Creativity was adorned with countless rivers, and Fantasy bejeweled with lakes of all sizes; but since Knowledge Terrace rested at the peak of the mountains, it lacked many natural water features. Hence, the need for a pool. Anyah liked how moving through water felt; the coolness washing over her arms and legs, the repetitive motions of swimming back and forth. It cleared her mind.

She needed a clear mind more than ever right about now. Arael had been gone for days, and her parents were really starting to worry. All of the guards sent out to find him had come back empty-handed, and who knew how far away he was by now. Or how hungry. Or how hurt. She’d offered to go search for him herself, but Parliament had strongly discouraged her father from agreeing to let her go. Supposedly it was critical to have at least one heir close by, should disaster strike out in the great unknown.

Anyah rolled her eyes as she climbed out of the pool. Great unknown. Sure. Like she hadn’t gone to every corner of the world in her time abroad. She picked up her towel and walked to one of the large windows of the dome the pool was within, leaving a trail of little puddles where she stepped. The sun crept up over the horizon before her as she scrubbed herself dry.

“You’re up early,” whispered a soft voice behind her. She turned around to see her mother leaning in the doorway, disheveled yet elegant as ever. With a large cardigan draped over her nightgown, her black hair loose from its signature bun so the layers were visible, and a slim pair of glasses perched delicately on her smooth nose, she looked much less like a queen and much more like a mom. Anyah loved it, and the visual made her smile for a moment.

“Good morning to you, too.”

“I never slept,” Song chuckled weakly.

Anyah’s smile vanished. “Stressed, huh?”

“I’m a queen during a crisis, and a mother with a runaway son,” she replied flatly. “It does make it a little hard to get good rest when that’s stacked on top of insomnia.” She turned her head, and the peach hues of the morning sky illuminated her glasses. “Your father has been sleeping a bit better than me, but not by much. He’s so worried.”

“I’m worried too,” Anyah whispered sympathetically. “It was… surprising to see those sides of him. It makes me wonder how well I really knew what was happening in his head.”

Song nodded. “To think he’s held onto that girl for so long,” she mused.

Anyah turned back to her reflection in the glass. “That part I understand.”

Her mother chuckled knowingly. “I’m sure you do, sweetheart.”

After Anyah had gone up to shower, Song returned to her room and fell back into bed. She stroked the side of Naell’s face until his eyes opened just enough to squint at the flood of daylight.

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