My Kingdom Come Book 2: The Beast Inside (On hold)

Prologue: Preparing For Death

A/N: This is the second book in the My Kingdom Come series. In order to understand what happens in this book, you'll need to have read 'My Kingdom Come, book 1: The Saints We See' first. (link in the comments)

If you've read the first book already, welcome back! Thank you so much for sticking with me on this journey. I hope you enjoy the wild ride Mik, Hathu and all their friends are about to embark on! :)

 - Shad O'Leerie

***

666 standard years after the signing of the Alliance treaty

Elmas took the elevator up to daer private garden on the hive roof. Dae stepped out of the elevator and paused to appreciate the colors of dawn on the horizon. Elmas could feel the contented hum of the hive, a thousand different emotions flashing through daem as other members of the hive experienced them. One individual stood out, only partially connected to the hive. Elmas had to focus to feel daem. Dae were asleep, but even so daer emotions were broken and bleak.

Eighteen standard years ago when the dreamer had come to Elmas and blessed the hive with daer seed, Elmas had wept with joy at the honor. Since that day, Elmas had shed many more tears over the dreamer's blessing but they had all been tears of grief.

The dreamer had told Elmas before dae left, "your little one will become the most powerful dreamer there has been in a thousand years, but be warned, every dreamer must go through the desert. The more powerful the dreamer, the harsher the desert they must cross before they can come home."

When the egg fertilized by the dreamer had been stolen, it was obvious to Elmas that the desert the child would need to cross was the journey home, back to the hive. But Dachvinder had returned to the hive over a year ago and dae clearly had not finished crossing daer desert. Honestly, Elmas was beginning to doubt the prophecy the dreamer had spoken over Dachvinder. How much longer could dae hold up under this burden of sorrow, this burden of having lost half of daemself?

Seeing Dachvinder suffer like this was more painful than anything Elmas had ever experienced and dae had lived through the last Hosaik plague, when members of the hive had dropped like flies. Elmas had been entrusted with making sure the hive would continue when the queen had died in the throes of the black sickness. There had been less than thirty hive members left after the sickness passed.

Dae took a deep breath and brought daer mind back into the present. "How much longer does Dachvinder have to suffer, gods?" There was no answer but that touch of wellbeing that the gods always rewarded each of Elmas' prayers with.

Dae watched the brightening horizon for another moment before dae went to the back corner of the rooftop. As dae knew dae would, dae found Dachvinder's small form curled up on the only bare patch of dirt in the garden.

Dachvinder had asked for a plot in the hive garden after dae had returned home. Elmas had given daem a patch from their own private garden instead. 

Dachvinder had cleared it, dug into the dirt and until dae had unearthed one of the blue stones that were common in the garden soil. Dae had taken the stone and broken it into a fistful of smaller stones. Half the stones were used to decorate a metallic tassel dae had fashioned by hand, the other half Dachvinder had worked back into the soil along with a rich mixture of compost. Then dae had done nothing else with the plot but keep it cleared of all plant growth.

Soon after that any time that Dachvinder wasn't in lessons or engaged in serving out daer hive duties, dae would disappear. When Elmas would go looking for daem, dae were always here in the garden, curled up on the bare dirt a blank expression on daer face. Recently Dachvinder had begun spending nights there.

Elmas had sent up one of daer court companions with a blanket for Dachvinder last night, but it was laying there on the paved pathway, still neatly folded. Elmas crouched down beside Dachvinder and laid a gentle hand on daer arm, Dachvinder was chilled, but not as cold as dae should have been.

Dachvinder let out a small whimper and came suddenly awake, rising to a half sitting position. Dae stared at Elmas with daer big blue eyes as if dae didn't recognize daem.

"Dachvinder, it's all right. It's me, Elmas."

Dachvinder blinked, then daer face and shoulders relaxed. "Good morning, my queen." Daer eyes dropped to the soil and dae bit daer lip nervously.

"Did you sleep well, little one?"

Dachvinder shook daer head.

"Can't you sleep in your room, my sweet?" Elmas asked stroking Dachvinder's soft, powder blue cheek.

Dachvinder shook daer head again.

"Is...is your king coming yet?" Elmas asked.

Dachvinder's face crumpled. Tears welled up in dear eyes and spilled down daer cheeks. "I've tried to see him, my queen, I've tried as hard as I can, but I can't see him, I can't feel him; he's unreachable."

Elmas' heart broke at the sorrow that flooded from Dachvinder. Dae quickly put a barrier up to keep the sorrow from flooding into the rest of the hive, but dae allowed Dachvinder's pain to surge into daemself. Tears began to spill down daer own cheeks. Dae sat beside Dachvinder in the dirt and pulled daem close. They sat together for a long time, just sharing Dachvinder's sorrow between them.

As the sun rose higher and its rays reached the plot they were sitting in Dachvinder's sobs quieted. Dae raised daer face to the warmth and daer emotions calmed somewhat.

Elmas brushed a bit of dirt out of Dachvinder's hair. "Has the dreamer come to teach you yet?"

Dachvinder's emotions suddenly closed off from Elmas. Dae went very still.

Elmas frowned. "What is it, love?"

Dachvinder didn't respond at first. Dae finally took a deep breath, rose and brushed the dirt off their clothes then stepped onto the path and turned to face Elmas. "This moment was in one of my dreams. It's time to start preparing."

Elmas rose as well. Dae frowned as dae brushed the dirt off their clothes. "Preparing for what?"

Dachvinder reached for Elmas' hand and began leading them back towards the elevator. "Death is coming."