Star Storm

Chapter Sixteen

The Sorii

Another tray dropped through the hatch, crashing atop the dishes Nona had set by the door. She yelled to the stranger on the other side as she dropped her legs off the bed, helplessly watching her lunch landed on its side. The tasteless food spilled onto the grimy floor.

A rodent shot out of the shadows, snatched a piece of stale fruit from the mess and hurried away again. Nona screeched at the creature and the fool who had caused the rodent to come out of hiding. She screeched at her mother where she roamed safely in the golden palace. She screeched at Kael for not being here with her. She screeched at everything and everyone.

Her throat burned when she dropped back onto the bed, her legs tucked beneath her.

She had no idea if it was day or night. She had lost count of the days soon after Traen had told her his cursed name. There was a lot more than just her knowledge of the time, Nona knew, that she had lost. But she refused to turn to her mirror to inspect just how much of herself had faded away.

Somethings she could not avoid noticing. The ring of acne on her cheek was one of them. The vile spots seemed to whisper to her while she tried to sleep, their existence unforgettable thanks to her new habit of dragging her hands down her face.

The tray of food beckoned her, but Nona remained on the bed, feet kept clear of the floor. She had worried she would start to waste away and fade to nothing after the first time she refused her meal. Those concerns had been quickly diminished. Fading away was better than eating whatever substances it was that the Sorii called food.

Sorii. That was what they were. Nona had pieced together what little her capturers had allowed to slip by them. First, Traen with his complaints about his people not having royals to look to. Then there had been the whispers of her newly appointed guards in the hall. These people were poor and a long way from home.

Nona had smiled when she had figure it out. She had stood and rushed to door. Finding it locked, like a fool she had turned to her empty chambers and called for Kael. It was not often Nona solved a puzzle worthy of her brother's praise. She had longed to tell him, to hear his goofy laugh as he claimed he had figured it out long before her.

There was no one for Nona to tell. Traen had made himself scarce, likely working on improving his skills as a security officer. The guards flanking her door never answered her calls.

So Nona had sat on her bed and stared at the wall. She had dreamed of Uterca's summer ball which she guessed she had missed. Mentally designing her outfit and date had kept her occupied for a while, but soon the desire to look pretty had dragged her into the shower. Under the water, all Nona could bring herself to do was weep.

Was this her punishment for suggesting terrible things in the Assembly of Nor? Was Telion paying the Sorii to teach her a lesson? Nona knew her mother was not behind the kidnapping or the attack on Uterca – Telion would never damage her beloved city – yet it was hard to think otherwise.

A rasp on the door sent Nona to her feet. She stood on the bed, not daring to meet the floor where the rodents had gathered.

"You look most royal," the heavy-set woman who strolled in said. She wore the same uniform as the rest of the Sorii. Instead of a helmet, however, she wore a band of metallic fabric across her brow. A symbol was stitched messily in the centre of the band and a streak of red paint ran down her cheek.

Rhesha Cyyl tossed a braid of dark hair over her shoulder and crossed her arms. "Get down from the bed, princess. Get down or I'll throw you down myself."