Daliya had thought the princess’ reign of tyranny was long behind them. But apparently not. She looked at the trembling woman, trying her best to appear non-threatening. She had first thought the woman wanted to consult her about the festivities. Daliya had asked Mazin—yet again—to deal with the matter. If he was insisting on her following the rules, he better oversee the whole thing himself.

  But the woman had evaded the knight’s attempt to stop her advance and had sprinted toward her. Daliya had to yell at them not to shove their swords through her back.

  She looked at the woman’s face—a sense of familiarity—a deja vu—like she had seen the woman somewhere. But for the life of her, she couldn’t recall where nor when.

  “Please! My son! Please save him!”

  The woman was frantic. She babbled on and on, pleading with Daliya to save her son. Daliya kneeled in front of the weeping woman. She gently took hold of her shoulders and nudged her to look up at her. She had to pry more information out of the frantic woman’s lips. The only thing she got was that a child’s life was in danger.

  “What happened to him?” she asked.

  “He’s– he’s gone.” The woman sobbed.

  “Where?”

  But only more sobbing answered Daliya’s question. She turned worried eyes to Haitham, then to Mazin. The latter nodded to whatever instruction he had thought Daliya had given him. Daliya was never more glad to have such a competent captain. He darted away, already yelling out instructions to the other knights.

  Dalyia directed the woman to one of the garden chairs. After calming down a bit, Daliya coaxed some more information from her.

  Her son Karim had gone out to play with his friends near the hill but hadn’t returned home.

  “How long since he disappeared?” She didn’t want to press the poor mother, not when she cowered when her eyes met Daliya’s. But she had to know.

  “T–Two days.”

  “What? And you waited till now to report it?”

  How could someone be so reckless when their child’s safety was on the line?

  “You shouldn’t have waited for my return. You should have alerted the knights. Each hour wasted is another hour your son could be in danger.”

  “She thinks you know,” Haitham said, his eyes fixed on the woman’s hunched form.

  The woman flinched.

  Ignoring her distress, Haitham continued, “It’s been more than a day since he was lost. Why haven’t you told the knights before?”

  “I was afraid.” Her voice was small and subdued. She sent Daliya a fearful glance before turning back to Haitham.

  “Of him?” There was a hint of fury in Haitham’s words. He looked at the woman, taunting her.

  Daliya stared at him. What was he trying to do? Why was he goading the poor woman?

  “No! I was afraid for him! I feared they would hurt him once they found out what he was.”

  “A monster,” Haitham said.

  Daliya stilled.

  She finally remembered. She was that child’s mother. The one who was attacked and nearly injured by the lost soul that had ventured inside the village. So that was it then. That child wasn’t a normal human. He was like them.

  The lost soul’s complete disregard for the other villagers and its blind pursuit of the child was now made clear. But to call him a monster…

  She eyed Haitham. The veins at his neck were bulging, and his jaw was tense as he watched the woman like a predator circulating his prey.

  “Different,” the woman hissed, her eyes glaring daggers at Haitham.

  Haitham smiled, seemingly satisfied by her answer. His tense shoulders eased as he nodded. “Alright.” His voice was softer.

  The mother looked at him, fear and something else shining in her eyes. Was it hope?

  “Really?” She sounded afraid to believe Haitham’s words. She glanced at Daliya, a flicker of doubt passing over her eyes.

  Ah, did she think Daliya would refuse to help her? If so, then why did she come to her?

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  Daliya smiled at her, trying to assuage her fears. “We will.”

  Daliya saw Mazin reenter the hall and head for her. She excused herself and led him away from the woman’s trembling form. From the grim look on his face, she doubted he was the bearer of good news.

  “There’s been some sightings of monsters around the village. But when none attacked, the knights kept away from their way and settled on surveying them.” Mazin’s hold on the hilt of his sword tightened a bit before relaxing. “I’ve given orders for a unit to get ready and set for the hunt with no delay.”

  She tilted her head to the side, contemplating the worry lines pulling at Mazin’s forehead. Was he worrying about her response? But this one was on her. She had instructed them only to attack the monsters when necessary and to wait for her to deal with the problem otherwise.

  “So the child…” Daliya bit her lower lip, stopping her words from taking shape.

  No. There might still be a chance the child was safe and simply lost.

  They set off at once, despite Mazin’s protests to send the knights to search for the missing child and for her to return to the castle to rest.

  “They won’t find him,” Haitham said, eyes scanning over the area beyond the village. “Not in time.”

  Decision made. Daliya instructed Mazin to ensure the town’s security and set off with Haitham to search for the lost child. They sped through the snowy grounds, heading further and further away from the town.

  Haitham led them through the wilderness, his eyes tracking something beyond the snow field. They kept at it for a while—trekking through the snow, changing directions at random, pausing momentarily as Haitham trailed after the boy’s core after losing sight of it. Daliya hoped it was because they were far from the lost child and not because the monster had gotten to him first.

  “How could he get so far?”

  “You would be surprised what people can do when overwhelmed with fear.”

  “Are you sure he’s…” She trailed off. She didn’t want to voice her fears. Thankfully, Haitham seemed to understand her.

  He nodded. “I sense two cores. The first is barely noticeable. Quite normal in children who still haven’t fully manifested their powers. The other is more turbulent. What I would expect of a lost soul.”

  She let out a deep breath, her shoulders sagging with relief. “Good. Good.”

  Then night fell.

  She squinted her eyes as she tried to discern anything through the shadows that danced under the dim moonlight. Nothing. For the nth time, she wished she had Haitham’s ability to sense the presence of people like them. She knew that, with time, she would be able to do the same. But she needed it now, not later.

  Haitham stopped. He grasped her arm and lifted a finger over his lips, silencing her question before it formed in her mouth. He gestured to a small rock formation at the foot of a broken tree husk.

  Daliya blinked in confusion. Here?

  She looked around. There was nothing—only rocks grouped in a dome-like shape.

  Haitham kneeled in front of the rocks and gently touched them.

  “It’s okay. You’re safe now.”

  Daliya frowned. Who was he talking to?

  “We’re here to help you. Your mom is worried about you.”

  Just who was he talking to?

  Before Daliya could voice her confusion and mounting frustration, a weak voice sounded around them.

  “My mom? Is my mom here?”

  No, not around them. Daliya took a sharp breath. The voice sounded from the rocks.

  “No. She’s waiting for you back at home. She sent us to get you back.”

  They waited for a bit, and then the child’s tearful voice sounded, “I– I can’t. I don’t know how.” He sniffed.

  “It’s okay. We’ll help you get out.”

  “Okay.”

  “We need to calm him enough for his grip on his powers to slacken a bit,” Haitham said. “Otherwise, it would be a pain to cut through his defenses. I might end up injuring him.” His brows furrowed as he examined the rocks. “In his attempt to protect himself, he has unintentionally fused parts of himself with the rocks. While I can still try and cut through, I would rather not chance it.”

  Daliya kneeled beside the child’s hiding place, laying a hand on the rocky surface. “When I was a child, and I couldn’t sleep at night, my grandma used to make me carrot soup. It was my favorite.” From the corner of her eyes, she saw Haitham glancing at her. “She used to tell me that there was a secret magical ingredient in the soup that she got from a land far, far away. That it was given to her by some dear friend waiting for me in the lands of dreams.” She chuckled. For a moment, she was back at home, staring at her grandma, her eyes full of wonder, wondering who was this friend who missed her so much they would smuggle a secret ingredient just to see her. “I still remember how I used to bolt to my bed and close my eyes tight to invite sleep to take me to my special friend.”

  “Did you meet them?” Karim asked.

  “Maybe.” Daliya shrugged. “I like to believe so.”

  She glanced at the rocks, squinting her eyes. Gentle ripplings were running along the solid surface, barely noticeable.

  “My mom sings when I can’t sleep.” Karim’s voice sounded a bit calm to Daliya’s ears.

  “Does she? Do you like hearing her sing?”

  Karim hummed.

  She glanced at Haitham and found him still staring at her. She raised an eyebrow at him. He smiled and mouthed ‘go on’ with a nod towards Karim.

  “My mom has a beautiful voice. The most beautiful voice in the whole town.” Pride seeped into the child’s voice. “She always sings me to sleep. And in the stormy season, we sit by the window and tell me stories of heroes and dragons.” He paused. “I want to be like one of the heroes mom tells me about,” he mumbled.

  “You are. You’ve protected yourself all this while till we arrived. You’ll grow up to be one of the strongest people I know. I’m sure of that.”

  “Really?” There was a hint of wonder in his voice.

  “Of course.”

  She kept talking to the child in a soft and gentle voice. Haitham’s dagger materialized in his grip, and his eyes shone golden. He slashed into the rocks with quick, precise movements, cutting through them like butter.

  Karim peered through the whole, hope flickering in his frightened eyes. His eyes darted around, flitting over Haitham before resting on her.

  “It’s okay,” she coaxed him.

  Daliya reached for him. With hesitating, sluggish movements, Karim extricated himself from the crumbling rocks and fell into her awaiting arms.