Dovetailed
I…” he shrugged. “It’s all I know. Protecting you is all I know.”
    “Don’t worry, Zaren. We aren’t going anywhere,” Amberlee said, pulling Venus to face her. She didn’t want to go outside. “It isn’t safe. The drones are getting closer to the castle, and I…” She let her words trail off.
    Zaren hung his head.
    Venus turned away from him and faced Amberlee, who noticed everyone was looking at her. Watching her. Some looked embarrassed for her. And she realized why. She was supposed to be the Queen of Alayeah. The leader. There was no one else. The realization shocked her and she staggered back.
    Venus seemed to sense what was happening. “I know it’s scary, but you’ll take the tunnels. You’ll be careful. No one but those in this room will know where you are.” She glanced at Zaren. He raised his chin and gave her a brief nod. “Zaren and Palamina will guide you. It’s important for you to go.”
    Amberlee wanted to interrupt, to tell her no. She wanted to remind Venus she was just a kid and that she was afraid.
    Venus caught hold of her frightened eyes and held them. “You’re all the citizens of this country have left. You are their hope, Amberlee. They need you to come to them, comfort them. They are your people now, your family. You’ve got to do this.”
    Amberlee pushed down her panic. Venus was right. And becoming queen had been all she ever wanted. “Fine.” She clasped her hands into fists at her sides and met the faces of those in the room. “Shouldn’t we have a coronation first?”

 
     
     
     
     

    Sadraden woke Michael just as they reached the outer atmosphere of the Leviathans’ home planet. From Space it reminded him of a cat’s eye. The center was black and shaped like a diamond, while the orb around it glowed yellow.
    “It’s strangely beautiful,” he said, leaning forward.
    The center is where most of the Leviathans dwell, and the outer edges contain a sea of liquid gold.
    “Holy cret.”
    Exactly. Sadraden seemed to hesitate.
    “What is it?” He patted her side in an effort to soothe her.
    We need a plan. The ruler resides in the center of the blackness. It is surrounded by thousands of Leviathans. As soon as we enter the atmosphere they’ll be able to sense us. Especially you. She roared. I understand Venus’s reason for sending you, but the Leviathans’ first purpose was seeking out and killing Ferethers. Your kind. They’ll sense you and be able to taste you immediately.
    “Not exactly my kind,” he began, thinking through some of what Ramien had said. “I’m half Kelvieri too.”
    You posses the power.
    A completely new creature.
    Invisible.
    Interesting. Can I do that? Michael asked the sisters.
    It’s within you.
    As foretold in the Sistine Grimp.
    Yes.
    Michael sat up. “Apparently I can become invisible to them,” he told Sadraden.
    Really? she asked.
    “According to the Sisters, yes.”
    Well that changes everything. They won’t recognize my scent, and if I can keep out of their sights we may have a chance of sneaking in, taking the blood, and sneaking out.
    “I guess we better do this,” Michael said, trying to prolong the inevitable, which was finding and then obtaining the blood of the leader.
    Sadraden snorted. The Leviathans have one large eye. If they turn at just the right time, yes, they’ll see me, but I’m much faster than they are. It isn’t the seeing me I worry about. They also have long tentacles covered in porous claws. They allow the Leviathans to taste the air. While their bodies are big and bumbling, their tentacles are not .
    “Okay, so I’ll make myself invisible to them… somehow. Then you’ll use your mad flying skills and we’ll swoop in there, find the leader, take his blood, and fly out. Easy, right?”
    Sadraden roared.
    “Yeah, I didn’t think so either.”
    Sadraden had stopped flying forward. She was in a holding pattern, her wings beating quietly.
    Michael decided to ask the question that had

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