-Kashion-
Kashion stared at his father, who stood in the doorway.
"Won't you let your father in?"
Kashion stepped aside, and Tyron entered the room.
"Let's go out to the veranda," Tyron said.
Kashion was surprised. Kassia must have done a good job convincing his father to come to him now.
He wondered what would happen next. Would he apologize? But that wouldn't be enough.
Tyron had already gone out onto the veranda and sat down on the bench there. Kashion followed, but paused briefly. He closed the door so Luu would stay inside. He took a deep breath and first looked up at the starry sky.
How long had it been since he and his father had looked at the stars together? When had everything changed so much?
"Sit down already," Tyron urged.
Kashion obeyed silently.
They sat there for a while without saying a word.
Finally, Tyron began to speak. "You know, Kashion, I have three children."
Three? Kashion looked at him in surprise. "Three?"
Tyron nodded. "Kassia, you—and the people of Tingdao."
"Of course."
"Kassia and you—you're grown. But the people will never grow up in that sense, and I always have to take special care of them. One day, you'll understand that even more."
Kashion was now truly curious what this had to do with what had happened.
"My love for Tingdao is so great that I put my own interests aside. And that is what is expected of a good ruler."
"Hm," Kashion said, "and what if the ruler's desire is also good for Tingdao?"
Tyron shook his head. "Kashion, you don't really think that little… that Prior is better for Tingdao than Princess Evlina of Tangyan."
"Oh, I can think of several reasons why—"
"All ridiculous. If you think of Tingdao and take responsibility for it, then the princess is the only right choice."
"And why? Because of an Aethereleum supply? Is Tingdao so poor that it depends on it that much?"
"And for a lasting alliance with Saturn. We don't know what the future holds."
Kashion shook his head. "And you think, Father, that a ruler who simply ties up, gags, and puts a citizen of another planet in mortal danger—"
"I never put her in mortal danger! If she's reckless enough to jump out of a transporter, that's her own fault."
Kashion felt his anger rise again. The conversation was going in the same direction as before. His father still hadn't understood.
"But in one respect, I agree with you, Kashion. I should not have treated a citizen of another realm like that. I would still do it again."
Kashion's breath caught. That hurt.
Tyron continued, "When Tendol told me how you spoke about her during the negotiation, I knew I had to act immediately. I thought it was the only way to save things between you and the princess."
So Tendol had been the trigger—why his mother had shown up and why his father had acted the way he did. He would confront him later.
He looked his father straight in the eyes.
"Accept that for me, only Prior matters. And if she wants to hold you accountable, I won't protect you. She would have every right."
His father shook his head. "That you let yourself be so controlled by this woman that she brings discord into the family!"
Kashion stood up. "I wonder what the point of this conversation is. Imagine this, Father—I actually hoped for a moment that you would apologize to me." He paused, looked up at the sky again, then added quietly, "Do you know how much I miss the person who used to look at the constellations with me?"
He noticed his father flinch slightly.
"Kashion, I am still that person." Tyron stood up as well.
"And what do you plan to do when Prior comes back? Do I have to protect her from you all the time and have guards around her so you don't lock her in a transporter again?"
Tyron shook his head. "No. I won't do that again. But I hope you come to your senses in time."
They looked at each other for a few moments.
"I'm going back to your mother. You should focus on the agreement now, Kashion. Don't let a woman throw you off course."
Then he left him standing there and walked away.
Kashion remained on the veranda. He was speechless and disappointed. He had hoped so much that his father would apologize. But he was still far from it.
-Prior-
Zho led Prior to her room at the hotel.
"I chose a room with a sea view for you," he said. "And if you leave the window open at night, you'll hear the sound of the waves. It's very calming."
Prior stopped in front of the door and smiled. "Thank you."
Then she asked, "And where is your room?"
Zho shook his head. "I don't need one. I'll sleep here in front of your door."
Prior raised her eyebrows. "No! Absolutely not. I don't want that."
Zho sighed. "If anything happens, Prince Kashion will have my head. I wouldn't be able to sleep at all if I weren't right outside your door. And if something does happen, just throw something against the door."
"No, that won't be necessary—"
"Yes! If you want to do me a favor, then please." He shrugged and grinned. "Sleeping in strange places is part of the training anyway."
She had to laugh. Now she couldn't refuse him anymore. "Alright."
He grinned even more and gave her a thumbs-up. She laughed even more.
"Good night, Zho," she said and went into her room.
"Good night," she heard him say.
The room was spacious and beautiful. It was decorated in blue and sandy tones. It was almost as large as her room in the palace that she shared with Talina. Did Talina and Evlina already know what had happened? Would Evlina be relieved that she was back—or would she have been glad if Prior were already on her way to Saturn? She didn't want to think about that now.
But the best thing about the hotel room was the huge panoramic window—and she could actually see the sea. You could sit right by the window on a ledge, which she did. She opened a window, and yes—she could hear the waves.
Everything felt like it had happened ages ago. She could hardly believe that just that morning she had been sitting next to Kashion in the council chamber. And after that, so much had happened!
She glanced briefly at the door. It was comforting to know someone like Zho was there now.
She sighed, looked back at the sea, closed her eyes, and let the sound of the waves carry away her heavy thoughts.
Then she looked up at the sky, now filled with stars. And that lone moon was clearly visible as well. She smiled. The moonlight shimmered faintly on the sea. And technically, it was really the sunlight being reflected by the moon.
Once again, her thoughts drifted inevitably to Kashion. Was he looking at the sky right now too?
-Kashion-
Kashion was in his room, leaning over his tab. He wasn't tired—far too restless. And it had occurred to him that he still had to solve Prior's riddle. In case she came the next day… no, he shouldn't think like that. When she came the next day, he wanted to have the riddle solved.
It surely couldn't be that difficult.
At first, he had read generally about the elements, but that didn't get him anywhere.
Then he looked up the abbreviations of the elements. Since "Ts" stood for Tenness and "K" for Kalium, Prior had probably had a similar idea in mind. He had "U" for uranium, "S" for sulfur, "Li" for lithium, "N" for nitrogen and "Te" for tellurium. U, S, Li, N and Te. Linuste? Uslinte? It was definitely an anagram. But it simply didn't make sense. She had said something about rays.
He began reading about Uranium. It was the only radioactive element in the riddle. So it had to be the key if it was about radiation. Or? Nothing there that made sense. Then he looked at the letters again. And then he saw it.
Kashion set the tab aside. Had she really given him such a simple riddle? Did she think so little of him?
So it was simply "sunlite." Sunlight.
Then he smiled again. She had told him he shone like sunlight. And she had promised him that he would get his reward. Then he would claim it from her.
He sighed. Not even a full day had passed, and he missed her so much.
He looked at the fox plushie. Then he stood up and picked it up.
"FoxPriority," he said. "At the very latest, now that you've jumped back into my life, I'll never let you go again."
He placed the plushie back down and grinned.
"And I'll never let you fall again. I'll carry you."