The book in Kazuri's hand smelled musty, but he loved the scent of old parchment—his cue to focus.

His thoughts fell deep into his work as he read the text on the page. Everything else in his mind was set aside as if there was a part in him where he could store things and close the door.

That was his routine, but today was different. Something nagged at the back of his mind, bothering him from his project.

Kazuri breathed in, letting paper and ink play over his nostrils. Something else mingled with the odor in the air. Something sweet and earthy. He looked up from the book and glanced at the tables and shelves where he kept bottles of different chemicals. His eyes roamed the glass container to check if any lids were left open. The workshop smelled of various things; he was so familiar with the scent of his work that his nose had already grown immune to it. But there was something new, familiar, but only now did he notice it, and it lingered in the chamber.

Taking another deep breath, Kazuri thought he might be imagining the aroma, reminding him of Gat Kida.

Earlier today, she visited him and helped with some of the work. She had walked around the workshop, placing everything in order. And she had come to stand beside him to assist him as he worked on the lakar, handing him the needed tools.

No, it wasn't only imagination. It was her, after all. Sweet herbs. Kazuri took it in his lungs—eyes closed—letting it flow in his chest, savoring it.

Why do I want to smell her?

Kazuri shut the book in his hand and rested it on the long table. An uneasiness fell on his shoulders. A feeling that he couldn't understand. What is it?

A knock echoed on the metal door of his workshop that, distracted him from his distraction. Kazuri almost laughed. What is wrong with me?

As he walked to the door, he hoped Gat Kida to be behind it to assist him again as she had earlier, though she'd asked to take the afternoon off to study in the royal library. He hoped that she, too, wanted to spend more time together. A foolish thought, but he allowed himself the desire.

When he opened the door, Kazuri found the Kahani standing in the hall. Two of her courtiers in green terno of baro't saya flanked her while she posed between them in her elegant mestiza—a deep dark blue—complementing the ivory pearls looped around her neck.

"My Kahani?" Kazuri wasn't able to control the surprise and disappointment in his voice. But he remained composed and pressed a hand to his heart to bow. He bent low enough to hide the embarrassment on his face.

"Master Kazuri." The Kahani nodded and walked into the chamber, passing him with his head still on the floor. Her courtiers did not follow inside, and he closed the door on them.

Kazuri walked to attend to the Kahani. "How may I be of service to you today?"

"I've come to ask. What of the soldier?" Her tone rose with a hint of impatience.

They had been waiting for this opportunity for two years, and Kazuri understood the root of her frustration. He looked at her ageless face. The blue-gray of her eyes seemed dull today. She looked tired, as if she had not been sleeping well.

"There is nothing yet, My Kahani," Kazuri reported. "The hunters and trackers we hired from Aradack and Biran have not yet arrived."

The Kahani held his gaze for a long moment. "And what about the other sources?" she asked.

"Sources?" Kazuri's brows furrowed. His question came innocent and ignorant.

"The green and red lakar."

"Ah, that." Kazuri raised a finger in the air. "I'm nowhere near the discovery. There are too many stones and elements of those colors, and I've not yet done any tests. But I have high hopes that we will find the soldier soon."

"And if the lakar in this soldier is gone?" the Kahani asked, brows raised as she peered at him until she averted her gaze and faced the windows.

Kazuri had thought of this same question before. He'd studied the possibility and concluded that the soldier would not be able to use the lakar inside her. She would need the machine to do it. And even if she could in some way, she would only be able to use it in small amounts.

Kazuri recalled the notes from Master Taoro—his subjects, Arana and Zahara, had consumed too much. It seemed illogical that their bodies could hold and sustain what they had taken in, but they did. Each soldier had enough lakar to destroy the entire kingdom of Daracka and possibly even more.

"I don't want to rely on this soldier alone. I don't understand how she can be real and alive. I want you to work on discovering these other elements." The Kahani continued before Kazuri could explain.

He pitied her for lacking the knowledge. He'd tried to explain several times what he learned from Master Taoro's notes, the indestructible beings created by the lakar—they could not be destroyed by lakar on the outside, only from within. There were two of them during the Brilliance, and one had survived for sure.

But he also sided with her, for he was a hypocrite on the matter. He understood the mechanics of how it would work, but he didn't truly grasp the body's ability to use the element for survival.

The Kahani sighed. "Do you believe that what I'm doing is for the good of the kingdom?"

Kazuri nodded outright. "I believe that is your intent, My Kahani."

Her eyes responded, agreeing with brows arched with heavy concern. "We must do everything necessary to protect the kingdom. I will sacrifice anything necessary if I have to, and I will eliminate all obstacles in our path. You must do everything you can to make the machine work."

Kazuri didn't argue. "Yes, of course, My Kahani."

The Kahani then bid him blue skies and left to meet her next appointment. When the door shut behind her, Kazuri let out a breath, taking him by surprise.

"That's a different feeling," he said to himself, trying to understand the emotion rising in his chest. His disappointment on the matter of Gat Kida not arriving had already left. This was something else, and he recognized it as doubt.

For many months, his work had been his life, his excitement, and he had probed forward without looking back. But now, something had made him think twice, to turn his eyes at what he was doing. Oh, he understood his work quite well, but a voice in his mind hovered, urging him to look again. To understand the outcome of his creation.

It might have been the influence of Gat Kida, but a realization settled in his thoughts. This machine and the lakar were too dangerous for any one person to control. It was too dangerous for any one kingdom to have. And he began to wonder how in the old kingdom had the old kings not destroyed the world. Or had they destroyed theirs?

.