Regali (A Walker Saga) Read Free

the stillness of death.
    She shed a few more tears, her life water falling into the soil.
    “Let us finish helping their recovery and then we will return to the sacred tree,” Ria said, turning away from the heart-wrenching scene.
    She needed to speak with the tree spirits about the fringe. This had to stop now . Their ferocity was increasing, the carnage heartbreaking. It was Ria’s job to save her people, but she was making no inroads into stopping them. She just couldn’t understand why her plants hid these extremists from her.
    “Queen.” A female munk stepped in front of her. “I am Aralet, sister to Ara.” She pointed to the still body of the little ones’ father. “I will take the children and raise them.”
    She spoke bluntly but with respect. Ria knew that even if Ara had no blood relatives, someone from the pack would have cared for these two young. At that moment the elder of the two children held out its arms to Aralet, and Ria could see they knew each other. Leaning down, she laid a gentle kiss on top of their heads before she passed them across to their brethren.
    “Care for them well ,” she said, before turning to follow Klea.
    They had many more hours work help ing to salvage and rebuild the munks’ territory. All of which had to be done before the red moon.
     
    Ria was silent in her loft house, watching, waiting for the full crest of the red moon. The six smaller moons cast their shade of blue, but as the large red circle rose above the canopy, the world turned to purple. And at the peak of the red moon howls rang free. Ria threw back her head, savoring the spill of energy through her blood. It was rare that she ventured down to run with the packs. This was their time to be free and not feel their Queen was watching over their shoulders. But sometimes she wished to be pack. To lose all forms of civilized behavior for a short time.
    “I have to go now.” Klea’s rough tone startled Ria.
    She spun around to find the leon in mid transition. The skin was melting away to be replaced by fur and when Klea’s mouth finally lengthened into a muzzle she would no longer be able to speak in human tongue.
    Ria nodded . She knew Klea hated leaving her unguarded, but no pack member could ignore the call of the red moon. And she would be safe.
    With a roar, Klea dropped to all fours and flung herself out of the doorway. Ria moved back to the edge of the trees , watching as her jungle came to life. The noise below was almost deafening.
    Ria never slept the night of the red moon . The energy had her buzzing around her loft until the purple light faded and the large ball disappeared from the sky. The moment that the blue moons filled the sky, the packs quietened and proceeded to sleep off the night. Ria took advantage of this time, descending to the forest floor and moving freely through Artwon. She needed this moment to release her overload of energy. Each time power fizzling from her plants sprouted or burst to life. Large flowers bloomed, fruit blossomed, and she loved feeding her overflow back into nature.
    During her run she’d never seen any living creatures, so an unexpected movement between two lanta trees had her grinding to a halt.
    Pack members required at least twelve hours ’ sleep after the red moon, so it could be none of them. Ria scanned the dense vines and trees as she wandered under the large brown trunks that formed the structure for the tangled venus vines.
    There was no more movement, but she knew something had disturbed the land ; she could feel the unease from the plants.
    Deciding that whatever it was must be long gone, she was turning to continue her journey when he stepped out from between a section of large vines.
    Ria gasped.
    S he knew this man.
    H er mother had given her dreams of the father she’d never known. The father who was now standing before her.
    She took an involuntary step forward, her eyes cataloguing every detail. He was much taller than she was, his hair the same