Since Esmera was abandoned on a stranger's doorstep as a baby, the only person who has looked out for her is herself.
Until a lark starts visiting her, leaving behind exotic flowers and iridescent pebbles that the internet doesn't recognise.
Esmera...
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Esmera rolled her eyes as she poured the remaining lentil soup onto the rice and mixed it with her fingers. The chicken bones clinked against the metallic tray as Esmera added the curry to the mix. There had been no spoon on the tray, so she assumed that Milatanuran food, like Indian, was best eaten by hand.
She studied Tauram. He gave orders far too easily for someone who had been robbed of his throne.
"You've never been the monarch though, have you?" Esmera asked before sampling the Milatanuran cuisine before her.
She closed her eyes to savour the taste. The spicy lentils and flavourful chicken combined in a well-balanced and somehow comforting dish.
Esmera had never tasted anything like it.
When she opened her eyes, Tauram was gazing at her with his head cocked.
She raised her eyebrows, and he cleared his throat.
He smoothed his already-crisp shirt cuff. Esmera tilted her head. Did the calm, collected Prince have a nervous habit?
He reached up to run a careless hand through his hair. "Well, I should be King in a week if all goes well."
If they succeeded in the mission the goddess had assigned to them. If Esmera could fulfil her big role.
Tauram didn't say that, but Esmera heard it as loudly as if he had.
"Tauram... I don't know about this mission." Esmera gathered some food into a ball, watching her clumsy fingers meld the chicken, rice and lentils together instead of looking up into Tauram's eyes.
"What do you mean?"
She had only known him a few hours, but she could tell he was frowning from the inflexion of his voice.
"I'm not sure that I want to do this. It sounds kind of impossible." She shook her head. "I know nothing about this kingdom, about myself or my family... you must find something or someone else to help you defeat King Ruagu. I couldn't bear for the whole kingdom to rely on me. I wouldn't want to fail them."
Esmera didn't even fully understand her auditory abilities. She doubted she could master them within a week. Not that they could fill in all the missing pieces of her story, like the details about the mysterious Finnaz weapon and its location.
She didn't even always get her coffee orders right, but her customers were, more often than not, understanding. The stakes were far greater now.
If Esmera failed, as she was certain she would, a whole kingdom would be eradicated. Even if Tauram and his people forgave her before they ceased to exist, she would never forgive herself, even if she died with them.
She couldn't give them the false hope that she—a woman who could barely protect herself—could rescue them from the fate the gods had in store for them. There had to be something or someone else who could be.
