As Solara's fingers remained curled within Antares's palm, a sudden, sharp chime echoed in the back of his mind. It was a sound far more complex than the previous notifications—a melodic, ancient ringing that felt like it was originating from the very foundation of the earth.
[System Achievement: First Pillar of the Hive Secured]
[New Territory Unlocked: Royal Brood Chambers & Queen's Sanctum]
[Location: Underground level of Ant King Tower]
[Status: Dormant. To activate the life-cycle of the Royal Brood and restore the tribe's population, the 'Seeding Ritual' must be conducted with a compatible Queen Candidate.]
Antares felt a jolt of shock. A seeding ritual? The term sounded ancient and heavy with biological implications he wasn't quite ready to process. Before he could even begin to ask the System for a clarification of the "ritual" details, the world of the living pulled him back in.
The children, who had been watching the intimate exchange with wide eyes, suddenly surged forward. Their voices were no longer filled with laughter, but with a sharp, piercing anxiety.
"Solara! Are you leaving us?"
"You can't go! Who will sing the sun back?"
"Is the King taking you away forever?"
Antares felt a sharp pang of guilt in his chest. Looking at their small, worried faces, he realized the unintended cruelty of his request. These children had already watched their parents march into the dark, never to return. Now, he was taking the one person who provided them with a sense of stability and warmth. He opened his mouth to offer a compromise, to tell them he would build them a new home or something that would calm them down but Solara was faster.
She knelt down, her golden hair spilling over her shoulders as she pulled the smallest children into a group hug.
"I am not leaving you behind," she whispered, her voice steady and soothing. "I am going to the palace to make sure that when you grow up, you have a kingdom worthy of your songs. And I will visit. I promise, I will come back and tell you stories and sing you new songs."
She looked up at Antares, a silent request in her eyes. Understanding her instantly, Antares let out a soft breath and sat down right there on the dusty floorboards. He gestured for the kids to join him. For a moment, the King of the Ant Tribe was just a man in a circle of children, listening as Solara went to speak with her colleagues.
Antares watched her as she moved to the back of the hall. She spoke with three other women caretakers who looked weary but kind. There were tears, tight embraces, and a flurry of emotional goodbyes. Solara had grown up in this very building; she was a daughter of these halls, a survivor of the same foraging campaigns that had claimed so many. Watching her pack a single, small satchel of belongings, Antares realized she was leaving her entire world behind for a man she had met less than an hour ago.
When she returned, her eyes were slightly red, but her gaze was resolute. "I am ready, Your Majesty."
They stepped out into the cool air of the settlement. The walk to the palace was long, and the streets were beginning to fill with citizens returning from their shifts in the clay pits.
"It will be faster if I carry you," Antares proposed, glancing at the distant, high-perched spires of the palace.
Solara's eyes went wide, and she took a half-step back, her face flushing. "Oh! No, Sire, I couldn't possibly... I would be an inconvenience. I can walk, I have strong legs, I—"
Antares couldn't help it; he let out a rich, booming laugh. The sight of this "Queen Candidate," who was brave enough to sing to the abyss but terrified of a simple flight, was endearingly human. Solara looked away shyly, her curls hiding her burning cheeks.
"It wasn't a request, Solara," he said playfully.
He stepped close, slipping one arm beneath her knees and the other around her back. With a smooth motion, he lifted her against his chest. Solara let out a small "eep!" and instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in the crook of his shoulder.
With a powerful surge of mana, Antares's wings snapped out from his back. The red veins hummed with light, and with three massive strokes, they were airborne.
Solara squeezed her eyes shut, her heart hammering against his armor. But as the initial jolt of the takeoff smoothed into a graceful glide, she slowly peeked over his shoulder. She saw the settlement shrinking below them—the clay huts looking like pebbles, the light crystals like tiny stars. For the first time in her life, she saw the sheer scale of the world they lived in.
Antares flew toward the main palace gates, the wind whipping his cloak around them. As they approached the landing platform, he saw a commotion. A full escort of Royal Guards was assembled, headed by a very frantic-looking Ian, with Levi and Eli standing like stone sentinels beside him.
Antares touched down with the lightness of a feather, his wings folding back into his body as he set Solara gently on her feet. She stumbled slightly, her head spinning from the heights, and instinctively grabbed Antares's forearm to steady herself.
The silence on the platform was deafening.
Ian stared at his King—disguised in a tattered cloak, covered in dust, and holding the hand of a blonde girl in a caretaker's uniform. The butler's eye twitched.
"I hope I didn't worry so much Ian." Antares said laughing nervously
"Your Majesty," Ian said, his voice a masterpiece of controlled exasperation. "We were just about to declare a state of emergency and begin a block-by-block search of the settlement. I believe the word 'worried' would be a significant understatement."
Antares rubbed the back of his neck and laughed nervously, looking every bit the commoner he had just been pretending to be.
"Ah, sorry about that, Ian. I just... I needed some air. And I found something—someone—important." He gestured to Solara, who was trying to shrink behind his cape as the intimidating gaze of the Royal Guards fell upon her.
"Ian, this is Solara. She will be staying with us in the palace. Please see to it that she has the finest quarters in the residential wing,near my own."
Ian looked at Solara, then at the King's guilty expression, he had alot to say but now was not the time, and finally sighed, bowing deeply. "I shall arrange it immediately, Sire. Though I suggest you prepare an explanation for Lady Zarah... she has been quite concerned about your 'disappearance'."
Antares felt a cold sweat break out. He had a kingdom to lead and a surface to conquer, but explaining his "spontaneous orphanage visit" to an overworked Zarah might be his toughest challenge yet.