Chapter 40: Motion Sickness

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Karina’s screams tore through the palace grounds.

The wind whipped violently against her face, tearing at her meticulously pinned hair and sending her gown fluttering.

"AHHHH! SLOW DOWN! SLOW DOWN!"

Inside her sea of consciousness, the Yandere System was in an absolute state of meltdown.

[Host! Host! Watch out for the marble pillar! AHHH! My optical sensors are going to short-circuit! We are going to crash! We are going to die! I don’t want to die on day twelve of my deployment!]

Cheshire’s robotic voice shrieked at a pitch that made Karina’s eardrums vibrate painfully.

Shut up! Shut up, you useless mechanical demon! Karina screamed back in her mind, her fingers digging into Cassian’s white fur.

But amidst the terrifying, bone-rattling speed, a completely different sound echoed from in front of her.

"Faster! Go leftttt! Wooooo!"

Valen was laughing. The six-year-old prince was clinging to Cassian’s massive neck, his tiny hands buried in the white fur. His childish voice sounded so excited, so completely free of the traumatized gloom that usually clouded his eyes.

This is not dignified! Karina’s internal voice wailed, her stomach doing a sickening flip as the white panther took a gravity-defying corner. I am the Empress of Zyleria! The supreme ruler of the continent! This is totally undignified!!!

Cassian, in his pamther beast form, was treating the palace ground pathways like his own personal racetrack. He bounded over flowerbeds and drifted around marble fountains without a single care.

"Look out! Make way!" a guard shouted, but it was too late.

A group of palace maids, carrying towering baskets of fresh, sun-dried linen, rounded the corner just as the giant white panther came barreling toward them.

"AHHHHHH! RUN!" the maids shrieked. They dropped their baskets, scattering white sheets everywhere as they dove into the nearest ornamental bushes, trembling in terror.

Cassian merely chuckled, effortlessly leaping over the scattered laundry without breaking his stride.

"Go leftttt! Towards the big trees!" Valen cheered, pointing a tiny finger.

Cassian obediently banked hard to the left, his massive paws digging into the soil. The rather violent shift in momentum was the final straw for Karina’s stomach.

The bright morning sun and the blur of the green trees all mixed together into a nauseating cocktail. Karina’s face turned a sickly shade of green. She clamped a hand over her mouth, her throat tightening as a wave of intense motion sickness crashed over her.

She was going to throw up. Right here. On the majestic white fur of the Sovereign of the Glacier’s Crown.

Up ahead, Valen suddenly stopped his cheering. He twisted around, his eyes instantly catching the terrifyingly pale complexion of his mother.

"Stopppp!" Valen yelled, patting Cassian’s neck urgently. "Stopppp!"

The white panther halted instantly. His paws dug into the dirt, kicking up a small cloud of dust as he brought them to a smooth and perfect stop.

Karina let out a shaky breath, her legs trembling so violently she could barely stand. She slid off Cassian’s back, her shoes hitting the ground with a soft thud. She immediately bent over, clutching her stomach as it let out a loud, embarrassing rumble.

She forced herself to look up, blinking away the dizzying haze. They were standing in a quiet, secluded courtyard. Towering before them was a magnificent, ancient structure made of dark stone.

It was the palace chapel. The sacred sanctuary where the panther beastmen offered their prayers to Bast, the ancient panther god of protection and the sun. Karina had been in Shadow’s Edge for days, but she had never been here. It was too far from the guest quarters, and frankly, she hadn’t cared enough to visit.

"Are you alright?" Valen asked. He was beginning to feel guilty for even agreeing to this. He tugged at her dress, looking extremely worried.

Karina swallowed hard, forcing down the acidic bile rising in her throat. She pasted on a weak, strained smile. "Yes. Yes, sweetie. I’m fine. Thank you."

Lie. Her stomach churned violently again. She almost vomited right onto the sacred cobblestones.

Behind them, the air changed. The white panther’s bones cracked and shifted, shrinking and realigning in a mesmerizing display of magic. Within seconds, Cassian stood there in his human form, much to Karina’s relief.

A moment later, a sleek, black panther leaped from the shadows of the tree line. Nalani hit the ground, shifting back into her human form. She was still in her leather armor, but her hair was a messy bird’s nest. She was panting really hard.

Karina had wanted to ask Leonidas about how he could transform with his clothes, but couldn’t then.

Now I can ask Cassian.

"So," Karina started, her voice slightly raspy. "Is that how everyone transforms back into their clothes? The magic just.....weaves the fabric onto you? I had expected a.... naked display."

Cassian briefly appeared surprised before he chuckled, adjusting his silver cuffs. "No, Your Imperial Majesty. It is a highly learned skill. It requires immense magical control to manifest clothing during a shift. Most nobles simply shift in private, or have servants ready with a change of clothes."

"Oh... I see," Karina murmured. I suppose that makes sense.

The moment she spoke, the lingering motion sickness flared up again. Her stomach gave a violent lurch, and she swayed on her feet, her vision swimming.

Oh no. Not here. Not in front of him. Please don’t let me throw up in front of the white-haired cousin of my soon-to-be ex-husband.

"Careful," Cassian’s voice lost its light edge, deepening. In a flash, he was beside her, his strong arm wrapping securely around her waist to support her weight. His touch was warm, his scent of snow and pine suddenly very overwhelming.

Cheshire’s voice floated into her mind.

Look at that, Host. So gentlemanly. Supporting you so carefully... unlike a certain arrogant panther king who only knows how to glare and order people around.

Karina’s cheeks flushed a soft pink against her will.

You’re so annoying! Why are you commenting on that?!

She stiffened for a brief second, then forced herself to breathe. He’s just trying to help.

Before he could fully steady her, a small blur slammed into his side.