"Mom, I can't sleep,"
Shine whispered as he tugged at his mother's shirt, his gaze filled with fear.
"Did you have another nightmare?"
Taya whispered as she pulled him into a hug. The commanders around her stared at her in astonishment. Just moments ago, she had been in the middle of directing a fierce battle. The enemy armies had begun descending from the mountains surrounding the Tulip Kingdom. Within a week, they would invade its lands. The construction of the fortified walls wasn't yet complete; only the first wall surrounding the royal palace had been reinforced.
"Princess, what should we do? The meeting isn't over yet,"
asked one of the commanders Taya had allowed to join the war planning council. He was one of the few with deep knowledge of the mountainous terrain surrounding the kingdom.
Taya fixed him with a sharp gaze and said,
