~Akilah's pov
The first time I heard the voice, I thought I was dreaming.
"Akilah…"
The palace was quiet - too quiet.
I sat by my window, legs tucked beneath me, watching the twin moons rise over Felinara. One was blood orange, pulsing faintly like a living heart; the other was white as snow, serene and untouchable. Their glow spilled across the marble floors and caught on my melanin-rich skin, turning it to molten copper. I like the way the light made me look, strong, golden, alive.
But inside. I didn't feel strong.
The wind whispered through the glass towers of Savana Prime, the capital city of Felinara. From my room high in the royal palace, I could see it all-the golden bridges that arched toward the horizon, the shimmer of energy flowing beneath the streets, the silhouettes of lions carved into the walls that seemed to roar when the light touched them. Beyond the city, I could make out the faint outlines of the five districts surrounding Savana Prime, each one glowing in its own colour.
Zimavaria glowed in icy blue in the distance—cold, sitting between the two highest peaks of the snow-covered mountains.
Crimson for Solari Dunes, vast dunes of red and gold sand stretch endlessly, hiding the sleek solar city beneath mirrored domes. Wind turbines shaped as ancient spears hum with the desert energy.
Emerald for Nyumbani Canopy. A vast living city built high within colossal trees, their root woven with glowing vines from the biotech enhanced within the city.
Kivuli Range radiating black, which is the mountain district. Their architecture blends jagged stone and sleek alloys, with bridges spanning impossible heights—towering mountains and hidden valleys, riddled with caves that glow from within.
And last, the Ori' Sumu Plains. The heartlands of Felinara's noble pride-a golden savannah that glows orange as the light shines upon it. This is where the highest rank of Felinara lives.
My father ruled them all.
King Zayden, Ruler of the five districts. My father...the Lion of the Sun.
A soft knock came at my door, Aunt Saphira slipped inside, her long locs wrapped in gold thread, her brown eyes glinting with mischief and warmth. She smelled of jasmine and old scrolls.
"You're still awake, little star?" she asked softly, crossing the room. Her voice always carried a rhythm, like the low hum of the jungle drums she used to play when I was younger.
I smiled faintly." Couldn't sleep."
She came to sit beside me, following my gaze to the moons. "Ah," she said knowingly, "you know it is said that the gods are the reason for the two moons. It is said that this is when the gods show themselves to us.
I tilted my head. "Really?"
She nodded. " Yes. Ten years ago, they aligned perfectly -just like tonight. That night was the Day of Twin Moons- the day you were born, Akilah."
Her words sank deep. I had heard stories about my birth -how the sky had turned gold, how the grasslands roared- but hearing it from her lips under the same moonlight made my chest ache.
"Tell me a story," I whispered.
She gave me a knowing look.
"Please, Auntie. One about the stars."
Her eyes softened. "You ask for this story all the time, very well."
She walked over to my bed, sitting down before patting the covers beside her. I uncrossed my legs, running towards the bed before climbing underneath the silk blue covers, lying beside her.
She leaned back, her gaze lost in the night sky. Long ago, before time tethered the skies, the Sun God burned with life, and the Moon Goddess breathed it into peace. They loved fiercely, but theirs was a forbidden union. The Gods feared their bond would unbalance the world. So, they tore them apart -day from night, light from dark."
She paused, her voice softening into something wistful. "But their love refused to die. Every twin moon, they find each other again -in secret, through the stars."
I smiled faintly, though my heart ached at the thought of them being kept apart from each other. No one should be separated from their true love.
"Do you think they can really find each other through the stars?" I asked Aunt Saphira with a glint of hope in my eyes.
She gave a knowing smirk. "Love like that never truly dies, my little star. It just waits...for the right pair of souls to remind the heavens what it feels like."
"Do you think I can find a love as strong as the Gods?" I asked.
"Of course you will, and when you do, your love will shine so bright you will be glowing." Auntie Saphira said as she pinched my cheeks, causing me to release a giggle.
"Auntie?" I asked. "Do you think Baba will tell me stories one day?"
She blinked, surprised. " Your father."
I nodded slowly, "He tells Azai and Miro stories about training grounds and his battles.
He even laughs with them," I said quietly.
"He trains them. He looks at them like they matter, but when it comes to me… It's like I don't exist unless I've done something wrong."
My voice cracked at the last part, and I turned my face away.
Aunt Saphira signed and cupped my chin gently, making me look at her. "Your Baba carries a kingdom on his shoulders, Akilah. But that doesn't mean his heart doesn't carry you too. Kings do not always show affection the way others do."
I wanted to believe her. I wanted to believe my father's cold stares and long distance were love.
She leaned in and whispered.
"Ku rhandza ka adyambu ku khanya eka wena, N'weti ya mina."
She kissed my forehead, tucked me beneath the covers, and left quietly, closing the door behind her.
I stared at the engraved ceiling, staring at the magnificent artwork. It was a painting of the Sun surrounded by our four fathers praising him. A sign to show how much we praise him.
I stared at it for a while before I felt my eyelids becoming heavy and finally allowed sleep to take over me.
Later that night, the room felt different. Heavier as I slept. My heart thudded slow and strange, like it was trying to match the rhythm of something beyond myself. The wind swept through my curtains, carrying a sharp, cold breeze that sent a shiver down my spine. Instinctively, I pulled the blanket tightly around myself.
"Akilah..."
A faint whisper came. Feminine. Ancient.
"Akilah..." it came again.
Only this time, my eyes snapped open. Lifting my head from the soft pillow, I checked whether I wasn't alone in the room, but there wasn't a sight of anyone.
The sound wasn't in my head. It was around me -slipping through the walls.
The voice came again, and again more harshly every time it called to me. I stood up from my bed, every instinct screaming that I shouldn't, as I followed the voice that led me to my balcony.
When I stepped outside of the balcony, I could hear the rustle of leaves, the faint hum of the palace energy grid. The night breathed against my skin.
"Akilah..." the voice came again, but from beyond my balcony. It felt like it wanted me to follow it, like it wanted to show me something. I hesitated before allowing curiosity to win. Looking down from the balcony, I took in a deep breath as I watched the guards patrol down below.
Without hesitating, I climbed down the terracotta vines -the same ones my brothers and I used to sneak down to steal mangoes from the courtyard. The air was cool against my skin, carrying the scent of flowers and the electric hum of biotech.
The palace shimmered behind me, its golden domes bathed in light. I followed the path through the lower gardens, past the solar fountains, and was nearly spotted by a guard patrolling, but was able to hide behind a rose bush so he wouldn't be able to scent me. I hurried past the guardian statues that watched me with glowing eyes.
Through the eastern gate, I crossed into the open plains. The ground vibrated with energy, whispering under my steps.
And then I saw it, a faint trail of blue light, winding like a river through the open plains, leading toward the jungle beyond the palace walls.
Nyumbani Canopy.
The jungle rose before me, enormous trees piercing the clouds, their roots pulsing with bioluminescent veins. The sound of insects and distant drums filled the air.
Taking a deep breath, I followed the voice deeper, branches brushing against my skin, vines glowing brighter as I passed. I don't know how long I walked, minutes, hours, forever.
The further I went, the louder the whispers became, like they were guiding me, pulling me deeper into the jungle district.
As I walked further into the jungle, I could spot the city emerging in the distance. Trees taller than the palace twisted around the floating bridges of glass. Nyumbani was wild, beautiful, and untamed. A jungle married to technology.
It felt like a dream.
I didn't notice how far I'd gone until the path turned quiet. Too quiet. The energy vines dimmed, the glow fading into shadows. Then came the sound of a growl, low and primal. My breath hitched.
Before I could turn back, a blur of movement lunged from the trees, claws flashing, eyes wild.
The forsaken.
Lost souls exiled, from our clans, stripped of sanity and purpose. Their fur was matted and surrounded by black smoke, their eyes glowing yellow from corruption. My heart slammed in my chest. I couldn't move.
Then two shadows leapt between me and death.
"Akilah!" Miro's voice roared through the dark. My brother's blade glowed with solar steel, slicing through the forsake's chest. Azai followed, fast, precise, fury incarnate in his strikes.
"Why the hell are you out here?" Azai snarled, blocking another forsaken that sprang from the bush. The ground trembled with their battle, sparks lighting the trees. I stumbled backwards, the air shaking with roars.
"I heard—" I couldn't finish.
A Forsaken crashed into me, its claws tearing across my shoulder, pain slicing hot and bright like fire. I stumbled back, breath knocked from my lungs, the metallic scent of my own blood flooding the air.
Something deep inside me stirred.
The forest seemed to exhale around me, the shadows bending, the moonlight sharpening as if drawn toward my skin. A low hum rippled through my bones.
My heartbeat thundered, heavy and uneven. The ground trembled beneath my feet.
The Forsaken lunged again.
This time, the world slowed.
I didn't know what was happening.
And for the first time in my life— I wasn't in control.
A vibration rolled through my chest, then my ribs cracked—painfully, but with a release, I surrendered, as though my body was simply stepping aside for something. My vision tilted, then sharpened, every leaf, every breath of wind, every heartbeat around me snapping into crystal clarity.
My skin darkened—shadow blooming beneath the surface like ink spreading through water.
Heat roared up my spine.
My fingers curled, bones stretching, reshaping, black claws slipping through my skin like they had been waiting.
The hum in my chest grew into a growl—low and resonant.
Moonlight poured over me.
I fell forward on my hands, but they weren't hands anymore—broad, powerful paws sank into the soil, the earth giving way beneath my new weight. My muscles rippled, expanding, rearranging with a fluid grace. A tail unfurled behind me, steadying me as my spine lengthened.
My eyes burned, an earth brown bleeding into turquoise until the forest blazed in colour.
The Forsaken froze, a strangled whimper escaping its throat.
Because standing before it—breathing, growling.
Was not a girl but a Panther.
Fur as black as midnight.
I stepped forward—each movement smooth, lethal, instinctive. The power radiating from my body wasn't chaotic; it was controlled, as if the Panther form had been carved into my soul long before I took my first breath.
The forsaken tried to run.
I didn't give it a chance. I pounced on it, snapping my teeth.
The Forsaken beneath me writhed, snarling, but it was already too late. My jaws closed around its shoulder hard. The moment my teeth broke skin, a surge of energy pulsed through me. Its fear tasted cold, metallic… satisfying.
Another rustle.
Then another.
Three more Forsaken emerged from the trees, their eyes glowing like dying embers, their snarls vibrating through the clearing. They circled, low and hungry, recognising that something far more dangerous than prey stood before them.
I stepped off the first creature, slow and deliberate, my muscles coiled with predatory grace. My paws dug into the soil, ready.
A hiss cut through the chaos.
"Akilah!"
Azai's voice.
I turned.
He stood frozen mid-stride, sword raised but forgotten in his hand. His eyes—usually sharp, cold, calculating—widened with something I couldn't decipher: awe, fear, protectiveness… all mixed into one.
Miro skidded to a stop beside him. "Is that—? No. No."
But it was.
Their baby sister.Not human.Not just any were-cat but a Panther.
The Forsaken attacked.
All at once. One launched at Azai.Another at Miro. The last two lunged straight for me. I moved before I could think like instincts taking over.
My body shot forward, a black streak slicing the air. The first Forsaken never reached my brothers; I slammed into it mid-air, sending it crashing into a tree with a crack that echoed like thunder.
The second leapt at my flank, claws extended.
I twisted—fluid, precise—letting its momentum carry it past me. My tail whipped out, striking its legs and flipping it violently onto its back.
Azai found his voice. "Akilah—MOVE!"
He stabbed the Forsaken that had gone for him, driving his blade through its chest. Miro fought the other one with controlled fury, but I could see he wouldn't last long—its strength was unnatural, its movements erratic.
I sprinted.
The forest ground tore under my paws.
I barreled into the creature, pinning Miro, tackling it to the ground. My roar burst from deep within my ribs—raw, commanding, shaking leaves from the branches.
The Forsaken slashed at my face. Claws scraped across my muzzle. Pain flared—but it only fueled me.
I clamped my jaws around its arm and hurled it like it weighed nothing. It struck a boulder and didn't get up again.
Silence fell.
Three Forsaken lay defeated.
One struggled, crawling backwards toward the shadows.
I stalked forward, slow, deliberate, each step grounded with power. The creature's breath hitched; it tried to run—but I pinned it with one paw, my claws sinking into the earth around its body like black curved blades.
Azai approached carefully. "Akilah… if you can hear me… It's over. Let it go. Come back to us."
I turned my head slightly—just enough for him to see my eyes.
A burning glow of the earth and sea.
Unmistakably me.
Miro let out a shaky breath. "She's… beautiful."
Azai swallowed. "She's powerful. I can smell the aura surrounding her."
The Forsaken let out a strangled cry. I released it, stepping back as it fled, limping into the forest.
Azai exhaled, shoulders dropping. "Good girl. Come here."
I padded toward them, blood steaming on my fur, breath heavy with adrenaline. Miro reached for me but hesitated, unsure.
I brushed my big head against his hand anyway, a low rumble vibrating from my chest—my version of "I'm okay."
Azai knelt, touching my face gently. "Our little sister, Father is going to kill us when he finds out you snuck out. Even worse, you shifted...into a panther."
"I knew you were weird!" Miro said, amused.
I growled playfully.
The glow of my panther eyes reflected in theirs — electric blue like fractured lightning mixed with emerald.
Then everything went black. With their voices fading into the background.
When I woke, the world smelled like burning sage and medicine. My skin burned and my head throbbed.
The room was crowded — doctors murmuring, maids hovering, my brothers whispering near the door.
And Aunt Saphira — crying, her hands on my cheeks.
"Ndza nkhensa dyambu leswaku wu ku sirhehile!" she said.
Then her tone changed. "How could you leave the palace walls, Akilah? Do you know what could have happened?"
Before I could answer, another voice filled the room.
"Enough."
My father.
Everyone froze.
He stood in the doorway, tall and broad, his golden robe gleaming even in the moonlight. His mane of locs framed his face like a crown. His eyes — amber and unreadable — flicked over everyone before he said in a low but lethal voice, "Everyone out."
No one moved.
"NOW!", The command sliced through the air like a blade.
"What were you thinking, Akilah?" Baba's tone cut sharper than any blade. "Do you realize what could've happened to you?"
Azai stood near the wall, arms crossed, jaw tense. Miro, beside him, stared at the floor — guilt clouding his face. Aunt Saphira who was now sitting by the window looked at me with pity as I tried to speak, but my throat ached.
"I— I didn't mean to—"
"You disobeyed every rule meant to protect you," Father snapped. "You're a princess not some wild stray!"
His words burned deeper than the wound on my shoulder. My chest tightened.
"From now on you will contain that beast. You will never reveal it on palace grounds and no one is to know that you are a panther, "He turned away, his cloak sweeping behind him as he stormed out. Azai followed, muttering something under his breath. Miro hesitated, touching my hand gently before leaving too. Aunt Saphira sighed before giving my forehead a quick peek, leaving me alone in the now quiet room.
I turned to the window again. My heartbeat was slow now, but steady. I recalled what had happened. So many questions are flowing through my head making it throb even more. Why did I change into a panther? I'm the daughter of the lion king.
My brothers had shifted into lions when they were thirteen.
I groaned at the unanswered questions running in my mind.
The voices had also suddenly stopped. As if it had never happened. Maybe Miro was right, maybe I am weird.
I closed my eyes tired.
"Akilah…"
The voice was clearer this time. Closer.
I blinked a couple of times to assure myself that I was still awake, a faint shimmer of silver light curved along my ceiling — forming a crescent before fading into the dark.
The last thing I heard before sleep claimed me was the whisper again.
"Akilah…"
This time, it wasn't distant. It was right beside me.
I froze.
Because one thing I knew was that I wasn't alone.