Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

    Ciara was starting to feel sick from the smell of blood.

    She bit her lips until they bled to keep from gagging and looked up at the sky. Because of the cloudy weather, not even the setting sun was visible. There was little wind but a lot of humidity, the usual weather of the nearby swamps. This was the last thing she wanted to do in this weather.

    "This is my third warning, Your Highness."

    She lowered her gaze. Nope, still disgusting.

    "I don't want to. You said we'd hunt the bog hyena because they endangered the people around here."

    "What I said wasn't a lie. But you know as well as I do how useful a bog hyena's heart is. Let's see how much you've learned."

    Without meeting her teacher's eyes, the teen mage continued to stare at the heart squeezed tightly in her hand. The new high mage of Evenere was one of the most accomplished dark mages in Xadia and had come to Evenere from Duren after the new laws. Ciara had been learning magic under her tutelage and hated every second of it. But it was one of the lessons she was forced to take in order to help the queen. Until tonight I hope. At least the berry dragon she brought with her loved Ciara more than her.

    She blinked rapidly as her gaze began to fog and bit her lip again at the odor. She stared as the metallic taste filled her mouth and murmured the words she had memorized.

    "Tirips ythgim eht eerf, kcab efil ehtaerb ti tel. Kcab efil ehtaerb ti tel. Kcab efil ehtaerb ti tel!"

    Dizziness. Feeling like all the blood is draining from her body. Rising pain starting from the bones. Some of the pink strands in front of her eyes turn a little whiter. These were all familiar (even the last one was no longer surprising), things she'd experienced.

    But the sobs weren't. She'd been practicing magic for a long time, she was no novice. But when she saw the dry grass in front of her greening up and the ruined dragonfly flowers blooming, she couldn't help herself.

    I hate this. Fuck, this is so wrong.

    "Beautiful, isn't it?" There was pride and a faint hint of happiness in the senior mage's voice. She thought her tears were because of that. Ciara was startled to meet the hungry look in her eyes. Hungry but cautious.

    "Remember that's why you're getting this training. Your precious sister will need your help a lot, to offer her your support."

    She averted her gaze and nodded vigorously in agreement. Her breathing was labored and her throat was burning.

    "Let's get in the carriage. You're covered in blood and guts. You need to change and get ready for dinner."

☆☆☆

    His legs were starting to cramp.

    The sun had long since given its last rays through the tree branches. The cold was biting his whole body and he realized that in his haste he hadn't even put on a cardigan. That was the least of his worries at that moment. Hearing the crying, he ducked behind one of the bushy trees and unfolded the blanket on the basket he was carrying.

    "Please, you have to be quiet."

    Not that the little baby understood him. He put the teat that had fallen over the edge of the basket back into the baby's mouth and sighed. He had to cover his tracks. He had to get away. He had to leave this place that'd become his home.

    "Shouldn't you tell that to her parents instead of me?"

    "No. Only you should know. You'll be the only one who can act when the time comes. Don't bring this up to them."

    He wasn't sure how to handle it when that was all he knew. If they found him, would he go to jail for treason? Would he be a criminal in his own home? Would his fathers protect him or would they also think he'd betrayed them? But he had a very good reason.

    A very valid and dangerous reason.

    When he heard howling his pointy ears moved in a panic, threw the blanket over the baby and forced himself to run again, despite the pain in his legs. She must have finally reached the castle. Not just her, but everyone else must have realized it. He straightened the scabbard that had slipped from his waist with one hand and accelerated, securing the basket.

    He had to get out of Katolis as soon as possible.

☆☆☆

    Ciara zipped up her backpack and sheathed her knife. The time had come.

    The full moon was smiling at her through the window she'd quietly opened. As promised, her sister had reduced the number of guards at the back exit for the night. There weren't many people outside during the full moon, the Evenere people were intimidated by the wandering moonshadow elves. Ciara couldn't remember ever being so happy that they were so narrow-minded.

    Tonight was her last chance.

    "No, Your Majesty, please forgive me for not being as knowledgeable as you."

    At her request, she shared a room with her. The head of the council was initially against it, but softened when he realized that their new queen wouldn't back down. She'd never spent a day apart from her twin sister in her life, and she would do her best to make sure that didn't change when she ascended to the throne.

    "Cia, come on. You know this letter is important. I've never written like this one before."

    "I don't think this has ever happened before."

    They were silent for a while. It wasn't long after their mother's death and the letters of condolence continued to pour in. Ciara had thought they would all be coming on behalf of Evenere for a while, but an event in the neighboring kingdom took everyone by surprise.

    "How do you even write this? 'Thank you for your condolences. By the way, I heard that your brother has disappeared and that you'll take over the throne. Congratulations and we're so sorry?'"

    "Ciara!"

    Her sister turned to her with a furrowed brow. Her pink hair, the same color as her, was shorter than her and fell to her shoulders. Her hard-looking eyes were close to indigo, a few shades darker than hers. She raised her hands defensively.

    "What? Val, you know I'm right."

    When her feet hit the grass, she let out the breath she'd been holding. She was safe now that she wasn't caught by the lights. She checked again the letter in her pocket and the necklace hanging around her neck. She looked up at the window.

    "We'll meet again one day. I'm sorry to leave you here alone, but we have to do this."

    Even though she knew whispering wouldn't help, she couldn't stop herself. She lowered her head and took a deep breath. She was ready to leave.

    "Be considerate. Would you want to get a letter like this if I disappeared?"

    She gulped. She didn't even want to think about it, shook her head from side to side. But one thing was clear.

    "You're not going to write a letter of condolence, are you? Whatever happened to King Ezran, we both know he's not dead or 'secretly eloped' like they said."

    She twisted two fingers of each hand mockingly in the air.

    "No, he's definitely not."

    She exhaled a tired breath and sat on the edge of the bed, which was still intact despite the lateness of the hour. She rubbed her temples, and when she spoke again her voice was sad.

    "You know Ezran's situation with Aanya. They haven't confessed each other yet, let alone publicized it and it's dangerous information to spread. The merger will definitely change the balance. Before that they were waiting for the order in Evrkynd to settle down. That's why at first I thought the information had leaked and Neolandia or Del Bar had acted. But..."

    Ciara felt her stomach twist.

    "But?"

    "But this morning I received a letter from Aanya saying that she had ruled out that one. Any other possibilities? It sounds scary. Katolis is the most peaceful and militarily powerful kingdom. No one wants to make enemies with them."

    She was right. If there was no one in the Pentarchy who wanted to stir up trouble, that left east Xadia. The other side of the Border. But this was illogical, the kingdoms that got along best with elves and dragons in the pentarchy were Katolis and Duren. So why...

    Wait...

    "What if it's not political?"

    "What?"

    "So far we have always thought of political reasons. What if it's not? What if it's a personal problem? Other than an elope at least. What if—"

    Squeaking sounds. Ciara stopped talking and put her index finger to her lips, pointing the same to her sister. Her hand reflexively went to the knife at her waist, waiting to see if anyone would come in. The soundproofing spell she'd cast before the conversation was still working, anyone from outside wouldn't know what was going on. Still, the extra precaution wouldn't have hurt.

    Instead, voices began to be heard from the next room. Ciara felt goosebumps on her skin.

    The room next door was her mother's private office and since her death no one but Valera and herself were allowed to enter.

    The only area of Evenere that could be called a forest was close to the palace, and that was one of the things Ciara found most useful at that moment. It wouldn't be good for her to travel on the main path. With her hood pulled up over her head, she was moving at a fast pace, paying attention to her surroundings. When she looked through the branches, the moon was high. She was close to reaching the harbor, and if she could make it through the Independent Isles to Katolis, everything would go much better.

    When she heard whining, she grabbed the bag on her back and unzipped the zipper.

    "It's okay Rouge, you can come out now."

    A pair of large turquoise eyes popped out along with its fruit-shaped body. Without wasting time, it flew over her head. She smiled.

    "But hold on tight. We're in a hurry, okay?"

    "Are you sure it's the real one?"

    "Yes. I saw it on her neck with my own eyes. It's a family heirloom."

    Ciara didn't recognize the woman, but when she heard the other voice, her blood ran cold. The high mage. There was the sound of a drawer opening. Then a woman's gasp of astonishment.

    "That's exactly what I'm looking for."

    The sound of a hand hitting on another.

    "Don't forget our deal, Claudia. We're in the same rank and Evenere doesn't owe you a gift or anything."

    "I know, no need to be reminded." Her voice sounded controlled even though she was fed up. Ciara felt her skin crawl. This woman was even more dangerous than her teacher.

    "I have the boy. And before you ask, I have no intention of letting him go."

    "I don't care what business you have with him. He must stay with you until..." She cleared his throat. "...an agreement is reached between Evenere and Duren."

    She heard her sister let out a stressed gasp and turned to her. Valera folded her arms across her chest and had a look of disbelief on her face. She seemed to know what they were talking about.

    The sound of footsteps walking towards the door rose.

    "I have more important business tomorrow night. I'll be back to pick it up. If I don't receive it..."

    Her voice was calm but Ciara's throat was clogged.

    "I don't think I can guarantee anything, Zyen."

    They were both silent until the creak of the door was heard twice and the footsteps moved away.

    "You've never noticed it before?"

    "Normally I'm in a meeting at this time, but today was the first time I canceled for the letter."

    "It's a good thing you did."

    They looked at each other nervously. They both knew what the family heirloom was. Even if Valera's knowledge of magic wasn't as good as her sister's, she was no fool.

    "This is bad."

    "No shit."

    "Cia, language!"

    She quickly got up from her bed and sat down at her desk, which didn't raise a single speck of dust. She hastily took parchment out of the drawer, dipped the clean quill into the ink already prepared and began to write. Before Ciara could find the impulse to ask what she was doing, her sister had sealed the letter and handed it to her.

    "Read it when you get on the road."

    A bolt of realization flashed in her eyes. They were thinking the same thing. As they always did.

    Tomorrow night everything would change.

    Another curse escaped his mouth as she shuffled her feet out of the water. She was frustrated that most of the people selling boats from the harbor were scammers, but she had no time to complain. She checked that her backpack was in place and took a deep breath. The dragon, still clinging to her hair, shook off the water and made a protesting noise.

    "I know! Val urgently needs to resolve the situation at the harbor. It seems to be turning into the "scumport" of the west." When a shiver ran through her body, she rubbed her hands on her biceps. "We need to get used to not traveling on horseback or in carriage."

    I hope I don't get sick. She squeezed the liquid out of her hood and put it back on her head. Her shoes were full of sand and stones, but she didn't care. It helped that she was much more permissive than her sister in this regard. Her companion made a light noise and snuggled into her chest for warmth. She sighed as she stroked the wings that covered her tiny body like a blanket.

    "At least we managed to leave Evenere, huh? As long as we keep a low profile and have a protection, they won't find us."

    She squinted and looked towards the mountain silhouetted in the distance. Mount Kalik. The highest mountain in Katolis. And beyond that it was the capital. Her gaze became pensive.

    Ciara's only been here once before. At a birthday party to which King Ezran personally invited them. The twins, who were aware of the Evenere council's and everyone else's coldness towards Katolis and Duren except their family, were at first surprised by the invitation, but after what their mother had told them and after they'd been some events, they realized the truth. Valera became very close to the two monarchs after and Ciara knew that she and Aanya exchanged frequent letters.

    Her? Since she wasn't the one to take the throne, the head of the council who traveled with them only allowed her to chat with Ezran once or twice. That day she understood why Katolis was so peaceful and stable. When she saw Ezran and Aanya starting a conversation with her sister (again), she did the most logical thing she could do and went to the king's soon-to-be-sister-in-law and asked her a very valid question:

    "Will you teach me how to use daggers?"

    She covered her mouth with her hand when the head of the council, who hadn't left her side, started coughing into the glass he was drinking from. She tried to apologize, but the white-haired lady burst out laughing and shook her head. She remained silent until her boyfriend turned to the nearly drowned man and gestured where the napkins were.

    "You're a princess, aren't you? You'll be taught too."

    The crown prince seemed to speak from experience, Ciara wasn't surprised. But her face fell and she shook her head.

    "Even though we're twins, Valera will ascend the throne after my mother, not me."

    The lady's face grimaced at what she said.

    "This is no excuse for different treatment."

    "The treatment isn't different, at least from my mother. It's just... I wanted to learn as a second option, but I haven't had the chance yet."

    "Oh, you're not—"

    "Nope, I'm a mage!"

    The prince's brow furrowed at this, and he turned to the rings in her hand. Rings connected to her spell book.

    "I see."

    There was an awkward silence. Ciara was kicking herself inside, thinking she had said something wrong. She wouldn't learn about the actual process of dark magic until months later. When she opened her mouth to apologize again, the prince beat her to it. He had a hopeful look on his face.

    "Would you like to learn a different kind of magic?"

    Ciara's gaze was full of questions as his girlfriend looked at him with raised eyebrows.

    "Different kind?"

    "Yep. The ancient one. The one that elves and dragons use."

    "WE CAN LEARN THAT?"

    Her voice was a bit loud, people turned slightly towards her. She could hear Valera's chuckle, which she tried to hide. She looked around and cleared her throat. The prince's face was understanding.

    "You didn't know?"

    She shook her head in the negative, but the gleam in her attitude was impossible not to see. His girlfriend turned to her.

    "Callum teaches at the magic academy in Katolis."

    "Rayla—" His cheeks were slightly flushed.

    "Do you want him to show you a few little things?"

    "Can you!?"

    She couldn't hide the stars in her eyes. When she was little, she used to stay awake late into the night, until she had no book about primal magic left to read in the library. Even the possibility of such a thing seemed like a dream.

    The prince smiled warmly at her.

    "Of course! Why don't we move to a quieter place?"

    She flinched when she felt a pain in her hand and turned in her lap. Big turquoise eyes turned to her and tiny fangs dug into the palm of her hand. She giggled as her own stomach rumbled.

    "We're both hungry, aren't we?"

    She opened her bag, which was waterproof so the contents were intact, and cut the cookie in half. As soon as the little berry dragon grabbed it, she started nibbling. As she popped the other half into her mouth, she turned back to the silhouette of the mountain.

    I wonder if the academy they're talking about is still accepting registrations?

    When she heard the sound of running footsteps, the thought was completely erased from her mind. Rouge let out a low but worried squeak, she reached for the scabbard and stood up. She had enough training to take on a common trained thief, soldier or mage.

    But she wasn't prepared to be hit by an elf running with a basket in his arms.

    "Ouch!"

    "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I should've— NO!"

    The basket in his hand was caught in the wave when he dropped it and was moving away. Ciara didn't have to think too hard.

    She jumped.

    She'd never been as fond of water as her sister, but it was one of the things she'd learned for emergencies. But as the icy sensation spread through her body again, she wondered if it was worth it.

    Water. Blanket. Water. A tiny body. Water. A cry.

    Yep, it was definitely worth it.

    The second time that night, she pushed her body onto the beach, trying to breath and expel the water she'd swallowed. Hands took the basket from her arm and sat her down, patting her on the back as she coughed. She blinked when she realized she could swallow. The voices were distorted and there must have been water in his ears. She tilted her head to the side and shook it hard, not befitting a princess.

    That's when the baby's voice filled her.

    "Hey, it's okay, you're safe now."

    The elf who had just patted her on the back began to rock him in his arms from the basket. He was a finger taller than her, even though she couldn't be sure because he was sitting at the time. He had a crown-shaped marking on his forehead. Sweat dripped from his short platinum blond hair, he'd obviously been running for a long time. His voice was murmuring, trying to calm the baby. And he was quite successful at it.

    She felt her lips curl.

    "You're good at this."

    "Thanks. She's—"

    The sound of iron rubbing against iron.

    They both turned nervously towards the road. The light was coming. The voices of soldiers and more familiar ones could be heard. The elf turned to her in panic. He didn't want to be seen either. He was asking for help.

    Think.

    She put Rouge next to the elf, who stepped away from her when she got wet for the second time, and with quick movements pulled some mint, dragonfly flower and moonlight dragon essence out of her bag for the only spell she could think of. She sprinkled flowers into the essence, stirred it and poured it over everyone, including the baby. Before he could even ask what had happened, she held on to her and Rouge and mumbled the words.

    "Seye rehto morf su edih!"

    Just in time. Even if her head is spinning.

    When she saw the silhouettes landing on the beach, she covered the elf's mouth with her hand and signaled him to be quiet.

    "Are we sure the voices came from here?"

    Ciara bit her lip. She knew that voice, those white hair and daggers very well. Princess Rayla.

    "The fisherman said he heard it from here."

    She didn't recognize the two men coming from behind the princess, but the elf obviously did, because he let out a shaky breath as soon as he saw them.

    "Do you think she was trying to cross to Evenere?" The dark-haired one crouched down and examined the sand. A tracker? Her spell didn't erase the traces.

    "There was someone here." The princess quickly turned to him.

    "So we're going to Evenere?"

    "It's not a we."

    The blond-haired man sheathed his sword and put his hand on the princess's shoulder, her violet eyes flashing with fiery gaze. But when the young mage looked closely, she could see the tears flowing gently.

    "Rayla, come on. You're still in postpartum and we both know you're standing thanks to that lyenith liquid thing Terry did. If there's any news from Evenere, Queen Valera won't hesitate to tell us."

    "That's right." The other man also stood up and came to her side. "If it makes you feel better, I can follow the trail from here to Evenere. But you have to promise to return to the castle with Soren."

    "I— I can't— I need to—"

    "I know." The blond man's voice softened in a way she hadn't expected from him.

    Two sobs rose but were mixed with her coughs. She nodded slightly and together they moved towards the back. Ciara waited until two dragons rose into the sky and went in different directions. Then she poured the mint over them.

    "Hey!"

    "Sorry, it's for the spell to wear off."

    "I didn't see any rune, what kind of magic was—"

    He paused as he put the baby back in the basket and turned to look at her carefully. Ciara was also noticing new details. There were tiny freckles under his silver-gray eyes, and perhaps most striking thing was the one on his head.

    Both horns were cut off.

    Before the young mage had time to investigate further, the elf's face went white and he quickly knelt down.

    "Q-queen Valera! What an honour, I didn't—"

    "Seriously? We're not that alike."

    He turned back to her with a questioning gaze. She rolled her eyes.

    "I'm her sister. Twin sister, to be exact. I don't need official titles, you can call me Ciara. Why were you running away and what is this baby doing here?"

    Feeling pressure in her hair, she looked up. Rouge was back in her old place.

    "I'm Lucian, a crownguard from Katolis. I need to get this baby to Storm Spire before the evil dark mage finds me."

    Evil dark mage?

    "I have more important business tomorrow night."

    It couldn't have been a coincidence.

    "If you were on a mission, why did you want to hide from them?"

    The elf's panic was immeasurable.

    "They shouldn't learn. Or I'll go to jail for treason."

    "Why? Who's this baby elf anyway?"

    "She's not an elf." He was smiling as he shook his head from side to side. The next words out of his mouth would leave Ciara in shock.

    "She's not a human either. You're looking at the first pixie born in centuries. This is Sarai, princess of Katolis."

Chapter Text

     Claudia couldn't remember how old she was when she first heard about it.

     As she tried to fall asleep in her room lit by the kerosene lamp on her desk, clutching her star-shaped wand, her brother's breathless coughs began to bring tears to her eyes again. They said he would get better. They always said the same thing. She pressed her face into the pillow to keep the sound of sobbing from escaping her mouth.

     She was no fool.

     "Claudia?"

     It was inconceivable that a girl who wasn't even in double digits wouldn't jump into her mother's arms when she saw her worried look when she was stressed.

     "Hey, hey, c'mere, what's wrong?"

     She dried her cheek of the tears that flowed from her green eyes hurriedly, which looked like tiny marbles, and crawled into her mother's lap.

     "Why is he getting worse?"

     Another stone settled on Lissa's heavy heart. She knew that her daughter was a smart and know better than that, and it wasn't hard for her to realize that she had overheard some of the quiet conversations of the nights. She took a deep breath.

     "I'm so sorry you're going through this."

     Incredulous eyes.

     "Me? He's suffering much worse! I wish there was a miracle for him."

     "Me too."

     She spent the next half hour crying as her brother coughed, her father spoke in a low voice and her mother hugged her. The little girl could feel her mother stiffen every time her father's voice came with words she couldn't understand. She'd realize why years later when she thought back to that moment.

     "Did I ever tell you the story of the miraclestone?"

     She shook her head negatively, but a tiny glimmer of hope flashed in her sweet eyes.

     "Is there such a thing?"

     "Was. A long, long time ago. A time when unicorns taught humans."

     A giggle. It wasn't very loud, but it was enough to disperse the gloomy atmosphere.

     "That's so cool!"

     Lissa smiled.

     "Yes. Rumor has it that this gemstone contains all primal energies and whoever possesses it can wish for anything."

     "Anything?"

     A hold.

     "Anything."

     The little girl sighed as little hands tightened around her mother's waist. Her tone was serious and sharp in a way her mother had never expected from her.

     "I feel bad for wanting it for only Soren."

☆☆☆

    Claudia didn't feel bad when she left the Evenere Palace.

    As she walked along the main path, she could hear frogs croaking in the bushes, barely visible in the moonlight. It was quiet, not even a sign of the moonshadow elves as it was past the full moon. Even if they were, they couldn't see what she was carrying on her shoulder. Even though the air was humid and stifling, it didn't bother her, she was used to the kingdom's usual weather. But she was clearly distracted by something else, her brow furrowed and thoughtful.

    She had a closed jar in her hand, not supporting the burden on her shoulder. Round sparkles circulated from it and threw purple lights around. Her gaze shifted to that hand several times and her brow furrowed even more.

    There are two possibilities.

    When she arrived at the campsite she had set up in a cave near the river, she saw that the staff she had left as bait was still there.

    Even the stupid smugglers in the harbor seem to be smart enough not to come near here.

    Even if they did, they wouldn't be able to step into the field without the blood freezing in their veins. She put the huge lifeless body on her shoulder next to the wood she had put there to make a fire and sprinkled mint on it.

    Her gray hair was sticking up from the humid weather, contradicting the perfect bun that had become her trademark. Her skin color was still vivid, not yet darkened because she hadn't been dead long. Her body was immaculate except for a cross-shaped bone symbol stamped on the right side of her neck. The black and green robe she wore just below it and the brooch she wore on the right side of her chest, which still had not fallen off, gave away her identity. The dark mage stared into open but meaningless eyes.

    "I warned you."

    The high mage of Evenere didn't answer. Nor did she expect her to. But that didn't change the fact that she needed her.

    Maybe. Depends.

    Now that I'm on my own territory, there shouldn't be a problem.

    Her fingers, white from gripping so tightly, grasped the lid of the jar and twisted it in quick movements.

    Purple sparkles continued to swirl inside the open jar. Their colors began to lighten, a sign that the spell would wear off in a few hours. Yet the spell was still active. That was exactly the problem.

    The purple glow didn't point anywhere.

    The dark mage waited for them to move until their color turned white. I cast the spell correctly. There are no other conflicting spells in this area too. Why are you not working?

    She felt the familiar red emotion begin to rise from her heart to her throat. When she began to consider the last possibility, the jar lay broken in the middle of the flames. There's no other explanation.

    Whoever she traveled with, they protected her from other spells. Specifically from hers.

    I gave you a chance but you're making it difficult. You asked for it.

    When a gasp of distress came from the side, she turned there. A pair of blue eyes, angry but in deep mourning. She felt her lips curl.

    "Good morning, Ezran. Although the sun hasn't risen yet."

    The young king of Katolis was sitting in the middle of a red cylinder barrier, he stood up in concern when he saw the mage with the lifeless body. The formal clothes he wore were bloodstained and frayed, his feet bare. His hair, which he often wore in a ponytail so as not to interfere with his work, was disheveled and covered with leaves and twigs. He continued to stare but his mouth didn't open.

    "Still the silent treatment, I see."

    She picked up a nearby branch and continued while stirring the fire.

    "I don't think I need to tell you where I went. You know more about dress codes than I do, Your Grace."

    There was a tiny hint of mockery in her voice. It wasn't difficult to understand that she didn't care about the internal political dealings or courtings of the kingdoms.

    "I stopped by Katolis on my way."

    This provoked a reaction in the young ruler. The dark mage threw the branch into the fire and turned her body towards her old childhood friend.

    "My intention was to bring your niece as a cellmate."

    A look of disgust appeared on his face. The mage didn't care, she was used to that kind of looks.

    "But it looks like someone beat me to it. Your niece is missing and I don't think this news is going down well in Katolis after what happened to you. Even I can't find out where she is. But it's not hard to guess where the destination will be."

    She stared at the shards of glass still visible in the fire. Her voice no longer had such a light tone.

    "I'm losing patience, Ezran. All you have to do is ask him for a little bit of his blood. That's all. No schemes or tricks. You can go and get the blood yourself, I don't care. It doesn't matter how much, even a drop is enough. You realize I don't want anything else from you, right?"

    She began to fiddle with the rings on her finger that were linked to her spellbook. She tucked her hair behind her ear, which came forward with her movement. It was all white except for a lock of black that fell in front of her eyes.

    "No schemes or tricks, huh?"

    She turned to him with raised eyebrows. It was the first time he had spoken since his capture. His voice was raspy, slightly croaky because he hadn't used it for days. Yet it sounded heavy enough to carry an accusatory tone.

    "After you took his blood? Then what? Do you think I would help you do something that could potentially endanger the entire Xadia just for my own freedom?"

    "You don't even know what I'm gonna use it for."

    "I don't need to know." Judgmental stare. "Can you claim it was for a better future? We both know that'd be nothing but a lie. You've been waiting Aaravos for 4 years. I'm not as expert in magic as Callum, but I'm not foolish enough to think that the lifeless body of Evenere's high mage is here for a good reason, Claudia."

    There was a silence that the frogs outside could hear from the cave. It was ponderous, it was projectile, it was damaging and it absorbed even more of the non-existent warmth.

    "You know I've no intention of hurting you, I don't like it. But if this continues, you'll force me to do things I don't want to do."

☆☆☆

    Mount Kalik was receiving some very noisy visitors that day.

    "You realize you're endangering us by still making us hang around Katolis, right?"

    "I'm trying to help you! Watch where you step, wrap the baby more in the blanket and hold her close. I've heard that Sunfire elves have a much higher body temperature than a normal human."

    "Help? If they find me with the baby—"

    "They won't. If we make it to the top, I'll guarantee you that."

    "You can't guarantee Sarai's safety. She needs to get to the Storm Spire because—"

    "Because it's the only place where dark mages can't enter. And you're trying to protect her from that dark mage. I know!"

    "Then why?"

    The princess of Evenere angrily shook the snow off her feet for the hundredth time and turned around. Her eyes were red and watery. 

    "If the dark mage you escaped from is the same one I ran away from, we should help each other. You can't go to Evenere, she's there now. That means our only chance is to move east to Evrkynd. But we must not act idiotically."

    When the elf raised his hand to point, she looked back. They had finally reached the top.

    "What do you mean? It's not stupid to move forward in hiding."

    "Not that."

    She dropped her bag on the snow-covered ground and unzipped the zipper.

    "We're dealing with a dark mage. You think simply hiding will work? We need a more creative idea."

    "Which is?"

    "Fighting fire with fire."

    She gently placed the spellbook on her lap with a certain page open and reached for the bag again. Lucian watched with uneasy eyes as the princess pulled out moonberry, a bone and a jar of dragonfly.

    "You're a dark mage too?"

    "Some of us didn't have the chance to learn other types of magic in the past."

    "But dark magic is—"

    "Nope, not now. If I can do this, no matter what spell she try, she won't be able to locate us."

    The elf opened his mouth to protest, but when he saw her eyes closed and focused, he shut it again and took a step away. The fact that she didn't turn her in that night meant he could trust her. It was also clear from a glance that she wasn't lying about her identity. She looked exactly like the Queen of Evenere, except for the white streaks in the front of her hair. Her lips, purple with cold, was moving slightly, he guessed she was whispering the words for the spell. He frowned.

    All his life he had been taught that dark magic was bad, and he had often witnessed examples of it himself. The monarchy of Katolis and Duren were also strict on this matter, banning dark magic in their territories since the Primal Magic Academy opened. The law was already in force in Katolis when Lucian was adopted and started training for swordsmanship. When he became the youngest crownguard in Katolis, he realized that this issue was more politically problematic than he thought.

    Del Bar was following in the footsteps of Katolis and Duren, he had heard King Ezran tell Opeli at one of their meetings that a law was planned to be enacted there as well. Neolandia had chosen to remain neutral, there was no law that they could not be accommodated there, even if they were becoming unwelcome in the population. Evenere though, was different. It had become the only kingdom in west Xadia where dark mages could take refuge without repression. Lucian had never been to Evenere before, but the rumors he had heard were enough to keep him away.

    He wasn't sure about a princess trying to protect them by using dark magic right in front of him. He became terrified when an orange haze began to surround him. He placed the baby in her arms in the basket, put it on the ground and looked up.

    The moonlight seemed to pour gold on them.

    "It worked!"

    Still dumbfounded, the crownguard didn't even comprehend the girl who jumped up in happiness and threw herself at him. They both lost their balance and fell into the snow right next to the baby. The golden light still surrounded them and reached the basket.

    She got up off him using her arms but didn't sit up.

    "We're safe now. There's no way she can find us with magic even if she wanted to! I did it!"

    Lucian really didn't know what to think about this princess who practiced dark magic.

    All he knew was that her shimmering blue eyes were pretty.

☆☆☆

    The sun was just peeking through the hills when Queen Valera was disturbed by news of the disappearance of her twin sister and unsurprisingly, the high mage.

    "This is not acceptable!"

    The throne room was empty except for her and the head of council. Valera had specifically asked to speak only to him. She had enough training to know that she had to weigh which eyes and which ears to trust and which not.

    "It's best to focus on the situation at hand. I think it's clear to us now that King Ezran's disappearance was no coincidence."

    The older man gently took her hand and looked at her with worried eyes.

    "I want you to realize how much danger you've been faced with. You were definitely the target. It's lucky they mistook you for your twin sister."

    "Gareth!"

    She withdrew her hands and folded her arms across her chest in anger. Head of the council bowed his head.

    "Forgive my phrasing, Your Majesty. I'm as concerned about your sister's and Lady Zyen's well-being as you are. But as you know, we have to think about the whole kingdom and I don't even want to think about what it would cost us to lose another monarch anytime soon."

    She nodded in slow movements. She wasn't thinking about high mage, if what she had heard that night was true, there was little chance that she was alive now. Her thoughts kept drifting to her sister, and it wasn't good for her to be so preoccupied with her in her official business times. She cleared her throat.

    "I'd like you to convene the council later this evening. I'd like to talk to them before any announcements or measures. It was found that there was no force on the door or window of our bedroom, which means that the person who came didn't enter by force."

    "You don't think we're dealing with a—"

    The great door to the throne room opened noisily after two knocks and head of the alcade entered the room. Gareth was seething with anger.

    "What's the meaning of this? Hermia, it's unacceptable to barge into the throne room like this. Remember you are in the presence of the—"

    Head of the alcade ignored Gareth and knelt before Valera.

    "My Queen, you have an urgent visitor from Katolis."

    "Katolis?"

    Valera rose from her throne and anxiously adjusted her crown. It can't be Cia. She knows exactly what not to do. Then why? She signaled her approval with her hand.

    "Please let them in."

    When the tall, light-footed man entered the throne room, Valera recognized him. His gold crownguard uniform was stained and the red shawl he wore over it had slipped slightly around his neck. It was clear that he had set out at night. It felt like decades since Ezran had introduced her to Katolis' best tracker with glowing adoration in his eyes.

    She felt a lump in her chest. She missed her friend. She was worried about her friend.

    "Corvus, was it?"

    He bowed and knelt before her.

    "Your Majesty. Please forgive me for troubling you at a time like this. I wouldn't have come if it wasn't urgent."

    "I know. Please stand up."

    Valera felt her throat burn when she saw the desperation in his gaze. Something was very wrong.

    "I've been sent here from Katolis to track down a criminal dark mage. I sincerely request permission to track her through your queendom."

    Corvus pulled a sealed parchment from his waist bag and handed it to the queen after Hermia had confirmed that it wasn't dangerous in any way. It was a formal request, in accordance with procedure, and signed by the princess. But Valera could make out the dried tear marks on the parchment. She ran her fingers over them.

    "You have my permission, Corvus. But if there's no obstacle, I would like to know the reason for this urgency. Katolis has always been a reliable support for us since my mother's death and we would like to help if there's anything we can do."

    The head of the council opened his mouth to say something until Hermia nudged him with his elbow. Valera gave him a grateful look. This wasn't the time for one of Gareth's usual 'we must be prepared for the possibility of a disaster' speeches.

    "Princess Rayla specifically warned against spreading the news to the public. She and Prince Callum want the case to remain secret until it's fully investigated and resolved. Especially after King Ezran's disappearance."

    "I have more important business tomorrow night."

    Oh no.

    "What happened?"

    Katolis' best tracker ran his fingers through his short black hair and looked at the queen with sorrowful eyes.

    "An unwanted visitor came to the Katolis castle at night. Right now, crown princess and crownguard who was protecting her are missing and we have good reason to suspect her."

    Multiple gasps rose from the throne room. Valera felt dizzy and sat back down on the throne. Her head felt like it was going to explode.

    Same night, similar situation. This is more than just a coincidence. Cia wasn't safe in Katolis. But if it hasn't gone public, does she know about it? But we're talking about Cia here, she must have found out somehow.

    Feeling the expectant gaze on her, she blinked several times.

    Snap out of it. Think. She was after the necklace. Didn't Cia say that gemstones are used in advanced dark magic? She must have a great purpose. But what do the kidnappings have to do with it?

    She turned to Gareth. Head of the council could be a bit strict and traditional in some ways, but when it came to his work, he had never disappointed since her mother's time. At first he seemed hesitant, but then he nodded slightly.

    "Our regencies seem to be facing similar situations."

    "What do you mean?"

    Corvus, always careful and attentive, looked from Gareth to her.

    "My twin sister and Evenere's high mage disappeared last night. Looks like we suspect the same person. Gareth?"

    "Yes, my Queen?"

    "Please call the crowlord. The two messages to be sent are highly confidential. I need to make sure it arrives safely. And warn the guards, I don't want anyone allowed inside."

    As the big heavy door closed, Gareth's harsh tone, which he had raised to those outside, gave way to silence.

    Cia. She can take care of herself but still...

    The dark mage. She's dangerous. I need to know about her.

    Ezran. There's still no news. I hope he's okay.

    Kidnappings. The necklace. Since high mage isn't around, I can go through those parchments in the library. If I can find any useful information—

    "You okay?"

    She exhaled as gentle but grounded hands began to massage her shoulders and then took her hand. She didn't even realize she was holding her breath. She nodded briefly but didn't let go of Hermia's hand. She turned to Corvus, who was studying them.

    "There wasn't a moment I'm not worried about Ezran. And now Cia and others..."

    "I'm sorry for Princess Ciara."

    "Thank you but I know that look. We've met before, I know you're close to the royal family. Were you close to the missing princess?"

    He averted his eyes.

    "Her too but... the crownguard protecting her is my son."

    Hermia's eyes widened and he took a quick breath. Valera could only shake her head.

    "I'm so sorry. Do you really think that mage is here?"

    "I'm sure she came here at night. But I need to look into the rest."

    "Take Hermia with you."

    The young man next to her nodded. Corvus turned to her, confused.

    "Hermia is the head of the Alcade. Think of it like the crownguards in Katolis. You'll need someone to protect, guide and accompany you as you explore. And to convince Gareth, I need to send someone with you to make sure you're not a potential threat. He's the best swordsman in Evenere, although people are easily misled because he's young. He can be quiet and move forward with you, he won't give you any trouble."

    Corvus shook his head in understanding.

    "I'll look after him for you too."

    She couldn't stop her cheeks from flushing. The black-haired alcade looked at the two in turn.

    "Hello? I'm still here?"

    The sarcasm in his voice was unmistakable. Valera smiled at his antics, put a hand on his cheek and placed a brief kiss on his lips.

    "Just come back in one piece."

    "Your wish is my command."

    Corvus watched the two of them lock eyes and stay that way for a while. You never knew how much time you had with your loved ones after all. When their lips met again in the silent throne room, a bittersweet smile appeared on his face.

    Cherish each other while you have time.

Chapter Text

    If there was one thing Hermia disliked about his hometown, it was the swamps.

    For one thing, he hated humid and stifling environments. His room in the palace had been arranged accordingly but unfortunately it was difficult for him to ignore such environments on missions. There were a lot of creatures he didn't know the names of, but they were eager to attack or eat him. Hermia had never been good with magical creatures, but he refused to see them as a tool unlike his mother, Evenere's high mage and her apprentice. No, Cia is a different case, he reminded himself. The princess of Evenere didn't want to learn the art ever since she began to grasp the consequences of dark magic, but Hermia, knowing how persistent and influential Zyen could be, was careful enough to know that it'd be difficult for her to do so, and that it'd take time.

    Ciara.

    Queen's twin sister was one of the few people who knew about their relationship and was one of Hermia's closest friends in the palace. In many ways she was the opposite of her, which made her more of a target for Gareth's constant criticisms. The more mature, organized and well-mannered Valera was, the more free-spirited, chaotic and impulsive her sister was. This was never something Hermia ever complained about, Ciara was in her own way incredibly funny, helpful and a loyal friend. He cared about her and was really scared when he heard the news.

    At least until the conversation just before he left for the mission.

    "She did WHAT?"

    "Shh!"

    Valera nervously scanned her room and listened behind the door. When she heard the guards whispering banter, she took the alcade's hand and led him out onto the private balcony. Her eyes were full of worry.

    "We can't let anyone hear this. I'm not sure who the mage was who spoke to Zyen, but needless to say I don't trust most of the people in the palace. As long as she doesn't have the necklace Cia's keeping, we're safe."

    "If we're talking about the same mage Katolis is looking for, and I don't believe this much is a coincidence but unfortunately we need proof, then it goes beyond Evenere's well-being. What do we know about this woman?"

    "Nothing much. I heard she was the right-hand of the ruthless king of Katolis in Spire War, but it could be a rumor. Some say she was active in Startouch Calamity too. I hope that our visitors from Katolis will be able to tell us more about this."

    Hermia clasped their hands together and sighed. He was afraid they had bitten off more than they could swallow and the uncertainty was too much.

    "What about the necklace? Do you have any idea why she wants it so badly?"

    "Not sure. But I have an idea of how we can get closer to this information."

    His thoughts were interrupted when he tripped and fell into the mud.

    "I thought you wouldn't give me any trouble."

    He grasped the dark-haired man's outstretched hand and mumbled an apology as he pulled himself out of the mud. But surprisingly, the tracker smiled and shook his head from side to side.

    "I've traveled with far clumsier swordsmen. You could say I'm used to it. You're good. Only a bit distracted. Wanna talk about it?"

    Sounds of wings. Probably dragonflies.

    "Let's just say that recent events have hit me pretty hard."

    "I can understand that."

    As they approached the end of the road and mountain region, they fell silent again.

    Hermia treated the tracker with great respect. He had heard from Valera that he'd been one of King Ezran's most trusted guards before his disappearance. He'd served in the royal circle long enough to know the difficulty of finding such trustworthy and sincere people. Evenere definitely wasn't the best option in this regard.

    "You're lucky."

    "Me?" Corvus turned around, confusion evident on his face.

    "Not just you, the Katolis castle. There are more people around you who can be trusted in these situations. When Cia– Princess Ciara disappeared, Zyen, the high mage who disappeared with her, was first suspected. Of course, you may not be suspicious because it was your son who disappeared with Princess Sarai but still..."

    "I and everyone else trust Lucian. He knows that if he's alive, he must not leave the baby's side. He vowed to protect her with his life. Don't worry, I get it. We owe the royal atmosphere of Katolis to King Harrow and Queen Sarai. Throughout their reign, they were very careful about who they kept in the castle. There were a few bad eggs, of course. That's exactly where the magic law came from. And King Ezran... he's clearly following in his parents' footsteps. They would be proud of him if they saw the new regulations. Every day I hope for his well-being."

    He chattered his teeth violently. He was training to become an alcade when the bill to ban dark magic was defeated in Evenere and he had to part ways with his mother, who had supported the rejection of the bill. Without obligations or responsibilities, starting a new life with Valera in Katolis or Duren wasn't a bad idea.

    Except she was the Queen of Evenere. And he was the head of the alcade.

    "I'm sorry for King Ezran, Princess Sarai and Lucian. Life seems to show its fair face very rarely."

    "What do you mean?"

    He picked up one of the stones he saw on the ground and tossed it into the swamp off to the side.

    "Queen Merida was following in her cousin's footsteps and trying to make Evenere systematic and safer. Her daughters' efforts are no different."

    Seeing the entrance to one of the caves the swordsman had described while explaining the map, Corvus looked around. Seeing no change in the ash tracks, he slowed down and continued to listen to the boy.

    "After the rejection of the magic law by the majority of the council, she did what she could for the future of Evenere. When she died we were sure it was an assassination attempt, but we had no proof. We weren't sure of the veracity of the evidence we could gather either, who can be sure of dark magic anyway? I've been accompanying Val myself ever since. But what's happened in these last weeks... And now Cia..."

    He bit his lip and looked down. Everything was piling up on top of each other and the search for a solution was still going on, but he was in no mood to open up to someone he hadn't even met for a week. But there was no need for that. Corvus had already guessed what was going on in the young swordsman's head. He put his hand on his shoulder and squeezed it as if to pull him out of depressive thoughts.

    "If we let despair overtake us, we have already lost the battle. Lift your head and move forward with determination, soldier. Now let's focus on the road ahead."

    Noticing the cave entrance that the dark-haired tracker had spotted earlier, Hermia's focus shifted and he frowned. Corvus ran his hand over the stones at the cave entrance. Mint again.

    "Did you notice anything so far?"

    "The trail ends here, I'm not sure. The strange thing is that I found these traces of ash and mint when I was looking for King Ezran."

    "You're looking for Ezran too?"

    Within 2 seconds, Hermia's sword was drawn and its point turned towards the wolf standing behind him and the peasant girl on top of it. Her brown hair was pulled down in two tails over her shoulders, she was wearing thick clothes and a cloak in which she would suffocate from the humidity in the Evenere, and her gaze was hesitant.

    "You're talking to head of the Alcade. Who are you?"

    Her eyes lit up with realization.

    "I'm Ellis, I've come here on a task for Lujanne, protector of the Moon Nexus. I was told that Moon Nexus is a neutral territory after the recent changes."

    "That's right." Hermia slowly sheathed her sword and held out her hand to the girl. He checked the written scroll and gave a nod. His eye was caught by the staff fixed at the back. "Welcome to Evenere, mage Ellis. Did you just say you were looking for King Ezran? How do you know him?"

    Her chocolate-colored eyes squinted with concern and she nodded.

    "Long story, we're childhood friends. Ava said he was here yesterday, I thought I could make it."

    "He was here!?"

    He and Corvus looked at each other.

    "What else do you know?"

    The little mage reached for her wolf and stroked its fur.

    "Ava, they can help us. They're royal officials. The people we're supposed to go after the cave, remember? We can trust them."

    The wolf whose tail rising back between its legs barked and whimpered for a while. Although her friend nodded that she understood, her face fell, her knuckles were white from clinging tightly to the fur.

    "Ava says they didn't communicate much. They had very little time before the dark mage who held him captive realized."

    "Claudia?" Corvus asked. She frowned and nodded.

     "Don't mention it unless it's necessary. Names have power."

     Hermia felt her muscles tense. We're searching the same mage. Ava barked twice more.

    "Okay, I'm telling. I'm worried too."

    "What is she saying?"

    Amidst the wolf's low whines, Ellis slid off her companion and looked anxiously around the cave. You could tell she was trying to gather her courage.

    "Ezran is good. His conditions weren't that terrible and he told no one to act aggressively. Evenere's high mage is dead. The dark mage has her body and Ava doesn't know why."

    A loud gasp came from Corvus, but Hermia remained silent. After what Valera had told him, he wasn't surprised. But the body detail was creepy, though. He added it to his list of things to investigate and signaled her to continue.

    "The princess of Katolis wasn't with them, the mage failed to capture her. Even she couldn't find out where they were going. Ezran mentioned Ava that he suspected another mage was hiding them. But she said that she knew where they were going and would proceed accordingly."

    "Thank gods."

    Hermia could see that a great burden had been lifted from the experienced tracker. The stress wrinkles that had been on his forehead since they had met were smoothing themselves out. But after a while his brow furrowed. "How can she know where they— you know, never mind, I don't like her ways. But Lucian isn't a mage and if I remember anything from what Callum said, correct me if I'm wrong Ellis, total concealment is an advanced spell even for moon mages. How can they be hiding?"

    "Maybe he has something that could provide it?" Hermia guessed. Ellis shook her head from side to side. "Even if they have the primal magic books with him, it's not enough for an advanced spell like that."

    A tiny hope blossomed in the swordsman's heart. Could it be? The chances of them meeting are slim to none, but still...

    "Hey Ellis? Did Ava ever hear from King Ezran about Princess Ciara? She's missing too."

    Just not the way you think.

    When the little mage turned to her three-legged friend, she barked several times.

    "There was something she was looking for in the Evenere palace. Ezran thinks the high mage died because she couldn't deliver it to her. But Ava had no idea where she was headed at the moment. Her communication with Ezran was cut off quickly. She must have figured it out since they're not here."

    He fiddled with the hilt of his sheathed sword, as he did when he was thinking nervously. The tracker's thumb and forefinger slowly stroked his beard, his eyes pensive. Too much information came at once, they couldn't act alone. But Hermia and Corvus, who knew about the meeting, knew what to do. The young swordsman turned to their new friend.

    "Do you think Ava can carry three people to the Evenere palace?"

☆☆☆

    It was past noon when Valera closed the last book in the pile in her room. She sighed.

    The Royal Library of Evenere was the largest library in western Xadia. It had an archive as large as Lux Aurea's, which was destroyed in Startouch Calamity 4 years ago, and thanks to the migration of dark mages to Evenere in recent years, it was home to much more diverse topics. Despite this, not finding a single thing about the family heirloom made the Queen of Evenere even more suspicious. And more wasn't available to her at that moment.

    In fact, there was a much more specific source she was looking for. Since she had done this research before, she was well aware that even if she scanned normal books (which she did again just in case) she would find nothing. The source she was looking for was guarded by a very special ocean rune, and that's actually why she had come to the library.

    But the rune was broken and the documents were missing. Even though the librarian blamed the missing high mage, Valera thought about other possibilities.

    If she got the idea before me, she took them before she left. Please don't let the other mage get her hands on it.

    "Queen Valera?"

    She hadn't even heard the knock on the door and the guard outside announcing the visitor. She groaned when, in her haste, her knee accidentally hit the chair from which she had risen, but she turned around, ignoring it.

    The visitor was no stranger. Despite her dress, she ran excitedly and hugged her.

    "Queen Aanya! I thought you wouldn't be here until later evening."

    "When I read about the urgency of the situation, I wanted to come early to check it out."

    "Of course, sit."

    She poked her head out of the door.

    "Aleina, please don't let anyone in unless I authorize it."

    She closed the door gently and pointed to the bed with untouched covers.

    It hadn't been long since her mother's funeral, so she didn't expect a big change. The Queen of Duren's blonde hair was gathered in a braided bun, held in place by a crown. A fire ruby sat in the center of it, and little garnets were gathered on the right and left sides. As usual, she chose a simple and practical white dress with light blue details, not frilly and unnecessary, so that she could move freely and use her bow.

    She sat slowly on the bed and folded her hands in her lap. There was worry and tiredness in her golden eyes. She didn't think hers were any different.

    "I'm so sorry about Ciara and Lady Zyen. I never thought something like this would happen again."

    "Did you hear about Princess Sarai?"

    She nodded.

    "It was the day I came to Katolis for other political matters. I needed to update Callum on the latest situation after... After..."

    She stopped. Valera looked up when her voice trembled at last words. She sat down next to her and hugged her without saying a word as the tears fell like beads on her lap. Her hands clutched her back tightly.

    "I-it's been weeks, Val, I... I can't... I don't even know if he..."

    "I know, I'm sorry. We'll find him. I feel like these are connected."

    "Me too but... b-but what if he already..."

    She couldn't say it aloud. Instead more sobs rose from her lips. Valera grabbed her tighter and started making circles on her back.

    Aanya was one of her closest friends, along with Ezran, even though they were the rulers of respective monarchs. The two of them really helped her a lot when her mother first came to the throne, and as time went on they saw each other more and more often. Her mother hadn't yet died when they started writing private letters, except in political and economic situations. It was with these letters and special events that Valera first began to realize something between them, but it wasn't until they met at Prince Callum's birthday party that she could confirm it directly.

    "Princess Valera, if there's anything you need, please let me know."

    "That's very kind of you, Lady Rayla, thank you."

    The silver-haired elf took a deep breath as she saw Gareth leave the girl's side and stand over her twin sister.

    "Can I quit the act now?"

    Valera chuckled. Unlike Evenere's council, she, like her mother, was in favor of social equality and was sympathetic to the elves. Rayla was one of the most resourceful and kind elves she had ever seen and Valera enjoyed her conversations with her, even though Ciara was closer to her.

    Hearing the sound of a plate breaking, they both startled and turned in the direction of the birthday mage. His brother laughed as the panicked prince tried to draw a run in the air to fix it. Rayla sighed.

    "Damage control time."

    Valera giggled again as the moonshadow elf walked over and teased her boyfriend. She loved the Katolis royalty, one of the rare affectionate ones. The giggle was replaced by a smirk and a raised eyebrow as her eyes shifted sideways to where the Queen of Duren was sitting. The slice of cake she'd been offered was forgotten on the side. The top of her nose and cheeks were slightly flushed, an abnormal case for her who doesn't blush easily. Her gaze wasn't on the broken plate, or the prince who looked embarrassed, or the elf who spoke to him.

    She was locked on the chestnut-haired king who was still laughing at them.

    Valera sat down in the chair next to her and leaned into her ear.

    "Like what you see?"

    The young queen came out of her trance and turned to her with eyes trying to perceive. As the realization came, her face flushed even redder.

    "W-what? I don't know what you're talking about."

    She rolled her eyes.

    "Come on! I saw that look. It's no different from that Hermia gave me. Not to mention the way you mentioned him in our letters. I've been wondering for a while, and it seems I wasn't wrong."

    She sank down in the chair and bowed her head like an ostrich that wants to bury its head in the sand.

    "Maybe," she muttered. Valera wasn't used to hearing her friend's voice so shy and hesitant. She checked around and whispered again.

    "Since when?"

    Both of their eyes found the young king again. The plate situation was over, the dark-haired boy was chatting with King Ahling.

    "His last birthday? Reconstruction gathering? Startouch Calamity? I don't know."

    "When did you realize?"

    "On the anniversary of Evrkynd."

    "Oh, of course. The dance."

    Attending Evrkynd's anniversary was one of her mother's biggest disagreements with the council. But it played a major role in helping Evenere regain a place in the Pentarchy. Only her mother, Valera, Hermia and Gareth were there that night, her twin sister had stayed at the palace to catch up on the week's logistics and magic lessons. A grand ball was held in honor of the founding of the peaceful city and Valera didn't want to miss the opportunity to dance with Hermia, with whom she'd just been dating at the time.

    When they stopped for food, she noticed that Aanya was dancing with Ezran. Another detail she noticed was that the two of them were in a very close contact compared to the other duos who were dancing as friends. Aanya's hands were clasped behind his neck and Ezran gripped her waist protectively. But what made Valera suspicious above all was the way they looked at each other.

    As if the world doesn't exist around them and the only bright thing in the middle is each other.

    "You didn't seem like friends at that time too."

    "Wait, really?"

    She was tense, she could feel it. She put her hand on her shoulder and smiled.

    "Hey, it's okay. It takes a lot more than that to spark a rumor."

    "If this spreads, it won't be good for Katolis or Duren. For gods sake, I don't even know if he feels the same."

    "Ezran? Oh I think that should be the least of your worries. He definitely loves a queen as graceful, kind and fierce as you."

    "Val!"

    But Aanya didn't open even after that day. Still, Valera knew that Ezran knew but didn't say out loud. No one took the first step, even though they were circling each other like propellers and looking out for each other. They both thought that everything would work out in the end. But this was life and you never knew what would happen. Her tears now reflected her deep regret as well as her sorrow and worry. She stepped back and dried her eyes with her palms.

    "Thank you. I don't know how you can stand a bad friend like me. Even though Ciara and Lady Zyen disappeared, I'm still—"

    "Cia's not missing."

    She slowly removed her hands from her face and looked at her friend with disbelieving eyes.

    "What!?"

    She took a deep breath.

    "I'm waiting for the meeting to be organized so as not to repeat everything several times but I can tell you this much: My sixth sense is not the only reason why I think these are connec—"

    Knock on the door. They both turned towards it.

    "Aleina?"

    "Yes, Your Majesty, it's me."

    "You can enter."

    The door opened without a creak and the female guard stood at the ready.

    "Our guests from Katolis have arrived at Evenere Palace. They're currently resting in their allocated rooms. Lord Gareth would like your permission to organize the meeting room."

    "Give him my permission. Anything else?"

    "The head of the Alcade is back from his mission with the tracker and someone else. He said he wanted to see you urgently."

    She frowned.

    "Are they all okay?"

    "Yes, My Queen, no one's hurt. He told me it was urgent about the matter you're investigating. He said they have a lead."

☆☆☆

    It was only after arriving at the Cursed Caldera that she realized she was getting cold.

    They had both reached a firm agreement and set a route. Lucian had told her that there lived an elf who could help them with transportation to Evrkynd. Ciara had no faster alternative, so she accepted the offer. She'd accompany them to Evrkynd and stay with them until they found a mode of transportation that would take them to Xadia. The journey though, wasn't going as well as she expected.

    Their progress was slow, traveling with a baby was much more difficult than Ciara thought. At first she thought it didn't matter because the mage who was after them wouldn't be able to find them right now, but they were low on resources and the spell she had cast wouldn't last forever. She couldn't cast a spell to protect them if she wasn't with them, they had to get to the Storm Spire as soon as possible.

    Also, the elf. At first he seemed kind and even a little handsome, but Ciara had never been so wrong. She wasn't sure how much longer she could tolerate his interrogative and distrustful gaze. Ciara wasn't stupid, she knew the glare started when he realized she was doing dark magic. Dark magic that she was too late to quit and had no choice but to do now to survive. When she felt those prejudiced glances, she became even more nervous and angry. At least she thought it was from that. She didn't know why she felt so drained these days.

    In short, they didn't get along well. Their journey was quiet, and whenever it wasn't, they were fighting.

    "She's hungry? Again?"

    "Babies need to be fed often, it's not my fault. Also, at this age, she can only drink milk and nectar, it doesn't affect our supplies."

    "But she does effect the time!"

    "She's the reason I'm on the road, Ciara! If it bothers you so much, you can leave!"

    "I'm trying to help you here! If it wasn't for me, she would've been sick from too much contact with the outside by now."

    "With dark magic? No, thank you. Don't take it out on—"

    The two stopped shouting when the princess began to cry and Lucian took the baby in his arms to calm her down. Ciara moved a little away from the two of them and leaned against the nearest tree. She wasn't sure if it was because she was annoyed or nervous, but her head was spinning badly. She rubbed her free hand against her arm. It was pretty cold. After the humid atmosphere of Evenere, Katolis must have seemed cold to her. Or she was shivering because she hit the road in her wet clothes.

    Neither of them mattered much. Their time was limited and they were moving slowly, they had to keep going.

    "You okay?"

    She was startled. She hadn't heard him approaching. She straightened up confidently and turned to the elf. The baby was still in his arms, silent. He was patting her back lightly with his hand, but his gray eyes were on her, squinted with a weird expression. Maybe worry?

    "Of course," she lied. "We need to move on. The spell I cast won't last forever and the faster you get to east Xadia while you have the advantage, the better."

    She couldn't keep her voice from cracking. Her throat was on fire, but she'd only just realized it in the midst of everything else.

    Stand up, Your Highness. If you have the strength to show weakness, you have the strength to continue as well.

    She swallowed painfully but kept her confident stance. She took the lead and continued up the mountain. She could feel the skeptical glances behind her. She breathed a sigh of relief when she began to hear the rustling of the basket and the sound of footsteps.

    She wasn't ready for blackness.

    "Watch out!"

    She waited for the pressure and damage of the stone-filled path on her knees. Instead she felt a pair of hands hold her arms and gently place her to the ground.

    "Why are you— you're burning! What were you thinking? Humans can't be normal at this body temperature, you're not a sunfire elf."

    As her vision began to return, albeit blurred, she could make out the silhouette and gray eyes crouching in front of her. She tried to stand up.

    "I'm o—"

    She felt her consciousness slipping as she fell back into the arms grabbing her.

    She was back in the blood sea.

    It was black. No matter how much she looked around, there was nothing but blackness. Instead of going to the side she couldn't see and getting lost, she preferred to sit on the edge of the red sea she could only see and throw the bones that covered the shore instead of sand into the water. With each throw, the agonized cries of whoever the bone belonged to echoed in her ears. When she first started having this dream-like nightmare, it bothered her to the point of driving her crazy, but now she was used to it. Not the screams, but the fact that none of them were real.

    "You started today's session early."

    Just like his voice.

    "I don't remember when I fell asleep."

    The voice was calm but had a charismatic timbre. It was clear that the owner was also a very impressive speaker. He could still give Ciara the same feeling of indecision she had when she first heard it.

    "You were never in your beauty sleep when I could talk to you, Your Highness. Do you think the situation is different now?"

    "No."

    When she first encountered this eerie beach and the voice, she had completely different thoughts. She was young, she had cast a spell for the first time in her life and she didn't even realize she had lost consciousness. It wasn't a dream she had when she fell asleep, but as she continued to practice magic, her visits became more frequent. Not something she could control, of course.

    "What was it this time? Did you overwork yourself with spells again?"

    "It's much more complicated than that. I'm not in Evenere right now."

    "Oh? You don't travel easily, did something happen?"

    "It's not your business."

    Ever since Ezran's that birthday, she had a strange feeling about the voice, she could never figure out why. She felt strange. As if the knot in her chest had finally been untied and the voice wanted to tie it again.

    "You know you feel better if you talk, right?"

    Oh, she knew. She remembered sobbing as she told this voice some of the fears she couldn't even tell her twin sister. It hadn't been long since her mother had died and Hermia was trying to make Val better. It was a good idea at the time, it made her feel nice to have someone supporting her.

    She didn't think so now.

    "Even after all the talking we've done, you still haven't told me your name or what are you."

    She heard a murmur of acknowledgement. If he were in front of her, she might even think he was smirking.

    "I'm not even an existential being right now. That's why you can't see me in my current state."

    "But not in my dreams. Only in this... weird faint-kind situation. Because of your... inhesion of non-existence. Not between life and death but above that. You secure the dark but also reflect the light. Like—"

    She stopped. But the voice on the other end already knew what she meant.

    "Yes. Like a star. It seems you haven't only been interested in dark magic for the past while."

    He spoke as if he expected it. There was an eerie silence. Ciara didn't want to own the awareness that reached her. It was scary, much more powerful than her usual spells. But as always, she had to do certain things. She wasn't given a choice.

    "You know about the Star arcanum."

    "Yes."

    "You're a startouch elf."

    "I was."

    A questioning pause.

    "Was?"

    "I told you I don't belong to the existence right now."

    "I thought Startouch elves couldn't die."

    "That's the only reason I can talk to you in this way."

    A completely different awareness filled her unconcious consciousness. Her face turned pale and she drew in a shaky breath.

    "The Startouch Calamity."

    The voice remained silent. But Ciara knew she was right.

    "You're that elf."

    "I am."

    She stood up in a panic and took a few steps back. Her breathing was labored, her chest was tight.

    "You know I can't do anything but talk to you right now."

    "Then don't! I don't wanna talk to you anymore! Why me?"

    Her voice cracked.

    "There are hundreds of dark mages still active out there. Why are you talking only with me?"

    She heard a very sharp laugh. It was clear that he was quite amused by her reaction.

    "How many healthy dark mages do you know out there who can understand Star arcanum?"

    Ciara's eyes widened in shock and she felt her body being thrown forward. At least she tried to, but a rough sound escaped her throat as pain shot through her. Beads of sweat were falling from her forehead, she was cold despite the intense hot flush, and she didn't even have the strength to sit up. She felt someone holding her as her body fell sideways again.

    "Slow down! You're in no condition to stand up right now."

    As her head fell back on the pillow, an involuntary sigh escaped her mouth. Her slightly blurred vision found gray eyes.

    "Where—"

    Her voice was very shaky and hoarse. She coughed. It was strong enough to hurt her lungs, but her body was in no condition to handle it. Tears welled up in her eyes. She ached all over.

    "Don't waste your breath, you need to rest. We entered one of the nearby caves. The point we need to reach is higher up, but right now you can't even stand up, let alone go up."

    Her head was spinning, all thoughts were swirling.

    "Sarai—"

    "Hey, calm down, would you? She's okay, sleeping as always." His voice was so gentle and soft in a way she had never heard from him, Ciara felt her body sink further into the sleeping bag. She blinked her eyes to keep herself conscious. She wasn't ready to talk to that person again.

    Her lips curled as she felt a tingling in her stomach and a familiar noise. Rouge is okay, at least. She tried to lift her hand to caress her little companion but her arm wouldn't listen to her. She was startled to feel coldness on her forehead. She quickly directed her gaze, but there was no one in front of her but Lucian. He placed his hand on her forehead again and at the center of her chest, where the bone was.

    "Easy. We need to bring your fever down. I have an idea but I'm not sure if the healing spell will work."

    Ciara was surprised, she hadn't expected him to be a healing-oriented sunfire elf. He'd said he was a crownguard and she'd read that they were even rarer than those predisposed to heat. When she saw the elf start to glow, she gaped open-mouthed at him. As the light began to envelop her, she felt her heart speed up.

    "Don't worry," he muttered. He was focused and his eyes were closed, but he could feel the princess tense under his touch and her heartbeat. In his concentration he didn't pay attention to what he was saying.

    "I won't let anything happen to you, relax."

    Ciara had seen more spells in her magical studies than a glowtoad in a lifetime. Although all of her training had been rigorous, none of her instructors had pushed her as hard as high mage Zyen. But this is how she was able to reach the level of a professional mage at a young age. So she became aware of almost all the magic she could see and hear. Dark or Primal. Doesn't matter.

    That's why the Princess of Evenere found herself wondering why she hadn't heard of this spell before, unable to recognize her body, which relaxed as soon as she heard the phrase and let herself fall into a peaceful sleep this time.

Chapter Text

    Rayla was beginning to hate waking up freaking out.

    When she woke up with sore eyes, she found it difficult to perceive her surroundings. Evenere in the evening was much calmer and quieter than Katolis, she had heard nothing but frogs since the alcades had finished their training. She couldn't sleep at night so she tried to manage with tiny naps, but that didn't change the fact that she woke up from each one with nightmares.

    The cruel nightmares of not being able to hold her daughter one last time with the weight of the past added on top.

    "Shh, it's okay."

    She felt someone climb onto the bed and put their arms around her. She didn't even have to look to know who he was. She dried her eyes angrily and turned to him.

    "It's not okay!"

    "I know."

    "I hate nightmares!"

    "I know, I'm sorry."

    "I hate that I have to sleep!"

    "I know but you need to."

    "I hate not being able to do anything!"

    "I kn—"

    "I hate everything!"

    She pressed her face to his chest, worn out, and let the sobs overtake her again.

    Ethari had told her that elves go through a much more severe and difficult puerperium period than humans, but Rayla would never have thought to test the truth of that with such a tragedy. Every time she woke up, she would look for a crib on her side and burst into tears when she couldn't find one and it started to get on her nerves. Her body and brain were getting tired from the constant change of emotions, but she still couldn't sleep. Terry had come along, saying he could help (earthbloods were just as good at healing as sunfires) but Rayla was aware of the trouble she was causing and the sadness and grief growing inside her began to turn into...

    "We're supposed to be in the meeting with Queen Valera right now, not stuck in this room! If it weren't for these stupid mood swings and blackouts we can—"

    "Nope, none of those. Look at me."

    She frantically tried to dry the tears again, but when she noticed the hands gently stopping her, she turned to green eyes that were just as teary as hers.

    "You're doing great. You're still in puerperium and we've had terrible..." Silence. Losses, Rayla finished the sentence in her head but didn't say it out loud. Instead she focused on her husband, who held her against him and began stroking her hair.

    "It was overwhelming for all of us when we were still recovering from Ezran's situation. The last person you should blame for what happened is yourself."

    "But—"

    "Shh... You're helping me and the council about everything even though you're in this condition, you're helping me deal with my tantrums and problems as well. You're amazing, don't be too hard on yourself."

    He took a deep breath and put their foreheads together.

    "As Opeli said, we must not lose hope. They say uncertainty is the worst of all battles for a reason. Let's think of the best, Lucian's with her. They can do it."

    She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as her panicked actions slowed. She could feel herself being drawn to him more as his arms wrapped around her waist and continued around her shoulders. She pulled her head back and buried her face in his right shoulder.

    "But what if... Callum, she's too young..."

    "Hey, hey, what did I just say? Banishing bad thoughts. You said the same thing to me, remember?"

    Even as he said this, the prince's voice trembled and Rayla could feel tears falling on her own shoulder. She tightened her grip and forced herself to regulate her breathing. At least for him. She smiled when there was movement in her head and the sound of teeth chattering. Stella stroked both of their heads softly and nuzzled Rayla's unoccupied shoulder. By the time the moonlight seeping from the window was joined by the light filtering through the door, they had both stopped sobbing. The white-haired princess left the embrace and looked at the earthblood elf entering the room with the familiar blonde swordsman.

    "Medication time!"

    When neither of them said anything, Terry's smile faded and he just got closer. Callum didn't blame him, someone had to supervise so that the group didn't go completely mentally blank. Terry had taken care of them and helped them a lot with his natural potions, and thanks to him, Opeli and Barius; they weren't now going mad with uncertainty. He chugged the tiny flask he gave him and coughed. When Sneezles, no longer able to fit into his scarf, gave a worried cry from the nightstand, he looked up and gave him a forced smile to show that everything was okay. It never tasted easy, but at least it helped him to calm down and soothe his nerves. Out of the corner of his eye, he realized that Rayla was doing the same, so he let out a sigh of relief. There was a time when she tried to refuse treatment, her mental condition was much more severe than him.

    He didn't know what Terry was doing, but the potions took effect as soon as they drank them, and Callum knew enough about primal magic to know that it wasn't just physiological.

    "Are you feeling better?"

    Terry squatted on the edge of the bed and looked into their eyes, both of which had aged in days. His voice was caring and sincere, not at all the vibrant person he was when he entered the room. When the prince of Katolis realized that he could finally breathe deeply, he turned to his green-haired friend and smiled.

    "Thanks Terry."

    He shrugged his shoulders as if he didn't do much. He motioned for Callum to get out of bed and for Rayla to lie down. His wife's eyes were slightly squinted and she was sweating. Terry put his hand on the elf's forehead, frowned and reached for the bag next to him.

    "Soren, why don't you join Callum on the balcony while he gets some fresh air? I'll stay with Rayla for the possible hard pulse effect of the potion I gave her."

    The blonde crownguard, who hadn't moved until that moment, stepped outside to give way to the prince. Callum looked at his friend hesitantly but Terry whispered.

    "Rayla will be fine, her episodes have started to subside just like yours. Right now I'm only staying with her as a precaution. However Soren..." The prince of Katolis didn't like the silence of the blank. He heard the earthblood elf breathing deeply.

    "Callum, he's not taking his potions and he hasn't said lot since that night. When Corvus came here, I was afraid he might do something impulsive so I put him on watch but..."

    The Archmage stepped back in disbelief, gave several blinks and followed his childhood friend to the tiny balcony at the end of the corridor.

    He didn't know or aware anything Terry had said. They had only spoken once since Lucian and Sarai's disappearance and that was when he had asked him to accompany Rayla and Corvus. He and Rayla had buried themselves in politics and palace business for distraction, but even the disciplined Opeli was trying to persuade them to get some rest. Callum, thanks to Rayla's support and Terry's help, had just recovered from his rage episodes and responded to Evenere's emergency call. Rayla's one took longer, she hadn't recovered well from the puerperium because of the events.

    In the midst of it all, Callum felt guilty for not checking on Soren's well-being. He may have missed Sarai and worried about her, but they weren't the only ones mourning the disappearance of their child. Lucian was also missing and Callum was worried about him too. He had talked enough with Corvus as well. But whether it was instinctive selfishness or not, he didn't realize how much Soren wasn't... Soren until Terry pointed it out to him.

    The blonde crownguard didn't even acknowledge his presence. He leaned against the emerald railing of the balcony but Callum had noticed that his position hadn't changed much. He wasn't relaxed, ready to move if anything went wrong.

    "Soren?"

    Callum couldn't remember his childhood friend's eyes looking so blank since Startouch Calamity. There was no trace of that blue full of life, it was like a maelstrom of indigo that trapped him in the ocean. He took a reflexive step back.

    "What? Is something wrong?"

    But perhaps what frightened the archmage the most was his voice. It sounded completely normal and silly as always, without a sign of negative emotion. As if nothing had happened. As if they were hanging out on the balcony after an ordinary dinner at the Katolis castle.

    Since when had Soren learned to mask himself so well?

    "Just... I'm sorry." A lump in his throat, he swallowed. He turned back to the landscape to avoid looking into those eyes again.

    "For what? Taking care of Katolis with Rayla? You were fulfilling your responsibilities despite everything, this is nothing to apologize for. If Ezran could see you, he'd be proud. Your precautions may have saved the lives of many innocent people."

    "It doesn't change the fact that we're both acting selfish lately. You're suff—"

    "If a parent has a right to act selfishly in life, this may be it. Your baby was kidnapped and I can't understand why you feel guilty for reacting to—"

    "I don't feel guilty because of that, I feel guilty because I didn't give you this chance I have!"

    Silence fell on the balcony. Callum had only just realized his voice had risen, his hands spread helplessly at his sides, breathing heavily. When he realized he wasn't going to take the first step, he approached and grabbed him tightly by his shoulders.

    "Your son was kidnapped too. You're in limbo too. You are in pain too. Soren, your feelings are just as important as ours and I'm really sorry if I did anything to prevent you from realizing that."

    Some random people could never tell the difference. But Callum knew him well enough to know that the tears gathering in those stormy eyes weren't just from the weather.

    "You've done nothing wrong. If anyone's responsible for anything here, it's me."

    The prince of Katolis scowled. "Wait, what?"

    He didn't pull his shoulders back but turned his face to the scenery. Callum could feel him trembling beneath his hands.

"First was my mother. I was tiny and I didn't know why until I visited her after Startouch Calamity, but she left. I had decided to stay in Katolis because he had worked so hard to heal me, I felt I owed him. Moreover, I had a dream of being a crownguard since I was little and I didn't want to give it up."

    His friend remained silent.

    "Second was Viren. Until my 20s I didn't even realize that I was being emotionally and mentally abused. It was stupid not to understand, but it happened. I defended myself in the Spire War and he left."

    His eyes widened as he realized where the conversation was going.

    "Then it was Claudia. She worshipped Viren, so to speak. She made her choice, accepted the treatment and got worse and worse. She walked the path Aaravos had set for her. She left too. Everything was too much. I don't know how I would've coped without Corvus. Then—"

    "Soren you—"

    "Then Lucian came. And I made the mistake of my life."

    His voice began to break.

    "In the last 3 years I've convinced myself that I've finally found a family. I thought I had finally found the peace I needed for so long. I could never have been more wrong."

    He lowered his head.

    "He's gone. Like my mom. Like Viren. Like my sister. I can't believe I haven't learned my lesson all this time. Soon I'll lose Corvus too. As soon as someone becomes my family, they're gone, if I'm gonna live with this curse—"

    "Shut up!"

    He turned to him with his mouth open. Her wet cheeks glistened in the moonlight. Callum's grip on him tightened.

    "You. Are. Not. Cursed! You deserve happiness, peace and to feel whole with a family as much as anyone else. I'm so sorry for everything that's happened to you till now. I really am. And I know you feel the same for us. None of us have had an easy past, but I know that life's smiled on you the least. But you're not responsible for any of this, Soren."

    He loosened his grip and wrapped his arms tightly around his friend's body. It was hard to embrace him because of his armor, but he didn't care. Hearing a quiet sob, he felt his own gaze fog up. His cheeks were getting wet too.

    "Life doesn't always work through the things we do. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, unfortunate things happen. That doesn't mean you're the one who's the problem. But it does mean that you need support because this process is draining and overwhelming. I want to help you. We want to help you."

    He tightened his grip when he heard him take a breath to speak.

    "Corvus is worried about you, you don't have to refuse to talk. Likewise, Terry. His potions will help you. Rayla, me, Opeli, Barius... you have people you can count on, don't worry."

    Hearing a sincere chuckle mixed with crying, he stopped hugging and studied him. His blue eyes rippled with tears.

    "Have you been taking diction lessons since Ezran left?"

    "Come on, you too!?"

    "So, Rayla said the same thing?"

    "Shut up."

    It didn't matter when they both started giggling. Soren's position was still unchanged, but you could see that his shoulders had relaxed and dropped slightly. A small progress is better than nothing.

    "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

    Soren's grip on his hilt loosened as he recognized the familiar face and voice. The Archmage bowed to curtsy.

    "Queen Valera."

    "Prince Callum, welcome to Evenere. I'm glad to see you're okay. I would love to welcome you with a warm greeting and congratulate you on your baby, but the tragedies are obvious. Once again, I express my sorrow for what you've been through. Especially after King Ezran's disappearance."

    Soren had served for years as head of the crownguard and was no stranger to political dialogues. Many of them were forced and meant to preserve relations between monarchs, and Ezran was as adept at managing them as his father. Soren quickly grew bored with insincere conversations. But he didn't even need this to understand the sincerity of the Queen in front of him, her voice and behavior said it all. He knew Callum understood that too.

    "Thank you, Your Majesty. Forgive us for not responding immediately to the emergency, these last 2 nights haven't been professional."

    "Please don't apologize, it's perfectly understandable. Actually, we've had a big tragedy here as well and the purpose of this meeting is to get to the root of it."

    "A big tragedy?"

    When Callum looked at Soren with questioning eyes, he shook his head. He didn't know either. The pink-haired queen nodded in understanding.

    "I'm not surprised that the news didn't reach Katolis. When Zyen's investigation was being carried out, we tried to keep it as secret as we could."

    "Wait, high mage Zyen?"

    Hearing a familiar voice from behind, all 3 individuals turned in that direction. Terry was still rummaging in his bag, but when he saw the queen, he curtsied like the moonshadow elf next to him.

    "Queen Valera."

    "Princess Rayla, I'm so glad to see you well."

    "Thank you but I'd appreciate it if we could save the formalities for later. What's going on?"

    Feeling all eyes on her, the queen took a deep breath.

    "Princess Sarai wasn't the only one who disappeared that night. Let's go to the meeting room, there are 3 people there who can update everyone including me."

☆☆☆

    Ciara woke up to the sound of crying. She reflexively brought her hand to her chest and looked around.

    The evening campfire was still burning, Protecting the cave from the cold night outside. Rouge was curled up right next to it, sleeping peacefully. Behind him, Lucian was struggling with the crying baby on the blanket. He didn't even realize he was mumbling, but Ciara could hear him.

    "You drank your milk. You burped. And your diaper is clean for now. So why are you crying?"

    Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed movement and recognized the princess rising from her sleeping roll.

    "I'd love to say good morning, but the sun hasn't risen yet. Are you feeling better?"

    She nodded hesitantly. His behavior had softened, but she wasn't sure if it was because of the baby princess. Speaking of her, she was still crying.

    "At this rate, she'll bring all the carnivores from the caldera here."

    "I've tried everything, I don't know why she's crying."

    "Even you?"

    "Ciara, please."

    She could hear the exasperation in his voice. She felt regret fill her chest. She had done nothing but lie in bed for the last few hours. She crouched down next to the elf and took the baby in her arms. Unable to balance her correctly, Lucian helped her by supporting the baby on her back and turned to her.

    "Here. First time holding a baby?"

    She nodded. She had a twin sister and Hermia was an only child. Even if she heard that there were babies in the palace, she had never interacted with one.

    Sarai was still crying. Be patient. There's never been a mage who failed to be patient. She swallowed and started humming the familiar melody with her still aching throat.

    Before her mother died, every night before going to bed, without exception, she would come to them and sing this song. Gareth had said she complained that she couldn't spend time with her daughters during the day and tried to make up for it in this way. The only things left that reminded her of her were this song and the necklace she wore around her neck.

    She was so absorbed in the memories with her eyes full that she didn't notice Sarai had fallen silent in her arms. She came to her senses when a four-fingered hand touched her cheek to wipe away the tears.

    "You okay?"

    Again, that soft tone. Ciara ignored her racing heart, put the baby back in the basket and pulled the blanket over her.

    "Yeah. Sometimes even a song can carry barrels of meaning, huh?"

    "Wanna talk about it?"

    This time she looked at him sternly.

    "Really? I thought you didn't wanna communicate with a dark mage unless you had to."

    There was a glimmer of regret in his eyes, just like the glimmer of hurt in her eyes.

    "I... I just..." He sighed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have judged you by the kind of magic you cast. But if you consider almost all dark mages in Xadia, I'm not entirely wrong. Also, dark magic IS bad. Even if my opinion of you changes, if you think my opinion of you on this issue will change, you're sorely—"

    "No, you're right."

    The princess leaned back against the cold wall of the cave and didn't speak until Lucian sat down next to her.

    "You grew up at Katolis. You lived and studied there with your parents. You aren't royalty, you don't have to follow ridiculous responsibilities or rules. Except for your job I guess, you're a crownguard, right? And you're a sunfire elf, so you didn't have to put any extra effort into primal magic. You're naturally connected with the Sun arcanum."

    He could detect a note of envy in the young mage's voice. He frowned.

    "But?"

    A resigned glance.

    "But I grew up in Evenere. The only regency that hasn't signed the Magic Law. Even though Val and I are twins, she was born before me, so she took the throne after my mother's death and I was expected to be the crown princess and her most trusted advisor. Around that time, the new high mage Lady Zyen started training me. I was young, learning magic was my biggest dream, but I didn't even realize the sacrifices I had to make until I reached a certain point."

    She touched the white parts of her hair and sighed. A bad feeling settled over Lucian.

    "One day on King Ezran's birthday, Prince Callum showed me something I'd never seen a human do before: Primal magic. I still remember that day, he demonstrated a few simple spells in the garden and I watched him with a stupid grin on my mouth and sparkles in my eyes. From that day on, I learned as much about primal magic as I did about dark magic, but I knew I couldn't do it without a connection to the arcanums."

    "How many healthy dark mages do you know out there who can understand Star arcanum?"

    She blinked her eyes and shook her head violently from side to side. Now wasn't the time to think about him or what he said.

    "If you learned about primal magic then why—"

    "I didn't dare. I couldn't even tell Lady Zyen." The princess lowered her head in shame. "I couldn't tell anyone but Val and Hermia. Evenere's not as accepting as other regencies and I'm the princess of Evenere. You saw what happened, even if my mother's views differed from the Evenere council. Nobody says it, but it's so obvious that it was an assassination. I couldn't risk it, I had to continue in the field I had learned and become a professional in. I..."

    She couldn't stop her eyes from welling up, dried them in frustration.

    "I never had a choice. I was too young when I had, and I didn't know the consequences. Urgh, this is stupid! I'm whining like a spoiled child, sorry. Go back to your sleep."

    She sat up abruptly and went for the sleeping roll to hide her wet cheeks, but was stopped by the gentle grip of four fingers on her wrist.

    "It's not stupid."

    When he turned her around, her gaze was locked on the gray eyes again. She didn't seem to be able to pull away.

    "Expressing your feelings is not whining, you have as much right to do that as anyone else. Even if they don't want it in the palace, you don't have to do that here. You don't have to behave the way they want."

    "W-what?" Her voice came out as a whisper, as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her lips were slightly parted.

    "You are free here. You don't have to worry about anyone scolding or judging you. Act the way you feel and feel the way you mean. And if it makes you feel better, you can talk to me as much as you want. It wouldn't be fair if I'm the only one who's been nagging at you."

    A light giggle from her lips. A warmth spreading his chest. Lucian took her other hand in his before he could realize what he was doing. 

    "I judged the book by its cover. I was the idiot, not you. I was scared, I was stressed, I was angry, I missed my dads and I took it out on you. You've done nothing but help me and Sarai since we met on the beach. Yeah, I don't like that you used dark magic to do it, but that doesn't change the fact that you're trying to help us the only way you know how. I don't know what happened with the dark mage I escaped from, but I trust you, you saved our lives and helped me."

    There was a silence. But not in a way that made them both uncomfortable like the previous days. Tears rolled down both of their cheeks and fell on their joined hands in the middle. Ciara wanted to move, but she knew she couldn't.

    When they first met Hermia, she used to make fun of her twin sister. Valera was talking about him with hearts in her eyes after the second event with him and it seemed ridiculous to her at the time.

    "I'm telling you Cia, Hermia is... he's different from the others."

    "He didn't seem so different to me. Are you going to drool over every young man with a sense of humor?"

    "Hey!"

    She laughed as she dodged a punch to the shoulder.

    "You know it's true!"

    "It's not! My heart doesn't skip a beat and I don't get butterflies in my stomach every time I see a young man."

    "Wow, that much?"

    A moment of silence.

    "Don't you believe in love?"

    She frowned. Her sister's eyes weren't joking.

    "Nope! My aunt had a political marriage. My mother did the same. And we're her daughters, remember? Even if there's such a thing as love, we won't have a choice."

    "But if there were? Would you believe in love then?"

    "I... I don't know. Who cares? I don't want to wonder about something I can never have."

    But now she knew. She'd learned the hard way, as always. Heart skipping a beat. Butterflies in her stomach. Locked gaze. She was caught in something she wasn't prepared for and she wasn't dumb enough not to realize what it was. She hated that her twin sister was right.

    The spell was broken when the newly awakened Rouge landed on her head and their hands hastily separated. Both of their faces were red. Lucian cleared his throat slightly to clear the air, but to no avail. Ciara took the berry dragon in her arms and sat down her previous spot while petting it. This time she had her bag by her side and was giving Rouge some of her favorite cookies. The sunfire elf sat down next to her again without saying anything.

    "You told me why you were on your way. It wouldn't be fair if I didn't tell you. Besides... I feel like these are somehow connected."

    "What?"

    Ciara reached around her neck and revealed the necklace hidden behind her clothes.

    "This belonged to my mom. It belonged to her cousin before her. And before that, her father. A family heirloom and an item of great sentimental value. The evening before the night you fled with Sarai, my sister canceled one of her routine meetings for the first time in order to write an official letter to Katolis that she still hasn't written. That evening in our room, we overheard Lady Zyen and the dark mage in my mother's office talking about my mother's necklace."

    Lucian let out a gasp of shock, but the princess ignored it and continued.

    "She said that she had something very important to do tomorrow night and that she'd come and get the necklace after she'd done it. The same night you and Sarai were on the run from a dark mage. Too close to be a coincidence, don't you think?"

    "Wait." Lucian studied the jewelry around her neck for a while. "Why does this dark mage want this necklace so badly?"

    "See the gemstone in the center?"

    The elf's eyes focused on the center instead of the pearls.

    "When I asked my mother and Lady Zyen about it, they told me that it reacted to primal spells, but so far another stone like this has never been found. It may be the only one of its kind in Xadia."

    "No way! Rarer than quasar diamonds?"

    "Seems like it. This sounds like a fantastic thing, but it makes it an outstanding tool for dark magic. Quasar diamonds are one of the main ingredients for some life and death spells. Can you imagine the possible spells for this gemstone?"

    Lucian was startled. A shudder ran through his whole body, he pulled his knees to himself.

    "Where can we find information about this gemstone?"

    "Actually, I might have an idea about that."

    Under his watchful gaze, she pulled a wad of parchment from her bag and lifted Rouge off her lap. They both smiled as the tiny berry dragon ran and curled up next to the fire.

    "You may know that the library in Evenere now houses the oldest documents."

    "Ever since the one at Lux Aurea was destroyed, right?"

    "Yep. There's something the Evenere librarians are guarding with their life. It was protected by a really complicated ocean rune."

    "The scroll of parchment you're holding right now?"

    "You're a fast learner. When I first asked Lady Zyen about the necklace, she sarcastically told me that if I could look at these, I would know. I didn't think much of it at the time, but now that I think about the conversation with Claudia, I don't think she was joking."

    She paused when she saw Lucian's face turning completely white.

    "Are you okay?"

    His breathing had quickened and he was averting his eyes, but Ciara didn't press him, she knew he would answer eventually.

    "Yeah, did you just say Claudia?"

    "The dark mage's name. I heard Lady Zyen calling her. But don't say her name too much, names have power and— are you sure you're okay?"

    When awareness came to Ciara, her eyes widened.

    "We're talking about the same mage, aren't we? Have you heard of her before your escape? Do you know her?"

    Lucian remained silent. Ciara didn't want to force him into anything, the poor elf's face was full of sorrow. He changed the subject.

    "What's the content of the scrolls?"

    She opened the first parchment and examined it.

    "Basically? Startouch elves. Their lifes, their culture, their capabilities... some limited knowledge about them."

    "What!?"

    Lucian took his hands off his knees and looked at her with stressed eyes.

    "Everyone is trying to prepare for the return of the worst startouch elf in Xadia in 3 years and Evenere didn't see the need to share this information with other regencies!?"

    You'd be as mad as I am if you heard about the Evenere council's plans to make a deal with that elf.

    "The rune that holds this information was created many years ago and cannot be recreated. As soon as I break it, I take the responsibility that this information is out there."

    Realizing the situation, the sunfire elf nodded. The princess turned to him thoughtfully.

    "I took that risk because I don't have another lead. But now I wonder if I was stupid to leave the documents unprotected."

    "They're not unprotected. We won't let them fall into someone else's hands. Especially that dark mage's." His face turned sour again at the mention of her, but quickly returned to normal. "What does it say? I'm not sure I can read this language."

    She ran her eyes over the now very faded but still legible writing. She held the parchment in her hand very carefully so that it wouldn't crumble. They didn't realize that the necklace was starting to glow pink.

    "It's called The Epic of the Void. It's 100-year-old, maybe even older."

    "Older than The Fall of Elarion?"

    "It seems so."

    Her blue eyes scanned the text below. She took an involuntary breath and began to read so that Lucian could hear.

"Where do the fabled Great Ones hide?

What secrets have you locked inside?

From rising Sun to Moonlight's grace

I search the Sky for any trace

Of Starfolk, fabled, fallen, found

Once everywhere, now none around.

Is all we are to know of thee

Consumed by Dark, or cast to Sea?

So bound to Earth, are we denied

The touch of Stars? Have our Gods died?

Where do the fabled Great Ones hide?"

    They both felt chills down their spines. They weren't sure if it was what they were reading or because they weren't sitting close to the fire. Before Ciara could ask him what he was doing, the young crownguard got up and returned with a new blanket from his bag. He wrapped the blanket around both of them and sat closer.

    "You're still sick, it's not good for you to get worse again. And..."

    He looked at the parchments in her hand.

    "There's more. How many years do you think it'll take us to figure this out? Neither of us has any expertise in startouch—"

    "Wait, what's this?"

    She opened another parchment at the bottom, but it was even more delicate than the other. She snapped her fingers and the parchment came in front of them without the need of the princess' grab. Her eyes squinted as if to focus.

    "Rainbow Paraiba? Ever heard of it?"

    Lucian shook his head negatively. He was intrigued. He moved his head closer to her shoulder to see.

    "It says here that it's a gift to humans, from a time when creatures taught them magic. It was the most important material used in primal stone and gemstone making."

    "You can make gemstones?"

    "No, as far as I know, but since it's written here– wait, this is interesting: this artifact was also called miraclestone and was said to grant all wishes. I don't like this."

    She turned her head slightly in concern, their faces were very close.

    "In the art of magic, you can't create anything without sacrificing something. If you take something, you have to give something in return. And it has to be something equivalent to what you're getting."

    "Then Rainbow Paraiba must be something so precious and rare. Just like..."

    When their gaze met, both of their eyes widened in realization and turned to the necklace. It was still emitting a pink glow and looked close to being the answer. Lucian stood up, put the blanket back in the bag and went to the bucket of water in the corner of the cave. When he poured it on the fire, Rouge jumped into the air with a loud bang. Ciara packed her sleeping roll, placed it on top of her bag and picked up the basket where Sarai was still sleeping.

    "Let's get going. We're about to reach someone who can help us."

Chapter Text

    Valera sat down in the chair reserved for her in the meeting room and pulled out the paper and quill she had prepared. Relax. Think of it as one of your regular meetings. At least this is more informal.

    "First of all, welcome you all again. I would like to keep the introductions and the formalities short because what we are going to talk about is very important, but I understand that our guests from Katolis know our guest from Moon Nexus, is that right?"

    Both sides made approving noises. Callum, Rayla, Terry and Gareth sat on the right side of the table, in order from near to far from the queen. Likewise, Hermia, Soren, Corvus and Ellis were sitting on the left side. The special seat opposite was reserved for Queen Aanya, like her. No one else was allowed in the room and Valera didn't plan to spread what was said there to anyone else. She made sure that the room was full of people who thought the same way she did. She turned to the archmage beside her.

    "Prince Callum, I have to ask you to do the soundproofing magic, since Lady Zyen isn't here and neither is my sister. I'm not much of a mage myself."

    "Of course."

    The prince of Katolis picked up the great staff hanging behind him and drew a rune in the air, a rune that Valera didn't recognize from her sister's books.

    "Bullitus Sonus!"

    The room lit up as if it were trapped in a blue bubble and faded immediately. Once Callum had put his staff back, he bowed once more to the queen and took his seat.

    "Thank you. Now, let me start by giving you all this news: Lady Zyen disappeared the night Princess Sarai and Lucian disappeared. Moreover, it's suspected that she was murdered."

    Gasps rose from the room. Gareth fixed his fierce gaze on the young queen.

    "I don't recall this conversation between us, Your Grace."

    "Yes Gareth, there'll be a lot of new information for all of us. Hermia, do you want to continue? You're the one who broke the news."

    His back straightened as heads turned to the blonde alcade. He glanced briefly at Corvus and Ellis, then turned to her girlfriend.

    "Tracking with Corvus showed us that many things weren't a coincidence. Ellis and his companion Ava managed to reach King Ezran before we went to the caves."

    "Ezran?"

    Soren and Rayla asked at the same time. Callum and Aanya's faces were white. The alcade nodded.

    "He said he was doing well, that he wasn't under conditions he couldn't endure. He witnessed the dark mage who detained him bring back the lifeless body of Lady Zyen. Corvus mentioned that in his search for Princess Sarai he had come across the same traces as those of King Ezran. Whether this is sufficient evidence is debatable. We don't have much evidence other than Ava's short communication."

    "I believe them. It shows us that the kidnappings are connected."

    "Even Sarai's?" Soren turned to Hermia.

    "Especially hers. Ezran mentioned that the dark mage tried but couldn't catch her. The crownguard with the baby seems to have succeeded in his mission."

    A look of happiness and relief came over the faces around. Rayla covered her mouth, Callum had tears in his eyes, Soren and Corvus leaned against each other. Even the head of the Evenere council had a smile on his lips, then turned serious.

    "How can we believe without proof, My Queen?"

    She was aware he wasn't asking this to throw a spanner in the works. Most of the information heard in Evenere couldn't be trusted. Even if it comes from someone like Ellis, whom the Katolis royalty has declared to be trustworthy. Especially after Lady Zyen.

    "Because I'm about to share with you a conversation I overheard by chance, a truth about Princess Ciara and the identity of this dark mage."

    She'd thought long and hard not to spread the word, but if they were going to act as 3 regencies, everyone in this room needed to know. She needed to exchange information as much as they did.

    "Gareth, you probably remember the evening when I canceled one of the routine meetings for the first time."

    He pursed his lips in a persistent pout.

    "You convinced me not to bring the healer to your room, told me that as long as Princess Ciara was with you, you'd be safe."

    "Yes, that night. I heard Lady Zyen and a foreign voice where they shouldn't have been, in my mother's old office."

    She signaled him not to interrupt her.

    "There'll be no need to prosecute Lady Zyen for treason, she was reportedly already murdered. And we can confirm that it was the same mage who did it, because according to what they said, she was going to come back to get something special from my mother's office after she had finished 'other important thing.' I don't think I need to tell the residents of Katolis what this is."

    Valera nodded when she saw the green-haired elf raise his hand.

    "Do we have a name? I can think of a dark mage who can do all of these without leaving a trace."

    When Soren turned to him with a stern expression, Corvus touched his husband's shoulder. Ellis glanced at the two men.

    "He's right. It's Claudia. She's the one who kidnapped Ezran."

    A tense silence fell over the table. For Valera, the name didn't mean much other than she was the right-hand of the Mad King of Katolis in Spire War, but even the faces of the guests from Katolis showed that they had a past. She made a mental note to discuss this separately with the prince and princess of Katolis in detail.

    "Wait," uttered Rayla, drawing everyone's attention. Her violet eyes were focused, clearly trying to take it all in. "Ezran's been kidnapped. We know what happened to Zyen. She said she couldn't capture Sarai and Lucian so they escaped. What about Princess Ciara?"

    Hermia fixed his meaningful gaze on her. It's time. There's no point in hiding it anymore. She clenched her fists.

    "That's the other news I have to give. Ciara was never kidnapped in the first place."

    "What!?"

    She wasn't surprised that Gareth's voice was the loudest.

    "After hearing the conversation between Lady Zyen and her, we made a plan. She's currently traveling with the item belonging to my mother that the dark mage wanted. Our original plan was for her to stay in Katolis until things calmed down, but after hearing about Princess Sarai, I don't think she stayed there. And right now I'm thinking... Ellis, do you know why the dark mage couldn't get to the princess?"

    The young moon mage frowned. "Ezran told Ava that her magic couldn't locate them. The traveling crownguard can't do this without mastering advanced concealment spells."

    "I don't think he did it. But I know someone else who has no difficulty with these spells."

    Hermia's eyes lit up.

    "Do you think he and Ciara might have met?"

    "A strong possibility. My twin sister is resourceful and knowledgeable, perhaps one of the few mages in Xadia who can deflect her magic, given that Lady Zyen and the dark mage are belong to the same rank."

    "What for?" Callum turned to the queen with questioning eyes. A few doddles were drawn in the notebook in front of him. Everyone has their own ways I guess. "We know they're safe. For now at least. We know what Claudia did. There's a possibility that Lucian and Ciara are traveling together, we need to confirm this. But what for?"

    He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest.

    "Claudia hasn't been seen since Startouch Calamity and now all of a sudden she's trying to kidnap people and steal some artifact? I don't smell anything good. Do we know anything about what she was trying to steal?"

    Valera picked up a quill and dipped it into the ink. With quick movements, she scribbled a few lines on the paper in front of her, and when she turned it over, there was a drawing of a necklace in front of the people in the meeting.

    "A family heirloom. It's been in our family for a very long time. I don't know its past that much but Ciara probably does, it's a magical artifact. We had a conversation about the possibility of usage of it for dark magic before she left. Prince Callum, what do you think about this?"

    The Archmage picked up the drawing and studied it for a long time, humming. He took a book out of his side bag, leafed through it and hummed more.

    "The ones on the left and right look like pearls. What did you call the gem in the center?"

    "I said nothing."

    Callum looked up.

    "It's not something I've seen in my life. If I don't know what the gem is, I can't know what kind of magic it can be used for."

    She sighed.

    "Prince Callum, it's not that I don't trust you. If I had the information, I would tell you. But so far no one in Evenere has been able to find out what that gem is. The only thing I know is that Lady Zyen said this gem is even rarer than a quasar diamond."

    "That's impossible!" Rayla spread her arms wide, unable to control her voice. "There were only 3 Quasar diamonds in Xadia, now there's only 1 left."

    "This means that there was only one of this stone in all of Xadia from the beginning. It's one of a kind, as Lady Zyen always said."

    "So Zyen knew about the heirloom?"

    "Yes, for research purposes. I thought she was reliable, she was Evenere's high mage and my sister's magic instructor."

    "This explains how Claudia knew about the necklace."

    When Aanya, who hadn't spoken until that moment, raised her hand, everyone fell silent and turned to her. Her eyes were red, she could hardly keep from crying. But her gaze was focused, her voice was strong. Just like a queen should be.

    "I'll change the subject but it's important. Any news about the stolen documents from the Evenere library?"

    She smiled.

    "I'm so glad you brought it up because that's exactly what I wanted to get to. The librarian suspected Lady Zyen, but the investigations are complete and the energy that broke the spell doesn't match hers. The documents weren't stolen, on the contrary, my sister has them."

    "My Queen," started Gareth, his face was crimson with anger. "Please forgive my behavior, but you and Princess Ciara have been very careless. There was a reason why the rune that protected those scrolls had remained unbroken for years. Even during Startouch Calamity, we refused to break that rune."

    "Listen to me, please," Valera stood up, her tone neither bitter nor sharp. One by one she studied the faces of those seated, stopping last at Gareth.

    "Ciara is the only one who knows about the necklace's possible capability. Or that gem. And you know that she, as a mage, knows better than you the cost of breaking such an important rune. If she took those documents, she had a valid reason."

    "What are the scrolls about?"

    They both fell silent at Corvus' question. Gareth looked sideways at him but said nothing. It was an emergency meeting and the decision was the queen's. Even he knew that. There was no council to oppose or threaten her. Unlike my mom. She cleared her throat and rested her hands on the table.

    "The Epic of The Void and some other documents. After The Great Bookery destroyed, this document became the oldest about startouch elves to be found. Its secrecy is one of the biggest mistakes I've ever made. I can't figure out what this has to do with the necklace, but I don't doubt Ciara. She has never disappointed me."

    Terry straightened up.

    "I think I know why Claudia might want this document."

    "You think she's still trying to find a way for Aaravos?"

    She was intrigued by what the elves said.

    "Aaravos is the name of the elf who caused Startouch Calamity, right?"

    Callum nodded.

    "It was Claudia who got him out of prison. I don't know if those documents contain a way to bring back a dead startouch elf before their star alignation but we can't let her get her hands on it."

    "It's now safe in the hands of my sister. I can assure you, she's not an easy target. I think we should focus on what we really need to do now."

    "Such as?" Soren looked confused.

    "Now that we know the identity of the dark mage, we have a chance to track her down. If we can get King Ezran out of her hands, she'll have nothing left to use against us."

    "What about your sister and Sarai?"

    Valera turned her gaze to the young moon mage and smiled.

    "Ellis, can you get a message to Lujanne for me?"

☆☆☆

    Ciara still had the basket when they reached the top.

    The sun hadn't shown itself yet and the weather hadn't warmed up. The princess sneezed occasionally and had slight bouts of chills, but nothing as bad as in the evening. Lucian's healing spell had worked, probably because it was just a cold. By the time she fell asleep next to the fire, she was dry all over, so she didn't have to worry about fever again.

    But her feet were starting to ache from the incessant uphill. She wasn't used to such hard training in the palace (she regretted not practicing her sword with Hermia enough) but she wasn't about to complain. They had lost enough time, she had no intention of slowing the group down any further. Lucian had suggested that she hold the basket as Sarai continued to sleep, and since the prospect of her waking up frightened them both (and his gentle offers became impossible to refuse when she looked into his gray eyes), Ciara occasionally pulled back the blanket to check on her.

    "We're here."

    Rouge, her tongue sticking out from longwalking, let out a cry of triumph and flew around. Then she surveyed the empty space and looked at Lucian with questioning eyes. The crownguard chuckled.

    "It's not a place where everyone who comes can see it. After Startouch Calamity, illusions for protection also increased."

    That's when it downed to Ciara.

    "You brought us to the Moon—"

    "Lucian."

    Ciara couldn't remember turning around so fast and preparing her only one hand since Zyen's lessons. The elf's green eyes were gentle, but she could feel her energy rising inside.

    "Flesru—"

    "Wait!"

    Lucian rushed between them and covered Ciara's mouth to block the spell. She blinked as her violet glowing eyes returned to their natural blue and glared angrily at the blonde.

    "She's a friend. She'll help us." She raised her eyebrows as she gripped the basket tighter. He sighed.

    "Meet Lujanne, the protector of the Moon Nexus. Lujanne, this is Ciara. She's traveling with me."

    When she realized who was in front of her, she took a step back. It was stupid that she couldn't guess who this moonshadow elf was, even though she knew where they were. Zyen would have already started scolding her. She bit her tongue and tried to smile.

    "So we're really in Moon Nexus?"

    "Not yet but I'm guessing you can pass illusions by yourself if you want, Your Highness?"

    She gestured for them to follow her under their hesitant gazes. Her white braids swayed gracefully as she walked, giving off an aura Ciara couldn't quite place.

    "Your resemblance to your sister is remarkable."

    She rolled her eyes.

    "I can't say I haven't heard that before."

    "This can be to your detriment if you want a secluded trip."

    She waved her hand dismissively. She was experienced enough to know how to disguise herself, of course. She opened the basket, checked it again and turned to Lucian.

    "Do you agree to dye my hair purple now?"

    "Nope. Don't ask me to dye your hair unless you want a color as shrill as your rings."

    "Then dye it black, I don't care! Also, what's wrong with the color of my rings? You realize I don't wear them to look pretty, right?"

    Lucian blushed. The protector hadn't interrupted their little quarrel, but someone had chosen that very moment to do so. Ciara deliberately threw the blanket to him and picked up the baby. When both of their gazes found Lujanne, her surprise was evident on her face. The crownguard scratched the back of his neck.

    "I can explain?"

    "I hope so. You can imagine how sad I was that it wasn't a fruit basket."

    Ciara's eyes widened as they crossed the blue rose bushes. They had finally passed through the barrier.

    It was much bigger than in the books. Not many details were visible in the moonlight but despite that, it hadn't lost any of its majesty. Rouge landed on her head and let out a delighted squeal. There were silver marble stairs all around, she guessed that the highest one led to the famous lake. The moonshadow elf led them to the center dining table and motioned for them to sit down.

    "Allen went to the town yesterday, he has a few things to pick up. There's no one else here, you can stay as much as you want. So?"

    She pointed to the baby in Ciara's arms. She was quiet again, playing with the white parts of her hair. Lucian turned to her with worried eyes.

    "Claudia stormed the Katolis castle to kidnap her. I had to leave before she came. When I reached the shore, I met Ciara. We found out we were on the run from the same dark mage and we came to talk to you."

    The elegant elf's silvery brow was furrowed, thinking. Ciara noticed that one important detail was new.

    "You didn't tell me you left the castle before Claudia arrived."

    Now Lucian's gaze was on the baby princess, not on either of them. His face was white, but it was clear that he wasn't going to retreat as he'd done in the cave.

    "Three days before it happened, I was returning from one of my training sessions when I was pulled aside by a skywing elf." his voice was low, like he was confiding. "She told me she was one of the celestial elves and that she had to warn me."

    "Impossible." She adjusted Sarai in her arms. "Celestial elves live in the Star Scraper in the northeast Xadia and are said to know a little more about the future. But they prefer to watch rather than intervene. She might have said it to fool—"

    "No."

    She looked at Lujanne, puzzled.

    "You didn't doubt her because she had the celestial crest, the badge of friendship of Evrkynd and Katolis and she said a few things to prove it to you, didn't she?"

    He shook his head nervously. The moonshadow elf smiled.

    "Her name is Astrid. You two can trust her the next time you meet her. She was the only one of the Celestial elves brave enough to want to see everything and take on such a task. Please continue."

    When Ciara felt the princess in her arms start to whimper, she took the bottle, still full of nectar, out of Lucian's bag and put her in a lying position.

    "She told me to get ready before the full moon in 3 nights and that Sarai and I had to escape from the dark mage and reach the Storm Spire. She said it was important that no one else knew about it but me, and that it wouldn't be good to disobey her brother and his vision."

    "Vision?"

    "Not sure, I didn't have time to ask. When I turned around again, she was gone. At first I thought I was imagining it, but the basket she left with me proved it was real. I was so scared, I wanted to go to the castle and forget everything. What she asked me to do was tantamount to treason against the kingdom and we hadn't even gotten over the disappearance of King Ezran. But..."

    He took a deep breath. He had tears in his eyes.

    "The other night I dreamt about her brother, I didn't even know if celestial elves have such power. I couldn't see his eyes because of a blindfold. He told me not to forget my mission and that a lot depended on it. That evening, when Rayla left Sarai with me to attend a long meeting as usual, I put her in the basket, took the bag I'd packed and left the castle through the secret tunnels."

    He rubbed his palms against his eyes. Ciara put the finished bottle back in the bag, put the baby in a vertical position and started patting her back.

    "When I reached the forest near the harbor, I noticed the chaos in the castle. That's when the reality set in that I wasn't really being tricked and that someone was following me and Sarai."

    "Where did you find out it was Claudia?"

    "From me."

    Lucian took the baby from her and continued to pat her back. Lujanne turned her attention to the pink-haired princess.

    "I overheard Claudia talking to Lady Zyen, the high mage of Evenere, in my mother's office. There was an item she was trying to steal and she was asking Zyen for help. My sister and I decided to get the necklace out of Evenere before that happened. Of course, I had to do it because I was the best mage in that palace, apart from Zyen, and there was no one who could hide it better than me. I thought of hiding in Katolis, but when I met Lucian on the beach, I decided to help them. We found out later that the events were connected."

    "That necklace?"

    She pointed to her neck. Ciara hesitantly looked at Lucian, but when she saw his friendly demeanor and smile, she took it off her neck and handed it to Lujanne to examine. The protector twirled the item in her hands and didn't speak for a while. She had a strange expression on her face.

    "This is a gemstone but... old. Definitely not a quasar diamond."

    "Yes, we know." When the baby in Lucian's arms burped, the three of them chuckled. "We guess its name is rainbow paraiba."

    "Rainbow paraiba? Are you sure? It's a long-standing myth."

    "Have you heard that name before?"

    She nodded.

    "It's said that there's only one in all of Xadia and it's said to grant all wishes."

    Lucian turned to her excitedly.

    "Then what's written in the scrolls is also true!"

    "What scrolls?"

    Ciara reached into her bag and pulled out the scrolls she had enchanted so they wouldn't shatter. Lujanne's eyes widened when she saw them, she seemed to know what it was.

    "I took these before I left the palace. I wondered if I acted foolish, but after reading what was written, we realized that it really had something to do with this necklace and the rainbow paraiba. But..."

    Instead of holding out the scrolls, she pulled them towards herself and turned to the two of them.

    "How do you know Claudia? I know Katolis has a history with dark mages. Evenere isn't much different."

    A sad look filled Lujanne's water-green eyes. Lucian's was no different, he put the baby back in the basket.

    "It's a very long story. She's my aunt actually."

    "WHAT!?"

    She couldn't contain herself. Rouge jumped up, but Sarai was still calm. She studied his face, hoping for a joke, but to her horror she couldn't find one.

    "Yep, my dad's sister. They used to be on good terms, though. Their dad was Katolis' high mage before King Ezran and she used to help him."

    "The same high mage who became the Mad King?"

    He just nodded. Ciara leaned back in shock. Wow. And I thought my father's and Hermia's family were terrible. She took the necklace back from Lujanne and put it around her neck.

    "This doesn't explain why she's behaving the way she is now."

    Lucian pointed to the scrolls. He spoke quickly but with a worried demeanor.

    "What we have here is rare information about the startouch elves. You know who freed Aaravos, the elf who caused Startouch Calamity 4 years ago? Claudia. If she wants the paraiba and there's information about it here, maybe we can find out something about why she wants it too? Please?"

    Trust.

    Rainbow paraiba.

    Claudia.

    Startouch Calamity.

    Aaravos.

    Too much.

    She put her head in her hands and tried to think. So his name is Aaravos. She'd definitely heard his name somewhere before, it could've been any one of Zyen's classes. The sight of that blood sea that wasn't just a dream-like nightmare made her nauseous. His voice was still echoing in her ears.

    "I told you I don't belong to the existence right now."

    "You know I can't do anything but talk to you."

    "How many healthy dark mages do you know out there who can understand Star arcanum?"

    Wait.

    She removed her hands from her head and snapped her fingers. The flying parchments came in front of the protector and stopped.

    "Lujanne, can you read the words here?"

    When Lucian said he couldn't read, she didn't think much of it. He didn't know the elven alphabets and this was to be expected. But Ciara didn't remember learning this, no matter how much she thought about it, and when she read it in the cave—

    "No, I can't. I don't think I've seen this before, to be honest. Being a protector of the Moon Nexus, I'm in contact with many elves and I've never come across this alphabet. Do you mind if I ask how you— Your Highness?"

    The scrolls fell back on the table. Lucian pushed his chair back uneasily. The mage princess stood up from her seat, her face white and her hands to her mouth.

    "Ciara, are you okay?"

    When tears began to fall from her eyes, they both stood up and went to her. The blonde crownguard took her by the shoulders and shook her gently.

    "Hey, what's wrong? You can talk to us, remember?"

    As soon as he made her bury her face in his shoulder, she burst into sobs. He slowly put his arms around her body and pulled her closer. She was shivering like she'd been in the evening, but he knew enough about health to know that it wasn't a fever this time. Her voice was as quiet and trembling as a rabbit in pain.

    "S-sorry I... it was too much a-and... when you s-say his name... I c-can't... can't b-breathe—"

    "Shh..."

    He brought a hand to her messy hair and stroked it gently. He spoke quietly but firmly, so as not to frighten her.

    "You can breathe. Just relax. Nothing is bad or hopeless right now. You're in the Moon Nexus with Lujanne. You're safe. We're here. I'm here."

    The swirling berry dragon landed on the protector's arms, obviously worried. She started to caress her. Hearing her name, the moonshadow elf looked at the two. She frowned when the princess backed away regardless of it. Lucian looked at her helplessly, she shook her head. There was something else behind it, something that made even Lujanne nervous, but she couldn't force anyone to do anything. Especially a mage like her.

    Lucian felt awkward and useless. He was aware that the princess's walls wouldn't come down easily, but after what had happened in the cave, he thought he had made progress. About what? Lucian wasn't sure either. Gain her trust? To be friends with her? To be more than friends with her?

    When she fell into his arms again, his thoughts dissipated and no longer mattered. His arms had found their place themselves again, his lips were on her ear.

    "See? I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. You can talk to me."

    Lujanne smiled at the sight. Life, you never cease to amaze me.

    It took Ciara a few more minutes to calm down. The first thing she said when she could speak was strange to him.

    "Please, don't let me lose consciousness."

    He looked at Lujanne again, the elf was gesturing for them to sit on the ground next to her. He gently placed the princess on her knees and moved to Lujanne's side, raising his hands towards her. Ciara's eyes were open but fixed on her hands, focused on something. She turned to the blonde crownguard as she felt a similar energy from the evening enveloping her. His hands illuminated the calm night with a golden color. He shrugged.

    "Your consciousness can't go anywhere as long as I'm here. Do you wanna talk about it?"

    She bit her lip and looked at the two of them.

    "I'm not sure when it happened but... I think I can understand Star arcanum."

    For a while, no one made a sound except Rouge, who explored the area again and occasionally flew over the basket to make the baby laugh. Lucian took a long look at her face without lowering his hands. It was no longer white, the color was starting to return. Her cheeks were wet but the tears had stopped. Her voice sounded cracked, but it was normal because she was still sick. And most importantly, she wasn't in the mood for jokes.

    Lujanne took her hands in hers and closed her eyes. His eyes rested on her neck again. Ciara's necklace was now emitting both white and pink lights. Moon and Star?

    "You're right." She opened her eyes and backed away. "But the way you said it... you didn't know that until now. How did you find out?"

    She startled. Yep, the real problem. She exhaled deeply and looked into Lucian's silver eyes. She finally had a choice about something about her and she wasn't going to waste it foolishly. I hope you don't hate me after this. She shook her head from side to side. Actually, no, I hope you hate me because I don't want you to hurt.

    "Aaravos said it." It was the first time she'd ever spoken his name, it felt peculiar on her tongue. She continued before either of them had a chance to respond and she lost her courage.

    "For some time now, he's been able to do that when I faint or lose consciousness out of sleep. I didn't know it was him until recently. It scares me since he doesn't even exist right now. His Star alignment is three years away, right? I'm not sure if this has anything to do with Star arcanum but... I can speak with Aaravos."

    At that exact moment Sarai started crying.

Chapter Text

    She was looking out of the window again.

    Whenever the Queen of Duren visited Evenere, her friend made sure to give her the same room with the view she loved. It had the most similar landscape to her bedroom in Duren and had a view of one of the rare forests in Evenere. She could also see the front of the Evenere palace garden, which was even closer, and the large fountain there. The birds had landed on the edge of the marble early in the morning, as they always did, and started to drink water.

    "Is it good that they drink water from here?"

    She sat on one of the benches next to the fountain. "I was waiting to see when you'd ask. Valera said her sister knew spells to keep the garden clean and healthy."

    "Dark magic?"

    "Probably. The law is different in Evenere."

    "Unfortunately."

    A sad look sat in his blue eyes. He sat next to her while caressing one of the birds that landed on his hand.

    "Sometimes I really want everything to go on unharmed."

    "It'd be easier if politics worked that way."

    "I wish. I don't think Valera thinks differently from us."

    "I don't think she's thinking about anything but her mother right now."

    She glanced at the fountain. The two monarchs had come to Evenere to attend Queen Merida's funeral in person in the evening. They both knew what it was like to lose a mother and didn't want to leave their friend alone. It was also a visit that would have a positive impact on Katolis and Duren's relations with Evenere, which began with Queen Merida, as their friend Valera would be the one to replace the queen upon her death.

    "It won't be easy, but I know she can do it."

    "I know. At least she's still 17."

    Without thinking, she put her head on his shoulder, and before she could regret it and pull back, she felt his hand on her arm, pulling her close. The bird in his hand had flown away. They stayed like that for a while. Aanya could hear nothing but her heart beating dangerously and the sound of the water.

    "Ann?"

    "Hm?"

    "What do you mean by that?"

    "By what?"

    "You said 'at least she's still 17' like a fortunate thing."

    "Yes, she still has some time before the  council forces her to do some things."

    He broke their posture and turned his body towards her. There was curiosity in his eyes.

    "Such as?"

    "Why are you asking?"

    "Because I'm 17 too?"

    The queen of Duren averted her eyes.

    "It's nothing for you to worry about. You have Sarai."

    "My niece?"

    "You have your heir. Your council didn't have to force you into a political marriage because there was no heir."

    There was a tense silence. Aanya focused on the birds on the fountain even though she felt his intense gaze on her. Her nails dug into her palms, the pain helping her to stay in the moment. She froze when one of her hands was untied and taken in the other.

    "Are you going through the same thing?"

    "Does it matter?"

    Their gaze locked.

    "Yes? You obviously don't want to."

    "You know as well as I do that not everything is determined by our wishes. Duren needs a heir, they're right. Every regency does. At least Valera will have a choice when they present it to her. If what I heard is true, she's very close with the head of the Alcades."

    "Hermia?" The young king raised his eyebrows.

    "Since his family is in an important position, they'll allow their relationship. If they get married I'll be happy for her, she won't have to be forced into anything."

    When she felt his other hand, she raised her eyes up. There was an expression in his eyes that she couldn't decipher. 

    "You don't have to suffer either."

    "I have to. I need an heir."

    When their voices got louder, the birds started to move more.

    "It's stupid for them to think that the moment you turn 18."

    "It's not, human life is short and unpredictable."

    "Everything is unpredictable!"

    "Ez, you're being irresponsible right now!"

    "I don't have to be responsible right now! I don't want to be responsible with you!"

    "Why!?"

    "Because I—"

    He stopped abruptly. She didn't even realize how close he was. They were out of breath, but their stares hadn't shifted, still fixated on each other. Something in the blue that she still couldn't understand was knotting her throat, her heart raced to the point of fainting. She opened her mouth but there was nothing but the sound of breathing, there was nothing left to say.

    There was nothing left to do too. Aanya was certain to get up and leave at that moment. The times when she acted irrationally without thinking could be counted on the fingers of one hand.

    Closing her eyes and answered as Ezran pressed his lips to hers instead of pushing him was definitely one of them.

    "Your Majesty?"

    The queen of Duren blinked her teary eyes rapidly and withdrew her fingers from brushing her own lips without her noticing. She adjusted her dress in a rush and cleared her throat. The voice sounded familiar.

    "Who's talking?"

    "Hermia, the head of the alcades."

    Of course. She berated herself for being so absent-minded and inattentive.

    "Are you decent? Queen Valera would like to speak to you privately."

    "You can both go in."

    The door opened with a slight creak and the black-haired alcade curtsied. He was wearing his uniform and his tone was far from the casualness of yesterday's meeting. It was clear that he prepared for a mission. When he stepped aside, her friend greeted her in the same dress she had worn yesterday. She wore her formal smile for the guards and others in the hallway, but for those who could read, her eyes said it all. She didn't sleep at night. At all.

    They curtsied each other.

    "Queen Valera."

    "Queen Aanya."

    The pink-haired queen turned to Hermia and nodded. She and the young swordsman looked at each other for a while, then he cleared his throat, bowed one last time and left the room. Aanya turned to her with a sad look.

    "Have you said your goodbyes?"

    "We were just in my room."

    "Wow, I'm surprised Gareth didn't see this as a scandal."

    She locked the door and sat on the bed.

    "I think he's already aware of the situation but for his own sanity he chooses to ignore it."

    A smile appeared on the blonde princess's lips for the first time since the day began, and she sat back in the chair from which she'd been watching the view.

    "At least it won't be hard to convince him. Isn't Hermia's mother one of the council members?"

    "That's right. Hermia describes it as 'the second favor my mother would do for me after my birth'."

    She grimaced. "Ouch. I perceived that she's on the side of the rejection of the law?"

    She nodded. The more she relaxed, the more it became obvious how tired she was.

    "They've been on bad terms for a while. Hermia thinks she'll try to take advantage of it when we get married."

    "As long as you're aware it won't be— wait..." She raised one eyebrow. "Are you considering marriage?"

    "I..." She looked at her hands, hesitant. "Am I not supposed to? My birthday is coming up soon and you know what it means to be 18."

    She gave a solemn nod. "That doesn't mean you should rush the decision. There'll also be a courting time, don't forget. Talk to Hermia about it."

    "He knows. Actually, he was the one who brought it up before me. I think he's afraid that when I turn 18, they'll find a better suitor. As if I'd agree."

    They both looked at each other with a mischievous grin. It lasted until Aanya's expression turned sorrowful again.

    "So he's alive, huh?"

    Valera followed her friend's gaze and realized who she was talking about when she stopped at the fountain.

    "I don't think Ellis is lying. We both know Ezran can talk to animals. He's lucky to be able to communicate with Ava even a little without the dark mage understanding."

    She tapped the space next to her on the bed to invite her. When she sat down, she hugged her briefly.

    "How are you feeling?"

    She took a deep breath.

    "Happy because he's alive? Relaxed because he's able to talk? Concerned because we don't know their location? Scared because we're talking about Cla– her? Angry because he risked his life for this communication? Sad because we don't even know if we'll ever see him again? Regretful because... because..."

    Her fingers found her lips again. It wasn't something she'd ever said to anyone before, but this was Valera, one of the few people she felt comfortable opening up to.

    "Because when we kissed in front of the fountain, I left without saying anything. I regret it because I didn't even think that day would be our last moment together."

    A gasp.

    "He kissed you?"

    She looked at Valera when she took her hands. Her eyes were melancholic and tired, but still trying to give her hope. Aanya couldn't be more grateful to her.

    "The day of your mother's funeral. When the subject of political marriage came up. I... I really didn't know what to do at that moment."

    "And that's totally normal." This time it was a sincere smile, not like the formal ones at the corridor. "I don't think Ezran was deliberately thinking either. If I know him at all, he wouldn't want to put you on the spot. Whenever I tell Hermia about our first kiss, he says he was possessed by a cuddlemonkey."

    She chuckled. "Don't let Stella hear this."

    She touched her own cheeks, they were dry. She thought even her tears were tired of flowing.

    "We'll save him, I promise."

    "Don't promise anything you're not sure about."

☆☆☆

    Lucian couldn't sleep.

    The Moon Nexus was just beginning to come to light. He still couldn't see the sun, but the glow of the lake was fading. The magical sight of it glowing white had been replaced by the usual blue water. Lucian knew that this meant that the door between life and death could no longer be active. It couldn't be activated because there was no full moon anyway. At least not now.

    Step sounds.

    "Can't sleep?"

    He turned around. Lujanne sat next to him with Sarai's basket and a new blanket. Her bun was tight, her braids fell over her shoulders as usual, but she had taken off her cloak. Lucian realized that he had never seen her without a cloak except when she felt completely safe. He felt his shoulders relax a little. He raised one eyebrow.

    "Did you think the other blanket wasn't worthy of the princess of Katolis?"

    Lujanne's lips curled slightly and she shook her head from side to side.

    "I enchanted it. When she's asleep, she'll see her parents every time she's covered. You didn't think it was just hunger that made her cry so often, did you?"

    "No." He checked the sleeping baby. "She probably missed her parents and the others."

    "You missed them too."

    An inhale.

    "Yeah. I missed them too."

    Lujanne returned to the view. They were silent for a while, accompanied by the sound of glowbugs.

    "But it's something else that keeps you awake."

    He sighed.

    "Aaravos," he said hesitantly. "He's nothing more than a myth that's currently being told to children as a bedtime horror story. If I hadn't heard it directly from my dad and didn't live in the Katolis castle, I think I would've believed it was a story like them. But he's not."

    His voice trembled.

    "They killed him. And he's still a threat to Xadia. It's scary when your enemy is a startouch elf. But also..."

    He folded his arms across his chest as if he was cold.

    "She can hear him. Even when he doesn't exist. What does that mean?"

    The protector's brow furrowed and turned to him.

    "Ciara had a point: it's something to do with her connection to the Star arcanum. Even the fact that humans can understand other arcanums is something that's only now being recognized. I've never seen a human being be able to understand the Star arcanum. It's not something even Callum's been able to achieve, despite years of trying. She said she's a dark mage, right?"

    He shook his head.

    "Yeah but... it's complicated. She knows as much about primal magic as she does about dark magic. She just hasn't dared to put her knowledge of primal magic into practice until now."

    "Because of the Evenere council?"

    "Probably. I don't think it's as free as Katolis. Mainly because of Evenere's high mage, her traitor magic instructor."

    "I see."

    Another glowbug passed near them.

    "I heard Aaravos was a cunning elf."

    "That's right."

    "Is Ciara gonna be okay?"

    She looked at the half-moon, which was still slightly visible.

    "I'll tell you the truth: I don't know. No one who's had contact with Aaravos so far has had an easy time of it. You heard about The Mad King. You know the dark mage, she's after Sarai. And Callum—"

    "Wait, Callum too!?"

    "Yes. Honestly, it would've been better to talk to him directly about this."

    His eyes became sad. "We can't. I have a mission to complete. I need to get Sarai to the Storm Spire. Ciara has something she wants, she should come with us. Rainbow paraiba isn't a coincidence, if the scrolls contain information about Aaravos—"

    "Not just about him."

    He jumped out of his place and look back again. Tired blue eyes. Lujanne hadn't moved, smiled slowly.

    "I thought you were asleep."

    "Did you really think I could sleep?"

    He considered it. She'd been through some pretty traumatic things in the past 12 hours and he hoped she'd get some rest.

    Well.

    "What were you doing in the room then?"

    "I almost finished reading the documents and realized once again why they should be here."

    "And?"

    When the moonshadow elf shifted to the side, she sat down in the center and snapped her fingers. As it happened at the table, the scroll flew and stood open in front of them. The young mage narrowed her eyes.

    "I couldn't read it, I thought I still had a headache and can't focus, but then I thought maybe—"

    She beamed as her necklace began to glow with a pink light.

    "Yes!"

    Lucian averted his eyes and bit his lips when he realized they were starting to curl. Cute.

    "What does it say?" Lujanne asked, focused on the paper. Her green eyes were curious but nervous. When Lucian turned his gaze back to the princess to see why, he saw that her face had gone white.

    "Ciara?"

    Her blue eyes widened, moving and examining quickly. When she finished reading, her face grew even paler.

    "A spell recipe about startouch elves. Very dangerous and insane spell."

    She raised her index finger and pointed to the paragraphs at the bottom right and left of the paper.

    That's why Claudia is looking for...

    "What?"

    He was on his feet from stress. Lujanne put a hand on his shoulder, but it was clear that she wasn't quite calm either. She turned to the two of them.

    "Spell is Resurgo Umuliga. She needs the miraclestone, a fallen star's piece, a unicorn's heart and the blood voluntarily given by the dragon ruler. It's very difficult and dangerous. The probability of getting it right is very small."

    "What does the spell do?"

    She averted her eyes. It wasn't something she did a lot, Lucian felt fear creeping in.

    "If you do it right, you can resurrect a startouch elf before their star alignment."

☆☆☆

    Ezran missed the jelly tarts.

    Inside his magical cell he stared at the dry bread, finally sighed and took a bite. It was like sawdust as usual, but the taste wasn't the important thing anyway. When his goal was almost impossible, he had to think about priorities.

    He couldn't see outside, Claudia became very strict since she realized the situation with Ava. He didn't care. I didn't expect tolerance after all. The Claudia I knew died when I was ten. It was hurting him inside, but there was nothing he could do.

    "You know as well as I do that not everything is determined by our wishes."

    He flinched. He put the bread in his mouth without lingering and swallowed without chewing much. His throat, which hadn't been hydrated enough, began to burn from the harsh impact. He sat down again and leaned his head back, eyes closed.

    He wasn't going to fool himself anymore. He knew the kingdom was in good hands. Callum and Rayla had never let him down. Sarai was still outside, maybe not ready to take the throne but it wasn't too late to hope. Valera was on the throne, he didn't have to worry about Evenere's actions too. Ezran was aware that if he didn't get out, progress and peace could still be maintained, and so he had no regrets about this.

    He had only one.

    I wish I could see your golden eyes twinkling with happiness for the last time.

    "How are you, Your Majesty?"

    The eyes in front of him weren't golden, but poison green.

    "If you won't let me go, Claudia, leave me alone. As you can see, I'm dying and I want to die in peace."

    He saw a flash of anger pass through her eyes. He didn't care.

    "On my watch? No way. You're not going anywhere until you convince Azymondias. I'll resurrect you again and again if I have to."

    He looked at the dark mage with a grimace on his face. He was disgusted by the capacity of people to change. Although Claudia had long since crossed her own line. 

    "You think he won't understand? Our bond is so strong that the moment I start talking to him, he can understand my whole heart. Even if I do, he won't accept it. And I won't do it. You know you can't threaten me with my own life."

    She pursed her lips. She wasn't thinking, she had an idea and she was trying to convey it in the most effective way to devastate him. Ezran had had enough lessons to understand that.

    "What about the lives of those you love?"

    "You have no one but me right now."

    "That's because I'm not targeting anyone yet."

    His eyebrows furrowed.

    "4 years ago, Aaravos tried the same thing. Everyone was ready to sacrifice themselves for this cause and it'll be no different now."

    "Are you sure you really think so?"

    It was already clear she wasn't buying it.

    "Where are we?"

    Hearing his question, she looked at the passage she had come through and looked out. She felt something. She raised her hand and checked her protection spells. She might have imagined it, but she wasn't taking any chances.

    "Another regency. I'm here to pick up an ingredient I need for a spell. And then we're getting out of here, I don't think I can stand these bees for a while longer."

    "We're in Duren?"

    Ezran knew he was acting hastily. He knew he shouldn't show emotion. He knew he shouldn't have asked. He knew he should act indifferent. The king of Katolis knew how to do these for everything but one thing.

    The dark mage raised her eyebrows.

    "Someone you wanna see?"

    He remained silent and folded his arms across his chest. No use. Claudia was no fool.

    "The queen of Duren isn't in the queendom now. It's said she went to visit Evenere for an emergency. At least Zyen's foolishness has paid off."

    Still silence. She smiled.

    "I think I know who to target."

    "Everyone will be ready to sacrifice themselves."

    But he didn't sound as confident as before. The dark mage crouched beside him and sighed.

    "You're the one making it difficult. I ask you to do one thing, and if you do, neither you nor Queen Aanya will be harmed. If you don't do what I say, she'll die. Maybe I can even use Duren's mess to my advantage."

    When she took her first step into the passage, she turned again. The king's eyes were hard, Claudia knew she was on the right track.

    "You've really grown up, haven't you? Now I can even threaten you with the girl who stole your heart."

    The gate closed with a sound like being sucked into a vacuum.

Chapter Text

   "Lujanne!"

    Hearing her name, the moonshadow elf stopped placing the wood in her hand and turned her head to the voice.

    Ellis was finally back.

    She signaled to Allen, who was looking at her with questioning eyes from the hut, that everything was fine and walked to the table. The young mage was giving her panting wolf a drink of water, worry settling in her eyes. She frowned.

    "Are you hurt?"

    "No but no time for that. I have a message from Queen Valera that should reach you directly."

    She gave her the sealed parchment.

    "The queen herself, huh? You might need to take one to her from me. When will Ava be ready for another trip?"

    "I think she'll be fine with a night's sleep. Right Ava?"

    She barked one time briefly and returned to her water. The protector sat down in the chair and motioned for the girl to sit opposite her. The seal was unbroken, well preserved, as expected from Ellis. An emerald dragonfly on a black patterned background. When Lujanne put her finger on it, it broke and opened by itself. Callum's magic. Her eyes scanned the letter for a while, and when she finished, her lips curled. When Ellis looked at her in confusion, she shook her head.

    "Do you want to go first?"

☆☆☆

    "Are you sure she's in Berylgarten?"

    As her eyes turned from purple to their natural blue, she tried to push the dizziness back of her mind.

    "How many powerful dark mages are palpable from here to Duren?"

    "Okay, fair. But why?"

    Rouge landed on her shoulder and let out a tiny shriek. Ciara turned to her in panic.

    "Shh! Little princess is sleeping, remember?"

    A dragon. She gasped.

    "Of course! She needs the blood of the current dragon ruler. Who knows King Azymondias best?"

    "His parents are d—" He paled. "King Ezran."

    "Yes! That's why he's disappeared. She must be planning to threaten the dragon king with him and take his blood in exchange."

    Lucian scratched his head with one hand.

    "That's not giving willingly." His eyes widened. "Wait... what if her intention wasn't to threaten the dragon, but King Ezran? To make sure he convince the dragon king?"

    "Why would she go to— oh."

    "What?"

    She bit her lip.

    "You know Ezran's situation with Aanya. They haven't confessed each other yet, let alone publicized it and it's dangerous information to spread."

    If Claudia used one of the mind spells, it wouldn't be hard to get from him. She didn't know if Lucian knew or not. She had no intention of further disseminating political informations.

    It had been half an hour since the group had risen into the air with Lujanne's moon phoenix and the sun had shown itself. Lujanne had said that Phoe-Phoe was a much stronger flyer at night, but as they'd be taken to just Evrkynd, it wouldn't be a problem. Ciara knew there were guards waiting on the each bridge at Evrkynd, but Lucian had mentioned a secret way to cross to East Xadia. All they had to do now was to find the elf he knows in Evrkynd for transport to get them to the Ruins of Lux Aurea.

    "Can you repeat what she need to do the spell?" Lujanne had laid the map on the table.

    "The miraclestone. A fallen star's piece. A unicorn's heart. The blood voluntarily given by the dragon ruler." She had it memorised by now.

    Lucian was patting Rouge for comfort, who was curled up in his arms. "We need to stop her! If her plan works, everyone will be caught off guard. We'll lose the war before we can resist. Xadia can't face another calamity!"

    "Then you can start with the ingredient she can find the easiest."

    They both looked at the moonshadow elf.

    "Which is?"

    Lujanne pointed her finger to a spot in eastern Xadia, not far from the desert. Lucian's eyes lit up.

    "Of course, Ruins of Lux Aurea! A fallen star's piece. You think it's talking about the shooting star fragments he left behind?"

    "This could've occurred after any startouch elf's nova."

    "But—"

    "Wait," Ciara muttered, something seemed to be bothering her. "Lujanne, can I speak to Lucian alone?"

    The young crownguard found the request strange, but the protector wasn't surprised. She smiled, took the basket and the berry dragon with her, leaving the two alone. The princess waited until no footsteps were heard, then sank back into the chair with her head in her hands. Lucian approached hesitantly. 

    "What's wrong?"

    When their gazes met, Lucian wanted to hug her. Her eyes were lost, but at the same time she seemed to want to find her way.

    "There's something I didn't tell Lujanne."

    He just opened and closed his mouth like a fish.

    "There wasn't just one spell in the parchment. There were a lot of spells. And one of them might be useful to us."

    "Really?" He still didn't understand why she hadn't told Lujanne.

    "It's called Morse Absolutum. We need the miraclestone, a fallen star's piece, an archdragon's fang and the blood of a pixie born with love. Ingredients are rare like the other one."

    "But we have half of the ingredi— wait, that's why our dark mage is after Sarai and your necklace! That's why my mission is to get Sarai to the Storm Spire. She—"

    "Yes, she's trying to prevent the possibility. The spell is as dangerous and difficult as the other one. But it's worth doing."

    "Because she's trying to stop us?"

    Lucian didn't like the glint in her eyes.

    "Because it stops the star alignment of a startouch elf. This means the definitive death for Aaravos."

    When Phoe-Phoe wobbled slightly in the wind, Ciara tightened her arms around the young crownguard's waist. Rouge on her shoulder made a tiny noise and then went back to sleep. She had experienced flying before. Zyen always liked to put her on things and make her fly so that she could overcome her fear of heights. She wasn't as scared as she used to be, but she still felt nauseous sometimes when she looked down. She felt another hand on hers.

    "You okay?"

    She blushed.

    "Yeah, eyes on the clouds. I thought you could keep an eye on Sarai while you rode Phoe-Phoe."

    "I'm doing it. Can I not also check on you?"

    "I'm okay, just focus on your job."

    When he wouldn't let go of her hand, she put her forehead against his back and tried to calm down. Proximity was definitely not helping.

    Ciara wasn't sure how she should feel about their new dynamic. Everything had developed much faster than she expected, she didn't even expect a development in the first place. But she couldn't lie to herself, when his hand and his eyes were on hers, her stomach started to make strange movements and her heart started to dance.

    Stupid! That's what you get for making fun of Val. You fell in love with the last person you should have!

    "Ciara?"

    "I said I'm okay!"

    "No, not that." The tone of his voice had already made it clear that the subject was different. He adjusted his sitting posture and re-secured the basket in front of him so that it wouldn't fall.

    "Why didn't you tell Lujanne?"

    She let out a stressed breath. She turned her head to the side and put her ear against his back.

    "She'll let Evenere and Katolis know we're okay and you're tasked by Celestial elves."

    "We," he corrected her. "You're with us too."

    "Yes but Astrid came to you, not me. Celestial elves hates dark magic." She shrugged but Lucian could feel that this topic is sensitive for her. He didn't push it.

    "She'll also deliver Claudia's plan to them in the safest way possible. It's important they know because they need to be ready for Aaravos if we fail. But there's also the possibility that Claudia might get wind that we know her plan. So we have to take extra precautions to make sure she doesn't know we know what we can do."

    "Fair point."

    And if something happens to me while I'm casting the spell, Val or anyone else in the castle won't try to stop me.

    She yawned.

    "You should get some sleep." His voice was soft, directly affecting her eyelids. "I'm used to getting by on little sleep. If Clau—"

    "Don't say her name freely," she murmured, she couldn't understand how her body had surrendered his words so easily. "Names have power. If you're not a mage of equal or close rank to her, you give yourself away. My spell's keeping her from finding us but there's no point in forcing it."

    "Okay." Was his back warmer, or was it just her imagination?

    "Are you gonna sleep?"

    "I'm afraid to talk to him." Her voice sounded like a whisper.

    "You've never met him in your sleep before."

    "I know but there's a possibility. Also we're still several arm spans off the ground and—"

    "I'm here."

    A flap. Then another.

    "Thank you."

    "For what?"

    "For putting up with me."

    "Nope, I'm just helping you like you're doing for us. Get some sleep, you deserved it."

    That was the last thing she heard.

    She didn't expect to open her eyes in a carriage.

    It wasn't really opening her eyes. Ciara was aware that she was still asleep and that her arms were around Lucian. But she was also aware that there was a copy of consciousness in this carriage. She couldn't look at her necklace right now, but if she could, she was sure it glowed white. The Moon source? She didn't expect to integrate so easily. So all the theoretical knowledge she'd learned began to manifest itself as soon as she started putting it into practice.

    "Are you okay?"

    She thought she was being told off and was about to open her mouth when she saw the silhouettes sitting in front of her and bit her lip. No way.

    "Callum, this is the 13th time you've asked and you know my answer. We drank Terry's potions at the same time."

    "Right, Sorry."

    The princess looked sternly at her husband and then focused on her lap to check her daggers. The black-haired swordsman sitting next to the Archmage smiled slowly and looked at the map in his hand.

    "Please focus on the spell. If Queen Aanya's intel is correct, you should be able to sense King Ezran in the neighborhood."

    "His aura's not—"

    He stopped and frowned. Ciara held her breath, knowing she'd been noticed. But she didn't know how to cast the current spell and she didn't want to break the connection while it was made.

    Anxious blue meets suspicious green. Rayla readied her daggers as the prince of Katolis reached for his staff, her eyes darting back and forth as if asking questions. Hermia's hand stopped on the hilt. Ciara's face went pale.

    Prince Callum doesn't know my magic aura. I'm a dark mage. They think I'm the enemy.

     "Wait!"

    Archmage's eyes widened at the voice and she put her hand in front of her wife to stop her. The princess looked around again with a puzzled look, she recognized the voice too. Hermia's eyes filled with tears.

    "Cia?"

    "Yes, it's me. Put the weapons down, you're not in danger. Yet at least."

    "Where are you?" His voice came out like a whisper, but she knew him well enough to know it was to keep him from cracking. She closed her eyes and muttered one of the revelation spells she knew. It was one of the few times in her life when she got lucky. Her hands and her white-pink glowing necklace became visible with the others parts. Hermia's smile grew.

    "It's really you!"

    When he tried to hug her, he passed her like a ghost and crashed into the seat. She giggled.

    "This is just an illusion. I'm not even sure how this connection was made, but I don't have much time."

    Hermia sat back down while rubbing his head, he kept his eyes on her.

    "Are you okay? Val was very worried. Are you hurt? Did the dark mage get the necklace?"

    She shook her head from side to side and showed the one around her neck. It was still shining white and pink. Not just the Moon I guess.

    "I'm okay. Lucian and Sarai are fine too, we're traveling together."

    Ciara could see a glimmer of relief in Sarai's parents' eyes. Still, Callum kept his posture and continued to hold his staff in his hand.

    "Where are you going? What's going on?"

    She sighed. Lujanne's message was unlikely to arrive before her.

    "Soundproofing and concealment spells?"

    "They're active, you can talk with us."

    Her hands glowed purple and she checked. She wasn't going to make the mistake of taking any chances. Rayla was taken aback and moved to the side. Callum tightened his hand holding the staff. Well, dark magic is dark magic.

    "Lucian needs to complete a mission given through the celestial elves."

    "Celestial elves!?" Rayla and Callum's surprised tones echoed in the carriage. Hermia frowned.

    "Isn't it the skywing elf community that can see the future?"

    "Yep. Lucian needs to get Sarai to Storm Spire before Claudia captures her. I'm helping him."

    A tense atmosphere settled in. Rayla approached her.

    "Why was he given a mission?"

    "Why Sarai?"

    "What about the necklace?"

    Rouge, we need to wake... not normal for her to be... you think she's...

    Ciara blinked her eyes. She had no time. In a panic, she raised her hand and signaled them to shut up.

    "I could be cut off at any moment, so listen to me!"

    All three stopped and stared with hesitant eyes.

    "The scrolls I took from the library describe a very old spell. The requirements for the spell are very rare but not impossible. The necklace is one of them. The spell allows you to resurrect a startouch elf before their star alignment."

    The eyes of all three grew wide with fear. Rayla and Callum held hands.

    "I have a plan to prevent this, but I won't risk anyone by telling it here. You have to stop Claudia from collecting the ingredients for the spell. That's why she kidnapped Ezran. She needs King Azymondias' voluntarily given blood and is trying to use him to convince him."

    "Ezran won't accept such a thing even if he dies." Rayla couldn't contain herself. Ciara looked at her with understanding eyes.

    "I know. She'll threaten Ezran with something else he can't say no. Someone else. Do you know why she came to Duren of all places?"

    Rayla and Callum looked at each other with questioning gazes. Hermia's mouth opened when he realized what she was talking about.

    "Queen Aanya is in danger!"

    "Exactly. You must act before it's too late. Don't worry about Sarai, we'll be with her and—"

    Ciara.

    She felt her whole body freeze. His voice sounded the same even though she heard it from a different awareness. But there was no doubt, it was his voice. The young mage became silent, her face pale with fear.

    Did he hear anything?

    "And?"

    Rayla and Hermia were looking at her with worried faces, oblivious. But Callum frowned, renewing the soundproofing spell with his staff. He can sense him too.

    "Callum?"

    When his staff was completely dimmed, he scanned the surroundings anxiously.

    "Something's wrong. I thought I heard—"

    "Don't say his name."

    He stared her.

    "Whose? Cia, you said we don't have time, are you sure you're okay?"

    But the princess continued to ignore her friend's words. Her gaze was on Callum, whose eyes widened with realization. Rayla signaled the black-haired alcade to calm down. She didn't understand either, but she knew that her husband and the mage knew something.

    "He—"

    "Don't. I'm not sure if he can hear my conversations right now. I need to wake up immediately. Do what I said."

    Her vision began to blur. She shook her head rapidly as the familiar sight began to appear. No, not there, please.

    "Ciara, you're in dan—"

    "DO WHAT I SAID!"

    Everything went black.

☆☆☆

    Lucian was getting worried when he couldn't wake her on the third attempt.

    Sarai had slept the whole trip, so when he tried to wake her up twice and got no response, he didn't mind. She had spent an exhausting and traumatizing 24 hours and needed to rest. They didn't need to change places for the baby and he hadn't lied to her, he was used to sleeping few hours yet still being able to stay focused because of his job.

    But the other possibility had only just occurred to him when they landed near the bridge to Evrkynd and he still couldn't wake her.

    Ciara was a light sleeper, something Lucian had witnessed many times during the journey. During most of their trip to the Cursed Caldera, she had jumped to her feet when he heard a suspicious noise at his watches. There could only be one reason why she wasn't waking up right now.

    She warned you dumbass! You should've been more careful!

    His spells weren't working either. He motioned for Rouge to bring the princess as he leaned her still unconscious body against a big tree. Grasping the basket in its tiny claws, the berry dragon carefully set it down on the grass and turned to the young mage with a worried whine.

    "I know, sorry. Rouge, we need to wake her up somehow. It's not normal for her to be asleep or unconscious till now. Do you think she's talking to Aaravos again? What if this time he does more than talk?"

    Another whine. Ignoring the fear growing inside him, he looked towards the bridge and studied the guards. Would they if he called for help? Probably, that also would've meant Ciara's identity would've been revealed. But it didn't matter to Lucian if her life was in peril.

    "Lucian? Is that you?"

    He stood up quickly and turned to the opposite side of the bridge. Phoe-Phoe was still busy eating the worms he'd given her, but there were 2 silhouettes coming toward him. When the crownguard recognized them, he ran over.

    "Amaya, Janai!"

    The short-haired swordswoman was preparing to open her arms for a hug, but her wife touched her shoulder. The boy's gray eyes were full of panic and sweat dripping from his blond hair. Amaya began to move her hands.

    "Where were you!? People are so worri—"

    The sunfire elf hurriedly placed his hands on hers, and Amaya realized the seriousness of the situation when tears began to roll down his cheeks.

    "Help me, my spells aren't working! We need to take my friend to the healers, her life could be in danger!"

☆☆☆

    The moment she opened her eyes, she fell into the water. It wasn't normal seawater. It was warm, metallic and bitter. She screamed and tried to swim to land full of bones. But she was floundering in the same place and she knew why.

    "AARAVOS!"

    She swallowed shakily as the water raised her body.

    "You deserved a little welcome."

    "Let me go!"

    "Why? You said I can help you in any way. Since I have this level of sentience, it shouldn't be impossible to reach the other layers."

    She clenched her fists when she realized what he was talking about.

    "You don't even exist right now! You can't control anything!"

    A quiet laugh.

    "I have nothing to lose by trying, right? But I can't say the same for you."

    She tried to push back the fear that spread like poison in her chest.

    "I'd rather kill myself if it'll stop you!"

    "But you won't. We both know that."

    I have to! I need to!

    As sobs began to rise in her throat, she realized how well he knew her through their chats. This was the reason why she had learned but never practiced primal magic until this journey too.

    Ciara was selfish and a coward. And Aaravos knew that very well.

    Please.

    Someone.

    Lucian.

    Her body disappeared back into the scarlet sea accompanied by screams and curses.

Chapter Text

    Her necklace was no longer shining.

    It had continued to glow even when she tried to take it off and put it back on, but now it was cold and dimmed. She tried to regulate her breathing as her hands, still shaking from the previous conversation, roamed over the gemstone. When she felt a presence, she looked across. The moonshadow elf handed her a tart.

    "I've been giving this to guests since Ezran gave me the recipe years ago. It's better than using illusions on the slugs or worms."

    She pretended to gag with a disgusted expression. She smiled as the taste of strawberry spread through her mouth. We couldn't talk much, but I still miss him. I can't even imagine Val and Aanya.

    "I feel sorry for your previous guests."

    She turned her attention back to the necklace in her hand. She handed it to Lujanne and examined herself.

    "If I can do it thanks to this necklace, I shouldn't be able to feel it right now but..."

    Then why?

    "But you can still feel it."

    She looked at her with desperate eyes.

    "I don't know how to control it. I don't even know how I can do it."

    She shook her head from side to side.

    "You know. Lucian said you were as knowledgeable about primal magic as dark magic. You have the basis."

    "But I don't have the practical experience!"

    "I think you're getting a little help from it."

    She held up the necklace. It seemed to glow in the moonlight, but the young mage knew it was dim. Lujanne grabbed hers with her free hand and gently dragged her to the grass area.

    "You say you have no practical experience, but you have no reason not to start now."

    "I..."

    She was right. Ciara was so used to suppressing that desire and following Zyen's training that the idea that she could do and learn whatever she wanted was still foreign to her. She was shaking as she raised her hand for the rune. It shone white in the air, she closed her eyes, trying to suppress her excitement.

    "Fit Invisibilia."

    She opened her eyes. Nothing had happened. She closed again when she felt the protector's hand on her shoulder.

    "Calm down. You already know, you just need to internalize it. Need to feel it. I want you to focus on how words and pieces of information make you feel."

    "It's not enough to just know, you have to internalize. That's why the arcanum concept is difficult to understand and perform properly. I almost died of a coma learning my first arcanum. They're similar to dark magic in that aspect."

    Similar words as then. The words of the prince of Katolis echoed in her ears. She took a deep breath and focused on the node inside her that was beginning to unravel as usual. That wave of aura and sensation that had always frightened her, it was the opposite feeling of violet comfort in dark magic, but at the same time warmed her inside, almost like became hands and began to untie the tangle. She focused on this feeling, afraid to open her eyes, and drew the rune again in the air with her index finger. She began to feel as if she weighed nothing in the air, and though she was startled, she didn't break her stance.

    "Fit Invisibilia!"

    She waited. She could feel her heart beating fast in her mouth and she was shaking, but she waited.

    "You can open your eyes."

    Her gaze, directed in disappointment and frustration, found Lujanne's green eyes, seemed to be having fun. She grunted.

    "You said knowing everything would make my job easier."

    "How do you know it didn't work?"

    Her gaze quickly became quizzical and then weary. How could she explain that everything around her was still in its place, she had always been incompetent and everytime she thought—

    She stopped. She'd stretched her arms forward to show and emphasize the surroundings. But she could see nothing. When she lowered her head, a loud gasp came out of her mouth.

    She was invisible.

    The blood-red sea roared boisterously. Indigo sparks began to emanate from a necklace in its depths. There was a gut-wrenching, inhuman scream that shook even the bones on the beach.

☆☆☆

    Soren had a terrible feeling since he woke up.

    At first he thought the potions were a side effect. Since the conversation with Callum on the balcony, he'd started taking them and was feeling better. But if that was the case, it would've started when he first took them, so he dismissed that possibility. He wondered if it was because he hadn't eaten enough, but it couldn't be that either, Corvus had been watching his food portions since their reunion. He hadn't noticed that he'd eaten less for breakfast, since he'd been out looking for clues near the palace today, but he wasn't sure a single meal could've that much of an impact. When he heard Queen Aanya talking about the dark mage, he realized why he felt the way he did.

    Soren knew the mage better than any of them. Even if his consciousness didn't realize it, his brain had already begun to figure out the plan. Soren was waiting. He was waiting for the calm before the storm to be interrupted.

    "General?"

    He flinched, his gaze drifted from the fountain and found dark blue eyes. He got up quickly and tried to curtsy as Hermia had taught him. It was different from the one in Katolis.

    "I've yet to earn that title, Your Grace. I don't think it'll be time until we save our king."

    "You've proved you deserve it just by this behavior Soren, I'm sure Ezran will agree with me when time comes. Please sit down."

    Formalities had been set aside. He lowered himself back onto the bench and watched as the queen settled down next to him and studied the birds. She had a somber expression on her face.

    "This is Ezran's favorite place in the Evenere palace."

    She took Ezran, but she's not stupid, she must have taken him because he could do something she couldn't do. But she can't convince him. Not our Ezran. Unless...

    "Every time he saw the birds here, he wouldn't hesitate to take bread out of his pocket and throw the crumbs to them. I miss him."

    "Now that we know the identity of the dark mage, we have a chance to track her down. If we can get King Ezran out of her hands, she'll have nothing left to use against us."

    Have nothing left to use?

    Wait.

    Oh no.

    He felt a spark of clarity in his mind, stood up abruptly. The pink-haired queen turned to him with questioning eyes.

    "Soren?"

    I must look crazy on the other side. Probably what I'm doing is crazy too.

    "Where's Queen Aanya?"

    "She didn't come for breakfast, she's resting in her room. Why?"

    He tried to regulate his breathing.

    "I have something insane on my mind. Would you like to help me, Your Majesty?"

☆☆☆

    Callum couldn't remember ever hating resting on the road this much.

    They were camping in the Scar forest. When they arrived at Berylgarten Castle, the head of the Duren council was surprised at the haste of all of them. She was even more surprised when they requested that all preparations for the visit be canceled and that an urgent letter be sent to Evenere. But Rowena, like Opeli, knew exactly what her priorities were, and even if they kept some information to themselves, she didn't make a political fuss.

    "These are difficult times and I'm not willing to jeopardize five years of peace because of a sudden occurrence. Forward this letter to Queen Aanya, she has nothing to worry about the queendom."

    They left the carriage there and set off again with only the horses. Callum hoped he could give her the letter.

    "You okay?"

    He looked up from the notebook where he'd been scribbling in frustration and looked into tense violet eyes.

    "No." He closed the notebook in anger. "We won't make it. Claudia's not stupid, she'll take the advantage of the situation."

    "Queen Aanya's not alone." After lighting the fire, the black-haired alcade sat down next to him and sheathed his sword. His hands were shaking, he was clearly feeling differently from what he was showing around. He took the water Terry handed him and mumbled a quick thanks.

    The green-haired earthblood elf was traveling with one of the horses outside, so they had told him what had happened in the carriage. His face was white and his brow was furrowed, unlike his companion to whom he handed water.

    "It won't be a problem for her to break into the palace she entered before without anyone noticing. Our hope now is that the princess warns them like she warned you."

    "She can't."

    Everyone turned to the archmage. Rayla didn't like the look that settled in his green eyes. She put her hand on his shoulder, silently encouraging him to explain.

    "It's uncertain that she's safe now. We need a more precise plan, it's best to return as soon as possible."

    "What do you mean?" Hearing Hermia's worried tone, he realized he was too late, but he couldn't retreat now, there was enough danger. He wasn't going to add another one by keeping secrets from them.

    "You both fell silent at the end of the conversation. What's going on?"

    He gently squeezed Rayla's hand on his shoulder that kept him grounded.

    "I don't know how it happened but... there's a strange connection between Ciara and Aaravos."

    As soon as the name left his lips, the air went cold and the fire in front of them flickered. Terry's eyes widened in fear, Rayla gripped his shoulder tighter. Even Hermia, who hadn't witnessed the startouch elf terrorizing Xadia in person, his body stilled, hoping the prince tell him he was joking. Rayla grabbed the firewood with her other hand and threw it into the fire.

    "He's dead. Is there a way he can do that before his star alignment?"

    Her husband's eyes were fixed on his closed notebook, murmuring.

    "A connection that can transcend life and death? Unless the mage to whom he connects understands Star arcanum, he's unlikely to do so. Even in that case, it's difficult and time-consuming."

    Terry scratched his head. "I thought there wasn't a human being who could connect with the Star arcanum. Isn't that what you've been working for all this time?"

    The Archmage reached into his bag and opened the book he always carried with him. The cover was worn and discolored from overuse, but Hermia could see that the pages were preserved. Callum studied the pages for a while and sighed.

    "Honestly? Star arcanum is much more complex and not consciousness-based than the others. If I haven't gotten any results from anything I've done so far, I don't think I can get any results now."

    "Then how did he manage to get to Ciara? She has no connection with arcanums, she's a dark mage." She let go of his shoulder to tidy her white hair again, but her voice was shaking. Callum clasped one of her hands in his. Her hands were cold like his, she squeezed back.

    "I don't think—"

    "She might have."

    "What?"

    Three pairs of eyes turned to the swordsman. His posture sagged as if he was talking about something that was troubling him.

    "Cia never told anyone except Val and me but... she's been working on primal magic. She was afraid to practice outside for obvious reasons, but I saw her staying up most nights in the library for this. I don't know if there can be a connection without actually doing the spells, though."

    Rayla snapped her fingers. "What we saw today wasn't dark magic."

    "That's right." Callum put the book back in his bag. "It was definitely the Moon. So now she can do primal magic too. We don't know enough about the process of humans using magic, I can't say for sure that arcanums can be understood without practice. But this is a very interesting examp—"

    "Callum."

    Caught in his wife's piercing gaze, he cleared his throat. It was the look of 'you're so cute when you're doing info dump but now's not the time.'

    "Sorry. Long story short, there's a possibility."

    He turned to the side when he heard a sneeze. Sneezles fixed his timid gaze on the fire. His color looked orange in that light.

    "Is there anything else?" Terry raised his eyebrows with suspicion. He was rubbing his hands together, the fire was insufficient for the topic discussed. "I had the opportunity to watch Clau— our dark mage as she made the connection. Aaravos can't make a move unless the other allows it. Even when he was alive. Did you ever notice anything odd? It can be anything."

    Hermia looked at the elf with an offended look, and when he realized that there was no malicious discourse, he ran her hands through her hair and thought for a while.

    "I don't know. She's become quieter since the death of Queen Merida but it's understandable. After Val came to the throne, we all became very busy, we didn't spend as much time as we used to. Cia had started to be with Zyen all the time, she needed to prepare as soon as possible to fulfill her role as advisor and before Queen Merida's death she— wait."

    All three startled by the sudden shift. Hermia's eyes were tightly closed, tapping his temple with his index finger. He was trying very hard to remember something.

    "When she performed her first spell, it was terrible. She went into some kind of coma and we were very worried about her. The previous high mage Lord Faust was removed from his position when he told us that this was normal and that it was a test that every mage had to pass."

    Callum frowned. He was telling the truth, but it doesn't change the fact that he put her life in danger. Terry tilted her head to the side. "What's this got to do with the issue?"

    "I was with Cia when she first woke up from her coma. The first thing she did was to look around and ask where the beach was."

    "A beach?" Rayla asked hesitantly.

    "I wasn't sure what she meant, we were young and the healers didn't take it very seriously. But it was weird. When she realized I didn't believe her, she even drew it for me. That year, she decided to continue learning magic and occasionally fainted from exhaustion. And every time she came to, she told me and Valera about a sea the color of blood, a beach full of bones and a voice she'd heard. When she found out that people thought she was repeating what she'd read in the magic books, she stopped telling anything about it. It's been so long since it happened, we were 13, maybe 14? I've completely forgotte—"

    "Wait, wait, wait, go back!" Terry waved his hands from side to side as if to emphasize his point. His eyes were wide open. "A voice?"

    Hermia nodded solemnly.

    "She told Val, I heard it from her. When Val said it sounds dangerous and she should tell Lady Zyen, they fought. But knowing her, she'd never tell a soul. We're talking about Cia here."

    Callum rubbed his eyes and put his head in his hands. He knew very well what it was like, he'd experienced it himself. Worse, Ciara is a dark mage. His influence would be much stronger.

    Hang in there Ciara.

    A feeling.

    Callum stood up and picked up his staff. Seeing her husband's movement, Rayla readied her daggers while the alcade drew his sword. The Archmage ordered in a firm and sure voice.

    "Come out, whoever you are!"

    As the bushes rustled, Terry rose anxiously to his feet and his body started to glow green. Callum held his breath as they all turned in the direction where the trees were thicker and the sound was coming from. He wasn't sure who it was, but the aura was familiar.

    Maybe Claudia? Did she finally show herself?

    Not even close.

    His mouth dropped open when he saw the swordsman falling at his feet and the queen running after him.

    "Soren!?"

☆☆☆

    Lucian was still awake when the door opened.

    "I didn't give you that pillow and blanket for nothing."

    He shifted his gaze from the mage who lay pale and unresponsive to the sunfire elf. She'd taken the berry dragon to the kitchen like she said.

    "I'm okay."

    "No, you're not."

    They were taken to a simple room with white walls. Lucian knew they were at their house. The healer had been summoned personally from the center, it'd be strange to see someone who wanted to be at odds with the Queens of Sunfire elves after all. They'd spent the whole day in the room waiting for her to come conscious, but even the healer wasn't sure what had happened. He injected her with a strange concoction and told them that if she didn't wake up by sunset, he'd come back. Normally he would've left her in the hands of the healers and then continued his mission, which is exactly what Ciara would've told him to do if she'd been awake.

    Every time Lucian attempted to do so, several knives stabbed him in the heart and he sat back down.

    "The dark circles under your eyes don't tell me anything good."

    Amaya's movements were aggressive, clearly worried. Lucian didn't bother to answer, his eyes were fixed on the bed again. Janai and Amaya shared a look.

    Encountering her nephew's daughter and her bodyguard, whose disappearance had been announced and for whom the search was on, on their way back from the Scar forest was the last thing either of them could have imagined. Neither of them had anything other than to use the commemoration and celebration of the anniversary of the Spire War in Evrkynd to keep people from panicking after the sudden news from both Katolis and Evenere in their mind. Amaya had felt her eyes burning and a big rock lifted off her, they were alive and okay.

    At least she thought they were all right until Lucian came running with cries for help.

    Now he could hardly open his mouth. They hadn't asked him anything yet, they were aware of the delicacy of the situation. At first Amaya had assumed that the girl in the bed was the Queen of Evenere but Janai had pointed to her hair and said she wasn't a dark mage, that they were probably hosting her twin sister, the princess.

    But she wasn't waking up.

    "I've never seen healers struggle this much before." Her brow was furrowed, her hands moved slowly and dispiritedly. Janai turned towards her so that she could read her lips easily. Her voice was low.

    "I don't think the case they're dealing with is that easy. Lucian has to tell us what happened sooner or later. If we're gonna help him, we can't do it any other way."

    "I'm sorry."

    When the Sunfire elf flinched and turned, Amaya realized that the swordsman had heard what she had said. She sat on the stool she pulled up next to him and hugged him tightly before he could protest. Janai put her hand on his shoulder.

    "There's nothing to apologize for, you've done your duty more than enough."

    Her gaze went to the baby playing with the blanket in the basket. It was the first time he'd ever seen her eyes so open, like violet marbles, following the fabric she grasped with her fingers. Her movements were uncoordinated and quickened when excited.

    "I don't know how you met the princess of Evenere or what happened but she's not doing well, that's for sure. You know the skills of the healers in Evrkynd, Lucian. This isn't normal."

    His gaze shifted from one princess to another. As I feared.

    "I don't want to force you to talk. From what I understand, you've had a terrible 24 hours. But... share with us? At least what happened to her? It can prevent us from having a diplomatic emergency."

    He pulled back from the hug and gently slapped his cheeks. She was right, this was no time to give up. The mission was still ongoing and had become more critical. Sitting here sulking would have put everyone in more danger, especially Sarai.

    "I was tasked by one of the Celestial elves to take the princess of Katolis to the Storm Spire before the dark mage captured her."

    He was also conveying the situation to Amaya by moving his hands.

    "Celestial elves? But they don't— wait, are you talking about Astrid?"

    He nodded and pointed at her.

    "She's also being followed, she's helping us. Without her spell of concealment, we wouldn't have made it this far without Clau— you-know-witch finding us. I thought we could come here and use Oonta to go straight to the spire but..."

    His voice cracked.

    "I was stupid. I should've known something was wrong when she didn't wake up in two attempts. It'd been a long night and I thought she was tired. Even when—"

    Sarai's peaceful face suddenly contorted, she dropped the blanket and began to cry. The swordsman hurried to his feet and picked her up. He thought she'd inadvertently hurt herself, but when he examined all five fingers that'd just gripped the blanket, he couldn't see a wound on any of them. But the baby was still crying for her life as if someone had pricked her with a needle. Lucian started patting her on the back.

    "Hey, it's okay. You're safe. We just changed your diaper. Are you hungry?"

    He reached into the bag for the bottle, but a panicked gasp escaped his mouth as his eyes found the princess on the bed.

    She started mumbling with a frown and her necklace was glowing purple.

☆☆☆

    Ciara was still coughing when a giant wave pulled her out of the water.

    When her knees crunched the bones she was on, she couldn't take it anymore and threw up everything inside her. Although the water was calm, red waves washed over her every time she retched. She cleared her throat one last time and wiped away the tears that remained in her completely reddened eyes and the vomit around her mouth. It began to frighten her how real it felt, even though none of it had happened in her own body.

    "You still don't know when to give up. Can't you see I'm trying to help you?"

    She tried to stand up but her legs failed her, she fell backwards. Her cheeks were getting wet again, and realizing she had nowhere to run, she pulled her knees to herself. She looked up towards the sky where she could see his face. There was nothing but stars.

    "If my life is enough to keep you here and stop you from hurting others, I don't care."

    Her voice was barely above a whisper, almost completely hoarse. Her hair still stood on end, it wasn't easy to get used to someone whose aura was so powerful and imposing. A laugh was heard.

    "All those people you protected will turn their backs on you. You think your spells will be accepted among them? They'll toss you aside like a spare tire. So far you've survived by following my teachings and you've reached me. I've never harmed you until today, I've always supported you. Why make a sudden turn right now?"

    She pressed her hands furiously to her ears and shook her head rapidly from side to side as if she were delirious. Yet the voice was there again, dangerously warm and persuasive.

    "What have they ever done for you? Your father was willing to expend himself for blood magic. They killed your mother. Your sister has replaced you on the throne. The palace holds her in high esteem, you're not worth as much to them as an ant. When the queen has a new baby, they'll have no reason to keep you around. Nobody wants you for being you."

    Her heart ached. The reality of his words was so heavy that she felt she couldn't even breathe. The feeling of jealousy that'd been growing inside her for years, but which she'd always pushed to the back burner so as not to be a nuisance, was blossoming again. The hands holding her ears slackened.

    "I promise you a better life. I know what it feels like to be wronged. I witnessed my daughter being killed by her own kind for helping others. I had to watch them fail the mage I saw as my daughter. They're not gonna get away with what they've done to you all this time. You can get your revenge."

    "I don't want anyone to... please... I..."

    "I know. I know how you feel. We can do this together, Ciara."

    Her hands dropped to her sides, she closed her eyes as the aura pulled her again. She was tired. She was really, really tired. I don't want to do anything. How long does this wheel of resentment have to turn? If I can't go back, at least let the waves swallow me up. What's the point if I can't wake up to a day when I don't have to think about any of this? I'm destined to die. I have to die if no one gets hurt. I need to—

    "You can breathe. Just relax. Nothing is bad or hopeless right now."

    The node tied somewhere in her chest trembled.

    "See? I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."

    A sob escaped her lips.

    Please at least keep them safe.

    She opened her eyes in surprise when she heard Aaravos' scream and turned her head around, trying to focus. Her head was spinning so badly, she pressed a hand to her mouth to keep from gagging again. Her other hand was grasped, guiding her on the steady path that remained as the world spiraled and disappeared into itself. She realized who it was once she tried to free her hand.

    What the...

    The last thing she expected was for a baby to save her from this nightmare. What she expected even less was for that baby to be Sarai.

Chapter Text

    Ciara's eyes widened in fear and her body threw itself forward.

    Quickened breaths mixed with coughs escaped her lips and for a moment she couldn't understand where she was. She was feeling dizzy, nauseous, exhausted and felt her eyes starting to close again. She panicked.

    "No, no, no, please, I can't sleep, he'll come after me again, I can't—"

    She burst into sobs as familiar arms embraced her.

    "Shh... you're safe now... he can't hurt you anymore."

    She buried her face in his shoulder and tried to focus. She was too disoriented to think. She couldn't stop shaking. Every time she closed her eyes, the darkness seemed to swallow her up and take her to that beach. Her hands clutched the only thing in front of her, his long sleeve shirt. She felt a gentle caress on her back.

    "It's okay, let it all out. I'm here."

    Although his voice was in her ear, it wasn't like the startouch elf. The muscles in her body relaxed as if they'd been waiting for this. Her heart, beating close to his, began to slow down. Her breath was a little choked and then it started to come out more easily. For a while she listened to the sound of their breath blending together and felt the drops falling on her own shoulder.

    A baby giggle.

    Sarai.

    She raised her head and looked around, trying to get used to the light. There she was, laughing at her from the arms of a human with a sword at her waist. Her violet eyes were fixed directly on her, her brown hair was starting to grow slightly out of her head. Her lips curled involuntarily when she stretched her fingers towards her.

    "She stopped crying as soon as she held your necklace. We were all surprised."

    She broke away from the embrace and looked into silver eyes that were still watery. The nausea was gone, replaced by butterflies. His gaze was too deep, she gulped. She put her hand to her mouth and cleared her throat.

    "She saved me."

    She took the princess in her arms and let her pull her white streaks. Sarai laughed again when her hand touched the necklace. Its light was completely out.

    "Thank you," she murmured as she stroked her cheek with her still trembling hand. "I don't know how you managed it, but you did it."

    She turned her head when she felt a touch on her shoulder. The crownguard pointed out two adults standing in the back. The brown-haired one waved her hand and the red-haired one bowed a little.

    "Queen Amaya and Queen Janai, rulers of sunfire elves. We'll stay with them as long as we're in Southwest District. Your Majesties, this is Princess Ciara from Evenere. We arrived in Evrkynd, but it took a day for you to wake up."

    A gasp rose from the mage's mouth. Orange glows streamed through the window, probably the last rays of the day. She hastily handed the baby to Janai and tried to stand up, lost her balance but felt two strong hands holding her.

    "Hey, hey, take it easy. You're just coming out of it. We need to stay here for another day to let you rest. Besides, I haven't informed Nyx yet, so even if we're ready, we'll have to wait for her and Oonta."

    "What!?"

    She sat back down on the bed and looked angrily at him.

    "We're not on a holiday trip, Lucian! We don't know how long my spell will last, it might even be weakened by my current condition. Claudia isn't a mage to be trifled with, and I can't risk that by staying here."

    "But you need to." He squatted right in front of her and took her hands in his. It was an intimate gesture, she felt herself blushing.

    "You can't go on the road like this, you need to rest. The more tired and prone to unconsciousness you are, the easier it'll be for Aaravos to reach out to you."

    He was right. And it was getting on her nerves. But she didn't snap at him as she expected from herself. She was distracted by his hands. She let out a deep breath.

    "I'll stay here for the night. Just one night. We're leaving tomorrow afternoon at the latest, okay?"

    Lucian nodded excitedly and put on his coat, which was hanging on a chair on the side. He wore his hat and wrapped his scarf so that only his eyes were exposed, so that his identity wouldn't be a problem. He was shouting on his way out the door.

    "I'll let Nyx know, you won't regret it!"

    She rolled her eyes and shook her head from side to side, a sly smile on her lips. She turned to the two queens.

    "No need for formalities, just call me Ciara. Thank you for having us, I'm sorry I caused trouble. I can't imagine the complications Evenere would've with Evrkynd if something happened to me."

    Janai frowned what she said and began to speak using her free hand.

    "Your health is important too. Everyone was so worried."

    "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

    She watched the two of them for a while, then nodded and started using sign language when she spoke.

    "Thanks to Sarai. Pixies have strange abilities I suppose?"

    Janai looked at the happy baby in her arms and smiled.

    "It's a popular saying, and I think there's no doubt about it now."

    She lay back on the bed and put her arm under the pillow. Seeing Rouge flying out of the door and pouncing on her, she giggled and stroked her pomegranate-toned scales. Her mouth was covered with white cream and her turquoise eyes was shining with relief.

    I'm okay. I'm really okay. It's not a dream or nightmare. They saved me.

    She turned to Amaya when she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye.

    "Earlier you mentioned Aaravos. Isn't he still dead?"

    She bit her lip. In her excitement and panic she hadn't paid attention to who they were speaking in front of, and she guessed Lucian hadn't either. But it was too late. At least she was giving the information to queens and not to ordinary people.

    "The dark mage after us found a way to resurrect him before his alignation. It's a long story, but I suppose we have time."

☆☆☆

    When Soren burst into the room, sword in hand, the other side of the corridor was engulfed in flames.

    His eyes scanned and in the smoke he could make out Aanya running to him in her blue tracksuit and backpack. He wasn't used to seeing the queen like that, he didn't recognize her for a moment. She quickly pinned her blonde hair into a bun and with the crownguard they started running in the direction opposite the fire.

    "Did the fire start in the kitchen? Maybe people are still—"

    "There's no one in the palace, don't worry. I know this isn't a natural fire."

    "Unnatural? What do you– wait, dark magic?"

    "Probably. Looks like Claudia's not done with this place. Come on!"

    They began to descend the stairs with quick steps. Aanya noticed the wood splintering and falling from the fire above and pulled the crownguard aside. The wood, black from burning, crashed around and disappeared between the railings. When Soren realized there was only two floor left and they couldn't go any further down, he shouldered the window in the corridor. The glass shattered with a loud bang, leaving his shoulder covered in blood. The blonde human took the queen in her arms without a care and put his foot on the window sill.

    "What are you– SOREN!"

    He jumped out the window.

    As his body jumped up from sleep, he panicked and tried to throw off the covers, but when he was pressed back down he opened his still closed eyes. He took a deep breath as his gaze found the brown ones.

    "Terry?"

    The earthblood elf placed the fallen leaf cloth back on his forehead.

    "Your fever's down, but keep it on your forehead for a while. You've lost so much blood, I'm amazed you made it this far. How are you?"

    They were in a tent. It was a little bigger than the ones they normally use, with a huge lotus pattern on top. Duren's tents. So Aanya's here too. He felt his tense muscles relax slightly. Next to him was a folding wooden table with a bowl and a candle burning on it. He felt himself trembling at the sight of the fire. He tried to stand up, but the sharp stabbing pain in his shoulder darkened his eyes. Terry placed the pillow upright and leaned his back against it.

    "Don't push yourself, your shoulder still hasn't fully healed. You need to rest."

    "But I—"

    "Soren!"

    His gaze turned to the entrance and found the married couple and the queen. The prince was wiping his cheeks, his voice cracked as he greeted him. The elf with her white hair in a ponytail knelt in front of him and took his hand. Her eyes were red.

    "You had us all so worried."

    It was then Soren realized the seriousness of the situation. They're not exaggerating. I almost bled to... It scared him that this thought made him feel at ease. That's not normal, right?

    "If the Queen is alive and well, then I've done my duty."

    "You were about to die, you idiot!" Callum's voice echoed through the tent. The blond swordsman averted his eyes. Regret began to replace the ease of before. You're being selfish, snap out of it!

    "Sorry."

    A deep silence. Terry took the leaf cloth from his forehead and put it in the bowl. He reached for the jug on the floor and put it to his mouth. Soren didn't realize how thirsty he was. But it didn't help to soften the mood. He was about to open his mouth to speak when he was interrupted by his friend's hug. He was especially careful not to touch his left shoulder.

    "The last thing you should do right now is apologize." He stepped back and put his hand on his uninjured shoulder. He had a heavy look in his eyes. "Ezran's been kidnapped. I don't know where Sarai is. So please... I don't want anything to happen to my best friend."

    Soren felt his own vision becoming misty. Of course he knew how he was feeling. Not a night went by when he didn't think about Lucian. He left Gareth alone with the people who'd been evicted from the palace. Keeping the residents of the palace outside until the fire was under control wasn't an overly dangerous task, but the thought of the attacker sent shivers down his spine. And Corvus... Corvus... The hand on his shoulder was helping him stay grounded.

    Rayla moved to the other side and dropped a jelly tart in his palm.

    "While trying to save Xadia, we also need to save ourselves. We still have hope. You won't take your last breath here, General. We've been through a lot, we can survive this too."

    A tear fell on his wrapped knees and he shook his head with a smile. I'm so lucky to have them. Realizing what Rayla had said, he turned to her in confusion.

    "I'm not a Gene– wait, are we saving the world again?"

    He blinked when all 3 of his friends burst out laughing. Had he said something funny? Was it another joke he didn't understand? When the Queen of Duren, relieved to see the swordsman's condition, frowned again, Soren knew he wasn't the only one.

    "Does Xadia have a problem that requires saving?"

    As the mood became tense, he realized that the laughs weren't that genuine. It was to lighten a sensitive subject. Callum cleared his throat and took Rayla's hand for encouragement.

    "It's about Claudia."

    Of course it's about her, who else do you expect it to be about? Soren didn't say anything, instead he popped the tart in his mouth and signaled him to continue. Callum threw back the white streak that'd fallen between his brows.

    "Princess Ciara was able to reach us through magic. She told us about an old spell, a spell that can resurrect startouch elves before their star alignment."

    Soren drew in a shaky breath. Oh no. He could definitely see where this was going. He swallowed the food with force, his appetite had gone.

    "Let me guess, somehow she found out about it and now she's trying to cast the spell?" A grunt. "As expected from her. What does the spell require?"

    The sarcasm in his voice startled them all. Rayla picked up the roll of bandages lying on the side and began to unwrap the wound.

    "Not sure about all of them. The necklace carried by Ciara is one of them. The other one is the blood voluntarily given by the dragon ruler."

    He hissed when the moonshadow elf applied the ointment. When she looked apologetic, he just shook his head.

    "That's why she kidnapped him. She knew Zym wouldn't willingly give her his blood, so she was about to threaten Ezran to persuade him to give it to her."

    "Wait," the young queen interrupted them with a baffled voice. "The threatening plan won't work. Each ruler trains themselves to deal with threats and if they're torn between themselves and their regency, they choose death."

    Her voice trembled. Soren might not have noticed it before but after what Valera had told him, it was much clearer. "Also, you told me you suspected her about the fire. If she was going to threaten Ezran, she could've gone straight to Katolis instead of this. Threatening him with his kingdom would've been much more effective. Why would she come to Evenere?"

    This makes sense but...

    "Because every human being has a weakness to be broken and she'd found Ezran's. Something far more potent than his kingdom."

    Rayla finished wrapping the new bandage and brushed her hands together. She and her husband looked at each other and asked at the same time.

    "Ezran has a weakness?"

    "What is it?"

    When Soren's finger pointed towards the queen, they all turned to her.

    "You, Your Majesty."

    "M-me?"

    Aanya's face was pale, her lips parted.

    "But you don't have to worry anymore. You've already reached Callum and she won't dare come near an archmage same rank as her. If the plan worked, she won't realize she didn't get you."

    "Wait, what plan!?"

    Soren sighed and looked at his hands. Regret began to eat away at him again.

    "I heard about that philosophy when I was making plans with Queen Valera. If all went well, she wouldn't realize she took Corvus instead of you until she's out of Evenere."

    He sniffled.

    "Now we have two people to save. Congrats to Soren, he used one of his usual stupid ideas! You can start scolding at any time."

    No one made a sound until Hermia came in and changed shifts.

☆☆☆

    When Lucian crossed over to the Southern District, he was sure he was being followed.

    It wasn't a human or elf. He didn't think it had a face, he hadn't seen his reflection in the mirror. It could move fast and change its dynamics easily. He'd tried to blend in with the crowd a few times, but the fact that it was still following him showed that it was on purpose. The crownguard didn't lose his cool, he was close to Nyx's house, but he kept trying to buy time by taking other streets. When the sunlight disappeared completely between the mountains, he was too late to realize he'd made a mistake.

    As he was about to turn into an alley again, he noticed the silhouette charging at him, quickly stepped to the side and deftly unsheathed the sword.

    There weren't many people around. An elf who had gone out to take out the garbage saw the movement and slammed the door. A human came out of a tavern a little further away, screamed and started running. He wasn't far wrong. Even in the moonlight you couldn't see that creature of smoke properly.

    How does she know where we are? Does that mean the spell has worn off? Or was it Ciara's locator spell that made her realize? Can she cast a spell to reach where we are without knowing where we are?

    He was so focused on his thoughts that he narrowly escaped the next attack. There was a hiss as his arm touched the shadow, he gritted his teeth in pain. He gripped the hilt tighter and passed it to his other hand. With nimble movements he parried the attacks and without hesitation drove the sharp point through its body.

    It was still staring him with its red eyes. Lucian cursed and started running.

    An afterimage? He had only come across it before in one of the books come from Duren. After the banning of dark magic, King Ezran and Queen Aanya worked together to collect all relevant literature from Katolis and Duren for years. It was his first mission with his dad and they were bringing the last remaining resources from Duren to deliver them to the archmage of Katolis. As they rode on horseback, he couldn't help looking through the books. But he didn't like what he saw.

    "I can't believe they actually use magical creatures."

    With one hand he was checking the reins, with the other he was flipping through the pages of a book he'd picked up at random. He scrunched up his face.

    "This is totally barbaric. I'm so glad it's banned."

    "Humans didn't always think like that."

    He put the book back in the sack and turned to the other horse. He stroked the turquoise glowtoad sleeping on his head.

    "Were they really murdering them?"

    His father's blue eyes weren't easily staring vacantly. He was one of the most positive and smiling people he'd ever met and he'd never heard him yell at anyone outside of his job. So when he examined him and saw his face masked and heard his voice uncharacteristically quiet, it sent shivers down his spine.

    "At that time it wasn't discovered that humans could learn primal magic. War raged between the north and south of Xadia and humans used it to protect themselves from their magic. Each kingdom had its own high mage."

    "Really? Even Katolis?"

    "Yes. King Harrow was a just and brave king, just like his son, but even he didn't hesitate to seek help from the high mage at his side. He wanted to protect his own people and believed he had no choice."

    He realized that dropping the subject was the best option, but he couldn't restrain his curiosity. His parents didn't talk much about the pre-Spire War period.

    "I didn't see any old high mages in the palace. Did they exile him after the laws?"

    "He died. Before the Startouch Calamity."

    "Oh." Drop the subject. The sunfire elf was beginning to feel inconsiderate, but before he could stop himself, another question rose to his lips.

    "You served King Harrow at that time, right? Did you know the high mage too?"

    When he realized he was moving alone, he pulled the reins and looked back questioningly. The fists of the head of the Crownguard were white, his brow furrowed.

    "Viren. He was my father."

    Lucian didn't say a word for the rest of the trip. But when he got to his parents' room, he couldn't stop crying and apologized over and over again. It bothered him that he was so intrusive in the lives of the people who'd given him a family and a home. But his father shook his head and smiled through his own tears.

    "My father was a victim of his own selfishness. What he did in the past isn't your fault, you don't need to beat yourself up."

    "But I reminded you! I shouldn't have pried into your past," he sobbed. His father shook his head again and caressed one of his broken horns.

    "Nope. You're part of this family, remember? You have a right to know the past. I know we don't talk about it much, but I promise that if you have any questions we'll answer them. Both about Viren and your aunt. Now, will you go to your room or do you still have time for one last training session?"

    He tripped on an unstable paving stone and fell to the ground. His brain had chosen a very convenient time to be distracted. Noticing the shadow falling over him, he rolled to the side and reached for his sword, which flew across his diagonal. He knew that if he was going to die, he wouldn't die without a fight.

    He stood up and wondered if he had any regrets. He wanted to see his parents. He wanted to apologize to Callum and Rayla for lying to them about their daughter. He wanted to hold Sarai one last time. He wanted to talk Ciara and...

    At least she's safe there with Sarai.

    He got into position. The red eyes had found him again. He took a deep breath.

    He wasn't prepared for the wind coming from behind.

    It was strong enough to knock him off balance and onto his knees, he sheathed his sword and shielded his eyes with his uninjured arm. He closed his mouth when a metallic taste came to his tongue. He could distinguish a purple cloud of dust beginning to dissipate in front of him.

    He coughed. When the wind died down, he realized he wasn't mistaken, the afterimage had disappeared.

    "You all right?"

    The voice sounded familiar, his eyes widened and he turned around.

    She had hardly changed since they last spoke. She wore her pink hair in a ponytail, the black parts more prominent. She was wearing her usual blue robe, Lucian didn't know how she didn't get tired of the same outfit. Her white wings were wide open, showing where the wind was coming from. When her green eyes found his, he managed to make a sound.

    "Astrid."

    She smiled.

    "You found out my name. Though I shouldn't be surprised, since you know my friends."

    He approached her and pointed to the benches opposite, ignoring the onlookers peering through the windows of the houses. He lifted his scarf a little higher to cover his face.

    "Do you have time this time? There are tons of things I want to ask."

    Her expression turned sad. She ran her hands over the bench and shook off the snow.

    "I don't have much. I can't help you more than this. I have to follow my brother's instructions to the letter."

    They sat down. Astrid tucked her bangs behind her ear.

    "You're running out of time. I came to warn you. We're close to the second full moon."

    "I know!" Even though he sounded angry, the skywing elf knew that wasn't the real reason. "I know I have to complete the mission, but I can't leave Ciara behind. She's helping us on the mission and without her magic we would've been spotted by now. You saw what happened."

    She shook her head, her gaze was serious.

    "Your friend uses dark magic. There's no excuse for this."

    "She's just trying to help!"

    Hearing his tone, something appeared in her eyes that Lucian couldn't decipher.

    "Is the only reason you're staying is because she helped you with Sarai?"

    "I... of course it's only... why would I be..." He swallowed hard and bit his lips. Admit it. He averted his eyes.

    He could've entrusted her to Amaya and Janai when they first arrived and left, hoping she would wake up. He could've been relieved when she woke up and left for the mission. He could've convinced her to rest at night and left. He had so many choices. He had so many chances to choose his mission.

    But he chose something else. He looked at his feet.

    "Why did you give me this mission? I'm terrible at this."

    "Visions aren't always clear, but I don't think Kosmo made a wrong choice."

    "You know I can't leave here until she's better. I'm being selfish. I'm dependent. I'm weak."

    He looked up when she put her hand on his shoulder.

    "Love isn't a weakness, Lucian. It's a strength. One of the rare emotions that can keep a living being alive. That's what saved the mage princess from him."

    "From Aaravos."

    The name hung in the air. He didn't know how, but she knew everything. The Sunfire elf had a pleading look in his eyes.

    "I don't want to lose her."

    She sighed and stood up.

    "You can't win her battles for her. You're both in a very important position in this matter. There'll come a time when you'll be tested by your deepest fears. Prepare yourself."

    He frowned but didn't say anything. When her wings bent slightly to fly, he knew they had reached the end of the conversation.

    "Don't give up, Lucian. As long as you keep hope in your heart, it'll live on."

Chapter Text

    The rock he was sitting on was getting cold.

    He insisted on doing it when it was his turn on the watch. His left shoulder may have been injured, but that didn't stop him from wielding his sword. All top-ranking crownguards had to know how to use swords and daggers with both hands at a professional level. It was a necessary skill for them to be prepared for any sudden danger and to be able to fulfill their mission. He knew that as long as Claudia didn't invade the camp, they would be safe under his watch.

    "But... I'm still nice. I'm still me!"

    His hands balled into fists as his thoughts shifted. 5 years was a long time. Xadia was able to recover from the calamity in that time. Long enough to give serenity, to stitch up wounds and perhaps to extend an olive branch. Long enough to hope.

    Apparently his sister didn't think so.

    He'd thought a lot. It was worse at first. For the first month he couldn't step out of his place. The worried visits of his friends hadn't been enough to dislodge the guilt that clutched his heart tightly. It wouldn't leave him alone in any way, including his nightmares. Not even Corvus could enter the room and this worried everyone. But in the end, it was a shocking name that managed to break through those walls.

    "I know that hypocritical feeling."

    He took his hand away from his hair, greasy from lack of washing and standing up in the air, and turned to the elf standing at the entrance of the tent with an angry expression and his eyes swollen under. His voice was choked from not speaking.

    "I don't remember inviting anyone in."

    "Do you really think it's gonna go away like this?"

    Their gazes locked in silence. Tired and suffering blue contrasted with mourning and anguished brown.

    "Will it disappear?"

    "No."

    "Then there's no point. I need to continue my life."

    He frowned.

    "That's what you're saying now, but we both know you don't believe that. Like me."

    "Like you?"

    His sleeping bag wrinkled with the body squatting nearby. Terry put the water bottle down next to him.

    "I loved her. I still love her. I can understand her. I want to be with her. But despite all this... I can't support her. I can't do this to myself. That'd be unfair to me. And for you too."

    "Me?"

    "Yes. I haven't known you long, but even I can see what you're willing to put up with for your family. For your father. For your sister. You can't keep punishing yourself for their choices."

    He stood up.

    "Think about it. It's difficult and agonizing but deep down, you know it too."

    "Soren?"

    He flinched and shook himself. He recognized the voice, made no effort to straighten up.

    "I thought I stated that I could take care of myself."

    "I couldn't sleep. Also, since when is worrying about my friend a crime? I know you're thinking about her and Corvus."

    He sighed and shook his head from side to side. As expected from Callum.

    "You don't get it." His voice trembled. "I sent him to his death. Deliberately."

    "That's not true. You three made a plan. Valera made sure everyone was safe, you took Aanya away and he fulfilled his part."

    "It should've been me."

    Callum opened his mouth but closed it again, not knowing what to say. He knew that if he were in his shoes he would feel the same way. He put his hand on his shoulder consolingly. When Soren caught sight of the glowbugs passing by, his face took on a bittersweet expression.

    "We went to a strange cave to find them."

    The prince's eyes found the lights.

    "Glowbugs?"

    "With her. When we were after you three and Zym. Then she took me to the top of Kalik to cast a spell."

    He felt his shoulder being squeezed.

    "The tracking spell."

    "Yep. I was surprised when you told me Ciara was wearing something she wanted. Shouldn't she have found them by now?"

    "It might've been if they were two helpless children. One is a trained crownguard and the other is a high ranked dark mage. They can manage."

    "I didn't say they're— wait, she's high ranked?"

    "If she can hide them from Claudia, she must be a mage of equal or higher rank. And you know Claudia's one of the most powerful mages in Xadia."

    "Well, it makes sense." He moved to a more comfortable position on the stone. "I hadn't considered it because she's so young. Isn't she the same age as Ezran?"

    The archmage nodded. But Soren could see anxious and hesitant gleams in his eyes, even the smallest expressions of his friend were now too familiar for him to miss.

    "You're worried about something. Something dangerous. That's why you can't sleep."

    He sighed and brought his hands to his knees, which he pulled towards himself. His staff bent slightly with his posture.

    "When she reached us, I sensed him. Heard him. I don't know if she's safe now."

    "Who?"

    "Aaravos."

    The temperature suddenly dropped to freezing. Soren felt his eyes widen and tremble slightly.

    "I-is he back?"

    He felt like an idiot, but he couldn't help himself. Callum's gaze was sincere, he knew how he felt.

    "No. But he and Ciara have a strange connection. They can communicate. That's not good."

    "Didn't you say she was a high ranked dark mage? She can take care of herself, right?"

    "She's still a dark mage Soren. She hasn't purified yet and he knows it."

    When he realized what he meant, he stiffened. He remembered the sinister eyes that had stared at him all those years ago in the dragon's nest, whose only source of light was the mirror, the harbinger of calamity.

    "You think he's trying to influence her like the others?"

    "A frightening possibility. Especially considering that she was in possession of one of the ingredients of the spell Claudia was trying to cast."

    Crownguard tried to think of a striking feature of the Evenere princess.

    "Why her though? There were dozens of other high ranked dark mages outside, including Zyen."

    He scratched his beardless chin thoughtfully. His eyes were squinting.

    "My guess? The Star arcanum."

    "Even you can't understand it. How can she—"

    "I don't know Soren. Hermia mentioned that she'd been having strange dreams and hearing voices since the first day she started practicing magic. I don't like this. But I know one thing."

    He turned to him with a solemn look.

    "She saved us. She knew who he is and save us anyway. I hope she's okay now. Because if she's not..."

    His unfinished sentence hung in the air.

☆☆☆

    "Aspiro!"

    Rouge let out a cry of delight as a gentle breeze licked the berry dragon's scales. With quick movements, she flew towards her human companion, who had curled her lips as if to whistle. When she saw the breeze, she started jumping and picked up the dragon that was flying towards her.

    "I did it Rouge! I really did it!"

    She turned to the baby semi-sitting on Amaya's lap in the chair next to her.

    "Did you see it Sarai? After ocean and earth, I can do sky magic too."

    The little pixie giggled and stretched her hands forward, opening and closing her five fingers as she does when she's excited. Her tiny brown hair moved as her head bobbed. There was a bump in the center of her forehead, probably because she'd hit something. Her violet eyes were sparkling and focused on her. She smiled.

    You look a lot like your parents.

    Sensing movement, she shifted her attention to the queen.

    "Is there one you don't understand?"

    She nodded, her face falling.

    "I know the Star but can't use it conciously. And the Sun... I think it's the only arcanum I don't understand properly."

    "Janai may not have time as she's busy preparing for the Spire War anniversary but you can ask Lucian for help. He understands it innately, I'm sure he'll be able to help."

    The young mage made an approving sound, but her mind was elsewhere.

    Lucian, huh? Sure he can help, he's a sunfire elf after all. Maybe he even...

    She rubbed her belly when she felt the butterflies in her stomach again. She shook her head in frustration. What am I thinking? Snap out of it!  She blinked when she felt dizzy. She lifted the little finger of her right hand.

    "I need to lie down."

    Amaya nodded in understanding and placed the baby back in the basket. Ciara was afraid she would cry, but when Rouge started to fly over her, she giggled. She put her hand to her head and tried to remain steady as she stepped. Her body couldn't withstand all that spell work. Staggering in front of the bed, she felt a hand laying her down. She raised her gaze for an apologetic look, thinking it was the swordswoman.

    Gray eyes.

    Her heart skipped a beat.

    "Hey. I thought you were resting."

    "Shouldn't you know by now that I can't stay in one place for long?"

    "You're right, I forgot."

    He sat on the chair next to the bed and took her hand in his. As if it's something natural. As if it's their usual routine.

    Neither of them spoke, their eyes locked on each other. Ciara was afraid that if they let her go she might get lost in that sea of silver. More dangerously, she wouldn't even complain if she was drowning in it. She felt as if she was caught in a huge vortex that became more and more tempting the more she was sucked in.

    She cleared her throat. She urgently needed to break the silence.

    "Aren't you going to sleep?"

    "Someone needs to monitor your consciousness while you sleep."

    "What about you?"

    "I'll sleep on the way. Nyx will take us to the Ruins of Lux Aurea."

    She came to a sitting position on the bed, they were even closer now.

    "Can we trust her?"

    He nodded.

    "Don't worry. She was one of the elves who helped King Azymondias during the Spire War. At least that's what she says. So far no one has denied it, so it must be true."

    The young mage giggled. "Can you imagine the dragon king on an ambler?"

    They both burst into laughter. Azymondias was a great and majestic dragon, like all dragon rulers. He was also known as Sky's archdragon and one of the 3 archdragons who were able to take that position after Startouch Calamity. The thought of such a big dragon on an ambler made them both grin.

    When Ciara's eyes landed on his head, she fell quiet. You've been wondering for a while, haven't you?

    "Can I ask you a personal question?"

    What the fuck are you doing Ciara? You haven't even met him for a year! The elf raised one eyebrow, his ears moving curiously. Cute. Oh fuck no! Don't think! Don't think about anything!

    "Go on."

    She took a deep breath and tried to ignore her own burning cheeks. She slowly brought her hand to the crownguard's head. He flinched when her fingers touched the broken horn but didn't pull back.

    "You never told me how this happened."

    He sighed.

    "Because I don't remember how it happened either."

    Their voices was low, as if they were sharing a secret. Her fingers were still running over the slightly scarlet horn with only the base left. Surprisingly, it had no smooth texture. Maybe it was because part of his blond hair was also in her hand, she didn't know.

    "The act of a dark mage. The day she killed my parents, she cut my horns and ran away. When a healer found me lying and bleeding on the ground, he took me to his center. I remember opening my eyes there. I found out from him what happened, he learned from the people nearby."

    Her chest tightened. Horns of an innocent sunfire elf. Whoever took it was casting a spell of life. Her hand went down to his hair and caress it unconsciously.

    "I'm sorry."

    He shook his head slightly.

    "I'm okay now. It was right after the Spire War, it's been a long time. At first I couldn't believe it. My parents weren't good elves, but they were the only family I had. For 3 years I tried to survive and crawl in orphan towers. I met my current parents by chance and I still thank gods for it."

    He put his hand on her cheek.

    "Actually... I met many people in my life that I value more than myself by chance. But I don't want it to be just a coincidence."

    He squeezed her hand.

    "Not with you."

    She opened and closed her mouth like a frog trying to breathe, her face turned glowtoad. She was unable to pull back.

    No. At least be honest with yourself, moron.

    She didn't want to pull back.

    She didn't want to hold back.

    As the swordsman locked his lips with hers, she closed her eyes.

    Ciara had never kissed anyone before. Most visitors to the palace saw her as a 'princess to be obtained' and apart from Hermia and Valera, there was no one else she was so close to. For a while she thought she liked him, but when she heard how her twin sister talked about him, she put the thought out of her mind. She didn't feel half of what Valera said she felt for him, and it wouldn't be fair for her to deceive herself by saying she loved him.

    Lucian was different. Completely different, rapid, shocking and addictive. There had been very few times in her life when she had felt so intensely and she couldn't stop herself. It was really stupid, it was nothing but nonsense that she was so attached to a swordsman she hadn't even known for a year. But that's not how it worked. Emotions were strange things, naughty little impulses that Ciara was still trying to make sense of. She usually succeeded. She had to do it in order not to listen to Zyen's and Gareth's constant complaints against her.

    She couldn't do it this time.

    The absolute shutdown of her brain as her arms wrapped around the crownguard's neck and his hand found her waist was unlike anything she had ever felt before.

    She didn't open her eyes even when their lips parted. Their foreheads pressed together and their noses touched. She could feel the light breath brushing her face. Her hands on his neck tightened.

    "What's wrong?"

    It was too soft. She didn't think she'd ever heard his voice like that before. She squeezed her closed eyes tighter. There were very few times in her life when she was honest with someone else about her own feelings.

    "This is kinda overwhelming. But in a good way. And... I'm scared when I open my eyes, it'll all be a dream. I'm scared when we wake up tomorrow, it has to be a one-time thing."

    "It doesn't have to be."

    She let out an involuntary breath when she felt long fingers on her cheeks.

    "Please look at me."

    It was stupid and terrifying that her eyes opened as soon as he said that, like a spell, but it happened. There was nothing but hope and acceptance in his silver eyes. Ciara thought it wouldn't be so bad to be lost there for the rest of her life.

    "I had a chance to think a lot while you were lying unconscious. I know it hasn't been that long since we've met but I'd like to give it a try. If you want to. After today's afterimage, I realized I had nothing to lose and—"

    "Wait, afterimage?"

    When he bit his lip, Ciara knew he'd blurted out something he shouldn't have. When she realized what it meant, her eyes widened and her hands loosened.

    "Were you attacked?"

    "Maybe? But that doesn't—"

    "When? Where?"

    "On the way to the—"

    "Is the spell broken!?"

    "I don't think that's—"

    "Fuck, we need to redo it. We haven't even reached eastern Xadia yet. Claudia won't let us breathe. Wait, you two are in danger! Sarai—"

    "Hey, hey, deep breaths. You're shaking. Focus on my heartbeat. In and out."

    He got up from the chair and sat on the bed, pulled her body to him. There were no longer butterflies in her stomach, but fireworks. She rested her temple on his shoulder and placed her hand on his chest. Unlike hers, his heart was beating steadily, making her hand tingle. She felt his arms wrap around her and she snuggled closer. Her gasps were slowing down, it was working.

    Damn it, it was working well.

    "I don't think she broke the spell, she just took advantage of the moment of the weakening. Whatever Aaravos was doing must have exhausted you. I told you it was a good idea to rest. If there are no attacks here now, it's because of you."

    "Me?" Her voice was like a whisper. "You expect too much from someone who's received nothing but complaints so far."

    "No way!" He took the white parts of her hair that fell over her shoulder, which she'd braided, in his hand and slowly began to twist it around his finger. "You said you're the youngest top rank mage in all Xadia."

    "That is, unless Zyen lied. She kept saying that for the last 6 months."

    "She told the truth. Even your dark magic is being put to good use. You know primal magic and you want to learn it quickly because you don't want to hurt anyone or anything. You're kind-hearted enough to protect a guard you just met and the baby he kidnapped, and generous enough to ask for nothing in return. The first time you learn of Claudia's plan, you're selfless enough to volunteer to stop her, even though it puts your life in danger. You're so..."

    It started to snow outside. The moonlight was bright enough to create sparkles as it passed through the snowflakes. A little further down in the garden, glowbugs danced as they tried to warm up. Ciara didn't care at that moment. She wasn't cold even though the fireplace wasn't lit. It was quiet outside the room, Sarai must have slept.

    "You're so amazing. You're you, and that's enough."

    She felt her gaze on the silver fog up. She couldn't remember feeling this peaceful for a long time. She sniffled and nodded without saying anything.

    "Good night."

    She closed her eyes as Lucian's lips found her forehead.

☆☆☆

    Aanya couldn't sleep.

    They shared the tents as Callum-Soren, Terry-Hermia and Rayla with her. Hermia had said there should be a melee fighter in each tent, so it made sense. After the fire, this should have comforted her and helped her sleep, but her head was spinning like a broken record.

    "You, Your Majesty."

    She was Claudia's target. They'd planned for her to be safe. When Claudia found out, she'd come after her again. She had set out to kidnap her.

    Because she was his weak point.

    She took a sitting position in her sleeping bag and pulled her knees to herself. Aanya was no fool, she knew exactly what Soren was talking about. Claudia had somehow gotten hold of this information, which hadn't even been disseminated in the Pentarchy for a long time, and she wanted to use it to threaten the king of Katolis.

    You're an idiot, Ezran. She wiped her cheeks but couldn't stop shaking. You know what you have to do. There are more important things at stake, like Xadia's future. You need to do it. You have to do it. Even if... even if...

    She couldn't prevent the sobs rising in her throat.

    Even if it kills you.

    "Aanya?"

    She jumped up and put her hands to her eyes, but her lips wouldn't shut. She felt someone crawling next to her.

    "Hey, hey, what's wrong?"

    I miss him so much. I'm so scared for him. Claudia's learned something critical, it makes me sick that she's using it against him. Corvus is captured because of me, Soren is suffering. He almost died because of me!

    She continued to cry and buried her face in the elf's shoulder. Warm arms slowly wrapped around her and began to pat her back. The young queen tried to regulate her breathing.

    "Sorry," she said a little later. Her voice was slightly hoarse and she felt tired. But she knew that if she lay down, she still wouldn't be able to sleep. When she lifted her head from her shoulder, Rayla took her face in her hands and wiped away the tears.

    "Don't apologize. You're a being like everyone else, you need to cry. The title of queen doesn't change that."

    "Yeah I know. It's just..."

    The candle or kerosene lamp weren't burning in the tent, so they could easily see the glowbugs roaming outside and their friend standing guard. Aanya noticed another silhouette next to Soren sitting on the rocks. He was too tall to be Terry and didn't have a scabbard around his waist. Probably Callum.

    "Wanna talk about it? You still haven't told us why you're Ezran's weakness."

    Rayla's violet eyes reflected the moonlight that entered the tent, her long white hair fell over her shoulders. Aanya thought she was asleep because her back was turned, but by the look on her face, she was having trouble with that too. Her brows were furrowed and she looked thoughtful. Even if she didn't explain it to her, it was clear that something was on her mind.

    Valera isn't here and Rayla is a good listener. They were carefully concealing the information so that it wouldn't spread and be used for political purposes, but now that Claudia knew, it didn't matter. It was about to be used for something far more troublesome than politics.

    "We made a mistake."

    "A mistake?"

    A questioning look flashed in her gaze.

    "Was there a political meeting between Katolis and Duren that we don't know about? Is it about Evrkynd?"

    "No, not like that. I... he..."

    She took a deep breath and looked down at her clasped hands in her lap.

    "We kissed."

    There was a silence. The insect noises outside seemed to be trying to interrupt it without disturbing it. She kept her eyes on her lap. She felt strange, it'd been a long time since she had talked about him with anyone other than Valera. When her face lifted up from her chin, her gaze met the elf's. She was staring dumbfounded.

    "You kissed? I didn't hear wrong, right? You... you love him!?"

    She nodded her head without averting her eyes, but she couldn't stop the tears from welling up. Rayla's expression changed.

    "Oh Aanya..."

    There were no sobs this time when she hugged her tightly. Tears ran silently down her cheeks, as if it would hurt more to let them out. She didn't pull back and kept patting her on the back as she continued to talk.

    "When?"

    "The day we went to Queen Merida's funeral."

    "So that's what Soren was talking about. She knows. Ezran must have kept quiet until now, she planned to use you as a last resort."

    "Yes."

    She made a sound of acknowledgement. Aanya didn't understand why she didn't sit down and start scolding her. She'd chosen a terrible candidate and an even worse time to fall in love. What was she thinking?

    "You're blaming yourself. Don't."

    She shook her head from side to side.

    "How can I not? I shouldn't have taken such a dangerous risk, I should've refused in the first place. I knew that the merge was unlikely and that even if it remained secret, it would cause political trouble if it came out. I was stupid!"

    "Nope."

    The princess stepped back and grabbed her by the shoulders.

    "This is not stupidity. It's love. Sometimes it appears when you least expect it. You can never control it."

    She had a sad smile on her lips. She took her hands off her shoulders and guided her towards her sleeping bag.

    "You know?"

    "Yeah." She got into her own sleeping bag and turned to face her. They weren't far apart, Aanya could hear the white-haired elf's breathing.

    "I met Callum at the Katolis Castle. I was the youngest member of the Moonshadow assassins and I was trying to fix the wrong I had done."

    When she said 'wrong', she bent the index and middle fingers of both hands in the air. It was clear she now thought different.

    "The assassins were ordered by the then dragon ruler Queen Zubeia to kill King Harrow and crown prince Ezran. That's what I was in the castle for and I was determined to do the job properly."

    "It doesn't look like mission accomplished from here," Aanya said sarcastically, her thoughts went to the king in the hands of the dark mage.

    "What stopped you?"

    "Zym's egg. It was an olive branch for peace and I didn't want to ruin everything again."

    There was a nostalgic look in her eyes, you could tell she was remembering something precious.

    "It was unwise to go on foot from Katolis to Storm Spire, but we had to. We went through a lot. We faced many political troubles. There were many near-death moments. But..."

    Her hand unconsciously caressed the horncuff attached to her horn.

    "We fell in love."

    Aanya nodded. She could understand what she meant. It felt good to be not the only one, but it didn't change the problem at hand. Rayla was lucky. She'd met and fallen in love with the love of her life in a free environment. Callum didn't have to rule a kingdom and wasn't subjected to heir pressure from the Katolis council. More importantly, neither of them was forced to put their people before themselves.

    She didn't say any of this. They had different struggles and it wouldn't be fair to compare them.

    "I miss him."

    "I know. Me too."

    She closed her eyes. She knew sleep wouldn't come to her again, but at least it would give her body a rest. As their night fell silent, she let one last sentence fall from her lips.

    "I wish I could kiss him for the last time."

    "You will. And it won't be the last."

    I wish everyone would stop making promises they can't keep.

☆☆☆

    Ezran's eyes opened with the sound of a close crash and a cry of pain.

    He was lying in the same position he'd been lying in the night: pulled to his knees and pressed to his stomach so that he wouldn't feel his hunger. His face was sunken, the weight he'd lost was starting to show on his body. His tired eyes searched for the source of the sound and let out a gasp when he saw the silhouette that'd fallen a little beyond him and the mage who'd entered behind him.

    "Corvus!"

    His voice was cracking and low, he hadn't had a drink of water properly for 2 days. He tried to stand up but when he couldn't, he crawled to the tracker. One of his eyelids was swollen, his forehead was covered in blood. As soon as the young king touched his body, he felt how warm it was. He had a fever.

    He was losing blood.

    He felt something lodged in his throat, he couldn't breathe deeply. He turned to the mage with fiery eyes.

    "What did you do to him? You had no right!"

    "Oh really?" Claudia didn't seem to care, she was looking at the tracker out of the corner of her eye. She didn't let go of the wicker basket she was holding. "He should've thought before he tricked me. I know you can hear me."

    His deep coughs turned into vomiting, Ezran turned him sideways hastily. He didn't care about the puke accumulating on the side. His eyelids flickered but didn't open.

    "What did you get by impersonating the queen? You've only prepared your own death warrant. But you should be proud."

    He impersonated Aanya?

    Poison green eyes turned to him.

    "His life will be extinguished in my hands. I have a new plan. It's quite simple and effective. And I don't need your consent. I don't need any of you anymore."

    When Ezran saw the gold coin the woman took out of her pocket, he knew what was going to happen. His face turned white and he held the body in his arms tighter.

    "Stop it!"

    There was a dangerous glint in her eyes. He knew his words would have no effect. His cheeks were getting wet.

    "You had a chance to make sure no one got hurt, Your Majesty. But you threw that chance away. You thought I was bluffing, you didn't take me seriously. Now you're gonna pay the consequences."

    Ezran could no longer stop sobbing when she picked up the staff behind her. He wasn't a mage, there was nothing he could do. He hugged the bloodied body and began to list countless apologies.

    "Erusaert ym si luos ruoy!"

    He closed his eyes and screamed as purple lights surrounded them.