Page 127 of The Keeper of the Kingdoms

I exhaled. The weight of the first task off my shoulders. The group watched with anticipation, and I didn’t keep them in suspense. “Okay, we need to steal the Amber Vessel.”

“What?!” They said in unison, all except Kiera, who knew the plan.

“I’m not saying no, but the Goddess be damned. You do not come with small requests, do you?” Faolan’s eyes were alight with glee. I knew the task would elate him.

“Why?” Emrys asked, searching my face.

“Because we believe it to be part of a key.”

“It has always been said to be the Key to the Kingdoms,” Emrys confirmed.

“How do you expect to do it?” my brother asked. “I don’t know how you will get them off your back long enough to pull off such a thing.”

“That’s why I need help. I’m not going to do it. I am going to fight with the elders to keep their attention on me and off you.”

“That’s all fine,” Emrys said. “But supposing we can even get to it without being seen, it can’t be removed from the stone plinth without another part. That’s part of the mystery. We’ve had it for centuries and can only speculate about it because the other piece was lost. I’ve always thought the elders must have it hidden somewhere. Otherwise, how would they know it’s even something of any value?”

“No, your elders don’t have the other piece. I do,” Kiera said softly, but everyone turned on her.

“What do you mean?” Emrys choked.

“It was in our seed archive in the Forest Kingdom,” Kiera answered simply.

Emrys shook his head. “This is—what was it doing in a seed archive?”

“It contains seeds. We were searching for the ingredients for the treatment of a severed soul-bond, and we found an old text that pointed it to the Lepidodendron plant. Some was stored in our archive in a small jar with part of a symbol carved in its surface,” she explained. “When we checked the archive texts to learn their origin, it was depicted with a second jar, and Jaxus recognized it.”

“As soon as I saw the drawing, I knew it was the AmberVessel, and that is why we came. We need it to help Nyx. He is suffering greatly after the death of his twin, and without him, I don’t believe we stand a chance against the undead,” I added.

“How do the seeds help you in your quest?” Emrys answered.

“I honestly don’t know. The reference on them is so old that I think we are twisting the translation. We hope that with the other half, we will have a better idea.”

“But won’t the seeds take too long to grow if you need the plant?” Faolan ventured.

“The plant is extinct. It relies on earth magic to thrive, and with our land so depleted, it died out. The seeds are all that remain.”

“It’s not extinct in these lands,” Emrys spoke up.

“What?” both Kiera and I asked in together.

“There are entire groves of it to the west,” he confirmed. “We use it in many potions for binding.”

I exchanged a look with Kiera. “What does this mean for us? We still need the other half of this key.”

“We do, but I think we need the plant, too. Who knows what difference it could make?”

“I have it in various forms, but it won’t be a problem to get live samples too. I’ll have it added to the foraging orders for tomorrow.”

“Speaking of foraging orders—” Drystan spoke up, waving his empty basket around. “Didn’t we sign up for some moonlit mushroom gathering?”

“Goddess, yes,” Kiera muttered, picking one up and throwing a mushroom at me.

I growled and she grinned.

“What is with you two and mushrooms? Is this a form of fungi kink?” Faolan asked.

We continued along the path, speaking in hushed tones amongst each other. Kiera and Emrys were discussing theoriesand translations while Drystan, Faolan and I shared ideas on how best to get to the Amber Vessel. All within the bubble of secrecy Faolan had constructed for us. We would not get many chances to talk about plans, so we had to make each minute count.

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