Page 26 of Daughter of the Darkened City

They reached a room in the back, with soft flickering candles casting shadows from the slightly ajar door. Muffled voices soundedfrom within. The guard opened the door and waved her in. It was an herbal room, the walls lined with jars full of different substances and books. Tables and burners lined the back wall and in the middle was a large table with papers strewn about.

Behind the table were two elves, one with brown skin and black hair in a topknot, wearing the light colored robes of an acolyte, and the other with lighter skin and brown flowing hair, a crown atop his head.

The king.

She bent over, hastily bowing. “Your majesty!” she cried out, uncertain about the proper way to address royalty.

He chuckled softly and came near. “You must be Avenay. Please, stand.”

He took her hands as she straightened, giving her a soft smile, warm and fatherly. Her nerves settled at the look, any fears of her impropriety leaving.

“I am, your majesty. I have to admit, when I received the letter, I didn’t expect to meet with you personally.”

King Leeth motioned to the guard who exited and shut the door behind him, then he guided Avenay to the table. “I like to add a personal touch. However, this subject is of great importance to me.Before I get ahead of myself, this is Vasu, the acolyte who heard of your presentation.”

Vasu grinned, a sincere and boyish look in his eyes as he did, and held out his hand to shake hers. She took it, finding herself smiling back at him.

“Avenay,” Vasu said. “I’ve heard that you made quite the stir with your presentation.”

Her cheeks warmed at the memory of everyone laughing, of Lucas taking her out and sending her away. She nodded meekly.

“No need to be shy amongst us,” Vasu responded. “Others might think you’re insane, but we’re inclined to believe that you’re quite right in what you posit.”

Had her presentation been that convincing?

Vasu pointed to a map on the table. “Look at this and tell me what you find.”

She gazed at the parchment. It looked very similar to modern maps. The continents of Medeis and Nemus were clearly marked. Cities seemed to be in the same or similar places, or as much as she could tell, though she recognized none of the names.

At first, that is. As she looked closer, she leaned over, giving it more scrutiny. “It’s in Entailish!”

Vasu nodded. “I thought you’d find it interesting, too. Look, we have the ancient names for cities here.” He tapped a small leather-bound book he held open with one hand. It was a concordance of cities with all their known names in other languages. “There is Lesern,Lumonus, the Realm of Shadows,ReganlinUmberin, and if you go to Nemus, there’s Elf Glen,EfvoninVallin.”

Avenay smiled, standing to look it over in its entirety. She wasn’t familiar with Nemus, and she suspected they had different cities even now, as she knew there had been a boom of growth in the last century. But she muttered the names as she read them, loving the way Entailish sounded on her tongue:Kollith, Havern Iton, Mattern ot Jev, and a city atop a mountain,Evolis.

Evolis.

Her heart pounded so loud it consumed her hearing. She threw a wild glance at Vasu, desperate for some confirmation of what her mind was puzzling together, scarcely daring to hope. His grin grew wider.

“Is it real?” Her voice was barely above a whisper, afraid that speaking too loud would dispel the moment and reveal she was still in her room at the inn, watching rain drip down the windowsill.

“We believe it is. And we believe it’s in the forest outside of Elf Glen.”

Avenay traced a finger over the map in wonder. There it was, the very place she had been dreaming of for so long. If the ruins were still there, would the well be too?

“We’ve held this academic summit here for the last five years to find people who have backgrounds to help us,” Leeth said. “And it’s finally paid off.”

Avenay gave a disbelieving laugh. “I wasn’t even supposed to present on that subject. My original one was stolen by my rival and I just threw that one together.”

“It was the Holy Mother weaving your fate here,” Vasu said, his voice reverent.

Avenay thought she might start believing in the Holy Mother if this were true.

“What do we need to do? I’d like to find the ruins as soon as possible,” she said.

Leeth laughed. “I like your eagerness. It just so happens that we were putting together a team to explore the forest. To leave in two days.”

Could it really be true? Perhaps there was a deity weaving her fate for the better, after all.

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