Page 2 of To Claim a King

“And the penny drops.”

The last Truth Seeker had been Turin of Aryn, and the man was very much supposed to be dead. He had been killed before her time, and that was the whole reason behind the war that had plagued their kingdoms.

“I’m not going to say a word,” she swore, “But, I’mjust a little bitcurious as to why you aren’t dead. Both of you.”

Xandrie didn’t expect either of them to reply; to her surprise, Turin sat down on the grass next to her, and told her a story about death, evil, and shadows. She sat next to him, listening eagerly. She only understood one word out of two, but she soaked in his voice and imagined the world as they saw it.

“Sixty years ago, I was young and foolish.”

“You’re still foolish,” the second prince interjected.

“I believed my gift meant that I couldalwayssee the truth. So, when a female Elf…”

“A very sexy female Elf.”

“Stop interrupting, or tell the story yourself, dammit!”

Argon shut it.

“When the Elf came to me, saying she needed help - that her realm was in danger - I believed it. I didn’t know that my powers don’t work on shadows.”

“What are shadows?”

The Elf was patient enough to explain it.

“There are four known elements in the world - Earth, Water, Fire, Air - and there is a fifth acknowledged by anyone with a bit of sense.”

“Aether,” she completed, surprising the Elf. Normal people didn’t go around talking about Aether. Before they’d known she had no magics, though, her parents had instructed her well; after, she’d educated herself by sneaking books out of their library when she could.

“Very good. Aether, most know about. But there’s also Shadow.”

She frowned.

“Think of it as a conscious negative energy. The four basic elements are neutral, and Aether is positive. Shadow thrives when the world is in despair - war, violence feeds it. And just like there are some individuals infused with Aether, Shadow penetrates certain people.”

That was rather creepy.

“So, you’re saying that this Elf was an agent of evil?”

“Precisely. Anyway, I walked into a trap and I’ve lived in the Shadow Realm since.”

Xandrie’s expression said it all: she had no clue what he was talking about.

“He means he’s half dead.” That made even less sense.

“Our ever cheerful friend here happens to be a child of Aether. He can navigate the Shadow world. He brought me back; as long as I’m with him, I can walk on Eartia.”

“So, you’re on some sort of a quest to stop the Shadows, right?”

Turin nodded.

Fascinating. Xandrie picked her jaw up, and said the first thing that came to mind.

“How can I help?”

Both Elves looked amused, which could have offended her, if she didn’t know just how useless she was - her parents had said that much to her face. Repetitively.

“I don’t think I can make a huge difference, but my sister is a powerful mage- I can ask her to create potions for you. I can also buy some supplies; food, maybe?”

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