Page 35 of A World of Ruins

‘Nara?’ The small female voice has me standing up and turning to see Freya there with an apologetic grimace on her face. ‘The Elven princesses are here to see you.’

My lips part in shock. I didn’t think they would appear here this soon. ‘What? How—’

‘Do you really want to question why they are here after the whole world is in a mess because of Aurum?’ The sassy response elicits a chuckle from Darius, and I glance behind me, noting how he is watching us both.

Sighing, I tell Freya, ‘You make a good point.’ As I offer her the keys to the cells, she touches my shoulder, and suddenly I find it difficult to move.

‘Go,’ she says. ‘I will keep an eye on him; don’t worry.’ She shoots me a look when I seem reluctant to leave her here. ‘I’m a witch connected to his dragon side, Nara. Maybe I can help in some way.’

She’s right, but with Darius’s state of mind, I can’t stop being concerned for everyone.

Dusting the dirt off my tunic, I nod to Freya and leave the cells, but not without hearing Darius say to her, ‘Hello, witchy.’

‘Arlayna,’ I breathe in relief as I spot her in the foyer beside Faye and Aeron. Both princesses are dressed in casual Elven travel attire, with their dark hair in carefully crown-braided updos. They look no different from when I last saw them, except now their expressions seem more worn down, and the glow in Faye’s usually mischievous face looks dull compared to how I had seen it months ago.

‘It is so good to see you, Nara.’ Arlayna wraps an arm around me, squeezing me gently as she takes in the different colours of the Aerian Palace. ‘After you wrote to us, we didn’t know whether it was a good time to visit you now or—’

‘Never,’ Faye cuts in, earning herself a quick scolding from Arlayna.

Aeron acknowledges me with a nod before walking towards the large panel windows and staring outside at the approaching sunset. I notice his armour is still the same as before: emerald armour plates and a carved crown made of branches and stars. The only noticeable change is that his once cheekbone-length blond hair is now well past his chin.

I wait until he is at a safe distance from hearing us. ‘How come he is not with Aurum?’

Arlayna’s gaze keeps flitting back and forth between me and Aeron. ‘When Thallan took over, half the Elven army stayed with him while the others went with Aurum. Luckily, Faye convinced Thallan that Aeron should stay with us as he is her personal guard.’

‘I’m quite good with my words.’ Faye grins.

A soft chuckle leaves me, but Arlayna doesn’t seem to be in the right mood to joke with her sister as she clears her throatand says, ‘We read in your letter that you managed to get Darius back.’

My smile falls from my lips. I try to get it back, but it just does not feel sincere any more. ‘Yes,’ I say. ‘I imagined the news would have travelled fast regardless of whether or not you had read my letter, although I’m surprised Thallan hasn’t tried to attack us, considering he and Aurum are allies now.’ I lead the three into one of the palace’s spare chambers.

‘That is what we wanted to talk to you about,’ Arlayna says behind me as I close the doors and urge the princesses to sit on a sofa by the open windows. ‘Thallan is too busy makingpersonalchanges to Terranos to fight side by side with Aurum—’

‘Which includes trying to infiltrate Thalore, where the Dark Elves are,’ Faye adds as I sit opposite them.

‘Kirian,’ I find myself voicing aloud.

Faye nods. ‘Last we heard was that Thallan is trying to strike deals with him.’

I shake my head, thinking how unlikely that is. I have met Kirian, and despite it not being for long, his actions gave me the impression he would never listen to someone from Olcar, let alone the new ruler of Terranos. ‘I doubt Kirian is stupid enough to trust in Thallan.’

‘No, but he is a nightmare to deal with,’ Arlayna grumbles and my eyes widen with intrigue as I look towards Faye for an answer.

Faye leans forward, giving me a secretive wink. ‘They write each other strongly worded letters.’

That annoys Arlayna as stormy grey eyes fire daggers in her sister’s direction. ‘The pointis, he seems to trust only two people.’ She turns to me. ‘You and Darius.’

The thought baffles me. ‘Us? The same people who snuck into his place to retrieve one of the stones?’

Arlayna chuckles softly. ‘It looks as if he admired you both for going to the extreme of gathering the stones.’

‘And now that the treaty is broken, everyone and everything is in a mess,’ Faye agrees with a nod. ‘The merfolk of Undarion are not delighted to hear about any of this and have even taken to blaming you for what has occurred.’

The heaviness of the situation pushes against my chest. Of course, the last thing I need is for the people of Undarion to despise me for what happened.

‘We know this is all a lot, Nara,’ Arlayna tries to sympathise, ‘given what has gone on in the past few months, and believe me, we want to help you, but—’

‘It is not your fight,’ I tell them, my eyes darting back and forth. ‘You are both already dealing with the aftermath of your uncle’s death, and Thallan, I—’ I glance at my hands which are joined together in front of my lap. ‘I wouldn’t want to drag you into this.’ Into any of it.

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