Page 26 of A Song of Shadow and Starlight

"The only person with the ability to kill Soul Eaters is Enver Sol, the Father of Light." Finn finally looks up from stroking the campfire. "Twenty-two years ago, Drogon, the King of the Underworld, raised an army of Soul Eaters, demons, and creatures of the abyss, set on conquering and enslaving the people of the Six Kingdoms of Dalerin. Mortal weapons did nothing to stop the demon army and slowly, kingdoms were overrun."

"What happened?" I sit on my sleeping bag, across from Finn.

"It is said, that Enver Sol blessed mortal weapons with his holy magic and with those weapons, mortals were able to make a final stand against Drogon. Enver Sol led the united army of Dalerin and met Drogon head on in the Valley of Death outside the Mountain Kingdom of Durne. Their duel is still talked about by the warriors who were at the battlefront. Once Enver Sol defeated Drogon, he banished the demon army back to the Underworld and closed the portal, locking them away."

"So, if we find Enver Sol and ask for his help, he'll aid us in defeating the Soul Eaters that remain?" I ask, but Finn shakes his head, wiping his glasses.

"That's the catch. Soul Eaters use human hosts and can abandon those bodies for new ones, making it difficult to find them. There's no telling how many of them escaped the war and remain in our world. But even if we could locate them all, Enver Sol would be of no help to us."

"Why not? Is he dead?" I press.

"No," Finn slips his spectacles on. "When he closed the portal to the Underworld, it meant closing the portal to Orabelle, the home of the Celestials, as well. He is no longer free to walk amongst us in the mortal world."

"Where are the portals now?" I wrap my blanket around me like a cocoon. Listening to Finn tell the story reminds me of when my father would tell me bedtime stories when I was scared. The thought that Garren Kitarni might not be my father feels like a punch to my gut.

"No one is sure where the portals are anymore. Once Enver Sol closed them, they disappeared."

"Well, how do you open them? Surely there's a way -"

"Enver Sol sealed them with his blood, his magic," Finn stretches his legs in front of him, crossing his arms over his chest. "Only he, or one of his descendants, can open the portals, but there's no way that will ever happen. Enver Sol has no heirs and if he did, they're trapped in Orabelle with him."

"But I have light magic." I point out. It's then I remember how Vesper looked at me, as if I were the answer to an ancient riddle. If she and her Soul Eaters have been looking for a way to free their master, she might think I'm the key to opening the portal to the Underworld. And that puts me in more danger than merely fetching me for Bastian. "Is that why Vesper wants me?

"There's no way Vesper knew about your magic before you used it." Atlas shook his head. "But now that she knows, she will stop at nothing to get her hands on you."

"But even if she used my blood to try to open the portal, it wouldn't work. I'm not the heir of Enver Sol."

"We're not sure who you are," Finn eyes me as if he is trying to figure something out. "You have Frost Elf features, but have the ears of a human, the rare magic of the Father of Light, and are the heir to the Midorian Throne. By logic alone, you shouldn't even exist."

"And the other question is," Nyx chimes in, "if Bastian sent Soul Eaters after you, what does he know about Drogon and the portals?"

"Maybe that's how he's been able to use his magic and no one in Midori knew about it," Eris adds, drawing a frown from me. "If his personal guards are Soul Eaters, then they would keep his beast shifting a secret."

"And if they've been traveling with him, raiding villages and towns during their travels," Nyx bounces back, "then it's because they're looking for something."

"Or someone," Atlas' eyes find mine and it sends an unwelcome chill down my spine.

I don't want to believe this nonsense about Bastian. The Bastian I know would never plot to release the King of the Underworld to conquer Dalerin, especially when he's worked most of his life to ensure peace in the Six Kingdoms. But sending Soul Eaters after me makes me nervous.

I think about Bastian's personal guards – an elite force handpicked by my fiancé himself. They wear golden masks with slits for their eyes. I've always despised those masks; they're frightening and undeniably intimidating. I thought that's why Bastian designed them, to set his soldiers apart from Midorian military, but what if he'd commissioned the masks to hide the Soul Eaters' red-rimmed eyes? Suddenly, I'm finding it very hard to breathe.

"You're implying Bastian is trying to find a way to free Drogon from the Underworld," I hate that my voice shakes, but I'm fighting back tears.

Nyx, who is sitting beside me, grabs my hand and squeezes. "If he is, then he will do everything in his power to get you back to Midori. And we are going to make sure that doesn't happen."

"How do we find out who I am?" I ask.

"We?" Atlas smirks, meeting my irritated gaze.

"Yes, we," I hiss. "You kidnapped me, setting all of this into motion. If I'm not a true Midorian, then who am I? Why do I have rare magic reserved only for the Celestials? Why do I have Frost Elf features, but no frost magic? Why does Bastian have Soul Eaters in his employ? How did they find me so fast?" I glance around the campfire at each member of this motley crew. "You must know someone who can give us some answers."

"Calmara." Finn says.

"Who is Calmara?"

"Calmara is the largest library in the known world with books and scrolls on every subject you can imagine. The scholars there would be our best resource in figuring this out."

"But that means," Atlas sits up slowly, looking me in the eyes, "you will have to come to Tronovia for the answers."

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