At the same time, Freyah answered, “Completely reliable.”
The opposite answers said so much about their personalities: him, a realist; her, a dreamer.
“Why do you ask?”
“I have been dreaming about the woman I saw at the canyons. She might have been a princess, I’m not sure, but I have this feeling she is important,” Alissa whispered.
“Why do you think she was a princess?” Freyah rubbed her chin, curious.
“Because Dhalia, and other victims of Senectus before her, have dreamed about a princess that matches her description.”
“Is that why you asked me if there had been any silver-haired princesses in Heldraine weeks ago?” Eldric recalled the night Alissa woke him up in the middle of the night, abruptly asking about a random silver-haired princess; his chest tightened a little.
Alissa nodded. “I know it’s a long shot. But there’s something about this woman that’s simply not right.” She shifted her weight on her heels.
Eldric brushed his thumb on the back of her hand.
“She claims to be the key to finding the cure for Dhalia and that she was a victim of Senectus herself.” She shook her head. “What if her image was also an answer the canyons have given me?”
Alissa had thought she was losing her mind, but seeing her friends take her theory seriously made her heart feel full.
Eldric squeezed her hand, sensing her insecurities. “Here’s what we’ll do. As soon as we get to the library, we will gather all volumes on the royal family’s lineage and read them all. If this woman were a princess five hundred, one thousand years ago, it doesn’t matter—we will find out who she was.”
“I’m with Eldric, Lissa. We have so many resources at our disposal now. If this is a lead, we should pursue it.”
“Don’t you think I’m crazy to believe in a dream?”
Eldric’s hands cupped her cheeks, gently holding her face to emphasize the sincerity of his words. “You’re not crazy, Alissa. If anything, you’re brave for finding hope in places where the rest of us might see nothing of value.”
Her breath caught in her throat when his gaze went to her lips, and she swore he would kiss her right there.
The tapping of Freyah’s feet as she took a step back broke the spell of their proximity, the intensity of the moment dissipating as if it had never existed.
Clearing his throat, Eldric walked away, digging his fingers through his hair. “We should get going. Desi’s mother will be very displeased if we’re late again.”
Behind her, Freyah watched, amused, her lips pressed together to stifle a smile. She gave Alissa a playful nudge on the shoulder in approval. Anticipating that Freyah’s next words would involve romantic speculations about a certain man in their company, Alissa shushed her friend before things could spiral out of control. But his warmth still lingered where their skin had touched.
Chapter 28
Truth Be Told
96 DAYS UNTIL DHALIA’S DEATH DATE.
The room Alissa had been sleeping in at Breno’s place was bigger than her entire home. His residence was simple by the standards of the capital, but by Bryniard’s standards, it would be considered a palace. She paced the room impatiently. She hadn’t expected to stay in the capital for so long.
Alissa had set very unrealistic expectations in her mind, expectations that led her to think she would reach the capital and that the answers she needed would miraculously fall into her lap. Her own delusion was why she struggled not to be overcome by negativity, as every day they seemed to take a step back rather than a step forward. Even the book on the fundamentals of magic and the deep dive on the royal family’s lineage had proved useless to their purpose.
“Okay, what do we have so far?” she asked.
“We know the girl from your dream also supposedly died of Senectus Subita,” Freyah said.
“But that is not a fact—it was something I dreamed about. Did you find anything else on her?”
Alissa only received shaken heads in response.
“We know there are no monsters in Bryniard, so at least part of the history of Heldraine’s foundation is inaccurate,” Eldric indicated.
“Do we already know if any of it has a relation to magic?”