Xander rearranged them until they fit together perfectly. The crackling of the fire and thehissof the teapot were the backdrop to his movements as everyone, me included, stared at the parchment.
It hadn’t changed a bit. My heart thudded faster in my chest as I studied the map that Xander had spent a century putting together.
Kysha leaned over and her eyes narrowed as she read the tight cursive running through the parchment. “When great darkness is woken, and the balance is broken, only then will those with pure intentions and hearts of gold find the object they seek in the mount of old.”
Her voice echoed through the kitchen, her words settling upon us all. I had read the verse on the map before, having spent many nights going over it.
Pure intentions and hearts of gold.
Ryllae looked up, her black horns catching the early morning light as she snorted. “Why are things always so difficult? I swear to the gods, nothing is ever simple. First, I get told the curse my father placed on me was ‘masterful’—which was less than delightful, let me tell you—and now there’s a gods-damn quest?”
Honestly, I agreed with the Death Elf princess. This was getting ridiculous. Xander, Daegal and I had rescued Ryllae from Nightstone Prison, where she had spent two and a half centuries after her father locked her up. Both of us had our magic blocked, but Ryllae’s father had placed an additional curse on her that required a sea witch to break.
The fates certainly had a strange sense of humor.
Daegal nodded, placing his hand on Ryllae’s. “We must go, Princess. Maiela and I have both Seen what is to come. This is the only way forward that does not result in certain death.”
I noted Daegal’s careful choice of wording. Death wasn’t off the table, at least not completely.
Maiela dipped her head in agreement. “There are very few paths that lead to anything except utter darkness for the Four Kingdoms.” She looked at her wife, and the two of them seemed to communicate in that silent fashion belonging to couples, before Maiela added, “This is the only way. Dangerous or not, this is the path we must follow.”
“Of course it is,” Ryllae mumbled. Her eyes flashed, and Daegal pulled her towards him.
“Hey, Princess,” he whispered. “It’s going to be okay.”
His voice dropped even lower, and I averted my eyes as the two of them pressed their foreheads together, murmuring quietly.
Beside me, Xander ran his fingers over the map. He’d carried one piece with him for over a century, since the day High King Edgar massacred the dragons and burned his village to the ground. He’s spent a hundred years trying to put it together, the four other pieces having been scattered throughout Ithenmyr.
A chair scraped against the wooden floor, and Nonna stood. Her right hand held onto the table for support as she lifted her left hand into the air. Magic slipped out of her open palm, and my magic thrummed at the sight. The witch’s power swirled around us in a sea of blue as bright as a cloudless sky before the ribbons settled on the map.
Nonna closed her fist, and when she spoke, her voice was low and echoed with tinges of ancient power. “Gods of old, come to us here. Reveal what is hidden. If it is your will, allow the unseen to be seen. Give us guidance in this time of need.”
She unfurled her fingers, one by one, and the magic slowly slid over the map. A blue spark flashed above the parchment, followed by a puff of smoke.
When it cleared, I stared at the table in awe. Gone were the five separate pieces. In their place was a solid map, with lines running through it where the jagged edges had been mere moments before. Not only that, but there were new markings. A compass, and…
Xander’s voice rumbled as he read the new script centered in the middle. “When the stars are aligned, and the balance is broken, what has long since been forgotten shall be remembered. The Chosen Six must follow the paths of wind and flame, passing through the Gate and uncovering the resting place of the Ancient Ones.”
The Chosen Six.
A sense of ancient rightness settled upon me; a calling put into place long ago but not revealed until this very moment. Glances were exchanged around the table as the prophetic words hung in the air.
After this, nothing would be the same. The food I had eaten turned into a brick in my stomach. A sense of foreboding filled me, and my lungs tightened as breathing became more difficult.
Are you alright, Aileana?Xander’s worried voice appeared in my mind.
I forced myself to take a few deep breaths before nodding slowly.I will be. I just had the strangest feeling… but I’m sure it was nothing.
At least, I hoped it was nothing.
His hand landed on mine, and he squeezed gently.I’m here if you want to talk about it.
I smiled at him, but before we could say anything else, Nonna waved her hand. A heavy, dust-covered tome lifted from the shelf on the far wall, floating on the air over to us. It landed on the table with athump. Another blue ribbon escaped the witch’s palm, and she murmured as it rushed to the book, flipping the pages until it stopped a third of the way through.
Leaning over the wooden surface, I eyed the open tome. The small handwritten script was in a language that I had never seen before. That wasn’t inherently surprising, considering my upbringing, but judging from the murmurs coming from all around the table, no one else did either.
“This is amazing!” Kysha gasped, tapping the page excitedly. “I saw diagrams like these in my mother’s grimoire.” She glanced at Nonna. “Where did you get this, Elsbeth?”