Silvia sat with her legs crossed at a table near the window. Her eyes were focused but not on anything in particular. She rolled a pen in her fingers then set it down, abandoning the letter she was working on.

From her expression I could only tell that she was thinking, but whether those thoughts were positive or negative I couldn’t be sure.

Mirina was taking a nap, probably tired from staying up all night to sneak out and find me.

Lumia and Melinda sat at opposite ends of a second bed—both annoyed with each other over differing opinions.

Lumia felt strongly that I shouldn’t help Illudrasile—no matter the stakes or rewards he promised. Melinda felt that it was the best way for me to achieve my goals, and I’d get stronger in the process. The only thing they agreed on was a distrust of Illudrasile.

I didn’t trust him either, and I wasn’t totally committed to his plan, but until I had a better strategy for stopping Liriel, and a method to remove my curse, it seemed like the only real course of action.

Silvia turned from the window to look at me directly. “You’re sure about this? How will you even find the people who hold the lights?”

“Illudrasile gave me their names. Some of them are pretty obvious—The Blessed Maiden, Finek The Wise, even Darious Tessiam.” I answered.

“Exactly!” Lumia declared. “Every single one of them has an army at their disposal, and incredible power of their own. How can you not see this as foolish?”

Silvia slammed a hand on her desk as she roared, “Silvon, this is madness! You’re going to get yourself killed…or worse, you’ll start a war.”

Melinda rolled her eyes in response. “So we tackle the big fish later, but we could always start with someone like Gerald Fisk.”

Silvia’s eyes widened. “You mean Gerald The Beast Fisk? The slaver?”

Melinda nodded.

Looking back at me Silvia asked, “Why are you traveling with her? She’s insane and I won’t have my boy—”

I put a finger over my lips and jerked my head towards Mirina to remind everyone that she was still sleeping. When they acknowledged, I answered, “Melinda is right. If I start with the criminals I can figure out the rest later. Maybe I can convince them to just return the power to its rightful owner.”

“Illudrasile didn’t think so and even his twelve chosen didn’t return it.” Lumia scoffed. “You’re being rash, Silv. Let’s just take these scales to Zidg and go from there.”

“We need the scales, Lu. Without those I’ll have to carry each light myself and like you said, that could be dangerous.”

Lumia groaned loudly in response and turned away from me.

Silvia’s face wrinkled with worry as she stood and embraced me. “I know you’re in a tough spot,” she whispered softly against my ear. Then she stepped away from me again, holding me in her green eyes. She shook her head slightly then smiled weakly at me. “I wish I could help you, but I can only aid you in training. Unfortunately I may not even be able to do that for very long.”

“Why not?” I asked. “Is something wrong?”

Silvia shook her head. “It’s nothing, but our people can’t stay in the plains forever. Naelina and I have come up with a plan. In a few days I’ll need to lead our people back north, some place we can rebuild and start over.”

“I could go with you. I’m their prince, leading them should be my responsibility.”

Lumia got up from the bed as she said, “That’s a good idea. I wonder though, how would the elves think of their prince if they knew the things you were planning to do?” Turning to look at my sister, she added. “What would she think of you?”

I met Lumia’s cold gaze, her eyes dissecting me like a scalpel. The question was valid, but it didn’t feel fair. In the case of the elven people, it was just politics. The people would accept or reject my choices depending on how the information was presented to them. I could easily think of several simple explanations. With regard to my sister it was an entirely different question.

Illudrasile had painted this task as heroic, but it certainly didn’t feel that way. I didn’t accept the task because I thought it was noble, at least not if carried out in the manner Illudrasile described. My motivation was primarily for myself… I was scared.

After a few tense breaths, Lumia turned away from me and left the room, shutting the door softly on her way out.

Melinda stretched out on the mattress with a yawn. She looked comfortable. The bed was probably better than the one I had rented for us, and it was definitely better than where we’d be sleeping tonight, seeing as I was out of coin.

I turned back to Silvia. “You have someplace in mind, I assume?”

She nodded. “Our people are most at home in the forests. It may be more dangerous, but there’s a place in the north east part of the continent, a bit west of Zeledoana.” She looked back at the letter on her table. “Before that though, I’ll need to hire a few hunters to help keep the group safe.”

I was stunned. “You have the rank to post jobs with the guild?”

“No, of course not. I’m not even a member, but I have connections; and the guild usually accepts jobs from sovereign nations as well, though currently we lack that status.” Silvia paused, her already dreary expression becoming even more melancholy. She shifted her gaze out of the window and up toward the sky before quietly continuing. “Still I can get a job posted, the real issue comes down to payment.”

Melinda sat up on the bed. “How much do you need?”

“For a job this size, about ten gold per hunter, more if I hope to attract higher ranks, and I need at least ten hunters.”

“I’ll pay it then, I won’t miss a hundred gold coins.” Melinda grinned big as a pile of gold dropped on the bed in front of her.

I couldn’t help but feel frustrated when I realized we didn’t actually have to share a single lumpy bed.

Melinda must’ve guessed why I was upset because she giggled and said, “I’ll make it up to you.” Then she flopped back down on the bed. “I’ll get us a nicer room for the rest of our stay. One with two beds.”

“Three beds,” I corrected.

----------------------------------------

We stayed in Sunder only three more nights. With Melinda’s money, hiring additional hunters went pretty smoothly.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

I had forgotten to return Amara’s sword before, but I took care of that before leaving the city. I also updated Stylnyx on the plans. The region we were leading the elves to wasn’t far from Zeledoana, so I figured we could find Zidg after getting the elves to their new home.

Illudrasile gave us five scales to store his lights in, but I wasn’t willing to trade any of them for Zidg’s ring. Illudrasile said he could completely purify me if I helped him, but the ring would only help me temporarily. Hopefully Zidg would accept a different form of payment for making Stylnyx a body.

Lumia and I also accepted Silvia’s escort job. The route she planned to take went straight through the beast plains so there was a near guarantee we’d be attacked. That also meant we were almost certain to get a bonus. The final amount of pay would be determined by the severity of battle and how well we defended the elves.

I studied magic a few hours each day with Silvia until it was time to leave Sunder. On advice from Stylnyx, we focused my studies on telekinesis. Progress was slow at first, but it turned out I had some talent for it. When I was fighting Kinzla, I assumed that it was the lightning that caused Amara’s sword to fly around the room, but once I tried, I was able to lift the green blade with my mind.

I couldn’t hold the blade for long, only about ten minutes. Maneuvering it was slow and awkward, but since I didn't have a large space to practice while we were in the city, I focused mostly on extending the duration by just holding the blade as long as possible. I also practiced spinning it and a few other tricks, but I figured it'd be a lot easier to practice maneuvering the sword out in the wilderness.

It took three hours to sail up river from Sunder to the elven camp.

The whole way, Mirina looked sad and she was quiet. Even as sparkle-fined dancers leapt out of the river, drifting through the air around the boat, Mirina remained reserved and inattentive. I assumed Silvia must’ve talked to her about Vorlin’s death. Her behavior was concerning, but I thought it was probably best to just leave her alone.

The elves were already prepared to leave when we arrived. Naelina, and three elves, who served on the council, greeted us when we came ashore. General Ivor, Lady Sienna, and some old elf who’s name I’d never learned.

Most just nodded and waved, forsaking any formalities, but Naelina smiled at me, saying, “It’s nice to see you alive, highness.” Turning to Silvia, she said, “Clearly, we have much to discuss. You didn’t mention the prince in our last exchange.”

With a tired nod, Silvia motioned toward the convoy of carts and wagons behind the dignitaries. Half of them were stacked high with supplies. There were mostly pelts and fur blankets, but several of the carts also contained grain or dried meat.

I was sure they couldn’t have brought so much from Faerelle, maybe some of it was hunted on the road, but most of it they must have purchased. The wagons themselves were probably made with magic given they were primarily constructed of woven roots and vines. They weren’t flashy, and there was no special design to them, but they were clearly the handy work of a well trained elven mage.

“We can talk more, once we get moving,” Silvia said. “We have a long way to go and we’re paying these hunters by the day.” Silvia finished with a nod toward the band of misfits shuffling off the boat.

General Ivor winced and the old man next to him opened his sagging eyes with a jolt.

“By the day?” Naelina asked, then in a hushed tone, she added, “Do you have a hidden royal treasure or some personal wealth? in case you forgot, we already traded everything valuable for food and blankets.”

Silvia shook her head. “Of course not. I used the last of my gold to rent a room.”

“Then how did you—” general Ivor began.

Walking past the stunned leaders, Silvia added, “You can thank your prince and his friend for our escort.”

The elven leaders considered me with appraising glances before the old man smiled and extended a hand toward me.

Tentatively I took his hand. Considering how I’d been treated by the council before the invasion, and even their greeting now, it was clear they didn’t think much of me and probably didn’t expect much either. I wasn’t concerned about ruling. I didn’t want a throne, but I might need his support nonetheless.

“Your survival will be a beacon of hope to our people. We’re lucky you were away during the invasion,” he said, his voice raspy and hoarse a perfect match with his ancient appearance. “You should ride with us as we travel.”

The other dignitaries nodded their agreement then we started off toward the wagons.

As soon as I took a step, there was a tug at the base of my shirt. Mirina had been standing quietly behind me. Her eyes were wet with tears and her cheeks a bit puffy so I asked, “Mimi, what’s wrong?”

Wiping her eyes, my sister answered, “Sam, can you stay with me?”

I had assumed she would stay with our mom, but after taking a moment to think about it, my sister had stayed near me ever since we left the inn and she hadn’t spoken to Silvia even when she was spoken to.

“Yea.” I said with a smile. “I’d rather hang out with you than a bunch of boring grown ups anyway.”

She giggled a little, but only a little. Then she mumbled, “You’re a grown up too, right?”

“Only just barely,” I said, hoping to make her smile again. “Are you saying I’m boring?”

She shook her head, but didn’t smile.

“Good, then let’s go find a place to sit.”

My sister nodded and grabbed my hand as we started toward the convoy. Lumia was with Silvia, talking to Naelina. They had already taken a place on a wagon near the front. General Ivor was introducing himself to the hunters and probably giving them direction.

Melinda stayed near me, though she gave my sister and I plenty of room for privacy.

As Mirina was trying to decide between two carts, I caught a glimpse of the old elf eyeing me. I didn’t want him to feel snubbed, so I motioned for Melinda to come closer then quietly asked a favor of her. “Could you go apologize to gramps and the others for me? Let them know I’d love to join them, but my little sister needs me right now.”

She winked at me then sashayed over to deliver my message. I smiled and waved as she reached them, just trying to be respectful, but as the old guy’s expression soured, I dropped my hand and returned my attention to Mirina. “Have you decided where to sit yet?”

She was looking between a wagon pulled by a gruffle, and one stuffed with pelts of thick brown fur, but pulled by a quartet of horses. Without waiting for her answer, I lifted her onto the furs.

“Wait, Sammy!”

“Think of the gruffle,” I said, “there’s so many people on the cart and he’s pulling it all by himself.” I said with a gesture towards the five elves already seated on the cart and three more that were climbing aboard.

Mirina sighed in disappointment. “I guess…”

I kissed her forehead then hopped up next to her. As I pulled her into a tight hug, I said, “I also thought it might be nice to have some privacy. Don’t you want to tell me what’s been bothering you all day?”

She shook her head. “Maybe later, I don’t really want to talk about it right now.” Then she snuggled into my side and wrapped her arms tightly around me.

“Okay, Mimi. How about we play a little game?”

She nodded.

I closed my eyes briefly and extended my senses through mana. I knew Mirina had a mana core, but I wasn’t sure how strong it was or if she had learned any magic yet. Her core was just in the first stage, it had a long way to go before reaching the second, but it was good enough for what I had in mind. “Mom already taught you to cast bullet didn’t she?”

Mirina nodded again.

“Think you can hit a target,”

Looking a little uncertain, Mirina answered, “Maybe…”

“Then I’ll make you targets as we go and if you can hit five, I’ll make Lumia take you for a ride.”

Hey eyes lit up with determination. “I’ll do it!”

“Time to go! Everyone, let's march.” General Ivor shouted from the front of the convoy. His voice carried unnaturally on the wind, even from our cart near the back we could still hear him clearly.

One after the other, the carts started to roll forward. On either side of each wagon, elven soldiers fell into place marching alongside the wagons. Most of the hunters were at the front, but two were sent to the back and walked behind the last supply cart.

Probing around, I found elven mages mixed through the group. Most of them only at the first or second core stage. Recalling what Silvia said about them, I realized they probably wouldn’t be much help in a fight. I was sure there must’ve been others who could use magic. They were just too far from me or capable of masking their mana.

“I’m ready!” Mirina said, holding her hand out in front of her.

“Alight,” I said with a slight chuckle.

I made the first target from soft earth then used telekinesis to hold it exactly twenty feet to the left of our cart as the wagon began moving.