King Aetius received the pigeon from his servant with curiosity. It was certainly one of theirs. He would recognize the two giant fluorescent splotches on its wings anywhere, just as he recognized the writing as his son’s. The Isles of Elchor specially cross-bred the homing pigeons they sent to other countries, creating beautiful blue-gray messengers with gorgeous fluorescent necks and false eyes shimmering in their long wings. The resulting offspring were almost always infertile, but the hardiness and reliability of their birds was required for the long trip across the ocean. After receiving a bird, they could just send another back to the country in question on one of the many merchant ships that flew the Isles of Elchor’s flag.

At least, that would usually be the case. Eladria’s anti-magic stance had scared away most merchant ships. A safe ship carried at minimum two warders, one to shield the ship during the waking hours and one for the sleeping hours. No captain wanted to be without their warders. Those who could afford to would avoid Eladrian waters altogether, but those who could not resist the gold to be made selling Eladrian silver would either contract warders in the Isles of Elchor or smuggle their warders through. Even the man who was kind enough to ferry Hector to and from Eladria was an ex-pirate and smuggler, having paid off most of his bounties with the money he made shipping Eladrian silver. No, Hector would have known that any ship returning the bird would have to make a special trip for it. It would have to be one of Aetius’ own, flying his flag. Even the message wrapped around the bird’s leg confirmed that, all it said was “Safe journey.”

Aetius frowned. His third son, Theodore, was still in trouble with the Vanti Tribes, but Hector never asked for help. Prince Theodore would have to get himself out of his own mess this time. Aetius looked to his servant. “Ready my ship.”

~~

Lynnette opened her eyes. Wherever she was, it was pitch black. She kept waiting for her eyes to adjust to the dark, but they wouldn’t. But she could hear the muffled sobs and whimpered cries of other people around her, other girls. The princess tried to stretch out, stretch the ache from her bones, only to run into walls on either side. A cell. She was in a cell. Lynnette pulled herself up into a sitting position, leaning against the wall. Soft sobbing came from the other side of the wall. “Hello miss, are you alright?” Lynnette called out in a hushed whisper.

“We can’t be talking,” a fearful voice whimpered. “She dun like it when we talk.”

“Er, right. My apologies,” Lynnette replied. She shifted her body, bracing her back against the wall. The silence hung in the air between them, filled only with the sobs and whimpers of other prisoners. Worry ate at her. She bit her lip, trying once more to look around her cell. It was still pitch-black, her eyes refusing to grow accustomed to the dark. By now, her eyes should have adjusted at least a little. She should have been able to make out some general shapes. The air felt strange as well. It was damp, musky and mildewed, with a heaviness that pressed down on Lynnette’s skin. The smell of sulfur and mold assaulted her senses, each breath more unpleasant than the last. Even breathing through her mouth didn’t help, the air tasted bitter and stale. Lynnette needed something to take her mind off of the worry. She leaned her head against the wall, considering her options. “My name is Lynnette,” she whispered.

Silence ensued. It hung there in the air, with the stank and the cold. Then a noise, a little whisper barely louder than the distant sobbing. “Paige,” the girl replied.

“A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Paige,” Lynnette smiled, “though, truth be told, it could be under better circumstances.”

Paige let out a little laugh. “Ya think?” she scoffed. Lynnette could hear some scuffling as Paige moved closer to the wall between them. “Say, ye talk fancy. Do ya reckon help is on the way?” she asked.

Lynnette froze. Was she truly so unknown to her own people? Then she eased back against the wall, pressing her hand against the cold stone. The thought was strangely appealing, to be talking to someone who was unaware of her rank and status. “I am almost certain of it, Paige,” she whispered.

Paige sighed in relief. “Gods, I hope so,” she whispered. “I don’t know just how much more I can take-”

There was a noise far off, the creaking of ancient hinges on a door. Lynnette could hear Paige scurry away. Footsteps sounded out, coming closer. Lynnette perked up, feeling her way forward as curiosity got the best of her. She came across what felt like wood, damp to the touch. A door. Her fingers searched the uneven surface, finding a keyhole. Perfect. She crouched down, pressing her ear against the cold metal as she listened in on the conversation outside her cell.

"I cannot protest your diligence in your duties, Gavia. I am merely recommending some caution with this one," a familiar male voice protested. The man who had taken her. The man who murdered Sara. Lynnette scowled as she pressed her ear against the keyhole even harder. "She caught the attention of a Watcher of the Void, that is not something to ignore."

Lynnette clasped her hand over her mouth. The Void was not a place you visit on a whim. It was a volatile and deadly place. It was the space between realms, the little cushion of air between the stack of plates that was the different planes of existence. It was everywhere, yet nowhere. Both timeless and ephemeral. A perfect prison. At least, that is what the legends said Irygor, the Dragon God of Wisdom, used it for. But the gods and demons locked away in its befuddling confines were not the thing you worry about. No, not when the creatures born of its enigma roamed the vast nothingness.

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A woman spoke up, an accented voice smooth and sweet like honey despite her agitation. "Why would I use a rope half-wrapped when I have the ability to tighten it?" the woman asked.

"Well, then perhaps we should use a different rope, Gavia," he argued. "Now, I am not suggesting we return her, mind you. She is far too important to Kendrick and Frederick for that to ever be a possibility. But, my household has a handmaiden we could switch her out with. It would be far safer AND we would have a powerful component in case an emergency should arise."

"Your words flirt with treason, High Priest Devin," Gavia hissed. "Are you suggesting that our revered leader was wrong about her? Would you oppose the Speaker of Keranos himself?"

"No, my dear High Priestess, I would not," Devin replied all too quick. Then he sighed, choosing his words with care. "I was merely...suggesting...that there may be more to this one than even the Speaker knew. I mean, a watcher of the Void, Gavia. Do you have any idea how much raw power you must possess in order to attract the attention of such a beast?" He lowered his voice, his desperation clear as he whispered, "I carry a holy relic of our god, from before his fall. I slip through the Void all the time, just fine. With her attracting a Watcher...if that thing caught our scent, this could get dangerous."

Lynnette could hear Gavia's eyes roll as she let out an exasperated sigh. "You whimper as if it was not I who spoke plain of the danger whose gaze you caught. I told you, High Priest Devin. Only a fool would use a snake pit for a shortcut and not expect snakes. But I am not here for conjecture. The Speaker himself bid me to make these ingredients shine, and that is what I intend to do."

A door opened, but it wasn’t Lynnette’s. Paige’s voice rang out from next door, “What do ye want, ye crazed faerie?”

“It is alright, child. You may approach, my dear,” Gavia cooed.

“No. No, please no!” the girl called out.

Lynnette spotted a little torchlight coming through their shared wall and peeked through. Paige shambled forward, her head wrapped in thorny vines to keep it upright. Spikes of small yellow flowers protruded from her hair. Then she shambled out of view, towards Gavia. “This would hurt less if you stopped resisting, child,” the woman whispered. Lynnette had heard enough. She stood up and banged on the stone wall with her fists, shouting at the top of her lungs. “Hey! Hey, leave her alone!” Lynnette hollered at the woman.

Lynnette jumped away from the door as the footsteps rushed towards her. Torchlight blinded her. The two stood gawking at her. "Señor," Gavia whispered, "why is your component awake?"

"I am not telling you to abandon your duties, my dear," he replied. "I am simply suggesting that...maybe you let this one shine a little less."

The silence was deafening. Lynnette's eyes adjusted to the light, allowing her to see the woman standing before her. Gavia was an ethereal beauty. Her skin was a caramel color. Her long hair was a glossy green so dark it almost looked black. Long pointed ears jutting out of either side of her head, more animal than human. Spikes of dead yellow flowers intermixed with thorns jutted out of her hips, arms, collarbones, and hairline. The remnants of her black habit were strung up with a leather cord wrapped around her neck. Yet, she looked elegant in her silk scraps. She was beautiful. But for all her beauty, her eyes were lifeless. They were huge, otherworldly with an angled slant. Hollow, pale yellow orbs, devoid of pupils or irises. Cold. Calculating. Haunting.

"There are still a few collars left, if you so wish to contain this creature," Gavia whispered with that voice like honey, drawing Lynnette in.

Devin murmured her name like a warning. "Gavia."

The woman looked down at him. If her face wasn't so expressionless, one might call it a look of sympathy. "I do not have the luxury of disobedience, High Priest Devin. She will shine like the rest, as the Speaker has ordained. As is the will of Keranos." Then she turned her gaze back to Lynnette. Gavia reached out with her hand, beckoning the girl to her. "Come here, child," she cooed.

Lynnette's body shambled forward, her eyes glued to Gavia's. There was no where else to look for Lynnette. She didn't want to look anywhere else. There was nothing else worth looking at, only those big yellow eyes. Then Lynnette stopped. She blinked. What was she doing? This was an enemy! "Come, child. Come," Gavia whispered again. Just like that, Lynnette was back in those big yellow eyes, shambling towards Gavia's outstretched hand, into her embrace. One arm wrapped around the girl's waist as Gavia stroked her cheek. "Cosita reistente. It is okay, child. Come here, come to me," the strange woman whispered. Thorny vines wrapped around Lynnette's body, holding her close, hugging her, making her feel warm and fuzzy as she mindlessly stared into Gavia's eyes. Gavia's hand snaked up from Lynnette's cheek, tangling in the girl's hair as she held the back of her head. "It will all be over soon," she whispered assuredly, planting a gentle kiss on Lynnette's forehead.

It all flashed in an instant. The searing pain. The screaming. The smell of fire, the blood, the laughing. Desert sands swallowed the little grove whole, feasting away at what little life remained. It didn't feel like crying out to a tree. It felt like crying out to a lover, a friend she once held near and dear, turned to ash and cinders before her eyes. It felt like her own heart was burning away in her chest. It was too much to bear. Lynnette’s body crumbled as her world faded black.