Before I could so much as blink, I found myself in a plain room with no decoration or furniture. It was not a large room—one big enough to house a few people with space in between them, but any more would make it crowded. The ground beneath me was dark gray from a blanket of dust. For a moment, I was hesitant to walk over it out of fear of disrupting it, but such fears dissolved when I saw it fill in like sand around my footprints. Underneath the thin layer was a familiar set of glyphs I saw when my parents teleported me to The Nest. Copper made up the walls, hosting a slight patina that housed similar markings.

A warning would have been nice, I thought as I took in my surroundings.

The only exit from the room was a single doorless frame, allowing easy exit and entry. Seeing as there was nowhere else I could have gone, I walked out to find myself in a hallway filled with doors of various sizes leading to similar rooms of corresponding sizes.

No one was present in any of them, and as tempting as it was to explore further to find someone who could tell me where I was, I knew it would only make me more lost than I already was. The best course of action was to sit down and wait for someone to find me. I doubted the dragons would send me off somewhere without letting someone know where I was.

The person was likely to be Daphne, though I could imagine how disgruntled she would be to come get me. I could already imagine the look on her face when she would arrive and how she would grumble on the way back.

She really doesn’t like me, does she? I realized as I sat down against the wall.

There wasn’t anything I could think of that would explain her hostility, unlike the other species who disliked me. Andreaki was a dragonoid, and after meeting dragons in person, I understood where her ego stemmed from. The skinwalker was also no mystery considering the circumstances he came into our employment. Daphne had no such reasoning to explain herself.

She disliked me the moment she met me, and while she had done the occasional nice thing for me, like carrying me about and making a hammock for me to sleep in, her disdain while doing so made it hard to believe she did it out of good will.

The only explanation for her was that I was human, and I was not sure what to think of such reasoning. It was something I had no control over, meaning there was nothing I could do about it. The prospect of having to spend time with her under those conditions soured much of the excitement I once had about being in Arindoth.

It could be because she’s half spider, I reasoned. She could just dislike everyone.

Knowing there was little I could do about what Daphne thought of me besides loop around to already contemplated thoughts, I resigned myself to drop the subject and turned my attention back to the hallway.

To stave off boredom, I started casting magic to practice. I did nothing major to save energy, and kept it to the conjuration of elements that I tossed in between my hands. Over the last four years of practice, I learned how to turn one element into another. I could take a blob of water or a chunk of ice and transform it into a flame or a block of earth. In that time I also learned how to shield myself from the heat of the fire. It took concentration to stop burns, which slowed down my manipulation of the elements, but it was better practice and more enjoyable.

Five minutes of practice turned into ten, then twenty, and then thirty. By the time an hour passed, boredom had returned, and none of the magic I could use could cure it.

Throwing my arms out and my head into the air, I let out a long sigh as I stared up at the ceiling. Just as I drew in another breath to repeat the process, a thunderous sound echoed throughout the hall, snapping me into attention and onto my feet.

Not long after, an individual walked out of a room of identical size to the one I did. They had a humanoid form like I did, and did not possess any further features like Daphne. A simple purple robe long enough to graze the floor adorned her body, and she had a yellow sash tied around her waist. In her left hand, she held a spear with wings below the spear tip wide enough to substitute for a sword’s handguard. But her clothing and possessions were of little concern to me compared to her appearance.

The woman’s hair was long, straight, and brunette, reaching down to her waist. Her skin possessed an ivory hue, enhanced further by blue eyes that glowed to illuminate her near perfect features. Her beauty was something I was jealous of, and for a second, I found it hard to believe she was human. Once I looked at her ears, however, I realized she wasn’t.

An elf, I gasped, unable to put my thoughts into words.

Elves were something I never thought I would meet. From what I could gather from eavesdropping on my parents' work, The Nest was not a fan of their independent nature. The fact one was in front of me was surprising enough, but when she approached me, I was even more taken aback. I did several double takes to make sure she was walking toward me.

When I saw no one behind me, I pointed at myself and received a nod from her.

“Guinevere Medvedev?” she inquired, her voice just as smooth and perfect as her skin, and for a moment I didn’t have a response.

“Uh, yes-yes, that’s me, I’m Guinevere,” I stammered once I realized she wanted one.

“Were you expecting someone else?” she chuckled, a smile growing.

“Uh, yes, I was. I didn’t think I would see an elf,” I explained.

“Well, unfortunately, Dante is busy at the moment, and Harok sent me in his stead,” she replied.

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Dante? I wondered, the name not ringing any bells within me. I guess someone else is taking me.

“Where will we be going?” I asked.

Instead of an answer, the elf gestured for me to follow her with her finger, turning around and gliding against the floor down the hallway. Her long, nimble legs, capable of making large strides without exerting any notable effort, lured me into following her. I had to speed walk in order to keep up with her, despite our heights not being too far apart.

“Did the meeting go well?” she asked.

“I-I think so,” I stuttered.

“You think?”

“I guess I’m not sure,” I reconsidered.

“What did you talk about?” she prompted.

“Haro- Master Harok told me what mission he, and the rest of the Lords, wanted me to partake in.”

“And what would this mission be?” the elf pressed.

“They wanted me to partake in a hunt of those who want to leak magic to humans. Apparently, a bunch of other kids will also partake in it,” I explained.

“They’re sending children? How old are you, child?” she inquired.

“Fourteen? Oh, but we’re not being sent out right away. It’ll be another three years before we do anything.”

“That still seems quite young,” she noted.

“Is it?” I asked. The soldiers my father maintained as part of his noble duties were often recruited from boys of similar age, sometimes earlier if they were going to be trained into elites.

“Pay me no mind. It’s just that a human’s lifespan is far different from that of an elf’s,” she rambled.

It was after silence fell between the two of us that I realized the potential error in opening up about my discussion with the dragons. While they did not tell me the information was sensitive, it did not seem like something they would want leaked.

Seeing my panicked expression, the elf let out a laugh.

“Do not fret about such things. Many of those working under Harok already know what is planned. I was just making conversation to calm your nerves. I know the struggles of coming to an unfamiliar place,” she explained once she calmed her voice enough to speak.

Hearing such things brought me a greater sense of calm, and it wasn’t just because of what she said. The way the elf said it ceased any fear I might have had.

“I never got your name,” I said.

“Gehenna Dornendottir, a high elf in service of Harok. At your service,” she answered with a slight bow that did not inhibit her pace.

The difference in her behavior and Daphne’s was a physical whiplash, and for a moment I suspected something was afoot. Yet when I looked the elf in the eyes, I saw no malice or trickery that I had grown all too accustomed to from Griste. When Gehenna noticed my gaze, she met it with a smile.

“Is something wrong?” she asked.

“You’re different from Daphne,” I replied.

“Daphne? Oh yes, the spider woman, correct? I thought it was Dante who they sent for you,” Gehenna mused.

“I’ve never heard of any Dante,” I said. “Who is he?”

“Just another servant under Harok, just like me or you. To be honest, I’ve never met him myself. Such a thing is common when there are thousands of us,” she lamented.

“Will I meet him?”

“Perhaps. But there are others that I would like you to meet first,” she said.

“We’re not going back to Daphne’s home? That’s where all my belongings are,” I protested.

“We won’t be long. It should take only a few moments to get there and back,” she reasoned.

It was then that I took in the surroundings of where we were going. We were in a city, but it was empty. There was a person or two traversing from one place to another, and a few could be seen through windows, but the amount of activity did not correspond to what should have been happening in a city.

“Where is everyone?” I asked as I looked around for the bustling street that felt just around the corner.

“People don’t like being around the teleportation rooms. Usually those coming out of them need room, and getting in their way is a good way to get your foot stepped on. Don’t worry, we'll come across some people soon enough,” she answered.

—

It did not take us long to leave the city, and Gehenna led me into a cavern with an entrance that didn’t look like anything had touched it in years.

At least I can see, I reasoned, grateful for the endless puddle of glowing water that illuminated the way as I compared it to Daphne’s home.

“I should warn you ahead of time that the person you are going to meet will…elicit a powerful reaction in you. I expect you to scream and shout at them, perhaps even throw a spell or two in their direction, but all I ask is that you listen to them and hear what they have to say. Can you do that for me?” Gehenna asked as we came to a stop.

“There’s no one here. It’s just a dead end,” I replied, spotting no place someone or something could hide behind.

As if waiting for me to speak those words, dozens of small yellow lights materialized in thin air, coming together to form four silhouettes. Two were humanoid, and the other two had the lower half of something that was not. My guess would have been a horse, were it not for the powerful muscles taking shape in their legs.

“Within The Nest, or rather, among those under the direct service of dragons, there are factions. Usually they form due to a similarity of duties, but they also form when people share similar goals. Sometimes, they will even take in those on the outside,” Gehenna explained. “I am part of one such group. I wish to introduce you to the Ordelia Order.”

Before I could ask her what she meant, the lights finished taking shape and peeled away to reveal who made up the silhouettes. Three of the people they left behind were people I did not recognize. Who I recognized was the fourth and final individual the light materialized.

I did not hesitate to form and point icicles at her head, inching them close enough that any movement would cause a puncture.

“I missed you too, little witch,” Merthic said.