Ingrid’s breath started to pick up. Alice was still being held by Berith. No less than a score of armed dark elves surrounded them. She frantically looked around, praying to any god that would listen for there to be a way out. If she could pull out her staff, she could maybe get them out. All she had to do was ignore the pain of overexerting her magic yet again and they could be fine. She shot a hand towards her bag, then yelped as a sharp pain exploded from her wrist. She grabbed her arm, looking in terror at the throwing knife embedded in it.

“Thank you kindly, Alviss,” Berith chimed as another dark elf, only a little shorter than Alice hopped down from the roof of the building. They said nothing, instead just standing there and staring at Ingrid with cold indifference.

Berith cleared his throat, then let go of Alice, who gasped and stumbled backwards as she grabbed her own wrist. He flashed a predatory grin at the two of them as he bent down to pick up Alice’s dropped knife. “Well, I think we got off on the wrong foot, don’t you agree? Here, I introduced myself, so now you two can as well, and I can pretend I don’t already know who you are! How’s that sound?”

Ingrid gulped and exchanged a look of fear with Alice. Her wrist was screaming in pain, the knife perfectly hitting the gap between her ulna and radius. Her friend bit her lip, countless thoughts evident behind those eyes, but she turned back to Berith.

“Name’s Alice. Just Alice. The hell do you want with us?” She snapped, backing towards Ingrid.

His smile widened. “Great! Good. Wonderful, and you, miss Alvar? I wanna hear it from you. It’s just not the same otherwise,” He chuckled playfully.

She looked him in the eyes, slowly moving her other hand to the knife in her wrist. She grabbed it, groaning in pain as she pulled it out far more slowly than she would have wanted to. Berith and Alviss made no move to stop her, thankfully. Dropping the knife, she took off her mask and began trying to wrap it around the wound, only to be stopped by Berith making a tutting noise and wagging his finger.

“It’s very rude not to answer a polite question, my little druid. However, you are our guests!” He clapped his hands in the air, prompting two of the dark elves surrounding them to come forward. Ingrid flinched away from them as they reached out towards her.

“Touch her and I’ll fucking ki–!”

“Oh don’t be so melodramatic, Alice,” Berith laughed, pulling her away.

The two grabbed Ingrid’s injured arm, causing her again to yelp in pain as they held it out straight. One of them pulled out a small vial filled with some sort of ointment and a waterskin. They washed away the blood, then opened the vial and applied the ointment to the wound. Even as Ingrid struggled against their grasp, she was blown away by the near instant relief. It was enough to make her stop fighting, likely making it easier for them to wrap clean bandages around the wound. The moment they were done, they both stepped away without a word.

Ingrid furrowed her brow as she looked at her arm. What was the purpose of that? Weren’t these people their enemies? Her thoughts were interrupted once again by Berith clearing his throat.

“Now, I believe I am owed an introduction? I think I’ve been patient. You can even keep the knife!”

The smaller elf at his side looked up at him, their face just as blank as before.

“Okay, my bad, you can’t keep the knife. Alviss wants it back. Still, introduction. Chop chop,” He sighed, rolling his eyes. Evidently there was some sort of message in the look the other elf gave him.

Ingrid tried her best to keep from panicking. “I-I’m Ingrid. Ingrid Alvar…”

Berith spread his hands, a wide, toothy grin on his face. “That’s better! It is a pleasure to finally and formally meet you two. Now this next part can go one of two ways, it all kinda depends on you. Like I said, you’re our guests! And I treat my guests with the utmost care,” He stepped towards Ingrid, pulling a furious looking Alice along with him. He leaned down to both of their height, throwing an arm around each of their shoulders as he closed his eyes. “You did break into my camp. I mean, I wanted you here, but that’s beside the point. You two can either let my people put some cuffs on you and we can bring you inside, or we can have this get ugly.”

Ingrid looked at him, terrified. Her mind was screaming just from the thought of touching someone she didn’t know. From everything shown so far, she absolutely knew what he meant when he said things would get ugly. His playful tone and casual demeanor made it even more disconcerting. She looked at Alice for guidance, praying that she’d be able to think their way out of this situation like she had done before.

Her heart sank as she saw the look of anger on her friend’s face. She was gritting her teeth and giving Berith a look so pointed it seemed like it would pierce skin. Still, she said nothing.

“Not hearing an answer, so I’m gonna assume you two are making the smart choice. You seem like smart ladies, I think it’s a safe assumption. Temle! Rhovik! Cuffs please!” Berith chimed.

Two more dark elves stepped forward, each holding what looked to be a large metal cylinder. Ingrid gulped as she saw them. She tried to look at Alice again, hoping something would have changed in the last dozen seconds, but still nothing. The two Berith had called patted down her sleeves, confiscating another dagger they found, before placing the cuffs on her and tightening them. Ingrid’s heart skipped a beat as Alice looked her in the eye.

“Just let it happen, Princess. I’ve picked a few fights over the years. This isn’t one we’re winning,” She growled, before clearly attempting to see if she could set a man on fire if she stared at him hard enough.

Berith patted her on the head. “See? Smart lady. So Ingrid, be a dear and let my comrades here put the cuffs on? They aren’t fuzzy, we just met after all unfortunately,” He joked, switching to resting his elbow on Alice’s head. The woman looked like she wanted to break it at the joint.

Ingrid bit her lip, but didn’t object as they checked her sleeves and applied the cuffs. She winced as they were tightened, uncomfortably so. She knew what these were. Anti-magic cuffs were something she had to familiarize herself with as a tool she would potentially use in the military. All magic required some form of hand motion to call upon or guide the magic. If a spellcaster couldn’t move their fingers, magic would be completely impossible to manipulate. It had always amazed her how such a simple concept could have such a devastating effect. Here, it terrified her.

“W-We’re going to be okay, right Alice?” She sounded far more pathetic than she wanted to. Her friend stared at the ground, like she was refusing to make eye contact. “Ali–”

“Don’t talk to me.”

Ingrid’s blood ran cold. “W-Wha–”

“Don’t,” Alice shot her a glare that immediately made her shrink back. The last time Alice had done that, she had quickly noticed and apologized. She didn’t do that this time. She looked back at Berith, jerking her head to knock his arm off. “Are you gonna put us in the fucking cell or not? Stop dicking around.”

“Ooh! Feisty. You remind me of my sister. Only shorter. Not as condescending either. It would be rude of me to keep you waiting though. Alviss! Search the two of them more thoroughly and show them to their rooms. Don’t worry about accommodations for the cuffs either, there’s even a post in there in case you can’t reach an itch!” He laughed, walking away from the two of them. “And while that’s happening, I’ll make sure to find your little esper and human friend. Don’t wanna keep the party split for too long now do we?”

Ingrid couldn’t even find it in her to have another spike of anxiety from the comment. Everything had gone wrong. She had no clue what was even going to happen. Alice was right, it had been a trap, and she was too stupid to avoid it. Now Alice was furious with her. All she could muster up was a weak message to Malori in her head.

Take Kallen and run. You two need to hide. They’re coming to find you.

W-What? Ingrid, what h-happened? Are you and Alice alright? Malori’s voice came from her head, a mix of fear and concern deep in its tone. D-Do you need us to attack now? We can try to–

Please, just hide. I’m sorry, I need my own head right now, She replied. She would have given anything to be able to shut Malori out of her head. She needed to be alone. She needed a garden. She needed anything that could calm her down and there was nothing. She felt like she was going to throw up as the panic attack set in.

The two dark elves that had cuffed her began to bring her inside, removing the dimensional bag as well as any supplies she had on her. Her steps began to feel heavy, her head starting to spin. Tears began to well up in her eyes. Her breathing picked up until she was starting to hyperventilate. She tried to take one more step and fell over. Vaguely, she could make out the sounds of the two saying something to her, but her brain refused to process the words.

The sound of Alice yelling something joined in the cacophony that she desperately wanted to stop, followed by something being hit. She couldn’t really tell what it was. Curling in on herself, she tried desperately not to scream, but unable to keep it from coming out as a series of choked sobs.

Eventually, they must have tired of dealing with her as she felt the sensation of being dragged. She was roughly tossed somewhere. Her eyes were squeezed so tightly shut they were starting to feel sore.

Another sensation pierced through the sensory wall of her own panic and anxiety. It was a much gentler one. Arms looped softly around her from behind, propping her upright. It was still difficult to process among the ugly crying and full body shaking, but it was there. Before she knew it, she was being rocked side to side, slowly and gently.

Her brain seemed to allow her to begin processing something auditorily soon after. It felt like it had been there for longer than she had realized. It was the sound of a lullaby. A familiar voice sang it to her, smoother than silk, and more delicately than any flower she knew of.

When the sun has gone dark,

And the wind has stood still.

Don’t fear it at all,

Despite what it instills.

We can fight off the world,

For the rest of our time.

Because no cold could match,

The warmth of your hand in mine.

It occurred to Ingrid that she had never heard Alice sing before. Had she even mentioned that she sang? The questions and thoughts became progressively more lucid as she soaked in the words like a flower in the sun. Gradually, she could feel herself beginning to calm down.

It wasn’t immediate, she could still feel herself shaking, and the sobs continued to wrack her entire body. But the sobs became less and less frequent, the shaking less intense. When the song was finished, Alice began it again, continuing to sway in time with the words. There was no music, but it didn’t feel like it needed it. All she needed in this moment was that calming voice telling her that things were going to be okay. After what felt like an eternity, she opened her eyes.

She was facing a dull wooden wall in a near featureless cell. A bundle of hay was in the corner, likely to sleep on. Berith had told the truth, there was a seemingly random wooden post in the middle of the cell. Looking down, there were arms wrapped around her. The angle was awkward and tight, the way they extended out of the cuffs. It couldn’t have been comfortable. As she started to process more sensory input, she put the pieces together and realized that it was Alice holding her. Her heart clenched.

“I-I thought you were mad at me,” She rasped, barely having her voice under control after the brief panic attack.

“I am, dumbass,” Alice muttered, stopping her song. She leaned her forehead into Ingrid’s hair, talking far quieter than she usually did. It sounded like she was almost embarrassed. “Doesn’t change the fact that I care about you. What kinda shitty friend would I be if I didn’t try to help?”

Ingrid let out a small, unwilling whimper. What else could she even say or do? All she wanted to do was sink into the woman’s embrace and forget about existence for a little while. Alice stopped singing the tune, instead humming it as she continued to rock Ingrid back and forth. The situation was objectively horrible. She didn’t have the slightest clue of what was going to happen or what Berith wanted. It could have been worse though. She could not have Alice with her.

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

She didn’t even bother trying to keep track of time. She just focused completely on the tune, on everything about Alice. The feeling of her arms around her, her scent, the sound of her voice. As she picked apart every little detail, she could feel herself beginning to calm down. Finally, she stopped shaking. Her breathing was level. She opened her eyes to take in more of her surroundings.

Alice seemed to do the same as she looked around the cell. Ingrid batted away any thoughts pointing out the fact that the pragmatic Alice had dropped all priorities to focus on calming her down rather than getting a hold on their situation. The room had three cells in it. The one directly across from them was completely empty, and she couldn’t see into the third from their position against the wall. As much as she wanted to stay in Alice’s warm embrace, they did need to see if their initial hunch about the angel was even correct.

“Um, is it alright if I check the other cell?” She asked quietly, looking up at Alice. Her friend immediately averted her gaze. Was she blushing? No, Ingrid was definitely overthinking things.

“Yeah, sorry,” She muttered. They both sat there for a moment, neither moving. Alice looked down at her again. “You’re sure you’re feeling better?”

“Yes, I am. I know that you’re mad at me, but… Thank you,” Ingrid gave a weak smile. “You’re still the best at calming me down from those.”

The cocky smile that she had always known Alice for returned to the woman’s face. “What can I say? I’ve learned a thing or two about what makes you tick in the last few years.”

Ingrid nodded, before worming her way out of the embrace. Both her and Alice stood up, the sounds of popping joints filling the room. She walked to the front of her cell to peek into the third, her eyes going wide as she did.

Before her was something that really did look akin to an angel. The woman sat cross-legged, her back against the wall. Even sitting down, it was clear how tall she was, maybe as tall as Kallen. She was muscular, with broad shoulders and a frame that gave her the likeness of some sort of great soldier. Ingrid was fairly certain she would have found the golden blond hair to be the most eye-catching part of her, especially against her dark skin, but it was hard not to be drawn to the enormous set of wings that were chained to the wall behind her.

Ingrid gulped, trying not to let herself be intimidated by the woman in front of her. She looked back at Alice, who seemed to be just as taken aback as her. They exchanged a look, trying to mentally and wordlessly figure out what they were even supposed to say to someone who at this point actually may very well have been an angel were it not for their mundane skin color. The silence was broken by a deep, irritated voice.

“Are you two going to keep standing there gawking or are you going to go back to roleplaying your romance novel?” The woman spat, making Ingrid jump. The woman opened her eyes, revealing that they were both completely white, inhumanely so. There were no veins or sclera, it was like she was looking at two pure balls of light placed in someone’s head.

Ingrid stood there, mouth agape as she tried to think of what to say.

“Okay maybe stupid question but how does your sight work?” Alice interrupted, leaning against the bars. “Like, your eyes are weird. How am I supposed to tell what direction you’re looking?”

The woman turned her head towards Alice, narrowing her eyes.

“Oh, like that,” She muttered, turning away from the angered gaze.

Ingrid cleared her throat. She had to stay calm, get a hold of the situation. Maybe ‘hold’ was a strong word, but anything was better than floundering around in their cells like children. “Um, I’m sorry for my friend’s rudeness. My name is Ingrid. Ingrid Alvar. This is my friend Alice. Could I ask your name?” She tried her best to sound polite, but her voice came out shaky and anxious. There likely wasn’t much she could do to remedy that. She was anxious and she had never been good at hiding that.

The woman stared at her, saying nothing. At least, Ingrid was pretty sure she was staring at her. Given the fact that she could feel her anxiety spiking, it was a fair guess. The woman closed her eyes again. Ingrid was fairly certain that the room got dimmer as she did.

“Natalia,” She deadpanned. Natalia leaned back against the wall, her wings twitching. They couldn’t move very much in their bindings, and they were bent and cramped against the back wall. It was hard not to be in awe of them. Ingrid had never seen a humanoid with what was likely around a twelve foot wingspan.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Natalia,” Ingrid offered quietly. “Um, do you have a last name? It’s perfectly fine if not! Alice doesn’t have one, so it’s not–”

“You talk too much,” She grumbled.

Ingrid went quiet. She opened her mouth to speak again, but promptly closed it. They had come here to try and rescue this woman and failed before they had even given it a real try. Now here she was talking her ear off and annoying her. She leaned against the wall, wishing she could describe what she was doing as anything other than sulking.

She tried to think about Natalia’s features, cross referencing them with any species she had learned of. Wings, alarmingly golden hair, glowing eyes, they were all things she had heard about from Cofaen and Osnan, but hard to place without really seeing them for herself. They were far more defined than she had initially anticipated, and the couple hadn’t mentioned her eyes being like that. She wasn’t an angel, but was remarkably close to one, like a cross between the two.

“You’re an illian…” She said in reverence. Illians were a race similar to espers in that they were extremely rare. There were often cults or entire religions built up around them due to how easily they were mistaken for actual angels. She had only heard about them once or twice, and purely academically. Meeting one was definitely a first for her. Even Alice looked surprised upon hearing it.

She opened one luminous eye. Somehow it felt like it was looking at her. “My previous statement stands. Do you gain anything from annoying me and speculating on my race? I’ve no time for fools who fall for the obvious.”

Ingrid furrowed her brow. “Um, what do you mean?”

She scoffed. “You fell for one of the most clear traps I’ve ever witnessed. I even told Berith that no one of note would be that stupid, but here I am, both annoyed and unimpressed.”

Ingrid winced. The fact that her words were true made them sting that much more. She sank back into the cell, feeling like she would burn away under the woman’s harsh gaze.

“Fucking excuse you?” Alice scoffed, prompting Ingrid to look up at her in surprise. She couldn’t see Natalia’s reaction from where she was, but she heard the sound of shifting chains. Alice stepped forward, leaning on the bars. “She goes out of her way to get in here and save your sorry ass and you’re insulting her? Didn’t know the celestial blood made you a complete ass.”

“Am I supposed to commend you for running into a trap simply because you had good intentions? That doesn’t suddenly make it better.”

“Oh don’t get me wrong, it was a stupid decision. She knew damn well it was a trap though, and still wanted to help you. Least you could do is not be a bitch about it,” She spat, glaring in the direction of Natalia’s cell.

Ingrid huddled herself against the wall. The tension in the room was so thick it could give Kallen’s skull a run for its money. She was fairly certain she’d break if she could actually see the annoyance that was clear in Natalia’s voice.

“Well, forgive me for not being in the best mood after being held against my will and unable to even stand. That little outing was the first time I've left this cell in my time here, and the only reason for it was to make a scene for you to follow,” Ingrid heard Natalia scoff.

“Alright, fine then. What was the deal with that? Why’d you even cooperate with them, huh?”

“‘Cooperation’ is a strong word. They set me loose and told me to attempt to escape. I fought them and killed as many as I could until that emotionless elf put me down again. Would you have preferred I sat quietly and did nothing when given a chance to escape, however small?”

Alice smiled. “Nah I wouldn’t say that, but I’d ease up on bitching about someone else’s failures when apparently got your ass kicked by these goons twice. Something about a pot and a kettle huh?”

Natalia let out a tired sigh. “At least when I was alone I had quiet…” She grumbled.

“Probably shoulda thought of that before you started talking shit. You aren’t exactly a master of thinking things through yourself, Feathers.”

Another sigh, this one sounding even more exhausted. “Well congratulations. You made your attempt at a rescue. It doesn’t change the fact that we’re all still in irons. Why’d they even put you together? I was trying to tune everything out when you were both thrown in here.”

Alice shrugged, grinning cheekily. “Must have been my roguish charm at work once again. Who could resist this face after all?”

“Right, of course,” Natalia said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Alice rolled her eyes. “Ingrid was breaking down and they didn’t want that. I said I could help calm her down. I got us in the same cell, and got to lend a hand. Win-win in a shitty situation if you ask me.”

Ingrid furrowed her brow, looking up at Alice. “Wait, why did they want me to stop?”

“Perhaps because listening to one of their prisoners having their psyche fall apart was just a tad irritating?” Natalia grumbled.

“Oh hush,” Alice spat at her, then looked back to Ingrid, her face instantly changing to a more gentle one. “I honestly don’t know. They just said that they needed you calm for what was coming. I know I’m not usually the optimist in the group, but I wasn’t really gonna look a gift horse in the mouth.”

Ingrid groaned quietly as she leaned back against the wall. A quick glance over revealed that they had taken her other belongings while she was having her panic attack. It made sense. They’d definitely want to be as thorough as possible, especially when one of their victims was a druid.

The other two keeping her company had gone quiet. Maybe they got tired of arguing over nothing, if that was something that Alice could get tired of at all. She had to think. What could they do to get out of this scenario? There was no way that their original plan would work, not with the entire camp on high alert and the three on the inside locked up without their weapons. That was if she could even include Natalia as an ally, even if temporary. She seemed to want to get out of the situation, but it was hard to say if she’d accept help from people she had expressed clear displeasure for.

Ingrid didn’t know how long she was lost in her own thoughts before she remembered what should have been obvious.

Malori? Are you there? She asked mentally, holding her breath in anticipation. There was a pause that was far too long for her comfort.

I-Ingrid? Is everything alright? The voice was frantic. It also taught her that Malori could sound winded even through telepathic communication. Kallen and I have just been running, they almost c-caught us! She, um, she ended up p-picking me up, and now she’s carrying me. Is Alice alright?

Ingrid finally released the breath she had been holding in, relief washing over her. Things weren’t good, but Malori and Kallen were okay. That was a silver lining if she ever heard one. She took a deep breath. They were expecting us. They ended up catching Alice and I. We met the angel though! She’s an illian named Natalia. She… Doesn’t think very highly of me. We’re still not sure what they want, but I’m really glad you two are alright. Make sure you stay safe.

An i-illian? A real illian? That’s incredible! Did you know that Carys’s male lover, Lloyd, was an illian in some accounts of their story? He went to great lengths to try and hide it, using illusion magic on his hair and–

Malori, I normally really enjoy your infodumping, but we need to think, Ingrid sighed. She felt bad for getting annoyed at the girl, but now was not the time for a history lesson on her deity’s mortal boyfriend.

R-Right, um, I’m sorry, The esper responded in a voice reminiscent of a kicked puppy. I think we’re going to need a p-place to hide for a while. We could give things a little bit of time to calm d-down at least. Afterwards, should we w-work from there?

That sounds like a good idea. I’ll talk to Alice about it. Maybe one of us will figure something out that could be good news, She responded weakly.

A-Alright. Please tell Alice I’m glad she’s alright. B-Both Kallen and I are.

Ingrid winced. Alice was already in a touchy mood. Bringing up Kallen was likely going to make that mood even worse. She was about to at least mention the well wishes before the door of the small prison building opened. Her breath caught in her throat as she pressed her back further into the wall, like if she just pushed hard enough she would get absorbed in it and turn invisible.

“Hello hello hello! Good to see you’ve calmed down a bit my despondent little druid,” Berith smiled. He looked over at Natalia. “I hope you’ve been treating our new guests like part of the family. After all, we don’t want anyone to feel unwelcome!”

“I hope you choke,” Natalia deadpanned, not opening her eyes.

“Yeesh, that’s a little rude. After I was so kind and gave you a chance to escape too! Frankly, I’m a little offended. I think I would like a sincere apology later,” He said mockingly, “I would want it now, but I have to have a quick chat with our elven friend. Alviss!”

As he called out the name, the shorter, quiet dark elf stepped out from behind him and approached Ingrid and Alice’s cell. They opened the door, not taking their eyes off of Alice. She seemed to want to attack both of them, but held herself back.

“The hell are you doing?” She growled.

“Oh, I apologize. I wanted this to be a private chat. So, I’ll be taking Ingrid to my office. Don’t worry! She’ll be back before you know it,” He chimed.

Alice looked at Ingrid, the concern clear in her eyes. Ingrid took a shaky breath and nodded. At least for now, they needed to cooperate. Kallen and Malori needed time. She stood back up and slowly approached Alviss and Berith. Natalia didn’t seem to have any sort of reaction. Either she expected this, or she didn’t particularly care. Both were fairly likely.

“Fine, let’s go,” She said softly.

Berith’s smile grew even wider. “Lovely! See you two? Things are so much easier if you just do what you’re told! I didn’t even have to pick you up and carry you,” He laughed, throwing an arm around Ingrid. “Now come this way, I’d offer to give you a tour but I don’t want to.”

She wasn’t given a chance to say anything to Alice as she was guided out of the building. Berith hummed an upbeat tune to himself as he walked her along through the rows of variously sized tents. Whenever they passed another dark elf, they would immediately stop what they were doing to bow to Berith. The fact that he didn’t even acknowledge them was one of what felt like a million ways at this point that the man made Ingrid uncomfortable. The androgynous one that was apparently named Alviss followed close behind. They never said a word, just keeping their eyes straight ahead and walking with purpose like some sort of golem.

After a few minutes, they came to a small building carved into the side of the cliff at the back of the camp. Alviss stepped forward and opened the door, Berith giving a nod of what she believed was gratitude as he took her inside.

The room Ingrid was brought to was sparsely decorated. A plain brown rug covered the floor, and in one corner of the room there were a series of training dummies, including one that looked like a small log with five wooden spokes jutting out of it in a small ‘X’ formation. Berith made his way over to a desk in the opposite corner, stacks of paper and empty vials cluttered around it. He sat down, propping his feet up upon the desk and gesturing in front of it.

Wordlessly, Alviss forced Ingrid over to him and sat her down in a wooden chair. Berith reached into the pile and grabbed a small set of papers, holding them up.

“Ingrid Alvar, head of the Alvar family in Cordelia and Druidkeeper in training. All at age thirty-two! My my, that’s impressive!” He grinned, glancing at her. “You’ve accomplished more in your time than I had by the time I was two-hundred. Good on you! Looks like we have a real go-getter on our hands eh Alviss?”

There was no response from the other dark elf.

Ingrid felt her blood run cold. She was a fairly public figure due to her training. Not a celebrity, but it wasn’t hard to find information on her. That was for a normal person, who knew what kind of resources this man had access to.

“Originally the head was supposed to be your older sister, but it seems that there was a bit of an ‘accident’ that left her a little unstable for the position. When she started shirking her duties, you stepped up. Not bad, not bad,” He nodded. “To top it all off, Druidkeeper Labhras Owen, a hero of the Dark Fey War has gone on record saying that you have some of the highest latent magical abilities he’s ever seen. You’re just a proper inspiration to young folk everywhere aren’t you?”

Ingrid looked back and forth between Alviss and Berith, anxiety welling up in her throat. What was she supposed to do? What was she supposed to say? She opened her mouth, only managing to force out a weak question. “What do you want with me?”

His grin grew wider. “Oh my dear, this isn’t about what I want. Like I said! I treat my guests with the utmost hospitality! This is about what you want. Two things about it in particular actually,” He took his feet off the desk and leaned forward. “The fact that I know what it is, and that I can get it for you. So, Ingrid, how would you like to see your brother again?”