Enathar didn’t return to the meeting. The Lords and Ladies of Helia could argue just fine without him standing there to silently judge them. This sort of useless time-wasting nonsense was why he refused the crown in the first place. He had bigger problems to deal with.

The girl was alive.

This was a good thing, of course, but it presented several problems that needed to be addressed before he could worry about the precarious position of the Chosen.

The first thing he had to do was figure out how to undo that terrible first impression. She had looked at him the same way any young Lerian would look at a man of his level: like a monster about to gobble her up.

At least her senses were not impaired. They were likely what saved her from the Arachne.

He found Hinesh and Kalin Jenka, his old mentor, waiting outside his office.

“I was just looking for you,” Kalin said. The disapproval in his tone didn’t bode well for Enathar’s future. What had he done to draw his mentor’s ire this time?

Enathar led the way into his office, steeling himself for the unpleasant but unavoidable conversation ahead.

“Have I done something to displease you?” Enathar asked. “Besides dare to ask you to come to Helia?”

“Don’t act like you are unaware of the situation,” Kalin snapped. “How long were you planning on hiding that young woman, and why, in goddess name, are you letting her run around unsupervised?”

Hinesh looked from Enathar to Kalin. “Young woman? Did I miss something?”

“Rayna,” Enathar said. He wasn’t sure when Kalin met her, but this would actually speed up the conversation. “We have to do something about her.”

“Rayna? She’s alive?” Hinesh asked. “Where did you find her?”

“She found us, actually,” Enathar said. “I just saw her talking to Lady Emery. She is unharmed, from what I can tell.”

“Which is a miracle,” Kalin snapped. “Was this why you called me here? I could have used a few more details than ‘we have a situation’. Honestly, Enathar, the older you get, the more insufferable you become.”

Enathar shook his head. “Says the man less than half my age.”

“Don’t even try it,” Kalin snapped. “I assisted the midwife with your father’s birth.”

“As riveting as this conversation is,” Hinesh said. “Can someone explain to me what we are planning on doing about Rayna?”

“Yes, Enathar,” Kalin said. “Tell me what you’re planning to do about the child picking fights with men twice her size.”

“I was going to become her guardian, but there was a complication,” Enathar said. “It’s why I called you. I thought you might have an easier time resolving it than I.”

“Lady Emery?” Kalin guessed. “What is her relationship with the child.”

“Patron and guardian,” Hinesh said, his voice sour. “And self-proclaimed mentor. She was so smug, raving about how talented her new student is, only to fall apart when she thought Rayna died in the attack.”

Enathar could never quite pin down the nature of Hinesh’s relationship with Nali. It wasn’t love, unrequited or otherwise; Hinesh was too sensible to make such a messy connection, especially considering Nali was happily married to Lord Emery.

Most of Enathar’s people had the good sense to break off all previous relationships between themselves and their predecessor’s friends and family. It was difficult to lie to people who knew the person you were pretending to be.

“Could we not just grab Rayna while Lady Emery isn’t looking?” Kalin suggested. “It’s a bit heavy handed, but the girl belongs with her people, especially at her age. What are Rayna’s thoughts on this? Is she being stubborn?”

“She doesn’t know anything about this,” Hinesh said. “She thinks she’s one of the Chosen.”

Kalin frowned. “Where did she come up with that idea?”

“We believe she was sent to the tutorial by mistake,” Hinesh said. “Whether it was due to the trauma of suddenly being alone, or the result of some ability she has, she has taken on the personality and memories of one of the Chosen; a woman named Rayna.”

“Ah,” Kalin nodded. “That explains last night.”

“Last night?” Enathar asked.

“She insisted to the guard that she was human. She was quite defensive when he told her to show her name tag, even to the point of almost attacking him.” Kalin shook her head. “She is too young to be running around like this.”

“There isn’t much we can do about it,” Hinesh said. “Nali claimed her first, and Rayna isn’t likely to leave her, considering she came back after a week of everyone thinking she was dead.”

Kalin nodded. “That means we have two options: Take the girl by force or convince Lady Emery to give up guardianship of her.”

Hinesh snorted. “You’d have an easier time taking her husband. Nali is convinced that Rayna is her ticket to bringing the humans to her side. This is literally about the end of the world for her. She won’t budge.”

“We take her by force then,” Enathar said. “As soon as possible.”

“What’s the rush?” Hinesh asked, narrowing his eyes. “Until a few minutes ago, we thought she was dead.”

“Exactly,” Kalin said. “If we wait too much longer, she’s going to get herself killed for real. That guard was three times her level, at least, and she looked like she was going to bite him.”

“She is more responsible than that,” Hinesh argued. “I had a long conversation with her. She thinks she’s an adult, and she is carrying herself like one because of it. She won’t go picking fights with random players.”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“Have you already forgotten what it was like to be a child?” Kalin asked. “She would have fought me if something about me hadn’t scared her off.”

“It has nothing to do with any of that,” Enathar said, though he noted the girl’s temper as something to work on. “She’s a seer.”

“Not likely,” Hinesh said dismissively. “That’s by far the rarest of the gifts that could have messed with her head. She’s more likely an Empath. It would explain the false memories.”

“What has you so sure?” Kalin asked. From his expression, Enathar could tell that he was taking the statement seriously.

Enathar mentally checked that the wards on his office were still up, then he added an extra one, just to be sure.

“She said my name,” he said.

“Enathar?” Hinesh frowned. “That doesn’t mean anything. A mind reader wouldn’t have any trouble plucking your name out of any number of minds in this city.”

“Emberan,” Enathar said. “She called me Lord Emberan.”

The other two stared at him in disbelief.

The title was wrong—it should have been ‘Crown Prince’—but Emberan was a word that hadn’t been uttered in centuries. Enathar barely even thought about his family name. There was no reason to. It was a lineage lost to time.

And yet, it had once again been uttered within the castle of Ellis.

“Did anyone hear it?” Hinesh whispered despite the extensive wards.

“The servants guarding the meeting room,” Enathar said. “And Lady Emery.”

Hinesh swore.

Kalin looked grim. “Do we call the wolves?”

“No,” Hinesh snapped. “Nali isn’t a threat. You’re not going to treat her like some spy just because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Kalin said. “Lady Emery is too smart to dismiss this as a simple slip of the tongue.”

“Which means she is smart enough to keep her mouth shut,” Hinesh snapped. “And she happens to be a prominent figure in the local politics. Her disappearance won’t go unnoticed.”

“People move on,” Kalin said. “Memories fade. When the Dark Age comes, no one will notice one more person lost among the masses.”

“Her husband will notice,” Hinesh snapped. “I will notice.”

Kalin narrowed his eyes. “Is that a threat?”

Hinesh balled his hands into fists and for a moment, Enathar thought he might actually challenge Kalin.

In the end, he knew better than to throw his life away for this folly.

Hinesh turned away, gritting his teeth. “She won’t come easily.”

“They rarely do,” Kalin said. “But they all adjust in time.” He turned to Enathar and bowed. “Shall I give the order?”

Enathar hesitated. This wasn’t some villager on the edge of the kingdom. This was Lady Nali Emery. She was the youngest player in Helia’s history to become a noble. Contrary to popular belief, her husband was the one who married into her thirty year term.

Saying she wouldn’t come easily was an understatement.

But with her intelligence, skill and influence, she was too much of a threat to ignore.

Reluctantly Enathar nodded at his mentor. “Neither of them are to be harmed,” he said. “Lady Emery is too strong a player to waste.”

“Understood, sire,” Kalin said. “I will give the order at once.”

“The two of you are paranoid old fools,” Hinesh snapped. “When you’ve no friends left but the ones you wrap in chains, don’t come looking to me for a sympathetic ear.”

He stormed out of the office, slamming the door on his way out.

Enathar frowned. The words hurt more than they should have. He had long since given up on having friends. He had a duty; to his people; to his world.

Cleaning up the messes of his forebearers superseded any individual needs Enathar once had.

Enathar was dead. All that was left was this empty shell of the man he used to be.

* * *

Sneaking around the castle wasn’t a particular habit of Shela’s, but Rayna’s slip had piqued her interest. Not to mention, Lord Emery was so focused on a simple name mix up that he didn’t even notice her as she followed behind him in the hall.

Of course, her stealth skill did help a little in that regard. Shela wasn’t too fond of meeting powerful people and there was a reason Lord Myre was practically the King of Helia.

The nobility weren’t born into their roles; they were elected based on strength, and no one even dared challenge Lord Myre for his position at the top. No one even knew what level he was now.

Father Esh and a man Shela had never seen were waiting for Lord Myre outside of his office. She hung back, sticking to the shadows until the three of them disappeared inside.

Curiosity driving her forward, Shela carefully pressed her ear to the door. A spell zapped her and she bit back a curse, backing up a step.

What’s goin’ on in your head, stickin’ your ear to a high nobleman’s door like that? Shela admonished herself. She had been doing this too long to make such a stupid mistake.

Backing away, Shela crouched in the shadows, waiting for them to come back out.

Her mother would scold her for taking such risks. ‘You’re too nosey for your own good,’ she always said. ‘Some day it’s goin’ to getcha into trouble that your smart mouth can’t get you out of.’

She was right, of course, but Shela’s curiosity was insatiable, and if Father Esh was involved, they weren’t talking about anything confidential. That man had no filter when he was in his cups, and everyone at the temple knew to keep your secrets close to your chest when he was around.

It was one of the things that got him the Abbot position in the first place. Folks at the temple valued honesty, and an inability to keep a secret was seen as a sign of integrity, not a lack of discretion.

That didn’t mean that they didn’t keep secrets, but you didn’t go around advertising that you had one. Shela was careful to let a few of her own secrets slip now and again, just to make sure her friends didn’t go digging for more. The worse you are at lying, the more folks seem to trust anything you say.

People let their guard down if they thought you were too upright—or too stupid—to tell a lie.

The door opened, drawing Shela out of her musing. She ensured her stealth skill was still active as Father Esh stormed out of the office.

Lord Myre and the other man didn’t come out after him. Shela decided to follow Father Esh, rather than risk the Lord Myre’s notice.

She flitted from shadow to shadow, walking several yards behind Father Esh as he moved through the city. His footsteps held purpose, but they were unhurried. She thought he was angry when he emerged from Lord Myre’s office. Had she been wrong? Perhaps he had just been in a rush.

He had been on edge since the tutorial began, but even more so since the Chosen arrived. This was more than just the approaching Dark Age, he was frustrated about the lack of support for the Chosen and his inability to find sponsors outside of the temple network. He had ranted for hours the night before about the stuck up nobles in the capital.

Being the nosy person she was, Shela brought the good ale.

They reached the temple and Shela considered splitting off and approaching Father Esh from another angle so it would look like she had run into him by coincidence.

It had worked pretty well on Rayna that morning. The girl had no awareness of her surroundings.

Unfortunately, Father Esh wasn’t so young, nor so foolish as an Initial fresh out of the tutorial.

“That stealth skill works better if you’re not moving,” he said suddenly, turning to look directly at her. “Shadows aren’t enough to make it work.”

Shela dropped the skill, her cheeks flushing. “How long did you know I was there?”

“Since Lord Myre’s office,” he said, his tone disapproving. “I would advise against such ridiculous endeavors in the future.”

Shela resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Father Esh was only this formal when he was trying to appear mysterious or old. The truth was, he was only a little older than Lady Emery, and he acted even younger than he was.

“He seemed upset about somethin’ Rayna said to him,” Shela admitted, figuring this was a secret that she didn’t need to hold on to. “So, I intended to ask him if somethin’ was wrong, but he never turned around.”

Father Esh stiffened. “You were there?”

Shela frowned. “Yes, I—”

“You weren’t,” Father Esh snapped, dropping his benevolent mentor act. “I don’t care what you saw or heard, you were nowhere near that castle today, understood?”

It seemed Shela had misjudged the Abbot. He had his fair share of secrets after all.

And at least one of them was tied to the most powerful man in the country.

“I was just tidyin’ up your office for you,” Shela said, shifting into a more casual tone. “You’re always so messy when you get in a tissy. Want to see the new filin’ system I made for ya?”

Father Esh shook his head. “I’m sure I’ll manage. I was wondering if you might run an errand for me while you’re here.”

Shela put on her helpful country bumpkin smile. “What can I do you for?”