"I'm not sure he does have it. Not if they're veiled.
Though he likely knows it's close. If the Voster built that sanctuary hundreds of years ago, after they came from Kenn and their magic was new, they likely didn't know.
They may simply have a deeper connection to magic because they were near an orbit.
And the mountains gave them somewhere safe to hide during the migrations. "
Well, if the High Priest hadn't known then, he certainly did now. Even if he didn't know the exact location, he'd protect that area with the full force of the Voster brotherhood.
I closed my eyes, rubbing at my temples.
So Skore had taken me to Orson Canyon as a test to see if I could find an unguarded orbit. Not the most pleasant experience, but tame compared to my parents' descent into the Evon. But finding both of those would be a hundred times easier than infiltrating Allesaria.
"This is impossible."
"Have faith, Dess." Father put his hand on my forearm and stilled, feeling the leather beneath the fabric of my shirt.
"It's Ransom's cuff. Turan tradition. He gave it to me." A half-truth. Maybe someday I'd give him this map. But not yet. Not until the trust between us went deeper than a single night. "I think the High Priest suspects Mother was Starling. I guess I should have kept dyeing my hair."
The High Priest's suspicion was likely the reason Dime had taken me from Ellder. He'd stolen me away before the High Priest could do it himself.
"It's not your fault. It's mine." He sighed. "I never should have brought the Turans here."
"Then I never would have met Ransom."
Father studied me for a long moment. "You truly love him?"
"He is my life."
If the realm ended tomorrow, I would have no regrets in loving Ransom.
That my mother's quest to rid Calandra of magic had brought us together was as bitter as it was sweet.
"My spies told me about the Guardian's gifts before he ever came to Quentis. Your mother had the same. If she cut her finger, it would heal almost instantly. She could see at night as if it were day. She moved as fast as the wind. And her eyes…"
"Gold, like mine?"
"Not always. They would shift depending on her moods. Gold most of the time. Silver when she was angry. And sometimes, they were a green so beautiful I couldn't look away."
"You thought Ransom was Starling?"
"I thought the Guardian was not from our realm. I feared what he might become. And I knew he had to be the silver-eyed warrior from your mother's vision."
"So you asked me to kill a legendary warrior. Me?"
He shrugged. "It was worth a try. I saw the way he looked at you. It wouldn't be the first time a man was killed because he dropped his guard for a woman."
"Then you underestimated him."
"No. The only person I've underestimated is you. For that, I am deeply sorry."
This was what I'd wanted for so long. His confidence. His trust. So why did it feel hollow? Why did it feel like it paled in comparison to the courage I'd found in myself?
"I stumbled upon a journal in Turah. It's in her handwriting." The same elegant script as the book I'd read tonight. I fished out the necklace from beneath my shirt, letting the metal catch the light. "And it has this same winged emblem on it."
Father touched the pendant, his eyes softening like he was lost in a memory. "Another gift from Margot?"
"No. I found it hidden in my closet."
He hummed.
"There are stories in the journal I found that are coming true. Were those her visions?"
"Probably aboard the Cirrina while she sailed here. I didn't know they were visions at the time.
She told me she was just writing down stories.
" He dabbed at his eyes. "I made her that journal when we were in Genesis. Or I should say I took a journal I already had and tooled the cover to match her necklace. She didn't know how to write in Calandran yet, so she did it in the old language. "
"How did it end up in Turah?"
"Someone must have found it in the cabin. I thought she took it, but she must have left it behind. And I left in a hurry so I wouldn't lose her."
So that book that had somehow found me in Turah had been from them both.
"I wish I had just kept her in Genesis. Forgotten all about Quentis and duty and titles." His eyes went unfocused again.
"Shades, she was mad at me when she found out that I was a prince and heir to the crown. She was livid at the betrothal my mother had arranged behind my back. Mostly, she was furious, rightly so, that she'd had to read about it all in Chapman Leek's paper.
I was already in love with her at that point.
I think I loved her from the day I pulled her out of that river in Genesis.
But if not, that would have been the moment I fell for her.
She didn't care about titles and wealth.
She wanted me for me. No one ever loved me the way she did. "
"Not even Margot?"
"No."
"Did you ever love Margot?" I asked.
"She is a good woman. But no."
"Yet you married her."
"A wedding to a servant gave the public enough fodder about their new queen that most quickly forgot about your mother."
And to most, Father probably looked like a man who'd already been sleeping with that servant, especially considering Margot had been Mother's lady's maid.
"Are Mae and Arthy your children?"
"As far as the royal records are concerned, yes, but the last woman to share my bed was your mother."
The truth was rarely gentle.
Whether we shared a father or not, Arthy and Mae would always be my brother and sister. But it still felt like I'd lost something. Tears pricked the corners of my eyes as I dabbed them away.
"I never wanted you entangled in this." Father gave me a sad smile. "She would be proud of the woman you have become. Like I am."
Father took the journal from my hands, opening it to the first page. He traced a finger over Mother's words like he could still feel her on the page. Then he carefully closed the book and handed it to me.
He shifted to dig into his pocket and pull out ten rings, all made from the same reddish-orange metal as my necklace.
Elfalter.
Father gave me the rings.
And the key to Ransom's cell.