My hands prickle, and my legs begin to shake. My throat is dry.

She stands and smiles. “I think it is now time you go.”

“I’m not going back out there with him. I won’t do it.”

She chuckles, and her laugh reminds me of Nurse Lydia’s after I say something idiotic.

“Why are you so angry, Idalia?”

I blink at her in confusion. “What do you mean? They captured me! They stole my future!”

Her mouth twists in mock sorrow. “They stole your future?”

I stomp my foot. “Yes! Yes, they did! My fate was to be the Queen of Aeradian. To have a chance for love, and to save Verdana!” I stand and shout the rest. “They took it all from me!”

For a long moment, I hear only the sound of boiling water. Then, the Minea draws a long breath and moves to the door.

“Your fate? An interesting idea, that you think you know anything about fate at all.”

I don’t move, even as she reaches for the door handle.

“Go see for yourself, child, about this fate you claim to know.” She pushes open the entrance, and cool air blows in. Dusk is near. I study her new expression, cold and unwavering.

“Why won’t you tell me anything? Just one thing? Help me, please!” I step forward.

Her lips barely part. “I will tell you this, Idalia Hyland of Verdana. As much as you thrash against what you know is true, you cannot outrun it forever. You will come face to face with the cacoethes of your soul, and you will have to decide. Until then, know that whatever secrets the Herrah may keep is for a reason larger than us all.”

The door creaks open further, and the orbs’ golden light spills across the entry. “And if you think you can face what comes for you without him, you are as daft as you are stubborn.”

“What’s coming for me?” I almost crash into a chair as I run towards the door. “Nuri said it was The Others. What do they want with me? Why are they after me?”

The Minea’s face reveals not one ounce of pity. Her once warm eyes are now hard and impenetrable.

“The Others seek to snuff out all light, and they know that yours burns too brightly.”

My body twitches with malaise. I sense that she’s finished talking. I feel her magic pull me from the house. In defeat, I stride towards the door. As my foot crosses the threshold, her hand lands on my shoulder.

“Drink this,” she instructs, holding a small cup in her hand, but I snort.

“So that I can hallucinate again? You’re mad. A mad, old woman!”

She doesn’t react to my outburst; she only pushes the cup forward.

“You might find that this tea will be more to your liking. It helps to…calm the nerves.”