Khyber hesitated a moment longer before nodding and turning away. She was at the door when the other woman called out to her.

“If anything happens to my sons,” she said, her words sharp and bitter and coated in ice, “you had better make certain it happens to you first. Otherwise, I will kill you, Khyber Elessedil. Whatever it takes to do so, I will kill you.”

The Ard Rhys of the Fourth Druid Order remained perfectly still, looking out toward the waters of Rainbow Lake and the dark sweep of storm clouds moving in from the west.

I believe you, she thought.

Then she went out the door and down the path that would take her back to her airship and her Troll guard and did not look back.

12

APHENGLOW ELESSEDIL HAD PROMISED THE ARD RHYS she would do two things if she were given permission to return to Arborlon. First, she would find someone to protect her, and second, she would speak to her mother to discover what she knew of the relationship between the Elessedils and the Omarosians.

She had no interest in the former and no stomach for the latter, but a promise was a promise, especially when it was given to the Ard Rhys.

So as she flew Wend-A-Way into the Elven home city, preparing to set about the business that had brought her back, she was already thinking of how she would fulfill those promises while limiting the amount of inconvenience and discomfort each would entail. On landing, she took her travel bag and walked from the airfield to the cottage she shared with her sister to ask her thoughts. But Arlingfant was not at home, so she dropped her bag and set off for the Gardens of Life to find her.

Her walk through the city took her past many of the familiar landmarks of her childhood, conjuring up memories of other times, many of them connected to her family and friends, all of them building blocks for the life she now led as a Druid. She had always been different, a stubborn rebellious child who insisted on knowing when others chose to leave well enough alone, a talented magic wielder in training who even at a very young age could already sense things hidden from her sister and friends. She didn’t know how she could do this, why she was born this way, but she knew it set her apart and it would shape the way she grew. What it did was teach her early on about the importance of self-sufficiency and resolve when loneliness was the consequence of being different.