But there was no help for it. All anyone knew was that he had set out for the cities of the Borderlands, intent on finding aid for their quest. They had no way to track him, no way to seek him out, and no particular desire to do so. If anything, he would resent the intrusion. Aphenglow knew this. What frustrated her was that even though she knew not to go looking for him, she could not have done so even if she wanted to. She resented her inability to act; she was angered by her incapacitation.

She hated that all she could do was sit in this bed and wait.

She was mulling over her unfortunate state when Khyber Elessedil appeared suddenly and unexpectedly in the doorway.

“May I speak with you, Aphen?”

Right away Aphenglow knew something was wrong. When the Ard Rhys bothered to ask if she could talk to you, you could be certain she had something unpleasant to say.

“Is it Bombax?” Aphenglow replied at once. “Has something happened to him?”

“This doesn’t concern Bombax.” The Ard Rhys walked over to the bed and sat down beside her. “How are you feeling?”

She grimaced. “Bored. Frustrated. Anxious to be doing something.”

“You are doing something. You are mending. Are you using your skills to speed the healing?”

“Three times a day, no exceptions. I think I can begin walking in a day or so.”

The Ard Rhys smiled. “Let’s not rush things, Aphen. You can only do so much.”

“I want to go with you,” Aphenglow blurted out, unable to contain herself any longer. “You have to let me! You need me! Without me, you can’t be sure of where you’re going. I’m the one who saw the vision. I will recognize landmarks you might miss. Please! Let me go!”

Khyber Elessedil shook her head. “You are so eager. What if this turns out to be something other than what you expect? What if it leads to nothing? What if it is all a trick of some sort? Magic can betray even us.”

“I don’t care. I want to be there. I’m the one who found the diary. I deserve to go!”

“You do deserve to go. Not only did you find the diary and bring it to the rest of us, but you recognized its value right away. You found the connection between Aleia Omarosian and the Elessedils. You opened so many doors, even when doing so endangered you. I do not in any way underestimate your contributions.”

She sighed. “That said, I want you to remain here. Wait, hear me out. I need someone to keep watch over Paranor, a Druid with wits enough to know what to do if anything threatens in my absence. That would be Bombax, if he were here.”