“I take it it was her who got in touch with you back then?” I asked.
Veridus nodded, his usually affable self replaced with one of stoic earnestness.
“She did, the night before the attack on the Lodge. She asked about my powers and what I was capable of. She explained that she might need assistance at some point and wanted to know if I would be willing to help. At this point she didn’t discuss any details with me, but after the attack, she got in touch with me again.”
My chest constricted when I thought about how she had done all of this behind my back and a part of me still felt betrayed. I understood why she had done it, but it hurt nonetheless.
Veridus reached inside his coat pocket and took out a stack of letters.
Placing them in front of me, he continued talking.
“Maelis told me that her training was going well, but that she wasn’t improving fast enough. She worried that she might not be able to help you fulfill the prophecy and shewanted a plan B. She had decided that as a last resort she would give up her magic. For you.”
I swallowed hard, my eyes fixed on the letters.
I equal parts wanted to read the letters and burn them forever.
“You spread the rumors about her supporting the Fraction,” I said roughly.
Veridus nodded. “It was a small thing for me to do and it set the stage for her betrayal. The news of her wavering loyalty needed to reach the Fraction to make them trust her enough to let her get close. It was always a last resort, just in case things weren’t going well for us. And that day on the battlefield, when the Fraction captured you, she must have decided to go through with it.”
I closed my eyes, thinking about the shock that had rocked my core when I realized Maelis was a part of the Fraction.
Or so I had believed at the time.
“Anyway…” Veridus sat up a little straighter, “I brought you her letters, thinking you might want to read her words to understand her motivations better.”
I nodded and was just about to thank him when he suddenly got up and started pacing.
“There is something else, though. It’s not the only reason I have come here today,” he said. I furrowed my brows, I had never seen Veridus uneasy or nervous before.
He had always been the epitome of swag and charm.
He turned around abruptly. “I think I saw Maelis.”
My heart stopped.
What was he saying?
Veridus ran his hands over his face.
“I know it sounds crazy and I have been debating whetherI should even tell you this, but I think I saw her in a dream.”
I sat up straighter in my chair.
Shock, confusion, hope and something else stirred beneath my skin.
“What do you mean, in a dream? I dream about her all of the time, but that doesn’t mean anything,” I said gruffly.
“It’s hard to explain. I have dreams like any other person, weird and confusing and sometimes a little raunchy.” He wiggled his eyebrows at me, obviously trying to lighten the mood a little.
But his face fell instantly when he continued.
“But this was different. It felt as if I was inside of one of my own illusions. I knew who she was even though she was just a child and the dream didn’t make much sense, but I swear I could feel her essence.”
I got up, too agitated to sit still any longer. “Tell me what exactly you saw.”
Veridus retold his dream, of opening eyes to see a stream in front of him and a little house with red shutters. Maelis had been a child back then and was playing by the water. He left out no details, but when he finished with his retelling, I was even more confused than before.
