I spotted Shadrie almost immediately. She sat at a corner table, staring at a stack of books as if they’d offended her. Shedidn’t look up until I dropped my messenger bag next to them and sank into the empty chair across from her.
“What are all these? Where’s Miles?” I asked.
“You look rough.” She chuckled before jerking a thumb toward the stacks. “He vanished over there just before you showed up. I found him and this stack at the table when I arrived.”
As if summoned by her words, Miles strolled out of the stacks, his face scrunched as he skimmed the open book in his hand. A grin suddenly split his face before he looked up and raced over to where we sat.
“I knew it!” He cheered, slamming the open book on the table between us. “Tinu nall, it makes so much sense.”
Curiously, I peered at the open book. “Tinu nall?”
“Starcaller.” Miles grinned, sliding into an empty seat beside Shadrie. “My coven had a story about the time before the realms were separated. It took some searching,” he paused to gesture at the stack of books in front of Shadrie, “but I finally found the same story. Back when elves still ruled the supernatural world and the realms weren’t separated by the veil, there was a king who sought to consume everyone’s power.”
“Wait, elves?” I frowned.
“I think I know some of this story,” Shadrie interjected. “They don’t teach about elves here because they’ve been gone from the realm for millennia, but there are stories our parents tell us as kids to scare us into not misbehaving.”
“Right, well, my coven tells us this story for a different reason,” Miles replied, waving his hand as if to wave her words away. “So, this Elven king, he got power hungry to the point it was hurting all the realms. It wasn’t until a Starcaller arose, that he was defeated. The story goes that she was half mage, half elven; the mage half being why my coven tells the story.
Anyway, she was fated to the most naturally powerful males in the realms and somehow was able to use their power as her own. When their power wasn’t enough, supernaturals bandedtogether and allowed her to borrow from them as well. She managed to subdue the Elven king and strip him of his stolen abilities, but his queen begged for his life. So, the Starcaller erected the veils that separate the realms and allowed him to keep his life as long as the elves left and never returned to the supernatural or human realms. She became the first non-elven monarch after that.”
For a long moment, none of us spoke. The library’s silence pressed in close, broken only by the faint scratch of a pen in some far corner. My pulse thundered, hot and unsteady. Starcaller. I didn’t know why the word settled into me like it belonged there, heavy and immovable, but it did.
Shadrie leaned back slowly, studying me. “B… you okay?”
I tore my gaze from the open book, but the word clung to me, whispering through my veins like it already knew my name. Starcaller. I shook my head in disbelief.
“I–this… How can we be sure?” I stammered. I wasn’t ready to believe this was what Geordie had been pushing for me to discover.
Miles didn’t hesitate. He tapped the page with his index finger. “Because what you’re experiencing lines up with the story. It can’t be coincidence that you’ve exhibited abilities exclusive to certain supernaturals after coming into contact with them. The real question is, why?”
The room seemed to tilt, the weight of Miles’ certainty pressing down on me. Geordie’s warnings slipped through my mind, colder, more insistent. My chest tightened, heat prickling across my skin. I didn’t want to believe this. I was just a girl from the human realm. I couldn’t be some supernatural being of legend. But deep down, I already knew the truth. The name had resonated with some secret part of me. Too right for Miles’ theory to be wrong.
Chapter Thirty-One
Bechora
The next few weeks slipped by in a haze of denial and longing. Zypher still hadn’t returned to campus, and with each passing day, I missed him more. I’d done my best to ignore the discovery of what I was, hoping he’d return with news that Miles had been wrong. Shadrie and Miles tried to coax me into a few experiments that I somehow managed to put off. When they realized I wasn’t going to give in, they threw themselves into hunting through the library for more information. That was how I found myself in the living room of my dorm, alone, with my textbooks spread out on the coffee table as I attempted to focus on homework.
A knock on the door came as a welcome interruption from the thoughts that kept overtaking every attempt to focus. Standing from where I’d been hunched over my books, I stretched with a groan and strolled to the door. Zypher stood on the other side when I pulled it open, and I found myself flinging my body at him.
Zypher caught me with a chuckle. “I am pleased to see you as well, Dilectus,” he rumbled.
In his absence, my budding acceptance of our bond had blossomed into something more. I almost felt foolish for holding him at arm’s length for so long, my protests about not having a choice seeming more like an excuse than anything else.
“I’m glad you’re back. Come in,” I smiled, pulling free of his hold and allowing him room to step inside.
He smirked, stepping past me and taking in the state of thecoffee table before moving to settle onto the couch where I’d been before he knocked. I moved to join him, letting myself lean against his much larger body.
“I’m sorry I was away for so long,” he said, lifting his arm to tuck me further into his side. “My mother wanted to consult with my cousins about your situation. It took a while for them to search through their archives and find the answer.”
I sucked in a breath. “Did they find it?” Cautious hope that Miles was wrong bloomed in my chest, only to be wiped away by the furrow of Zypher’s brows.
“Yes. Though I fear the answer brings nothing good for us,” he murmured before clearing his throat. “They believe you are a tinu nall.”
“Shit,” I hissed. “I was hoping Miles was wrong about that.”
Zypher shot me a curious glance and squeezed me tighter to his side. “The mage is correct. My mother even consulted with the oracles. They confirmed the truth of what you are.”
