Drifa smiled slowly. “So if they really can’t see who’s talking, all theycando is listen,” she murmured. “Look at you two, my children. You have dragon blood and wolf blood, and you were raised among humans. Ofcourseyou see all the sides of the story. We never did.”
“Are there artifacts that can help?” Anders asked, hope welling up inside him.
Drifa nodded. “There are two. The first is the Mirror of Hekla. It’s hundreds of years old. Felix and I restored ittogether—as dozens of designers and dragonsmiths must have done before us. The second is the Staff of Reya, which we made together. You’ve seen magical mirrors and staffs before—you have communicator mirrors, and I’m sure the wolves still use the Staff of Hadda for their monthly transformation trials. It was part of what inspired us to create the Staff of Reya, but I never thought of using it with the Mirror of Hekla before.”
“We need both?” Anders asked.
“I’m sure you will,” she replied. “I’ve seen the wolves and dragons try to talk before. You can find both artifacts using my map. If you found the Sun Scepter, you’ll find the mirror and staff easily. I didn’t hide the artifacts I hoped would bring peace nearly as carefully as I hid the weapons.”
“But you never got the chance to use them,” Rayna said quietly.
“No,” said Drifa sadly. “We... no, we didn’t. And now they’ve been left alone for more than a decade, so they’ll need to be repaired. Take them to the dragonsmiths Tilda and Kaleb. When you were babies, they had an aerie in the hermits’ caves. I doubt they’ve moved. You’ll need Hayn as well.”
A flash of memory hit Anders—he’d seen those namesbefore. Tilda and Kaleb were listed in the Skraboks, the huge books back at Ulfar that had listed the designers and dragonsmiths of all the greatest artifacts in Vallen. There had been entries for Drifa, Felix, and Hayn as well.
“Can’t you just tell us where these artifacts are?” Rayna asked.
Drifa laughed. “Darlings, when I knew the truce was coming to an end, I hid dozens of artifacts we’d made and repaired—more than a hundred. I don’t remember where each one was, but the map will show you.”
No sooner was she finished speaking than she faded out of sight. Anders gasped, and felt a rush of relief as she slowly appeared once more.
“Hayn wanted me to give you a message,” he said hurriedly. “He said to tell you that he would have tried to protect you and Felix, if he’d known. And that he’ll be our family now.”
Drifa pressed a hand to her heart, closing her eyes for a moment. “I wish we’d told him,” she murmured. “He deserved our trust. We would have, in time.”
“I’ll tell him that,” Anders promised.
She nodded. “I’m afraid I won’t be back again, my darlings. I don’t have enough essence left in me. Too much is gone.”
“No,” Rayna murmured, starting forward, then remembering they couldn’t touch. “Tell us where you are, we can find you!”
“No,” said Drifa firmly. “It’s not safe. I told you there were those who didn’t agree with your father and me, who didn’t want peace. I don’t want to put you in their path if I can help it.”
“But we need more time,” Anders protested. “We only just met you.”
“It breaks my heart to go,” Drifa said, tears in her eyes. “I wanted to do... well, everything. But I’m so grateful we got to meet. Please tell Hayn I’m trusting him to take care of you. And I know how strong you both are. I’m trusting you to take care of each other, and love each other as much as I love you.”
And then, reaching one hand out, as though she wanted to touch them, she faded from sight once more.
This time, she did not reappear.
When Anders woke, his eyes were wet with tears, and Rayna was sniffling softly, crawling onto his mattress to creep under his blanket and curl up against him. He felt a series of needles sink into his leg as Kess climbed up his body as well, finding a place between the two of them.
It seemed so desperately unfair, to be without theirmother all their lives, to find her, and then to lose her so soon afterward. Anders had wondered who his parents were growing up, but he had never felt the pain of their absence like he did now. Now he could imagine what it would have been like to have Drifa and Felix in his life.
He didn’t sleep again, but instead lay where he was and waited for the dawn.
Chapter Nine
THE NEXT MORNING,ANDERS WAS TIRED—BUTmore than that, he felt exhausted inside, as though his heart was tired too.
As he shuffled along the queue for breakfast, Lisabet fell into step with him. He took a sidelong look at her as Det spooned porridge into their bowls. After the events of last night, he felt like he understood a little more of what Lisabet was going through than he had before. Without a word, he linked his arm through hers and led her outside.
They made their way across the landing pad, although they stopped some distance short of the edge, still thinking of Sakarias’s fall the day before. As they settled down and dug their spoons in, she gave him an expectant look. “What is it?” she asked.
“I wanted to talk,” he replied. “Or more, I wanted to listen.”
“To me?”
