“The one who tracks, the one who connects, the one who senses, the one who detects, the one with an impenetrable mind, the one who moves faster than thought, and the one whose destiny was shrouded from my sight,” Saphir had said.
I was supposedly the one who connected, Shovia was the one with the impenetrable mind, and Morek was the one who moved faster than light. Alar and Codric were the ones who sensed and detected, but it wasn’t clear who possessed which part of the prophecy.
Then there was Commander Ravel, who Saphir believed was the one who had been there first and was supposedly the tracker.
There was undoubtedly a connection between the commander and me, and it wasn't new. I'd felt it five years ago when he'd arrived to save my village from the Shedun. I'd just misinterpreted it as attraction, or a girl's infatuation with a savior figure.
I wasn't in love with Ravel. I was in love with Alar.
"Perfect." Shovia admired her reflection in the boots. Satisfied, she set them aside and shifted her sharp hazel eyes to me. "Are you okay? You look like you are about to be sick."
Regrettably, I couldn't share any of this with my best friend. "You've been saying that I look sick ever since I woke up the morning after the attack. I can't possibly look any sicker now."
I had no idea how it was possible to burn through so much fat in the span of a few hours, but then I didn't know how any of what I'd done was possible. All I could do was shove as much food as I could into my mouth and try to replenish what I'd lostbefore the next prophetic dream hit. If I didn't, I feared that my body would not survive it, and I might never wake up.
Shovia rose to her feet and stood behind me, looking at me through the mirror. "You know that I want what's best for you, right?"
I didn't like the preamble. "But?"
"But I think you should keep drinking that drakking tea even if it makes you dream disturbing things. What if the Shedun attack again?"
I swallowed, feeling guilty for taking a break. "I need time to recuperate, Shovia. Saphir said it was okay for me to stop drinking it for a few days."
The truth was that I was terrified of resuming the nightly ritual, and not just because of what the dream took out of me physically. What if I got lost inside those creatures who unwittingly hosted my consciousness during my dreams?
Shovia's expression softened, and she put her hands on my shoulders, turning me around and pulling me into a hug. "I know." She pulled back. "I'm sorry for suggesting that. The Shedun will need a long time to recover from the devastating blow our forces dealt them. No one expects them to launch anything big anytime soon."
"I hope they don't. I really need a few more days off. Instead of giving me a medal, they should reward me with a vacation at home. I miss my family and Chicha, and my gran's cooking would do wonders for fattening me up."
Shovia squeezed my shoulder. "You should get both. That way, you can go home with your new, shiny medal, and tell your parents that you are dating the wealthy Elurian they were all so impressed with." She chuckled. "Your grandmother would be thrilled. I still remember how she gushed over Alar's impeccable manners."
They would be even more impressed if I could tell them that Alar was a prince, the fifth son of King Tekumuton of Catonia, but that was another secret that I had been entrusted with and couldn't share with the people I loved.
"Alar is Elurian," I said. "I'm not at all sure my family will be thrilled with me dating him. They would much prefer a nice Elucian boy."
Shovia pursed her lips. "I'm not sure you are right about that. But speaking of Alar, where is he? I was sure he would be knocking on the door by now and demanding to see you."
I laughed. "You were the one who sent him to get dressed in Codric's room."
"I did that so he wouldn't fuss over you and make you even more anxious than you already are. His coddling is not doing you any favors."
"He doesn't fuss over me." Well, he kind of did, but only for the past three days. "He and Codric will be here when they are ready. I need Alar to help me climb those drakking stairs all the way to the roof of the Citadel."
Right now, ascending eleven floors seemed more challenging than the pilgrimage, which was a testament to how that dream had hollowed me out, leaving me a barely functioning husk.
"Then I should hurry and fix your hair and put some makeup on you." Shovia pointed me toward her desk chair. "You can't look like a wreck when receiving Elucia's highest honor."
"Thanks." I grimaced as I sat down. "That really boosts my confidence."
"Oh, stop it." She reached for the brush. "You know what I mean. When you show the recording to your future children, they will gush over how pretty their mama was when she was named a Hero of Elucia, and not how miserable she looked."
Leave it to Shovia to be brutally honest, but she was right. I wanted to look nice in the recording, even though I wasn't sure I'd be given a copy.
The event would be filmed, but to preserve what was left of my anonymity, it would not be broadcast on the civilian network. If I got a copy, I could show the ceremony to my family in private, and I wanted them to see me at my best.
Dylon would attend in person, so I would finally get to see my brother, and I intended to give him an earful for not visiting me even once after I had saved our capital city. I didn't care about the entire population of the Citadel thinking of me as a hero, but I cared about my brother finally acknowledging that his little sister was a badass.
As Shovia worked, weaving my hair into an intricate crown braid, I closed my eyes and tried to imagine Dylon's reaction. He would be proud of me, of course. How could he not be?
