My mother.
Father had vaguely and with little detail explained that despite him telling mealmost myentire lifethatMother had died of a vicious, mysterious illness that had taken her in her sleep, he had been lying the entire time. He hadsaiddue tounforseencircumstances, she had to leave the castle, but that shehadn’tpassed.
That was whenhe’dfinally told me everything. Or at least, what Ithought everythingwas, at the time. I had to learn about Aviva’s abilities on my own.
Father had revealed that we were to spring a surprise attack onCairnyl, whichthenleadto the Battle of Shadows.He’dthen told me all I needed to know about the encampments, and what exactlyit was they were mining for—including the fact that what thealychitethey were mining for was then used against them.
He’d told me everything except where Mother was.
And now he was gone, that knowledge lost with him.
Unless I could find something that would point me in the right direction.
I opened every drawerinthe desk, shuffling the old, decaying papers inside and searching. For what, Iwasn’tsure. I just neededsomething.
Finding nothinginthe desk before me, Ibegan shifting things around on the bookshelves, searching high and low for a sign or a clue—anything that might lead me to Mother.
After long moments passed without finding a thing, I sighed, pacing the short span of the room.
Suddenly remembering the giftI’dgiven Aviva, I circled the desk once again and shoved the chair out of the way, dropping to the floor.
Tapping lightly on a specific small stoneinthe floor, I was reassured thatI’dfound the right one.
The one with a hidden compartment under it.
Pushing and tilting the thin stone, it lifted just enough for me to pull it out of place.
Underneathhousedvariousobjects that must have been sentimental to our mother. Pulling each object out one by one, I first pulled out the pouch of coins, placing it on the floor next to the hole in the ground. Next, there was a box with two golden rings in them—one for a male and one for a female. There was a dagger, one that was slightly bigger than the oneI’dgivenAviva, butmatchedit all the same. The daggers both had the same engravings, andthesame coloredgems at the hilt.
Sliding the second, bigger dagger into an empty sheath on my belt, I reached for the last thing in the compartment.
A small, slightly torn portrait on a thin sheet of paper.
The portrait consisted of threefae. Mother, who had a glow to her that I never remembered her having, along with a male with dark olive skin that Ididn’trecognize. Between them, being held by Mother, was an infant.
One that looked much toosimilar toMother and the mystery male for my comfort.
But looking at Mother… I saw my twin in her.
If I could get Mother back,maybe Icould get Aviva back, too.
Folding the paper and sliding it into a pocket, I tossed the other objectsI’dpulled out back into their hiding spot,andI slid the stone back into place before getting to my feet.
Securing the door to Mother’s study behind me, I headed towards the roomI’dbeen avoiding the most.
Father’s chambers.
I went to unlock the door, only to find it already so.
It made sense. Nobody would dare mess with Father or enter his chambers without permission. Iwasn’tsurprisedhe’dleft it unlocked.
Though, it did show his arrogance.
Determination set in mybones,I entered the quarters, which were much too quiet for my liking. There was a large lounge area to the left, a privatedeskand multiple shelves to the right, and in the middle was a giant four-post bed. The large room was perfectly themed and accented, floor to ceiling, to match the Northern flag—blue and silver. Father even had one ofsaid flags hanging over his desk, as though while plotting war schemes he had needed a reminder of what he was fighting for.
The room, unlike Mother’s study, had hardly any dust. It trulyhadn’tbeenthatlong since Father had last been here, in his chambers.
Ipicked atthe skin around my nails as I walked deeper into the room, trying to dull the feelings that swelled up simply by entering the space.
