Page 90 of Wraithwound

“I think she’s being held in the Tower of Two Worlds,” Taya said again.

“Quintessa’s private temple? Isn’t that said to be in the Untethered Realm, where no human can go? I thought that was just a myth her acolytes shared to try and humanize the Goddess,” Riley said.

“Who is it that managed to trap her?” Dauen asked.

“The King’s Master of Magic,” Taya answered, half lost in thought.

“But the King’s Master of Magic was said to have died when the city fell,” Leonid added.

“I don’t think he did,” Taya said.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Leonid said. “As Riley mentioned, no human can gain access to the Tower, but even if he did, how do you trap a Goddess? Only an extension of her power resided in the water that flowed through the lands, not the Goddess herself.”

“And why? To what end?” Jade asked, brows furrowed.

“The diary seems to be providing all of the answers. I think it’s time I cast another crystal,” Taya said. Reaching for the object on the table, she unhooked another crystal.

The image that flashed on the wall showed Ada and Eduard sitting at their small kitchen table across from her mother and Henry. Eduard looked several years younger in this memory but not as young as the last. Given her mother and Henry’s appearance, Lena could tell this meeting had taken place four or five years ago.

“Thank you for coming. I will admit we sent for you not because we required care. That was a ruse, sorry, but we needed to speak with you about, well, several things,” Ada said.

“Oh?” Marisee said, sitting up a little straighter.

“I would like to talk to you about Lena, and Eduard would like to talk to Henry about his past. It seems like there will come a day when Henry’s past might dictate Lena’s future, if he so chooses, and Lena’s future could very well affect us all,” she said.

“Go on,” Marisee said, and Henry nodded, although she could see the uncertainty on his face.

“This won’t be easy to hear but—” Ada started.

“How about we address Henry’s past first?” Eduard suggested, reaching over to put his hand on Ada’s arm and patting it gently.

“Yes, you’re right. Let’s start with that.” Ada smiled and nodded, reaching over to place her free hand atop his.

“Henry, would you mind pulling your medallion out?” Eduard asked.

Henry hesitated but after a moment pulled the medallion from around his neck, unhooked it, and handed it to Eduard. Just as Taya had done, Eduard slid his thumb over the back of the metal disk, and Henry’s image appeared on the ceiling before them.

Then, he pulled a chain from around his own neck, revealing a medallion that hung concealed underneath his shirt. Pressing his thumb into the back, another image was projected where Henry’s had been, but instead of a young boy, a warrior stood there. He was dressed in gold plated armor, a sword strapped across his back.

Henry stared at the image of Eduard standing atop a sand dune, two suns glowing in the sky behind him.

“You—we—are not from this world, Henry. Our home is a different planet called SecaTerr. We were pulled here through a tear between worlds that was caused by a disruption in the magic that was gifted to us by the Goddess. There were six of us that were pulled through. And you, my apprentice. I didn’t realize you had been pulled through also. It wasn’t until—well, it’s a long story. You wouldn’t have remembered. Your training was not complete and so your memories and knowledge about our world would not yet have solidified in your being.”

“I’ve held that medallion so many times over the years. Why didn’t it work for me like that?” Henry said, gesturing at Eduard’s image still projected above them.

“The magic in the medallion only responds to converted energy,” he said.

Henry’s brows furrowed in confusion.

“We are beings that transition from flesh and blood to an existence of pure energy. It’s how we survive on SecaTerr. The medallion does not recognize you as a mature adult, and thus you cannot project your own image for safety, in case a rival family ever got a hold of you.”

Henry sat in stunned silence, and Marisee mirrored his shock.

“I will tell you more about it, but now is not the time. What’s important is that you'll have the opportunity to save this realm if the time comes. By helping Lena,” Eduard said.

Ada nodded and added, “Because, Marisee, she’ll be attacked by a wraith. But depending on the help she receives and the choices she makes, she might be the one who ends up freeing the Goddess.”

“No,” Marisee said, face draining of color.