The Elemental Saga

Chapter 25

Iridessa arrives before I've fallen asleep this time. She crawls in through the window and plops down on the bed across from me. "Well?"

I'm lying on my full stomach and frowning at my dagger. The book still lies in the drawer and the pendant dimly pulses with my heartbeat. "I don't understand why we're still here. Queen Dahlia could have done anything to us tonight, or even last night. But all she's done is feed us, give us the drink and send us back to our rooms."

The fragile girl nods along with my words. "She's not helping us, but she's not hurting us."

"Why?" My thoughts race between our situation and the quest and the information from the book.

Iridessa plays with the edge of her sleeve. "I've been trying to think it through. Ember, isn't this whole quest a little, off?"

I look up at her. A little off? That's an understatement. I don't even know what on would look like anymore. But I just listen as she goes on. "I mean, okay so Queen Basilone found a crack in the Immortal Mirror. But isn't the mirror Careah's responsibility? Why didn't Isolde bring this to attention sooner?" Her words echo my own doubts.

"What are you saying?"

Iridessa takes a breath that I think is a full one but can't possibly be enough to fill her lungs unless they were the size of a pin. "I'm not saying that Careah was hiding the crack, but it doesn't add up." She waits for me to lash out at her for such a comment but I don't. Because I think the exact same thing. Between the clueless quest and Isolde's actions, or rather lack of, something is wrong.

"Queen Isolde doesn't want the crack fixed. She wants to free Zephyrus."

"And Queen Dahlia is helping her." Some of the pieces click together in my head. Why does Isolde want to free Zephyrus? All my life, I've been told that he is bad and if he were ever to get out, the Realms would fall.

"Okay," I say, sitting up and using my dagger to talk. "So, my Queen is a traitor. She fits the bill. I didn't even know what this quest was about. But what do we do? Queen Dahlia has us stuck here in an unending loop."

I think back to kissing Xander and whispering in his ear. Maybe if we can get the others to stop drinking the elf drink, we can clear everything and get everyone out. The pendant pulses as I remember his lips on mine. Stop it, Ember. Iridessa sees it flash and smiles. "He likes you, you know."

I choke. What. We don't have time for this. I shake my head firmly. "No, he hates me. He just likes to get me riled up."

Iridessa watches my face but I keep it blank. "You can't be serious. We all can see it. Why can't you?" Because I don't want to see it, I almost say but I stop myself. We're wasting time.

"Florian is slowly going through the libraries," I say instead. Iridessa drops the subject, face lighting up. "It's slow and he's the only one who can because it's in elf tongue. So we can't do my plan yet." She nods in agreement.

"So we just keep up the dinner charade?" It's the best I can think of.

"As soon as he finds something, we'll bust out of here. But until then, there's nothing else."

Iridessa slides off of the bed and goes to leave. "Okay. I'll try to help him and see if I can find anything else." She gets halfway out the window before popping her head back in. "Ember, I know you're from Careah, but that doesn't mean you necessarily have to make yourself cold and hard." Then she's gone and I'm alone in my room.

I want to read more but my brain is still digesting what I read earlier. It takes me back to the hypothetical questions from the first page. Will we open the door, or add more locks? Zephyrus's story pops up. His mother tried to add more locks but the door opened anyway. My brain warns me that if I think any more, it'll explode. My twisted dagger whines about being neglected for so long. I need to move. But I don't know where to go. I start to give in to more reading but as I get up and go over to the dresser, my eyes fall upon the bell.