We entered through the back gates and into a large foyer, where we crossed a room that housed Kull’s stuffed beast collection. A giant burbonski—a creature resembling a polar bear with curved ram’s horns—stood near the room’s hearth. I also spotted a crocodile in one of the corners.
We crossed through the chamber and ascended a stone staircase.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“To find the thief. We need to have a word.”
“Where is he?”
Kull shook his head. “I thought my sister would know.”
We took the hallways leading to Heidel’s room, passing a few people along the way. Kull received a few formal greetings, and for the most part, the castle staff seemed pleased to see him. Although I knew his relationship with his people was strained, it seemed the servants, at least, didn’t hate him.
We reached the end of the hallway where a red rug led toward the door at the hall’s end. Kull knocked on the door several times with no response. As he turned the handle, the door was flung open from the inside, and a disheveled Heidel stood in the room. Her hair was down, which was odd as I’d never seen her without her hair in a braid or ponytail, and her cheeks were flushed and pink.
“Sister, is everything okay?”
“Yes, why wouldn’t it be? And what are you doing here?”
“I came to see if you knew where I could find the thief?”
She cleared her throat as her face visibly paled. “I have no idea.”
“Really?” he asked.
“Did you check the dining hall?”
Kull leaned against the doorframe to glance past his sister. She moved to block his line of sight. Kull exhaled.
“You might as well let me in so I can get this over with,” he said quietly.
“Are you going to send him away?” she whispered back.
“Most likely.”
She stood for a moment without speaking and then looked up at her brother with pain in her eyes. “Fine. Come in,” she said, then moved aside.
We entered a large suite with separate sitting and sleeping areas. I found a bed and some heavy wooden dressers on one end of the room, and on the other side were a pair of sofas decorated in animal skins and antlers. Swords and battle-axes cluttered the walls, and I wasn’t sure if I stood in a bedchamber or an armory. A large picture window took up the back wall of the room, and long, sweeping curtains partially hid the glass.
“You can come out,” Heidel called.
Maveryck moved away from the curtains and stepped into view.
Kull puffed out his chest as he approached the man. “Maveryck, as you have likely heard, the staff has gone missing, and since you are a professional thief, and because you are affiliated with the elves, we are forced to acknowledge that you may be involved in taking it.”
Maveryck narrowed his eyes. “I would never be involved in such a thing.”
“Yes, I realized you would say that. But as I have found you in my sister’s bedchamber, I can no longer pretend that you are our friend. I know the sky king trusted you, but I do not.”
“Yet I was invited by your sister into her room. Does that mean nothing?”
Kull glanced at Heidel. “Is this true?”
She crossed her arms. “Yes,” she answered quietly.
“But, why?”
“Must I give reasons for my actions?” she said. “This is my home as well as yours. I am entitled to invite visitors into my chambers, am I not?”
“Father would not have approved.”
“Father is not here. And he didn’t approve of Olive, either, yet you are not questioning her.”
“Yes, because Olive is not a professional thief.”
Heidel shrugged. “Have it your way. Accuse him of something he didn’t do. But I can tell you, he is not your traitor.”
“Even if he is not, he has earned my distrust. Maveryck, did you take the staff?”
“I did not take it, although I suspect that whoever has stolen the staff will have had a very good reason to do so. If you recall, I risked my own life to steal the staff from the witch’s castle, and then risked further injury by battling a goblin wraith in the Earth Kingdom to return it to the sky king. But it was not me who took—”
“Wait a minute,” Heidel said, “how could you know that we battled a goblin wraith in the Earth Kingdom?”
His face paled. “I don’t know. That is to say, I didn’t know until recently.”
“Recently?” I asked. “What does that mean?”
“A lie?” Kull asked.
“No, not a lie. I can only tell you that some of my memories have begun to return.”
“That’s not possible,” I said. “Memories don’t return for anyone. Ever.”
“This time they did.”
Kull sighed.
“It may be because of my unusual brain chemistry,” Maveryck said hastily. “I have the ability to recall certain events with unique clarity.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I can’t tell you why, but trust me when I say that I am not like you. I’m not like anyone.”
Heidel pressed her hands to her forehead. “Yes, I remember you told me this once before, didn’t you?”
“In the Earth Kingdom, yes. You remember?”
“Olive did the spellcasting, Maveryck. Yes, I remember.”
Maveryck swallowed as sweat beaded his brow. “You remember everything?” he asked quietly, as if he didn’t want anyone else to hear.
“I remember enough.”
Maveryck clutched at his chest, exhaling, and then pulled at a chain around his neck to reveal a crystal hanging from the bottom. “Then there is no use hiding this now,” he said.
I eyed the shard. It reminded me of another I’d seen before—one worn by the now elven queen. “Is that an Illumina crystal?” I asked.
He nodded. “Yes. This belonged to my elven grandmother. This may be partially to blame for my memories returning. Long ago, it was spellcasted to be used as a memory charm. And although the magic has faded quite a bit, it has slowly been returning my memories to me. Since you are accusing me of not being honest with you, I thought
