“I took the girl, as instructed. Along the way, we met up with an elven woman named Nym. I needed horses and she had two. She claimed she was coming to Thelsamel and I decided the best course of action to return as quickly as possible was to join with her. Along the way, she became very close with Lana and I believed that she would keep Lana’s identity secret and protect her with her life.”
Clay turned to see how Braithe was taking this information. The old man was looking at him and frowning in disapproval.
“While I commend you for doing what you could to return quickly,” he said, “I don’t approve of you entrusting this mission to another elf. Furthermore, you have not explained why you left them in the first place.”
“I…” Clay trailed off, thinking furiously. He couldn’t tell the man that he had grown to love Lana. That might put her in more danger than she was already in. “The princess is a kind girl and half elven. She was happy to leave the castle and has given me no cause to think she was any danger to us. I was concerned that you elders might harm her or imprison her. I think she would be happy to live among the elves and I simply wanted to ensure that she was coming here to a place that would accept her rather than punish her for her birth.”
Sighing heavily, Braithe pushed back from the table and stood then made his way to the door. He paused, looking over his shoulder at Clay.
“Our intentions are none of your concern. You were ordered to perform a duty and you failed in that duty most spectacularly. Your motivations may have been kind but that does not matter. You have betrayed your mission and you cannot be trusted.”
Braithe then turned on his heel and left, pausing just outside the door to speak quietly to the guards. Once he was gone, they entered the room, each seizing Clay by an arm. He knew better than to fight this, it would be pointless. He was alone in the palace and no elf would try to save him. He would go to the dungeons and be held in captivity for the rest of his life.
I’m sorry, Lana, he thought miserably. I tried.
* * *
The group of elves continued traveling toward Thelsamel, stopping at villages so Lana could heal the sick and they could restore their provisions. It was the same everywhere they went, sick children and desperate adults. Nym was concerned for her friend. She knew Lana was troubled over her ability to heal the elves and worried about how she was changing and why. Nym worried about that, as well. It was unlike anything she had heard of, except for the ancient legends of the high priestess.
She did all she could to support Lana as they traveled, speaking with her frequently, offering advice when she had any to give. She had to work hard to master her own feelings about Lana because what she needed was a friend, not another follower. It was difficult not to stare at her in wonder, though. Lana truly had no idea what an extraordinary creature she was becoming.
Since they’d left the forest border, Nym had noticed that her friend wasn’t just experiencing spiritual awakenings. Lana was undergoing physical changes as well. Nym hadn’t told her yet, but Lana looked far more like an elf now than she did a human. Before, the differences were minor but noticeable to any elf. Her eyes were more tilted and it seemed like her face had narrowed, losing some of the human roundness.
What was most striking, however, was the sense of her. Elves could sense their own kind and know them immediately for what they were. Nym had always sensed Lana as having elven blood, but it was somewhat muted. Now, she could sense her far more than any other elf. In fact, Lana seemed to shine like a beacon and Nym could have picked her out from a crowd of elves even with her eyes closed.
She chose to keep this to herself and warned Ilann not to mention it, as well. Lana was going through enough trying to understand what was happening. Pointing out the physical changes would only add to her worries. Nym knew that the elves that had been following the longest would have also noticed the change but instead of making them fearful, it made them more reverent, so it was unlikely they would speak of it.
Nym was walking ahead of everyone, holding Ilann’s hand. It seemed strange to her in a way. When she began her mission, she had never expected to meet someone like Ilann. The elf man had been a complete surprise. When they talked in that first village, he’d been charming and funny. They shared a love of elven stories and legends. Spending that first night with him was meant to be a pleasant diversion and she’d been a little surprised when he asked to travel with them. Nym had thought perhaps she was only a pleasant diversion for him, as well.
They’d grown closer as they traveled and she had enjoyed herself fully. Nym was never one to hold herself back from experiences and Ilann was no exception. He had proven to be a kind man and energetic in the best possible ways. It was difficult to find any privacy surrounded as they were by so many of their brethren, but they managed when they could. Nym was very aware of how close they were to Thelsamel, and, knowing how things would change for her once they reached the city, she took every opportunity to enjoy herself. Ilann didn’t seem to mind.
The day finally came when she could clearly see Thelsamel in the distance. The city was her home within Eva and the sight of it nearly broke her heart. On the one hand, it was
