Prastian opened his mouth, but I stopped him. “You don’t understand. In a way, I am responsible for the destruction that happened before, during, and after the war. I get my knowledge just as you or anyone else gets their knowledge. It’s passed from generation to generation. My magical abilities come partly from the wizards in the past. It’s from them I get my power, and my beliefs about how it should be used. And they did a lot of things in the war. Some of them terrible.”
Prastian stopped and turned to face me. “Hellsfire?”
“Yes?”
“If I stabbed you with a sword, would you get mad at me?”
I swallowed some saliva, not seeing where he was going. “I suppose I would. And then I’d probably die.”
“Why wouldn’t you get mad at my mother, who gave birth to me, or my teachers who taught me how to use a sword?”
I raised a finger, but I couldn't think of anything that would counter his argument. He was right. I couldn't be responsible for what had happened all those centuries ago. The best I could do was not repeat the same mistakes.
“I see you finally understand what I’m saying,” Prastian said, resuming our walk. I nodded. “My point is, we’re each responsible for our own decisions in life. The first Sharald taught us that. Sharald knew, from the first time he saw Renak, that the power Renak sought would corrupt him. It wasn’t the power itself, but the path Renak took. Renak chose that path.”
“Thank you, my friend. You're the wisest elf I know.”
“Aren’t we the only elves you know?” Demay said.
We all laughed at Demay. It was good to laugh, considering what we’d seen throughout the day. Tomorrow was going to be even harder. Between the king's suspicions of me, the lack of information about the missing elves, and the terrible state Alexandria was in, we were going to have a hard time getting any answers. We said our respective good nights and entered our rooms.
I thought I might get a peaceful night’s rest before we continued our investigation the next day.
I was wrong.
CHAPTER 13
I was awakened by the sensation of being dunked into cold water. The web I had placed over the door had served me well. A shadow crept across my room. I stayed perfectly still, continuing to breathe slowly as if I still slept. I readied my mana, letting it rise to the surface.
The shadow leaned closer to me. In the dim moonlight, something gleamed. I grabbed his wrist and twisted, dislodging the weapon. Then I created a fireball in the other hand, raising it to illuminate his face. I caught my breath.
“Forgive me, Your Highness,” I said, letting go of her wrist and squashing the fireball in my hand. “I thought you were an intruder.”
“It's quite all right. I understand and appreciate your…readiness.” She rubbed her wrist.
“I'm sorry, did I—”
“I'm fine,” she snapped. Krystal motioned to a candle holder on the dresser next to my bed. “Could you please?”
I waved a hand and ignited the candle. “It’s good to see you, but what are you doing here, Your Highness? Especially in the dead of night?”
“We haven’t much time. I don’t know how long the drugs I gave the guards will last.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You drugged your guards?”
“Yes. I needed to talk to you.”
“But what if you're caught? Won't you get in trouble?” More likely, I would get in trouble. But I didn’t want to say that.
“Leave that to me.”
I nodded, and she took a seat next to me on the bed.
“I need help, Hellsfire,” Krystal said. Her purple eyes had lost their gleam. She looked really worried.
“Anything I can do, I will, Your Highness.”
She gave a faint smile. “You're sweet, but hear me out before you make any rash decisions.”
“All right.” But I already knew the answer was yes.
“Good.” The princess took a deep breath. “I found the elves you were looking for.”
“That's great!” I lowered my voice when I remembered she wasn't supposed to be here. “That's great.” Her face didn’t look thrilled. “It is, isn't it? I mean, they’re still alive, right?”
“They're alive, but the news about them was hidden from me—from me!” The princess's eyes darkened with anger.
“Was it your father?”
“No. It was Premier.” Her voice was as icy as the White Mountain.
“Premier?”
She nodded. I saw she struggled to remain calm. “Yes.”
The princess didn’t say anything for several moments. She stared at her hands in her lap. “What is it, Princess? Whatever it is, you can tell me.”