I frowned. I felt tired from making the portals, sure, but not like Odette. Maybe it just affected us differently.
While Odette gathered her things, I watched Lord Lucien. He’d sat at his desk and was working on grading papers. Odette and I were the only people left in here.
I got an idea. “Hey, can I catch up with you later?” I asked Odette. “I need to talk to Lucien.”
Her eyelids hung half-closed. “Okie dokie. See you around.”
As Odette walked out, I stood in front of Lucien’s desk. “Lord Lucien? Can I talk to you? I know it’s not your office hours, but it’s important.”
Lucien looked up and put his quill down. “You don’t need to come by during my office hours to speak to me, Emma. As one of my favorite students, you can drop by whenever you wish.”
I smiled. I didn’t know I was one of his favorites. “Thanks.” I pulled up a chair and sat in front of his desk. “I’ll try not to take up too much of your time. I just have a question.”
“Ask away.” Lucien leaned back in his chair, folding his hands.
My gut churned nervously. “I... I was wondering if you could tell me what the Worldweaver is.”
Lucien’s eyes got large. His complexion went slightly pale, and— if I wasn’t seeing things— I think his hands started to shake. Hoarsely, he said, “The Worldweaver. Why would you want to know about that?”
“I’m writing a paper on it for another class,” I lied. “But I can’t find any resources. You teach fae history, and are the most knowledgeable professor I know. I was hoping you could tell me where to start my research?”
Lucien didn’t look like he believed me. I couldn’t blame him— I didn’t think this stuff was the kind of material they covered in First Year classes.
But he sighed and said, “What is it you want to know?”
“What it is, basically. What it means,” I said. “I know the Black Claw wants to use the Worldweaver’s blood to resurrect Droga, but I don’t know how, or why.”
Lucien nodded. “You are correct on that, Miss Sosna. The Worldweaver is an intricate piece of fae lore. The ancient Seelie had stories and legends about her, but they were lost long ago after the separation of the Unseelie and Seelie courts.”
“So she’s definitely a woman? And she’s existed before?” I asked.
“In a way,” Lucien said. “There were once many Worldweavers in Edinmyre, all female. She was not so much a person as more of... a type of magic. A Worldweaver is a portalist who’s exceptional skill was able to transcend different realities and realms. A Worldweaver could open a portal to any realm in any universe, whenever they wished.”
Wow. I guess that explained why portals were so easy for me. “So what happened to them?” I asked.
“All of the Worldweavers had Unseelie blood. They were killed after the Seelie won the war,” Lucien said .
I froze. All of them had Unseelie blood? But... I wasn’t a dark fae, was I? Did that mean I was the first-ever Seelie Worldweaver? And if so, why now, after centuries had gone by?
Lucien noticed my silence, so I rushed to say something. “But you gave a lecture last semester how the Black Claw was looking for the Worldweaver on the night ofPallenoc, so they could use her to restore Droga to life. How can that be possible if the Worldweavers were Unseelie, and there’s no Unseelie left?”
“The Worldweaver we’re speaking of currently— mind you, if she exists— is thought to be a bridge between the two sides,” Lucien said. “A Seelie fae with Unseelie blood in her line. That’s what enables her to have exceptional power, and raise Droga from the dead.”
I swallowed a lump in my throat. I couldn’t have Unseelie ancestry... could I?
Before Lucien could get suspicious, I asked, “So do the Black Claw have a certain day on which they have to take the Worldweaver’s blood?” I knew this already, though maybe Lucien could give me a date.
He leaned forward. “Yes, but as far as the proper time, I couldn’t tell you. I’ve researched the Worldweaver for decades, and I haven’t even managed to find the year, let alone the exact date.”
“Oh.” My voice sounded disappointed.
Lucien raised an eyebrow. “Is there a particularreasonyou chose this topic for your paper?”
I shook my head. “No, sir. I just thought it sounded interesting.”
“Hmph.” Lucien scowled. “Well, curious minds and all that. But I hope you have a strong stomach. Some of the aspects of the Worldweavers’ history is somewhat... gruesome. Their magic was used to achieve great things, but also, terrible, horrible things. There’s a reason the gods permitted their extinction.”
A shiver crawled over my skin. “I’m sure if the Worldweaver is real, she’s been sent by the gods to restore balance and make things right.”
