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I held it up for Eeva to see. “Do you know what this is?”

“This is Lena’s.” Eeva tenderly lifted the talisman from my palm, but she squinted, drawing the stone nearer to her eyes. Her spectacles. They’d been lost, and the woman did not see well. The longer she studied the stone, the more her lip curled. “It does not look the same to me. Oh, gods. What a fool I am. How could I…how could I not realize what it was all this time?”

I scooted nearer to her. “I don’t know what it is, but we suspect Lena has been manipulating your awareness and mind with spell casts. If this seems different, I suspect she warded it from you. With her death, the spell would fade.”

Eeva blinked. “She’s dead?”

“Yes,” I said, glancing at the talisman. “We’d like to know what this is and why it has upset you so.”

“Do you wish to control me too?”

“No.” I shook my head. “Eeva, I swear on my life, we have no desire to control you.”

“Don’t have the time to fret about controlling you, woman,” Celine muttered. “We just fought battle after battle. We’re otherwise occupied.”

“Thank you, Celine.” I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing and nudged Eeva’s ribs playfully. “Meet one of the ladies of the noble houses in the Ever. Loyal and rather blunt, that’s our Celine Tidecaller.”

Celine folded her arms over her chest. “Well, she needed to know.”

“Eeva,” Livia said, “the sea witch and mortals controlled you so they might extend their lives. We are fae; we do not need such a thing.”

“My blood creates vitality too,” she said. “Good health. Strength. More than just a god’s life.”

“And we have gifts that do similar things,” I said. “What did the talisman do? I assure you, we will destroy it now if you wish.”

Silence stretched, but eventually Eeva handed the talisman to me. “There are weaknesses in Veri blood. Or perhaps it was a gift to mortals from the gods to keep ancient Veri clans from slaughtering them. It doesn’t matter why it is there, only that there is a way my blood can be compelled.” She pointed at the glass talisman. “Inside that glass, there is a piece of onyx stone. You can barely see it, but that stone is something called an evigt, a crystal of sorts that can immortalize blood. Veri use evigt to keep vials of blood fresh for the clan’s needs.”

True enough, a dark stone was tucked in the center of the glass. A faint crimson glow lived in the veins of the stone. “I see it inside.”

“Yes, and inside the evigt, I am certain, are five drops of my blood. One to symbolize every god who gave the Veri Ikuinen their gift of life.”

“To take your blood would compel you?” Skadi asked from the back of the room.

Eeva nodded. “Unseen chains.”

“You didn’t sense it.” Sander’s voice cut through the room. No doubt my dear alver prince had endured the endless questions as long as he could stomach them before asking his own.

Eeva let out a sharp gasp.

“Oh no. Oh, oh no.” The woman rubbed her palms over her knees, laughing through nerves. “I did not even see you there.”

Sander tossed back his hood and held out a palm. “Forgive me, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Eeva paled and shot to her feet. “I thought that was you. You’re the…you’re the one who…” She hid her face in her palms.

“No, please. Don’t be ashamed.”

“I—I—I fed from you.” She shrunk back against the hearth. “How can you look at me?”

Skadi rested a gentle palm on her brother-in-law’s arm, silently urging him to give Eeva space. His shoulders slumped, but the prince stepped back.

“Eeva.” I went to her side. “Sander is a prince of a clan of magics, a cousin of fae. He knew a bit about your people and knew how to pull you from the blood call. He’s right when he says you shouldn’t be ashamed. It was beyond your control. Djur and Lena, they took your freedom from you. Manipulated you.”

Slowly she lifted her head and glanced at the place where Sander stood near the door. “Did I…did I hurt you much?”

The prince shook his head, his handsome grin in place. “I’m well, I assure you.”

“Do you think it’s possible the folk on Eilifur could compel you to forget killing fae?” Livia asked, gesturing at the talisman.