Page 42 of Elemental Evolved


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"How does the rest of it go? I can't think," Finn mumbled.

Out of all of us, he'd been the quietest since Tessa froze, and it was disconcerting, to say the least. He was usually the friendliest and most social out of all of us. It just showed how much this was affecting him.

"Five hearts beating as one, four realms slowly dying, three secrets left untold, two souls in need of guidance, one key to save them all, one key that's marked by all, two bloodthirsty reigns ending, three strange voices drifting, four memories altered or missing, five caretakers bless their savior," Dres intoned.

"You're missing the new bit," I said as I paced back and forth, repeating the whole prophecy in my head as I had done after we discovered part of it had been kept hidden. The last thing I wanted was for us to forget it in case it was something we needed later. "When water changes color, time will grow short; when the wind breathes fire, the chosen one shall join the people; when the day is longest, a forced marriage shall mark a strengthening of bonds; when one become many and may become one a broken heart shall mark an age of tranquility when the forest shrinks the chosen one shall bring forth the return of dragons; when fire burns blue the chosen one shall risk all when the blood moon rises the lost heir shall return."

"Well, the water is Atlantis," Finn commented.

Griff made a noise of agreement and added, "The fire burning blue is El Dorado."

"The wind breathing fire could have been when we got the stone in Hyperborea." Dres was pacing not too far from where I was, and it struck me then that we were more alike than I would have imagined.

We had fallen quiet for a bit when Kai said, "I was the forced marriage, the blood moon bit, and the forests shrinking."

"That's insane," Finn said as he reached for Tessa, his hand gently stroking one of hers. "How could anyone have seen that coming?"

"I mean, that is what seers do," Griff chuckled.

The five of us were a mess without Tessa. That much was obvious. If we couldn't fix this, I didn't want to think about what would happen.

Of course, the prophecy had just been a distraction, something to keep us occupied while we all secretly hoped that this sorted itself out. It didn't, though. Tessa was still frozen, and footsteps echoed as someone approached.

Not just one someone, though, multiple people, which could only mean that the queen and her guards or advisors were finally here. We barely had time to turn to face her before she was right there, looking as regal as Queen Ulrika, making me wonder if they'd ever consider being friends. There was also the stark reminder that Timmon had claimed two of the queen's advisors were in his pocket.

"My queen," Finn said before bowing deeply.

The rest of us followed suit.

"What is going on here? And who is that?" she demanded, pointing at me.

"This is my twin brother," Dres said, interceding on my behalf. "He joined us after everything that happened in Hyperborea. He is no threat, Your Majesty."

She glanced between the two of us before seeming to resign herself to the fact that I wasn't going anywhere. "What is wrong with Tessa? Are the realms stabilized?"

"My queen," Finn began before taking a deep breath as though he needed to brace himself for what he was about to say. "Tessa seems to have fallen into some kind of magic stasis after putting the stones within the statue. We aren't sure what is going on or if the realms are completely stabilized yet."

"How did this stasis happen?" The queen touched Tessa on the forehead, poking at her in a way that made me have to bite my tongue to prevent speaking out.

"When the stones were placed in the statue, a caretaker appeared and spoke with Tessa, then—"

"Absolute nonsense!" one of the men who trailed behind the queen shouted. "Caretakers don't speak. They probably don't even think beyond the animals that they are."

Dres stepped forward, tension riding his movements. "The caretakers are what power all of our magics. Without them, there is no magic, and the realms fall into chaos. They are extraordinary beings, and anyone who has studied the history of the realms would agree with that. Oh, we should also mention that Leader Timmon of Agartha is dead."

All the blood drained from the advisor's face. Well, that was one of them.

"He did advise us before his death that two members of your council were loyal to him and not you," Kai interjected. "And it was a spectacular death, one deserving of the leader of the One Realm cult."

The queen gasped. "He was the leader?" She seemed more shocked by that than the fact that two of her council members were traitors.

"He was," Finn confirmed.

One of the councilmen cleared his throat before asking, "Did he name the traitors?"

"No, but it would be no trouble for us to find out for you, Your Majesty," Dres suggested.

"I appreciate the offer, but there is no need. We have known who they are for a while now and have taken steps to remove them already."

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