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Elise looked green again, and I sighed, resting a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll need to ask Niklas, I’m afraid.”
“Niklas will tell Valen. He feels eternally indebted to him since Valen rescued Junie from a dungeon in the North.”
I made a note to ask Junius for the rest of that story. I knew she fought with the Northern king, but not about dungeons and rescues.
“We could ask him not to,” I tried. “Niklas works wonders with his elixirs. I assure you it’ll be worth it.”
“Oh, it wasn’t Niklas,” Inge said. “He’ll make herbs for Junius’s needs, but Junie once told me he hates the smell of anything needed for the female body. The ingredients are quite pungent, so he prefers not to make them. It was the old Elixist who made mine. The one who rarely leaves the nest.”
I knew of the man. We’d spoken a few times, but my heart leapt to my throat when I recalled a conversation we’d had.
“Wait.” I turned to Elise. “He knows you. The Elixist she’s talking about, he knows you. He told me.”
Elise’s hand went to her heart. “Bevan?”
I nodded, grinning. “Come. I’ll take you to him.” I turned back to Inge but spoke loud enough for Hob to hear. “Not a word. This stays between us. I’ll order you as the bleeding queen.”
“That doesn’t frighten me, Mal,” said Hob once we stepped into the front room.
“But if I tell Kase you went against me, he’ll use your greatest fears to drive you mad. You know he’ll do it, Hob.”
“All hells. You and the Nightrender are the perfect pair. Always manipulating.”
I guided Elise back into the corridor. She had a new excitement in her step. I was curious about the connection to the old Elixist. All I knew was he’d lived in the North and knew both Elise and Valen, but he’d left before their war began.
His chamber was in a comfortable place in the nest. Niklas had a great deal of respect for elder Alvers. They’d lived centuries; they were the Alvers who guided him, so naturally it was no surprise when the old man’s chamber was heated comfortably and in the back of the nest. The last place an attack would ever reach.
After three knocks, the man cracked his door slowly. His hair was wiry, tinted silver like moonlight, and his face was cracked in lines of wisdom and turns.
He squinted in the darkness, relaxing when he recognized my face, but when he saw Elise, his mouth dropped. The door flung open, and he hobbled into the corridor, using a crooked walking stick.
“KvinnaElise! Well, I suppose I should call you queen now.” He wrapped her in his long, thin arms.
“Bevan.” She gave a delighted laugh. “I never thought we’d meet again.”
“Oh, there were many things I did not think I’d ever believe.” The old man pulled back, scanning her face. “He wasValen Ferus. Legion Grey, gods, he was the Night Prince the whole time. I guessed he’d be someone interesting, but I was certain the Ferus line was dead.”
Elise laughed, then looked to me. “When Valen was cursed, he didn’t know who he was. He went by the name, Legion Grey. It is what I first knew him by.”
“Ah,” I said. “And Bevan, you knew him?”
The old man patted Elise’s cheek, like a cheery granddaj might, and nodded. “I gave him elixirs to control the bloodlust—his curse. It altered him into a mindless beast every few weeks. But I like to think I also helped him find Elise.” He looked at the queen with a sweet devotion. “I deceived her in many ways, but I knew it in these old bones, together she and the cursed beast would change everything. And you have. Look what has begun even here. Without you, the battles of magic and the true heirs would never have unfolded.”
“I suppose I should thank you,” I said with a touch of irony.
Elise laughed and squeezed my hand. “Thank me when it is over. Until then, we are with you,Queen.”
My throat tightened. A rush of emotion, of gratitude for the sacrifice of her folk took hold. I fought to clear it away, but it was relentless. Instead, I took a wide step back. “You will be alright, Queen Elise?”
“Just Elise,” she said, “and yes. Bevan will take care of me.”
The old man gave her a quizzical look, but allowed her into his chamber with an open arm. “Of course, come in. We have much to talk about. What became of my foolish nephew?”
“Mattis is well,” Elise told him. “He took vows with Siverie, you know. They remain in the North helping seal our borders while we’re gone.”
Bevan muttered something else I couldn’t hear before he closed the door. Alone, I traipsed back through the corridors, nearly forgetting I’d left Kase’s arms for food in the first place.
In the kitchen, it was silent as I raided a few crates of dried plums. Midbite, the room darkened, like a cloud passed over the moon. Except that was impossible. There were no windows.
