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Travus’s face became guarded. “You’re very perceptive, Princess. But for your safety’s sake, I can’t reveal more.”
With that, he marched past her, seemingly distant as if he’d pulled up an invisible barrier around himself. That was rather new on his part, and it concerned Aria greatly. She wondered what exactly he was hiding, because his motivations for the conquest did not fit his demeanor.
She began to realize that while conquering the nations was the main intent, it wasn’t the long-term goal. Independence would be awarded as soon as Travus had gotten what he wanted.
But what could be so valuable that the nations wouldn’t simply hand it over? What would require him to send his men marching and entrapping each nation’s people? What was he trying to keep everyone else away from?
Aria began to wonder if there was more she needed to do than prepare the other nations to retaliate against possible ambush from Travus’s troops.
***
With Travus out of her way for the rest of the day, she had every opportunity to gather more intel. She fluttered near the window of the Council Hall invisibly and carefully, trying to hear as much as she could. With a little eavesdropping magic, she was able to get a gist of their conversation.
“We’ll circle in from the west for the initial attack,” said one of them. “It seems to be their weakest link according to the report. No entrances to the mines from there, so the Dwarves are bound to falter in their efforts.”
“It’s closer to the smaller entrances to the mines,” said another. “The tunnels are longer from there, though. We’ll lose precious travel time.”
“They’re the only tunnels they’re not reinforcing,” came a reply. “We work with what we have and then dismantle their reinforcements when they’re distracted.”
Though she heard and stored the information, she was barely processing it. Her wings felt oddly heavy, and she was losing feeling in her back. Her eavesdropping spell was also unstable.
Something was wrong.
I should move before this gets worse,she decided. Flying back to her room, she tried to land gently the way she always did but ended up crashing to the floor instead. Her invisibility spell wore off, and her wings were barely fluttering. She could feel panic rise in her chest, and she looked back at her wings. No tinges of darkness, so it made no sense that she was feeling so weak all of a sudden.
She wondered if the dark magic imbued into the castle walls was having an effect on her. It would make sense, although it couldn’t be entirely justified as she wasn’t using black magic directly at all.
As she pushed herself to stand, she encouraged herself to send Arthur a message. Maybe he’d have a better answer.
Chapter 15
The two days he’d spent resting in Eldoria’s most revered inn, he checked himself constantly for any traces of magic. Should Aria make contact, he didn’t want her safety to be compromised. Despite knowing that only Fairies were capable of eavesdropping on magic, he could never be too sure.
After stopping the raid some days ago and seeing Humans under those hoods, his trust had been shattered. There was no knowing if there was a Fae or Fairy amidst the Elven ranks that could be facilitating them in any way. He was sure Aria would’ve noticed if that was the case, but he hadn’t heard from her.
Attempting to scale the wall was a terrible idea. But when the guards rejected his entry into the castle, he got desperate. He worried that she’d been hurt. Seeing her unharmed in the castle gave him some relief, even if he’d had to take a small beating.
His ego was bruised, though. While he appreciated Aria for stepping in for the duel, he kept wallowing inthe helplessness he felt. Though he could use magic as a Human, he was only so skilled against the Elves that were bestowed with gifts from birth. Using magic required knowledge and effort that gifts didn’t. While using magic as a Human gave him flexibility and range in power, it also took up far too much focus and energy.
It was safe to say that he needed to start training again and become better. In an era of long-time peace, he wasn’t expecting himself to ever need to exert himself so vigorously. Now, he knew better. One can never be too prepared.
When his window opened on his own, he got up from bed and reached for his sword. Then Aria materialized from thin air, and he could finally let his guard down.
“Are you alright?” he asked. “You sounded worried in your message.”
“My powers are…no,” she shook her head, “not just my powers, but me. I’m acting strangely.”
“Does this have anything to do with the duel?”
An uncomfortable look came across her face, and he patted the spot next to himself. She sat down next to him, planting herself right on the edge as if ready to bolt. From what? Arthur wasn’t sure.
“Thank you for saving me back there,” he said.
She smiled at him. “It’s the least I could do for a friend. Although I think I might’ve ended up doing something regretful.”
Arthur wasn’t sure about bringing it up before, but he realized that she was aware of something.
“Itdidlook like you’d kill that knight,” he said, and she visibly shuddered.
