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She released her second arrow and—thwack—it spliced straight down the centre of the first.

“That Meyarin eventually found her way to Meya, where she was taken in by the royal family who taught her the ways of the immortal race—herrace.”

Maggie drew and released a third arrow. Her aim was again perfect, and it speared down the length of the two already in the target before she finally rested the end of the bow on the ground and turned to face Alex.

“Time passed. Not much, but enough for her to decide she missed her mortal family and the life they’d shared with her, so she left the city and returned to them.” Maggie’s striking grey eyes never left Alex as she finished, “She was never seen or heard from again.”

During her instructor’s short tale, Alex had remained frozen. And that was because, while missing massive chunks of information, that was the story of ‘Aeylia’—or at least the beginning part, if not the end.

“No one remembers her name; not her face nor her voice nor, indeed, anything about her at all,” Maggie continued. “She is a blur in the minds of those who happened upon her during her brief stay in Meya. But she left her mark, even if those affected by her time there are, for the most part, unable to recall her role in the events that played out.”

Alex shivered. “How do you know all this?”

“Because, Alex,” Maggie said, “I have been acting as if I were her—as if I wereyou—for thousands of years.”

A choked breath was all Alex could manage, along with a whispered, “What?”

Maggie didn’t say anything for a long moment. But then she released a sigh and glanced around. Satisfied that no one was in sight, she caught Alex unawares when she stepped closer and activated theValispath, and within seconds they were inside her much warmer, much more private quarters in the Tower building.

“Have a seat,” Maggie offered as she hung her bow and quiver on the rack mounted to her wall, unfastened her cloak and fluffed out her glossy black hair.

Alex felt numb with trepidation as she stumbled towards the couch in front of the fireplace and sank down into the corner of it. Her gaze wandered around the room, taking in the numerous bows lining the walls and the multitudes of arrows in all shapes, sizes and colours. She catalogued it all before Maggie joined her on the couch, shoving a steaming mug of hot chocolate under her nose.

“I just had breakfast,” Alex found herself saying as she inhaled the mouth-watering aroma.

“There’s no such thing as a bad time for hot chocolate.”

Unable to fault that logic, Alex took a sip of the comforting liquid and waited while Maggie settled on the other end of the couch.

“I only know about you because of Aes Daega.”

Startled, Alex took too large a mouthful and ended up scalding her tongue.“What?” she hissed around the pain.

“She told me everything about you. That you were from the future, that you were bound to the Draekoran heir, that you were human. She also told me your name,” Maggie said. “But until you returned from the holidays shimmering with your draekon bond, I didn’t know Aeylia was you, specifically, Alex.”

“Why did she tell you all that? What did you mean when you said you were acting like you were me?”

“Your story had a beginning, but it needed to have an end,” Maggie said. “What I told you before, about the babe left in the forest and raised by mortals—that part you knew, that part you were there to act for yourself. But when you left, there needed to be a decoy in place on the off-chance someone came searching for you.” She lifted her mug to her lips. “You did, after all, leave a trail of destruction in your wake when you disappeared. But it wasn’t safe for that trail to vanish like you did.”

Alex paled, but before she could say anything—apologise, defend herself,anything—Maggie quickly hurried on.

“Not that it was your fault, I know that, Alex,” she said. “There was nothing you could have done to stop the effects of time and what occurred while you were in the past. You just had to watch it play out.”

“That doesn’t make the guilt feel any better,” Alex said quietly.

“Nevertheless,” Maggie said, “there’s no point dwelling on what can’t be changed.”

Alex sipped more of her hot chocolate even though it now brought her little comfort.

“I was in a unique position back then,” Maggie continued. “I had just completed myvarrungardand been offered a place to train as one of theZeltora, mostly thanks to my skill with a bow. But my family situation was… not wonderful. Neither of my parents approved of my decision to enter the elite guard, and they made life very… difficult for me. My brother was the only one who supported me, who told me to reach for my dreams no matter what our parents wanted. He said he was stuck following in our father’s footsteps, but that at least he’d get to live vicariously through me.”

Maggie laughed quietly. It was a soft, sad sound. Bittersweet. Telling.

“What happened?” Alex whispered.

“Aven is what happened.” Maggie’s knuckles whitened as she gripped her mug so tightly Alex feared it would shatter. “He convinced my brother to become one of his loyalGarseth, and in doing so, he stole the only real family I ever had.”

Maggie’s voice lowered until Alex could barely hear her as she finished, “The day Aven killed those humans and fled the city was the day my brother lost his life following the cause of that tyrant.”