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“I also said you probably already know most of it by now,” Kaiden reminded her. “It’s frustrating how little information I’ve managed to find.” He paused before correcting, “Or rather, how little verifiable information.”

“Verifiable?”

“That weapon of yours is drowning in legend,” Kaiden said. “Many of the stories I’ve uncovered are so outrageous that it’s impossible to tell fact from fiction.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” Alex mumbled, knowing how strange her magical blade was.

“I do know that it was created by the Tia Aurans back before they banished the Meyarins to Medora.” He paused to ask, “You know who they are, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, from what I’ve gathered, A’enara goes by several names. The Sword of the Stars, the Bringer of Light, the Blade of Glory—”

“And the Weapon of the Ages,” Alex cut in, already knowing this.

“And one final name,” Kaiden said when she didn’t add more. “The Balance of Power.”

That one, Alex hadn’t heard before. “What do you think that last one means?”

She felt him shrug, given that his arm was still wrapped around her. “Beats me. But amid all the mythological hyperbole, the name A’enara was synonymous with another name, both used together frequently in ancient texts.”

“What name?”

“Vae’varka.”

“Vay-eh-var-kuh.” Alex repeated his pronunciation, the word feeling unpleasant on her tongue. “What is it? This… Vae’varka? Is it a person? A Tia Auran? A Meyarin?”

Kaiden shifted his grip on her shoulder but didn’t remove his arm. If anything, he was now even closer than before. “I’m sorry, Alex, but I don’t know. There were even less documented notes about Vae’varka than A’enara.”

Alex sighed. “Another dead end.”

“Maybe not,” Kaiden said, giving her a squeeze. “I still have a few sources left to try. Something might turn up.”

Alex didn’t place much hope in his success. If Aven-of-the-past hadn’t been able to tell her much about it, she doubted Kaiden would be able to dredge up anything useful. And when it came down to it, as long as A’enara continued to save her life, she didn’t reallyneedto know the weapon’s secrets. She was simply curious.

But despite all that, she still mumbled her thanks as they entered the dorm building and he escorted her to her room.

Long after they’d said goodnight, she still felt the phantom embrace of his arm wrapped tightly around her as she drifted off to sleep.

Fourteen

“Are you guys ready for this?” Alexasked the next morning.

She, Jordan, Bear and D.C. were standing in the Library’s corridor of doors where Sir Camden had told her to go when she was ready to visit the ‘old kingdoms’ of Medora—or the ‘yonderlands’, as he’d also referred to them, though she would never repeat that word aloud.

“Is that a trick question?” Jordan asked, bouncing on his feet.

It was nice to see him so animated after everything he’d been through, but still…

“This isn’t meant to befun, Jordan,” D.C. said with mild but still clear reproof. “What we’re doing is important.”

“I’m aware of that,” Jordan returned, no less excited. “But can you honestly tell me you’re not looking forward to this? Just a little bit?”

Bear jumped in and added, “It’s not every day that humans set foot in Nialas.”

“That’s because we valuelife,” D.C. pointed out. “And I hear drowning is one of the worst ways to go.”

D.C.’s concerns were valid. Nialas was the Flips’ capital city and part of the Undersea Islands. By definition alone, ‘undersea’ implied enough cause for alarm—that being because the home of the Flips was, indeed, underwater.