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“You asked why the gifts Sorin was given would not manifest as anything other than fire. Fae cannot possess more than one gift. The Fae Queens were different. They were enabled to carry more than one element by Taika,” Saylah explained. “It is why you were born in the Witch Kingdoms. The High Witch is a descendant of Taika. She had the ability to transfer the Chaos from Eliné to you. In order to transfer gifts, Chaos must be given. It is the cost. To give you Eliné’s gifts, to have them intertwine with your soul and become part of you, it needed to be done when you took your first breath. To give you the ability to not only carry your own gifts but also hers, you needed more Chaos. Without it, the magic would have consumed you long before you were ready to wield it.”

“You gave me some of your Chaos?” Scarlett asked in a hushed tone.

“Yes,” Saylah replied. “More than Cethin has. It weakened me greatly. It prevented me from returning to Avonleya as quickly as I would have liked. The mirror gate was left unguarded too long. Those you know as the Maraan Lords found their way in during that time.”

“If Chaos must be given to transfer gifts…?” Sorin started, trailing off when the weight of Saylah’s gaze settled on him.

“What you are thinking is correct. I had to give up more Chaos to transfer those gifts to you. It will not be as effective as it was for Scarlett. It is why you find it unnerving to wield such power at times, because it has not been a part of you from the beginning.”

The conflicting emotions he could feel coming from Scarlett mirrored his own. Saylah had sacrificed some of her power to give Scarlett what she had demanded. Had sacrificed it to keep her children safe. Had protected them in the only way she knew how.

“Is that how I am able to Travel?” Sorin asked.

“No. That gift would have simply transferred to you during the process. All Fae have a trace of Chaos. It is how they can carry their elements. The more Chaos in a Fae, the stronger their gifts. The gods created them that way to balance their Legacy but to never be more than them,” Saylah said. “But Chaos is unpredictable. Some things are out of even the gods’ control, despite our best attempts.”

“What does that mean?” Scarlett asked, watching her mother carefully.

“The Fae will never be equal to a god, but if the right bloodlines were united, they could be stronger than a Legacy. This is why some realms keep the Fae under close watch. It is why contention around crossing the bloodlines is strategically sewn in some realms. Other worlds simply pass decrees forbidding it. The Fae that become too powerful are sought after for a number of reasons,” Saylah replied. “Blood has been shed to keep them.”

“This history lesson is fascinating,” Scarlett cut in, drumming her fingers atop the table. Despite her sarcasm, Sorin could see her mind working, putting things together. “But what does any of this have to do with the lock?”

“Because the gods were not the only beings to emerge from the Chaos, and wars over powerful Fae are not the only reason blood has been shed.”

“You speak of the World Walkers,” Scarlett said, sitting up straighter, Saylah finally getting to what she was most interested in. They had spent the last few hours discussing the World Walkers. Scarlett was convinced they were the missing piece to figuring out the mirror gates, and whatever information Saylah had would determine if they moved forward with their plans or not.

Saylah only gave a sharp curt nod.

“That is all? A nod?” Scarlett asked incredulously.

“What else would you like?”

“What the World Walkers have to do with the godsdamn lock,” Scarlett said, embers of starfire mingling with her shadows now. “And do not tell me nothing. There is a connection.”

Saylah’s lips pursed again, but she said, “The Great War here is simply a battle in the Everlasting War, just as every other battle in the realms is. Arius, Serafina, and Achaz were meant to end the war, instead they re-birthed it.”

“The war was not originally because of Arius and Serafina?” Sorin asked, still holding the orb while Scarlett and Cethin both drummed their fingers simultaneously. They glanced at each other and pulled their hands into their laps.

“No. It was between the gods that you know and the World Walkers.” She held up a hand when Scarlett opened her mouth. “And before you ask, I do not know the specifics. This was before my time. Before Arius and Serafina upset the balance. I do know that when the gods emerged victorious, they gave some of the World Walkers the choice of death or serving one of the gods. The spirit animals you know chose the latter. They were the original Shapeshifters and became bound in their animal form.”

“But who were they? Before?” Scarlett asked, looking at Altaria still perched on Cethin’s chair.

“That I do not know. I know they followed a World Walker named Korra. She was one of their high rulers. It is her Chaos in that lock. It is her power that can unlock the realm. She gave that power in exchange for her people to be able to make the choice of binding themselves to a god or going to the After where Arius would cast judgment,” Saylah answered.

“Why does it respond to me and not the others?” Scarlett asked.

“It responds to the Chaos in you.”

“You just told us all the immortals have some form of Chaos. It does not respond to them,” Scarlett countered, gesturing to the orb Sorin still held.

“It responds to you because of the kind of Chaos you carry. Not only that with which you were born, but that of Eliné and what I gave to you. Chaos is drawn to its own power. It is why those born of it crave more. It is why the more one possesses, the more one desires it.”

Scarlett’s lips tilted in that way that made Sorin brace himself for what she was about to say, because she had clearly figured something out. “And you? Do you desire more of it?”

Sorin was fairly certain the entire room stopped breathing at the question.

“It would restore what I have given, as well as allow us to leave the realm,” Saylah answered tightly.

“And would it be drawn to you as it is to me?” Scarlett asked, reaching over and taking the orb back from Sorin.