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She considered for a moment and answered, “At first I thought I was doing pretty well. I tried to let go and sense my surroundings like you asked me to do when we fought blindfolded, and I eventually managed it, at least for a while.Then Aven told me he was toying with me. I thought he was just being arrogant, you know? But when he came at me again, I wasn’t able to put up any kind of fight. He was too strong and too fast for me to keep up.”

“Was he curious about how you were able to defend so well against him to start with?” Roka asked.

“He was surprised, that much was obvious,” Alex said. “But I didn’t tell him anything.”

“Good,” Roka said. “We want to avoid Aven learning that his blood empowers you for as long as we can.”

“What about the other people he’s Claimed?” Alex asked. “Wouldn’t they be able to tap into his Meyarin blood?”

“In a sense, yes,” the prince said. “But since those humans are entirely under his control, they would only be able to access his Meyarin abilities if he ordered them to do something that required the use of those abilities. You, however, have the choice as to when and how you access the skills inherent to our race. You can use his power without his command, and that makes you… special.”

“Yay, me,” Alex muttered, and the three Meyarins laughed at her less than enthusiastic response.

“Is there anything else I need to know?” Roka asked.

Alex shook her head. “I think I’ve told you everything…” She trailed off as a thought came to her. “Actually, thereissomething else, but I’m not sure if you’ll know anything about it. And it’s kind of… strange.”

“I’m listening,” Roka offered.

She fidgeted slightly and blurted out, “I’m being stalked by a magical blade.”

Three sets of eyes blinked at her.

In a dubious voice, Roka repeated, “A… magical blade?”

Alex was aware of how ridiculous she sounded, but she explained anyway. “There’s some kind of weapon that keepsappearing out of nowhere whenever I need it. It’s the one Aven used to Claim me, and it’s also the one that ended up almost killing me that same day, but I, uh, never told you that part. When it appeared during my fight with Aven tonight, he reacted weirdly and called it A’enara. Does that mean anything to you?”

The Meyarins stiffened.

“A’enara?” Kyia’s body was coiled with tension. “Are you sure that’s what he called it?”

They seemed to be holding their breath as they waited for her answer. “Positive.”

“Roka,selith raen de A’enara le nada,Aven,” Kyia said to the prince, her tone sounding anxious. “Torgas fruen halsa de rilona.”

“Kantaris de Tia Auras frey selia,” Roka responded, and he rose from his seat and began pacing the room.

“Does someone want to clue me in?” Alex said. “In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t speak Meyarin.”

“Sorry, Alex,” Roka said, sitting down again but clearly on edge. “Can you describe the weapon?”

“Uh, sure,” she said, not sure why that was relevant. Surely ‘magical blade’ was enough of a description. “Size-wise, it changes when you run your finger down the edge of it. I’ve seen it transform from a dagger into a sword, and it’s come to me in both forms. As for the design, it’s pretty simple. The pommel is made of some kind of metal—maybe Myrox, but I’m not sure. When it’s a dagger, both edges of the blade curve in intervals, like dipping waves, and when it’s a sword, the waves stretch out until it’s almost straight-edged, but not quite. The only thing that always remains the same is its ice-blue colour. It’s… well, if I didn’t have such horrible memories associated with it, I’d admit it’s rather beautiful.”

During her description, the Meyarins continued to exchange wary glances.

“And it appears out of nowhere when you have need of a weapon?” Zain clarified.

“So far, yeah,” Alex said. “The first time I was caught in one of Hunter’s traps with my classmates and we needed to cut our way out.” She turned to Roka, “The second time was when I fought blindfolded against you here in Meya. And the third time happened with Aven just a few hours ago.”

“Can you call it now?” Roka asked.

Alex looked at him in puzzlement. “Um, how?”

“I’m not sure,” he admitted. “Can you feel it?”

She tried to keep the ‘Are you crazy?’ expression off her face when she answered. “Nope. Can’t feel a thing.”

“Did Aven try to reclaim the weapon?” Kyia asked.