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“I’ll be back in a moment,” she told her friends.

When she reached the Meyarins, Kyia surprised Alex by pulling her into a comforting hug.

“I’m sorry about your friend,” she said softly.

No more crying, Alex reminded herself. She managed to breathe out a quiet, “Thank you.”

Kyia nodded and offered her a compassionate smile before she walked away to speak with a group of Meyarin guards.

“Walk with me, Alex,” Roka said, offering her his arm.

She latched onto it like a lifeline and waited for him to speak. When he did, his words surprised her.

“Are you okay?”

She blew out a breath of air. “Physically, sure. Emotionally, not so much.”

Roka squeezed her hand gently. “If there’s anything I can do to help, you need only ask. The same goes for if you want to reach out to Kyia or Zain. We’re all here for you, Alex.”

She looked up at him in disbelief. “Are you for real? Aren’t you going to lock me up or something?” Seeing the question in his eyes, she clarified, “You’ve managed to keep Aven away from Meya for over a thousand years, and now, thanks to me, he can come and go as he pleases. Everything that happened today ismyfault, Roka. Aren’t there consequences for something like that?”

They reached the other side of the clearing and Roka stopped, turning Alex to face him.

“None of us blame you, Alex,” he said. “What you did was justified considering the deceit surrounding Aven’s plan. He’s a master of manipulation. There was no possible way for you to realise the truth.”

“I should have known,” Alex argued. “I should have figured it out.”

“How?”

“I don’t know!” she cried. “I should have felt something was wrong!”

Roka’s face softened at her tortured expression. “You had no way of knowing, Alex. We all thought it was impossible. If anything, the fault lies with us.”

She frowned at that. “What are you talking about?”

“We were overconfident in our ability to keep him out,” Roka said. “It was my idea to send Zain out for information, but we did that in secret as our council didn’t believe it was necessary. We had so much faith in our own race that we forgot the power some humans possess. Skyla Fay’s gift… Never would we have imagined such a deceptive ability. Nor would we have thought to link it with the gift of your friend Jordan. But Aven has spent so much time amongst your kind that using humans’ gifts is second nature to him. And because of that, he managed to slip by us.”

Roka paused, deep in thought. “If your headmaster hadn’t found Zain, then I fear all hope would have been lost. He would have died, Aven would have killed you and your friends and then arrived unnoticed in Meya, intent on destroying us. But Zain’s warning came in time for us to ruin Aven’s plan. We know he’s here now, and although we’re not sure where he’s hiding, he’s lost the element of surprise.”

“HowdidZain warn you?” Alex asked. “Darrius said he was nearly dead and could barely talk.”

“Your doctor is extremely skilled.” Roka’s gaze moved to the other side of the clearing, where Fletcher stood hovering around Zain. “He was able to stabilise the effects of the Sarnaph blood— the Hyroa blood—long enough for Zain to find the strength to call up theValispath. Fletcher was distressed by Zain’s refusal to remain in bed, but he consented so long as he was able to continue his treatment and assist with any injuries you and your friends might have sustained. Darrius and Hunter travelled on the Eternal Path with them, as did the Shadow Walker.”

“I thought the location of Meya was supposed to be a secret to humans?” Alex asked.

Roka shrugged. “Zain was too weak to fight them off, and his urgency to warn us of Aven’s arrival was too great for him to wait any longer.”

“But doesn’t it worry you?”

“Your companions won’t be able to come back without using theValispathor one of your Library doorways,” Roka reminded her. “And besides, the time may soon be coming when humans are once again aware of our existence.”

“What about Caspar Lennox?” Alex asked. “He disappeared from here without using the Library or the Eternal Path. All he needed was his special shadow magic, or whatever it’s called.”

“Shadow Walkers are an unpredictable race,” Roka said. “Even my people don’t fully understand the scope of their abilities. It’s quite possible that they’ve always been aware of the location of Meya and have just had no interest in our city. We’re not enemies, nor are we allies. We’ve had no need to interact before now—before you, really. And it was clearly you who Caspar Lennox came here for today.”

Alex wasn’t sure what to think about that.

“I have to ask, Alex,” Roka said, his voice strangely hesitant, “I heard you giving your account to the others, but is there anything else you can tell me about Aven’s plans? His whereabouts?”