Page 147 of Keeper of the Word

“I still do not understand all,” Tolvar finally said, when they were far enough away that the campfire was a mere glimmer.

Elanna knelt. The clover and stalks of wild moonbeam flowers’ scent surrounded her. Beyond, the last dregs of dusk tinted the horizon pink, the foothills of the mountains a blue silhouette. Above that, the sky cast a coat of purple glossing into the indigo of night.

Stars blinked at Elanna.

She brought the Edan Stone out of her pocket and placed it before her and Tolvar, who had knelt opposite her. He grimaced at it.

“The scar was azure. Now, ’tis silver. Why?”

“As I said, the moonstone is imbued with Shroud Magic. After the stars reveal to you theword, none but you shall be able to enshroud Asalle. When the moment comes, I shall tell you. You will break open the stone and utter theword. It will obscure thecity of Light from this continent until the stars deem ’tis time for its return.”

“And what will happen to the Capella Realm in the meantime?”

“The realm’s doom is imminent.” She folded her hands in her lap. “We have already witnessed the stirrings of civil war. I do not know how long it shall last. But last it shall until the sovereignty is restored.”

Tolvar scowled. “Cannot Dashiell simply restore it?”

Elanna gave Tolvar a prolonged, woeful gaze. “’Tis unlikely now.”

“At the beginning of all of this, you spoke of danger and doom. We went to Asalle. What has this all been for?”

“Wewent to Asalle? You discarded me there like a sack of last week’s rubbish. Had you stayed, mayhap events would have been different!” Her blood percolated with rage. “Mayhap the sovereign would have lived!”

“Wouldhave?”

“He is not long for this world, Sir Tolvar. And with Dashiell fleeing from the city, he is not returning.”

“You have Seen this?”

“I Saw many things, and no one would listen to me. And by the time we reached Asalle, I fear we were too late.” She exhaled. “The only act that might be done now is tosaveAsalle from darkness. From the Curse that is being unburied. You said so yourself that those in the south of Lenfore wish to bring down the light. What do you think that means for our capital? Asalle cannot fall to corruption. ’Twill spread throughout the realm and spill into the rest of the continent.”

“You just said that civil war was upon us. How is that not already a corruption? If we can return the prince to Asalle, we might yet save it.”

Elanna turned away and put her hands to her face. “You truly are an unbeliever, or at least you would like everyone to assume so. There is no Capella Realm without the Light of Asalle. And if we cannot conceal it from evil, then evil it shall become.

“Balance must remain in this world. When Asalle is out of theCurse’s reach, it shall no longer be able to feed on it, to consume its Light. We shall safeguard the Light, as well as the hope—the Heart—thatisthe Capella Realm, from further ruin.”

Tolvar picked at the clover. “You are in danger, too. What will all this mean for you and the other StarSeers?”

“I do not yet know. I need my sisters. When we reach Ashwin—” She closed her eyes and clung to the stars above.

Casta? Kyrie? Can you hear me?

“We need to gather the others. The Five need to be together to See what comes next.” She slowed her breathing, which had been keeping time with her quickened heartbeat. “But we must finish this spell. We do not know when the stars shall call upon us to use the Edan Stone, and they are impatient to lift this burden off my shoulders. I cannot carry the Edan Stone any longer. ’Tis becoming too heavy.”

She registered how true that statement was. Even the mere thought of no longer carrying the Edan Stone brought relief.

When she next gazed at Tolvar, she found him studying the moonstone.

Doubt was written plainly on his face.

She remembered Gethwin’s words: “He has more than doubt in him. Anger, grief, a desire for vengeance still. Those qualities can impede theword.”

You must carry a completeness. You cannot consider yourself. The feelings and failures of what it means to be human. You are a StarSeer. He cannot do this without you.

Elanna comprehended that she had granted space in her mind and heart for so many of the events of the last moons. Thoughts that were her own were to be stashed away. Always. But they had not been. Not as of late.

And so, she tucked away the ordeal of Tam’s Ford. The friendship she’d formed with Joss and Barrett. The welcome reunion with Daved. The personal fondness she had for Dashiell. The soft touch of Hux’s hands. One by one, she enfolded them deep inside herself. And prepared.