Page 150 of Stormvein

Elowen.

Not just Ellie, but myfullname. The one written on the note left with me when I was abandoned. I stopped using it themoment I understood I could. Ellie was easier. Less strange.Normal. Something I could wear in the group home without getting questions, funny looks, or being the subject of whispered conversations. The staff didn’t argue. They were too busy, too tired, or maybe just relieved I was finally speaking.

I haven’t thought about that name in years. I’d buried it so deep, I almost convinced myself it belonged to someone else entirely. Until Sacha woke up with it on his lips after a dream, the foreign name sounding right in his voice.

How could Sereven know it?

I give up trying to sleep once the quiet outside the room starts to shift. Low voices. Distant footsteps. The sound of the outer door closing.

My body protests as I sit up, every muscle worn and tired from days of riding and not enough rest. The stone floor sends cold shooting through my bare feet, up my calves, into my spine. A sharp contrast to the feverish racing of my thoughts.

Someone has left clean clothes folded on the chair, proving that I must have fallen asleep at some point. I pull them on, splash water on my face from the bowl on the dresser, and open the little pack of firebloom beads for my teeth. Once I rinse my mouth, I drag my fingers through my hair, then go through to the outer chamber.

Sacha is already there, leaning over the table cluttered with papers, his dark hair falling across his forehead. A single lamp casts shadows across his face, and for a moment, he looks exactly like what he is—a commander planning war. The sight should intimidate me. Instead, all I can think about is how his hands moved over my skin just days ago, how different he looked when his guard was down.

“Did you sleep at all?” I already know the answer. He didn’t come to bed, and the dark smudges under his eyes and the tension in his jaw tell me more than his words will.

“Enough.” His eyes are fixed on the map in front of him.

“What are you looking at?”

“Authority strongholds. Trying to determine what Sereven’s next move might be.” He taps the map. “He might go back to Ashenvale, but I don’t think he will.”

“Do you think he’ll come here?”

“Maybe. Something about you shocked him. And not only because of the way our powers worked together. He’ll want to regroup first.”

I sink into a chair across from him. “Do you think anyone here might know something about my name?”

“It’s worth asking. I’ll summon the Veinwarden leaders. I need to tell them what happened at Blackstone Ridge, and discuss what should be done with Lisandra. But if anyone has knowledge of why that name would be significant to Sereven, it would be among those who have been fighting against Authority rule since its earliest days.”

“When?” The urgency in my voice surprises even me.

“Now.” He straightens. “Now you’re rested …” His eyebrow arches at my snort. “You didn’t rest?”

“Not really. I couldn’t switch my mind off.”

“Understandable, given the circumstances.” He inclines his head toward the small table beside the hearth. “I had breakfast brought earlier.”

I turn my head, and try to mentally will the pitcher of tea over to me. Sacha watches me, a slight frown creasing his brow.

“What are you doing?”

“Trying to make it float toward me.”

He gives a soft laugh. “I see.” He crosses to the table, pours a drink, and fills a plate with fruit, cheese, and bread, then brings it over to me.

“Thank you.”

He sets the plate on my lap and hands me the cup, then touches my cheek, his thumb brushes against the skin beneath my eyes. “I wish we had time for you to rest more, but this is something that shouldn’t be left until later.”

“I know. I want answers, too.”

He strides across the chamber and speaks briefly to one of the guards standing outside, then closes the door and turns to face me.

“I’ve requested Varam be present as well.”

I pace while we wait, too restless to sit still. My reflection catches in one of the polished metal mirrors on the wall. Hair tangled despite my attempts to tame it, the silver in my eyes more pronounced than ever, face thinner after days of travel rations and constant tension. I hardly recognize myself anymore.