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“Maevriana, where are you?” a tall, handsome man with strawberry-blonde hair calls out.

I giggle quietly from my hiding spot, so sure that he’ll never find me. I’ve been sitting here for over fifteen minutes, and he still hasn’t discovered me.

“Hmmm, where did my darling Maevriana go?” his voice echos, closer this time.

I watch his piercing ocean-blue eyes, mirroring my own, roam over the area. Somehow they skate right past where I currently linger. Then, he rounds the corner, calling for me again.

I smirk as I exit from my spot, thinking I’ve bested him at last… that is, until two large hands scoop me up.

I squirm in his arms as he tickles me. “I found you,” he beams .

I squeal as his melodious laugh fills the chamber. It’s my favorite sound in the whole realm.

“Father, put me down,” I snort.

The man gently sets my feet on the floor, taking my small hand in his own.

“Come,” he grins. “I have something I must show you.”

Present Day…

Father…

I had a father that isn’t Rolph, and I loved him dearly.

My head throbs as laughter and my father’s words echo in the chasm of my mind …

I have something I must show you. This memory doesn’t make sense to resurface at this exact moment.

Does it possibly have anything to do with the Crógemma?

Is that what he needed to show me? Either way, the Basilisk knows more and is taunting me by keeping that information from me.

For ten years, I’ve been in the dark. Ten years I haven’t known who I am or my heritage. Yet, everyone with that knowledge continues to believe I’m not yet privy to such information. I’m not a child in need of protection. I’m a woman desperate for answers… and I will obtain them

The lights flicker wildly above, signaling that our means for escape is waning.

My dear, it’s time to leave, Saoirse warns.

Not until it tells me what I need to know, I snarl.

If you don’t leave, you’re going to die, and I won’t be able to save you, she panics.

“Did you remember, Chosssen Daughter?” the Basilisk hisses.

Maeva, just lea ? —

“Who am I?” I ask, ignoring Saoirse.

The Basilisk hisses, swaying its massive head. “Did you remember your father?” it deflects .

I growl, no longer caring about decorum. “Answer my question, serpent.” My starlight sweeps through my hair as my anger mounts. “Tell me who I am, since you seem to know more about my life than I do. I’m tired of the riddles and games.”

“It’sss a sssshame you don’t remember,” the Basilisk hisses. “I’ve angered you, and that makessss you the mossst unpleassssant company.”

“Tell me!” I scream.

“But this way issss sso amusssing. How deliciousss it’ll be once you remember. Ssssearch the crevicessss of your mind and come back to me onccce you know of your secretsss. Then I’ll tell you everything you desssire to know.”

Then, the serpent is gone, leaving us alone.

My starlight diminishes as I lean over the water. “No,” I bellow. “I deserve to know!”

I’m about to dive in after the horrid creature when Emyr pulls me away from the side of the pool and forces me back up the trembling stairs.

“Let me go, Emyr. It will answer me,” I snarl.

“It will kill you,” he scolds. “Look around, Rosey. Time is running out. We have the Crógemma, which is what we came for. So we need to go before these creatures make a feast of our bones.”

As if on cue, the lights quiver, picking up tempo, as the chants of the atrocious beings crescendo in pitch.

We’ve wasted time down here with the Basilisk, and now I have more questions than answers.

As if reading my mind, Emyr grabs my face.

“Maeva, I promise I’ll help you learn the answers you seek, but for now we must go,” Emyr reasons. “Please.”

The fear in his eyes helps simmer to mounting anger long enough to think rationally. If we die down here, then Celestae is lost to Tiernan’s reign. Laisren and Riordan will be lost to the spider. We must leave. “Okay,” I reply. “Let’s go.”

Emyr propels me forward. “Lead the way, Rosey,” he says.

As I race up the stairwell, my thoughts roam back to the memory. This is the first one I’ve had of my childhood before Aurelius, and it isn’t even a full memory, nor does it reveal who my parents are. The only truth I know is that my name is Maevriana.

You always were called Maeva for short, my dear, Saoirse interjects into my racing thoughts.

The name that came to my mind when I was found in Aurelius is truly a part of my past then.

For some reason, that gives me a sense of relief.

Though a majority of my mind is fractured, a part of my true self came through.

I thought that perhaps it was just a name I’d heard someone utter, or maybe it was one my imagination conjured up.

However, out of every memory my mind clung to, it’s my name that remained.

“Watch out!” Emyr yells, pushing me away from an outstretched arm of a prisoner with no eyes and a serpentine tongue.

The creature shrieks in protest at its meal is thwarted, but we continue onward.

This time, I focus on the steps ahead. The bars of the cells rattle with anticipation as the creatures frenzy with the knowledge that they’ll soon be unleashed.

My legs scream for me to stop moving, but Emyr continues to dole out encouragement that gives me an added strength.

I’m beginning to lose hope of ever reaching the top of the stairs when the giant door comes into view, just a few yards ahead.

“We’re almost there, Emyr!” I call out. He grunts in response as we race against the clock to save our friends.

I’m at the top of the landing when I slam my body into the door, but it doesn’t open.

“No, no, no!” I cry out.

Emyr bangs against the door with all of his might, his shadows swirling viciously. “Open the door,” Emyr yells.

Just beyond the frame is a clicking sound, and eight rapid steps. Within moments, it opens just as the last of the lights fade.

We made it.

I grab Emyr’s hand, hauling him through the opening. “Close the door,” I command the arachnid.

“I know what to do, Chosen Daughter,” it clicks angrily .

We burst through the threshold, releasing several shuddering breaths. To our relief, the spider doesn’t immediately attack us, so I suppose that’s a good sign. “I didn’t think either of you would make it,” Riordan chuckles.

Turning around, I smile, finding our friends free from their bindings. Relief surges through me as I capture them in a tight embrace. Emyr even joins in the revelry, relieved that we made it through the chaos. “Are you both alright?” I ask.

“Of course, Mae-Mae,” Riordan answers. “I just had the best nap of my life.”

“Speak for yourself, mate,” Laisren answers.

“Laisy’s a little ill over being subdued by a spider,” Riordan whispers.

We laugh, embracing one another once more.

Pulling away, Laisren studies us. “Did you find it?” he whispers.

I nod, revealing the crimson diadem that I currently cradle in my hands.

“There’s much we need to discuss,” Emyr says. “But first, let’s get out of here.”

“Please,” the arachnid clicks. “Before I change my mind and decide to eat you after all.”

“You’re just upset we made it back in time, aren’t you?” Emyr mocks.

“It would appear so, Prince,” the spider seethes. “This is my last warning. Leave now, or I’ll make good on the promise of death.”

Riordan waves, walking toward the stairs. “Until next time, Archie,” he calls out.

“For your sake, I hope not,” it replies.

Then, the spider disappears beneath the landing.

As we ascend the steps, Emyr and I recount our meeting with the Basilisk to our companions, as well as our plans not to return to the king. Of course, they agree to this change of tactics, having despised the king for so long.

For the first time in ten years, it feels like there could be an end to the darkness.

Maevriana.

Now that I’m not worrying about dodging limbs of wicked creatures, my mind dwells on the memory once more.

Knowing a part of my full name brings me a semblance of comfort that I haven’t felt in years.

This is the first time I feel parts of myself slowly coming back, and I desperately want to remember it all.

Whoever I was before is somehow linked to the Crógemma, and I need to find out how. The answers are so close, but yet they feel miles away. They’re buried somewhere within me, if I could only figure out where to find them.

I know someone who’d help you. Someone that knows you from before Aurelius, Saoirse interjects.

Is it who you’re taking us to once we’re out of here? I ask.

Yes, my dear. Saoirse replies. Once I’ve been released, I’ll bring you to them swiftly.

The gray sky of the world above the Abyss comes into view just as we climb the last of the steps.

We’re so close to the freedom we’ve each sought, and perhaps the person Saoirse will take us to is the Na Fíréin.

Saoirse has always been secretive, so perhaps that’s why… She’s protecting them as well.

Then, Saoirse, I relea-

My thought is stunted by the sight before me.

True fear, unlike anything I’ve ever felt, floods through me. The Cadre ceases their chattering as they come up behind me. Their bodies instantly tensing, straightening to their full heights. A guttural growl works its way out of Laisren’s throat.

Maeva, I need you to say it now! Saoirse bellows.

I don’t understand.

This wasn’t supposed to occur.

How-How did…

Maeva, release me! Saoirse cries .

But I’m frozen and unsure what I’m supposed to do now.

I bow my head. “Your Highness,” I say.

King Tiernan beams as he watches us, Domhnall ever present at his side as he inches closer. “Hello, my darling,” he coos. His amber eyes and onyx ring glow as his assessing eyes roam to the diadem in my hand. His nostrils flare as his smile stretches from ear to ear.

“You’ve done so well. Now hand over the Crógemma,” he says into my mind.

Maeva! Saoirse pleads.

All of this is wrong.

He shouldn’t be here.

Then, I remember the sound of cracking limbs and the silhouettes of a dark figure with red eyes in the woods. The Galrosans thought it to be creatures of the wood, but they were wrong.

I’m a fool.

The king and his Scythe trailed us this entire time, watching from the shadows, and I played right into their hands.

The king laughs softly, extending his hand. “My darling,” he sighs.

My throat bobs as I stumble back a step.

It feels as if time has slowed as sorrow floods my heart.

I can’t allow him to have this artifact… even if I die trying to stop him.

Saoirse, I whisper. I release you.