Page 36 of Graevale

“I’m so sorry,” Alex whispered around her clogged throat, remembering the blood in the street and the battle in the throne room, upset but unsurprised to hear Meyarins had died that day, too. “So, so sorry.”

Maggie shook her head sadly. “I already told you, Alex, it’s not your fault.”

“But it is,” Alex argued, her voice just as sad, just as soft. “If Lady—Aes Daega told you everything else, then you must know I’m the reason Aven went and slaughtered those humans. Which means I’m the reason hisGarsethwere fighting alongside him that day. Your brother lost his life because of me.”

“My brother lost his life because ofAven,” Maggie said, her voice strengthening. She placed her mug on the coffee table and took Alex’s free hand, holding it firmly between her own. “This is important and I need you to hear me on this, Alex.Youdid not establish and lead a group of rebels to incite revolution and challenge laws that had been in place for millennia.Youdid not slaughter innocent humans and coat the streets with their blood.Youdid not attack your father and brother with the intent to kill them and take the throne. Andyoudid not flee rather than face the punishment for your crimes, resulting in your banishment and the warding of Meya so that neither you nor anyone else could find the city without aid ever again.”

Alex chewed on her lip as she thought over Maggie’s words and admitted, “This is true. But Iamthe reason he did most of those things.”

“Aven had a choice—just as we all do.” Maggie’s tone was unyielding. “He chose wrong.” She released a shallow breath. “And so did my brother. Now it’s up to the rest of us to clean up the aftermath of their actions as best we can.”

Alex closed her eyes as Maggie’s unwavering resolve struck a chord deep within her.

“I left everything behind to keep anyone from discovering the truth about you, Alex.”

Her eyes snapped back open.

“Without my brother, I had no one,” Maggie said. “That’s why Aes Daega came to me. She knew—somehow, some way, she knew there was nothing left for me in Meya. I wasn’t strong enough to go through theZeltoratraining without my brother there. I just… I couldn’t do it on my own. So when I was offered a way out, especially knowing that it could help someone who might one day stand a chance at defeating Aven, I knew I had to take it.”

Maggie looked into the fire, her gaze unfocused. “LoroEanraka offered me a place as an instructor at his school—at Akarnae—and I settled into a life living amongst mortals. The years passed and knowledge of my race began disappearing from the memories of humans. And all the while I stayed here on the off-chance that one of my own would seek out the Meyarin who had been but a blip on the timeline of Meya’s history, but who had left her mark on the world as we know it.”

Silence descended around them, until Alex asked, “Did anyone ever come looking for you? For me, I mean?”

“No one other than Aven.”

Alex jolted. “Aven came?”

“He has more blurred memories of you than most,” Maggie said. “Enough for him to want to seek you out, if only to question why he failed to remember you, given the normally perfect recall of our race.”

“What happened when he found you? I mean, me. I mean, uh, Aeylia.”

Maggie shook her head. “I never let him find me. Of all Meyarins who might have come searching, he was one of the few who I couldn’t let see me. Don’t forget—my brother was one of hisGarseth. Aven knew me back in Meya. He would have recognised me instantly and known some deceit was afoot.”

Alex ran her fingers through her hair. “I can’t believe you’ve stayed here so long, and in the end for no reason. No one else came searching. You could have remained in Meya. Or gone back at any time.”

“There was nothing for me there,” Maggie said, her features grim. “I couldn’t have lived in the place where my brother was taken from me. I wouldn’t have survived. Despite what you might fear, I don’t regret my decision. In fact, I’m grateful for everything Aes Daega offered me. I wouldn’t be here without her—or without ‘Aeylia’.”

“Well, I’m grateful, too,” Alex said, meeting her eyes. “Because even if it wasn’t needed, it might have been. You could have covered my ass a thousand times over and not even known it.”

Maggie’s gaze narrowed. “Regardless of this moment we’re sharing, I’m still your teacher, Alex.”

“… Huh?”

“‘Ass’,” was all Maggie said in response.

Alex bit back a smile, forgetting that, while some of her instructors allowed freedom of speech in their classes, others, like Maggie, did not. “Sorry.”

“I’ll give you a pass this time, considering the circumstances.”

Alex dipped her head in thanks and stood to her feet, presuming their conversation had come to an end. “I’d better go make sure Dix is still alive and not going to sleep through the next three hundred years.” When Maggie opened her mouth, Alex added a quick, “Don’t ask.” Then she continued, “If you’re free in an hour, I’m holding a meeting in Darrius’s office. It’d be great if you can make it.”

Maggie cocked an eyebrow. “Does the headmaster know about this meeting?”

Alex grinned. “He will when I tell him.”

And with Maggie’s graceful laughter ringing in her ears, Alex left the Tower building and headed for her dorm, ticking one thing off her list and trying not to panic at the thought of just how much was left to do.

Eleven

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