2407 Tull 28, Briss

Jona sat on his bed with his legs crossed, a headache already beginning to pulse in his temples. His magic began scalding his skin, having been called to the surface for quite a long time. Still, he gritted his teeth and urged the plants under his influence to follow better, to see better.

As soon as he caught wind of Eldan leaving the palace, Jona had jumped into the network and fed it his synnavaim. Within seconds, his consciousness soared through the thick forests of Acosa, flitting from leaf to leaf, from grass blades to tree fronds, all the while looking for someone zipping along the forest floor.

Through his mind's eye, Jona had seen Sahili grow into a huge, four-legged version of herself, white, feathery wings spreading from her body. Eldan didn't utter a single word nor made a single sound as he climbed over the krou and she sailed towards the sky much like how Ixy would with Jona.

Thinking of the bird he had befriended brought a pang of regret in his gut. It had been a while since he had taken Ixy for a flight. Soon. He'd be done with this whole mess soon.

Since then, Jona had been following Sahili's trajectory as she coasted through the bright blue sky signifying the second hour of the second quarter. Lunch had come and gone and Jona didn't feel like letting his reach fade, not when he had followed Eldan all the way to the border between Acosa and Ansevir. What's he going to do there? It was no place for spies.

Jona shifted his lens, jumping from the highest shoot from the canopies and into a random leaf he found just underneath it. Exerting his magic more, he sent his consciousness into the leaf's surface, seeing what it's seeing, feeling what it's feeling. From the high domes where there was nothing but blue sky and white carpets of fluffy clouds, the scenery changed into a hazy mess of branches, more leaves, critter fur zipping past, and the various caws and calls of the beasts of the forest making up the undergrowth.

It was humid, the air thick around him. From his perch on his bed, he felt like quivering whenever a stray breeze blew past the leaf. He prayed with all his might for the leaf to not fall. Through the leaf, he spied Eldan lower himself to the ground, sliding off Sahili in a smooth move. The krou yowled before shrinking back to her smaller size, licking her front paws free of dirt. Eldan stood and looked around, the wind shuffling his khaki hair away from his broad forehead.

Jona waited along with him.

Then, the air shifted somewhere behind Eldan and a man clad in brown stepped out of it. Eldan didn't flinch but Jona certainly did, his magic almost slipping out of his grasp and ruining all his hard work. Where were they, even? Was the Grand Monarch aware of secret meetings like this?

Both Eldan and the man exchanged pleasantries, none of which Jona heard because a sudden insect landed on the leaf and his senses were overloaded with the loud thuds of its feet. Jona cursed and shifted his lens to another leaf below it. He couldn't risk going too close, else Eldan sensed him. Maintaining a safe distance was the first priority.

Then, the sound of bells chiming and crystals fracturing erupted in the air, defeating the sound of insect wings flapping near Jona's leaf. He looked to see another spot in the forest rippling with ethereal light. Unlike the man who arrived first, a woman with long, pale yellow hair stepped out of the light and regarded Eldan with a warm smile.

"I don't suppose you and I should meet up like this," the woman said over the burst of wind ringing in Jona's ears. Cursed wind. He was trying to listen! "I thought you'd be free by now."

Eldan's shoulders slumped. "I thought so too," he said. "The Grand Monarch wouldn't listen and we all know who's responsible for that."

The man clad in brown reached out and patted Eldan on the back. They seemed to be the best of friends. Now that Jona was looking at him longer, he realized the man looked familiar. "You know I wouldn't let you go out there where they're waiting," he said. "Your job is waiting here in Dwanzeig."

"But I must find her, Marthiaq," Eldan said, raising his ducked head to meet his friend's eyes. From the comfort of his room, Jona arched an eyebrow. Marthiaq? Ah, that honorary brownie serving in the espionage division. Apparently, he and Eldan were close. Too close. "I need to bring her here before it's too late. There are forces already moving towards her."

That "her" again. What did Eldan mean by "forces"? Was he referring to Jona and his prodding? A stone dropped in Jona's gut. Oh, dear. This was about the Grand Queen. Could it be...

Could it be that she's been alive all along and Eldan was somehow harboring her? He was the last person to have seen her breathing. He would be the only one who would know anything about her and her whereabouts. Lies were easy to build so long as the right clues were hidden. Truth was so easy to bury and, if one was good, people could take years to unearth it.

But Jona didn't have all the time in the world. The Decay was taking over Dwanzeig, bit by bit. Soon, there would be nothing left but ashes and embers. Did the Grand Queen know about it years ago? Was that why she went to Gandirk? And if she just went there for research and didn't return, it was possible.

She was still in Gandirk, whatever that was, and she might possibly be trapped there. That's why Eldan was in a hurry to get her. When Jona was beginning to search for answers, Eldan knew he couldn't hide the secret anymore.

That's the answer he was looking for. That's what the Grand Monarch and Eldan didn't want Jona to know.

The Grand Queen was alive. She had to be.

And the one who could lead to her was none other than Eldan Rovalen.