When the doors flew open, an influx of Elven maidens and soldiers quietly glided into the room. Their presence was like wind and perfume; soundless and fragrant. They lined up near the walls in two different flanks, creating a sort of passageway for their King.

Waverly lowered her face in a bow and Judson did likewise. She felt very aware of how closely he stood despite the incredible space on either sides of them. His upper forearm often brushed against her, as if he were silently reminding her of his presence.

To distract herself, she forcefully focused on her royal host.

Even without his ceremonial attire, the Elf King still managed to look like a sovereign. He oozed a kind of majesty that felt different from that of any other ruler, and his dark eyes reminded of HalfHyde's.

"It's an honor, your Majesty." Her voice was audible enough for only he to hear, but then again, the room was full of keen-eared Elves.

"We sit." Javan said, gesturing to their long chair.

Just as she wondered if he would sit with them, a wide stool covered in rich, glossy brown fabric was carried into the room by two soldiers, which they carefully set down. The king sat, yet his upper frame measured as tall as a human adolescent.

He released a faint breath, looking from Shade to Human, then he flicked his hand and all the servants filed out without a word.

Waverly tried not to look at them in surprise.

"Tis be a meeting I wish to observe in absolute privacy." He clarified, taking on a more casual demeanour in the absence of his entourage. His slender fingers formed a link against his knee, displays how relaxed he was.

"As your Majesty wishes."

Then, his brows made a knit. "Many tales have I been told about ye by folk and courtiers alike." His studious eyes clocked from her to him. "Some seasons afore did the Crysotoni, Revvi, foresee your return to the Elvenhome. In that time did she make known to myself the trials set upon ye and both; how greatly ye should inspire ages and ages because it be the will of the gods and that which ye were born to accomplish."

He paused for a moment, with a gaze so steady it was almost intimidating.

"I look upon the time of legend, it would appear. Tell me now of the things ye was met with when ye departed first out of the Elvenhome."

They took turns to speak, as if each one knew what the other was thinking. The sombre evening atmosphere was a lazy pleasure, accentuated by a cool breeze that streamed in from the open window, bringing with it the scent of flowers from the garden below.

Judson talked at length about his difficult quest to find Waverly, and she discovered that he did a great deal of traveling in that time. It was marvelous to hear. But then again, he had always been a traveler. Also, he did not break eye contact with her when speaking. The cool room slowly began to cook, or at least, she felt that way.

She, in turn, said only a few things concerning her time in the Edge of Nys. Memory of the place was not one she wished to reignite even for a monarch. Thankfully, the Elf king was too visibly troubled by her few words to let her revisit it all.

"It be ages ago in the time of my predecessors that tale of Alluña's wrongdoing to Mezzena struck great fear in the heart of blasphemous mortals. Tis no wonder that ye should be so despised by Hekate." He tersely said, relaxing in his seat. His expressions softened to a lovable extent. "Of all ye has done, I know now – both of ye. And I offer my boundless gratitude."

Waverly shared a brief glance with Judson and just then, the king turned to him.

"I pray ye understand that an old king only meant his people to remain safe and sound. It burdens me that ye was no more than a child in the time of oppression under the powers of an evil horrid than even the gods and their might altogether. I pray ye will allow all be in the past as I and my kin have done. To us, ye are important as Alluña's daughter as ye also are of godly blood."

"I understand your majesty's decision now as I did back then." Judson said, bowing his face shortly. "All is past, my lord. I also offer my apology to the Elvenhome for all it lost. I intend to do  everything within my ability in restoring this land."

Javan's eyes stayed on him a while. "I hear ye possess talents beyond fathom. It be a pleasure if ye will let my old eyes witness them."

With a little sheepish smile, Judson nodded in agreement.

"I must let ye hear from me now that word has carried far across the realms of how ye emerged from the jaws of the Chasma. In twenty five nights, a gathering of man and beast will come into my kingdom to witness tis wondrous return. It be my deepest hope that ye heals much before then, for an incredible feast shall we partake in."

As soon as the last words were out of his mouth, his attendants re-entered the room. He rose from his kingly stool, prompting the pair to follow suit.

"My father and king before me once spoke that it be men who will themselves fall lesser. Should any decide to lift his head, the future of more will he guide."

Unexpectedly, the king smirked. In that moment, Waverly thought she felt his leniency more than ever.

"I have lived to see his words come to pass."

A proud grin etched into her own lips as the Elf king slightly inclined his head in respect and made out of the room.

She looked at Judson, unable to say a word, and threw her arms around him in pure relief. Before neither could say anything, the door yawned open a second time, ushering five Elves in.

Waverly gasped at the sight of familiar faces.

"By Gayl! She's alive!" Ceylon half yelled in excitement, but Diarmaid beat him to engulfing her in a hug.

His robes smelled like something medicinal yet pleasing to the senses. She clutched at the soft fabric, feeling his shoulders vibrate faintly.

Pulling back, her hands closed around Diarmaid's tearstained face. "You are indeed a bigger melodramatic!"

The widest smile broke out on his face, and he kissed both sides of her cheek. "I cannot tell you what joy I feel to see you again."

"Let the rest of us have a turn already." Ceylon complained, and got a small shove on the shoulder from Phyllis, who was grinning from ear to ear.

"I feared you were dead."

Waverly's attention snapped to Grace, who had spoken in a shivering sort of voice. The She-Elf was sobbing gently with both hands clasped before her face.

"Oh, Grace!"

Suddenly seeing her friends again was a thousand times more overwhelming than she had imagined.

Each of them gave her a warm, long embrace, including Diarmaid's betrothed, Maraeti. The She-Elf acted quite strangely at first, as if she would implode. Waverly did not understand why, until Judson whispered that the She-Elf was one of her, if not the, greatest admirers.

"What about Regent?" She asked, noticing his absence. "Where is he?"

Phyllis gave a response, glancing shortly at Diarmaid. "He departed for the North many months ago."

Waverly's heart slowly sank. "Why?"

"His talents are needed there." Ceylon provided. "Our Northern brethren appreciate the hands of an inventor and Regent was requested for by the Governor himself."

"Don't be sad!" Grace consoled. "We will make sure he arrives for the celebration. He cannot miss it!"

Obviously, the Half-Elf had shed a lot of her old vocabulary and grown, too. But Waverly could not help imagining her Hammitonian pitch every so often. Though still quite young for Elves, her friends had matured by a hair, and she could only tell because she knew them to the hilt. Ceylon, although lacking visible changes, had longer hair. Diarmaid, too. Phyllis was the same, but taller and with signature brown tones. For some reason, looking at her for too long made Waverly think of chocolate.

Just as she noticed their growth, they noticed hers as well. Only then did she become self aware of it. She measured almost as tall as Maraeti, who stood at about the same height as a human female. The most outstanding thing about her apparently was her long hair. Maraeti complimented in a whisper that it resembled rolling ocean waves.

"It's late." Diarmaid noted, squeezing her small hands in his own. "We'll let you sleep and come visit after you return from your cleansing tomorrow."

She wished for them to stay longer, but her friends made a small protective circle around her and leaned inward altogether for a big hug, overwhelming her senses with their distinct smells, with a hint of forest. It was surprising that even after such time apart, she could tell who smelled like what. The idea was as funny as it was heartwarming.

Diarmaid was the last one to leave. There was a deep smile in his eyes when he squeezed her hand and said, "He would be very proud of you."

Her insides quivered and she gave a single nod, squeezing his own in return. He threw Judson a friendly glance before ambling out of the room.

In the silence, she felt as if a crushing weight had finally been lifted off her chest and would have gone on staring into space had Judson not come to clutch her arms, pushing his nose into her shoulder.

"You said something," she suddenly recalled, turning slowly to face him, eyes searching his own. "about your descent into Nys."

His expression stilled, but he reached up to push back hair strands that stayed onto her forehead. Her vision blurred slightly from the contact.

"You trapped Hekate with the powers of Cret." Her head shook slightly against her will out of wonder. "How could you do that?"

A flicker of a smile made his upper lip twitch. His hands rubbed down her forearms. "I have no way to make certain of it, but I think it was long bestowed on me."

Her eyebrows wiggled in a frown. "Is that so?" Then, her face eased. "And the Chay, Camar, what was he like?"

As if sensing a long conversation, he lead her toward the bed, where she settled comfortably nearest the wall so that he could occupy the larger space. Not only was his looming presence attractive, it made her feel safe. His one hand made a belt across her center while the other created a helmet over her head, toying with her hair and ear at intervals. It was hugely distracting and his stare made her drift a few times.

He described Camar in detail, expressing his wariness upon meeting the primordial entity for the first time.

"I met a Chay as well." She revealed, remembering Isadorios. He was too unforgettable a sight and one of the few aspects of Nys that her weak memory held on to.

"What it the same as Camar?" Judson wondered, looking a bit surprised.

She chuckled softly. "No. I doubt I could describe him now. He was too uncommon, but he was equally as fey, and wise, and. . . old, very old."

"I guess we have both seen a few similar things from different ends of the world."

"You told the king that it was Harper who pointed you in the direction of the Grump."

It was his turn to chuckle softly. "Yes, she offered help, and told me. . ." His face clouded over, traces of worry making his eyes turn distant.

She gripped his collar, pulling him gently to stare at her.

"Told you what?"

His gaze softened. "A few unknown things about. . . my father."

A small gasp of surprise escaped her lips that he laughed at. She was tempted to sit up. That was the last sort of news she was expecting to hear. Yet his own composure influenced her to remain motionless. And there was also the fact that all five of his fingers were now swimming in her hair.

"You know him now? Who is he?"

After a few moments of quiet, he bit down on his lip and shook his head once. "He passed long before I was born. He is no more of any importance to me or to you."

Then, her frown went deep. "A mortal who had a chance with Juniper is not of no importance, Jud. Tell me who he was and where he was from. Was he a Shade, like you?"

Again, he bit his lip until her eyes stayed on it. The subject seemed hard for him to talk about, but she was desperate to know this one thing about him.

"He was not mortal, Hlsana." All of a sudden, he spoke in a soft whisper. She saw a bit of difficulty in his eyes. When he spoke a second time, his voice was inaudible, but he repeated himself. "A god of Enton."

Her jaw cracked into a split. "A dead god of Enton?"

"Émelméris." He went on, gaze softening again, and his thumb grazing the side of her stomach. "At least, he was called that in the old days. Now, the realms know him as Zakoon."

Waverly could hardly move. "But. . . No, he-he's. . . alive. . . isn't he? He lives, he's worshipped in Dakriton."

He shook his head. "He has been dead for eons."

"How?"

He waited a few moments, then tilted his head. "My mother killed him."

She pushed her body back to observe whether he was making jokes, but Judson's face was grave and she doubted he would ever joke about such a matter. Her brain struggled to accept what he said, and she desperately tried to connect the dots.

In a few short sentences, Judson gave a summary of what Harper told him, which Juniper herself had confirmed.

"Oh, Jud! I'm so sorry." She wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing his face to rest on hers.

Quite startlingly, he pulled back and she was about to question if something was wrong when he kissed her, a bit roughly, pulling her figure to rest against himself. She grew limp under his demanding hands and lips. He trapped her in the small space, but she secretly liked the proximity. Every bit of him was asking for greater indulgence, and she could hardly resist being patriotic. But he was a bit frantic and it felt very uncommon. She could sense it came from excitement and now, she fully understood the subtle messages his eyes had been passing across since they arrived.

With soft panting breaths, she put a hand on his chest to halt him, feeling his mouth constantly trying to recapture hers again and again. It took will, sheer will, to resist him. His lips seemed to have suddenly contained sweet wine. She blamed it on the force of nature running through his veins.

"It's not the time." She whispered.

He shook his head in disagreement and it oddly made her glad. "It may be the only time."

"No, it-it's not. There will be others."

"Hlsana, we—"

She put two fingers against his lips to silence him, staring into his eyes. They were much darker without the glaze of natural lighting. Her entire being suffered an increased awareness of how he held her close and of the haste in his tone earlier. He leaned in, breaking her will to muffle his words further.

She removed her fingers. His warm, inviting breath coated her nostrils. He did smell like sweet wine.

"I love you. I do not want to wait anymore." He kissed her deeply. "I have waited long enough."

This time, she did not try to stop him.

It felt strange to be so close to him, yet so unbelievably familiar. She fought to stay tethered to sanity, but his every touch near drove her to the edge of madness and almost set the fabric of her dress on fire. In between ragged breaths, he whispered a thing or two that her brain had trouble registering. It was pleasant how very masculine he had become and she let her own hands memorize the new pathways on his skin.

When at last their passionate kissing subsided to infrequent pecks back and forth, as in the form of literal lovebirds, it was very late into the night. She simply laid in his arms like a newborn, staring into his face, until sleep forced her eyes to a close, transferring beautiful images of him into her dreams.

Hours after, her eyes opened to the sight of Judson staring calmly. She broke a smile.

"You didn't sleep, did you?"

His head shake was gentle as was his smile. "Unfortunately, no. I did have a wonderful time staring at you."

With a laugh, she playfully pushed his face away. He took hold of her hand and kissed the inside of it repeatedly.

"You did not have nightmares this time."

The realization set in. It was very pleasing. "No, actually, I did not."

"I think the waters of Gayl have taken effect."

"Or maybe a certain Shade drugged me with kisses overnight." She chuckled.

Just then, he leaned in and kissed her on the lips. "It was a pleasure I would like to repeat."

Though he had always been bold about such things, she caught a strong hint of flirtatiousness in his tone and could not help but link it to his dead father's infamous nature. Looking at him now, it made concrete sense how he really was a child of the Dakritonian entity. Her mind did a quick race back in time – when she had thought the statue of Zakoon looked oddly familiar. Now, it felt like she was staring at the exact same person.

For a frightening moment, Judson's face morphed in a flash of gold light, becoming that of his father.

Waverly turned away fast, briskly shutting her eyes to banish the image.

"What is it?" He cupped her hands, pulling her to sit up straight, his voice full of worry.

"A trick of the light, that's all." She heaved softly, eyeing him. "I thought I saw something, but it was just a trick of the light."

His face was poker as he stared in a sweeping fashion around the room. The sun was yet to rise. But he said nothing else about it.

By the time the sun was at its highest peak, Waverly had set out for Gayl's Feet for cleansing. This time, she had more escorts consisting of maidens hand-picked by the Queen, all led by the four Nurses. She felt comforted somehow, perhaps from the small group of supporters or because she was no stranger to the process like the last time.

Two Elf maidens guided her to stand on the last step in the pool, where the nurses stood in pairs on either side to form a path. The waters reached up to their midriff meanwhile it was up to Waverly's shoulders.

Nurse Reela pointed ahead to a small, lonely island – the same one she slept on during her first cleansing. Apparently the piece of land had re-emerged.

"Should ye will to swim to shore, the earth may pull yet again into the depths as it be that one purpose it was made for. But since ye are wide awake now, I advise to seek yourself."

Waverly gulped down her anxiety, turning briefly to catch Judson's eyes, but he stood too far behind to be seen.

"You mean I have to swim all the way." She repeated, staring into the sloshing blue body as it bobbed her back and forth. Her toes were barely touching stone, whereas the Nurses stood rooted, like palms, despite the rocking waves.

Reela affirmed with a nod. "Because ye was brought unconscious the last time, a need there was for the shore. Now ye must dive into the depths. Ye would have no need to seek far."

Her words were encouraging enough, but Waverly felt a bit doubtful. What if she ran out of air? Sage's hand suddenly rested on her shoulder. The She-Elf had a motherly look in her eyes.

"If ye stains belief now, then fear is set to consume ye. It is on belief that the power of Gayl becomes real. All ye must do is find it."

Without another wait to feel discouraged, she took a deep breath and sank herself into the water. Underneath, everything was bright and visible, and she could see the lower half of the Nurses, their dresses floating about their frames. Farther ahead, the water's blueness took on a velvety shade, like ink, indicating how much deeper it went.

She swam forward, until she was lost in that inky darkness. Her eyes felt blind, and her lungs were burning with need for air. Yet she pushed on further and farther, hoping to find Gayl's power. The waters were silent, full of schools of fish that often took her by a startling surprise each time they swam past. Soon, her arms began to tire out from strokes and her legs from kicking.

She had just begun to wonder how possible it could be to get lost underwater –if the water was not an ocean or a sea – when she quite subconsciously sucked in a breath and felt the most horrifying sensation seize her head.

Just before she could suffer the pain of drowning, the figure she had seen the last time appeared again and rushed into her like a gust of wind.

Immediately it did, pain disappeared. Her lungs became free of water, and the power of Gayl washed her as it had previously done.

Then, she started to float back up to the surface.

Upon emergence, she caught the sound of beautiful chorused singing before it came to a slow fade. It took her but a moment to realize the Elves had been harmonizing in their tongue. She found herself yearning to hear more, but swam rather weakly back to shore.

"How long was I gone for?" She asked Judson as her hands found his one. He was the only person frowning worriedly and had inched farther into the water to receive her first.

"About half an hour." He whispered, supporting her arms so they could amble up the steps together.

"Felt shorter." She admitted, her legs feeling wobbly and heavy. "I'm hungry."

Her body weight was suddenly too much to bear, and each time she got to standing up straight, she was pulled back down again. Judson's worry etched deeper, but he continually tried to help her find balance.

"I think she may not be able to ride in this condition." An Elven maid piped out of concern.

"We have no need for horses." Judson put out, lifting her in a bundle.

Seeing his point, the maidens led the procession back into the throne room. Queen Daya was waiting there.

"How was it?" She inched forward to feel Waverly's wet arm, but the latter was too close to unconsciousness to notice.

Judson halted, hefting her gently in his arms. Somewhere in the back of his head, he realized she had put on more weight. It made him glad. She did not feel like air anymore.

"Why did it take longer?" The Queen directed her question to Nurse Reela.

The woman sighed softly. "It be that powers at play within her be relentless."

"What do you mean?" Daya frowned, straightening in mild disbelief.

"She keeps having very realistic nightmares." Judson replied more straightforwardly. "Visions, you might call them. Illusions and tricks. Hekate is refusing to let go of her mind. I believe dark magic staining Gayl's waters would make him. . . reluctant to reach out. That was why she spent longer trying to find him, was it not?"

He looked behind at the Nurse for confirmation, and all four of them nodded.

"Well, what can be done?" The Queen seemed genuinely concerned, although oblivious of the fact that Judson's arms were beginning to feel sore.

"It may require more than one method to banish the witch's hold." Nurse Noble stepped forward. "Nothing rivals the powers of Gayl, but some things may add to it."

"You mean, like an enhancement?"

"Indeed, my Queen."

"I doubt we could get another Godhead to pitch in." Judson shrugged, his gaze distant. "They live far away in the North and are not exactly so easy to find."

"I must suggest we look to closer horizons, young Shade." Nurse Reela chuckled, coming forward to inspect Waverly. In her presence, the latter was almost like a child. "It be good a thing she is one highly favoured by the gods. It is from a fraction of their power and not a godhead that she may find true liberty."

"So, all we need to do is call for one."

For the first time, Myrta spoke and her words were not encouraging to Judson's ears. "These be the days that mortals have not lived since the time of old. I fear the gods may not pay ear to our call."

"Okay, but we have to try." He was obviously distressed.

"And we shall." The Queen said with a nod, full of concern.

Taking the lead, Judson carried Waverly out of the palace, tailed by the rest of the Elven company. Fast asleep, or so it looked, she stirred for a brief moment and her entire upper body jerked, as if she would vomit. Her skin was turning a sickly blue. Though no one else could tell, he was able to sense a foreign phenomenon travelling throughout her.

He spread his wings and flew over the glistening sea, headed straight for the Court.

The good news was, the powers of Gayl were a holy one; the bad news was, it could be working poorly.