ELLA was once more led to the room at the top of the tower. It was a small room to seat so many, she thought.
The door was open, and with a gesture the guard indicated Ella should enter. Feeling apprehensive, she stepped through the portal, noticing this time that the floor was lined with soft carpets, thick and luxurious. Maps were pinned to the wall, and a desk rested in the corner, but even more incongruous than the carpets, a table had been placed in the centre of the room.
Two chairs sat at the table. Only two chairs. A nightlamp on the table had been activated at the lowest setting, and a wine bottle stood with two glasses. Ella's heart skipped a beat.
The prince again leaned at the window, looking out at the starry sky. Ella walked over to stand by his side, and as she looked out, the night-time view caused her to gasp.
A full moon shimmered over the surface of Lake Halapusa, its light broken into ethereal ripples as it was dispersed by the steam rising off the water. By night, the city of Tlaxor below was even more spectacular, with lights piled up one on top of the other like the berries of some magical tree. Above the lake, the rim of the crater formed a jagged line that stretched as far as the eye could see to the left and right, and above it all the stars sparkled like pinpricks in a curtain.
"You will have your own great city soon," Ella said.
"That is true," said the prince, still looking out. "Different, however, to this."
"All places are different," Ella said.
"Is your city, Sarostar, like this?"
"No, Your Highness. It's a beautiful city, a place I love, but nothing like this."
"So Jehral has told me," the prince nodded.
"About Jehral…" Ella said.
The prince cut her off with a chopping motion of his hand. "We have spoken at length. You saved his life, Enchantress Ella. Normally I would grant you any wish for doing that, any wish in my power to grant. However you lied to me. You gave me a false name, you stole my essence, and you left my people when I still needed you."
"My people needed me too!"
"Then why did you not plead your case with me? I would have let you go. Why did you not tell me the truth?"
Ella tried to answer, but no words would come out. "I… I don't know," she finally said. "I'm sorry."
"Thank you, Ella, for saving my friend's life. There is no debt between us," the prince said.
He turned away from the vista below, looking at Ella for the first time. The soft light from the table shone from Ella's hair, caressing her pale skin with its glow.
The prince hadn't spoken for some time. Ella looked up at his face.
There was a fire in his eyes, a hunger she had never seen before. Ilathor reached down and without seeking her permission he ran his fingers through the ends of her hair, holding it up. "Like spun gold," he whispered to himself; she could only just hear it.
Ella took a slight step back, even though part of her screamed, telling her to move forward. The prince's hand fell down.
"Now that there is no debt between us, could you explain to me why you've taken me from my home, against my will? If you'd explained your case and said you needed me, I might have come."
"When last I saw you, you fled without a word. I opened my heart to you, back in the desert, and your response was to leave. Can you blame me for being unsure of you? Can you fault me for wanting to ask your help in person?"
"My homeland…" Ella began.
Ilathor held up a hand. "When I heard of the woman who saved her people at the Bridge of Sutanesta I asked Jehral to discover the truth, and if you were alive, to do whatever it took to bring you here. I am sorry if your journey here was not easy, but I need you, Ella, and it is for more than my own desire that you're here, sincere as it is. Once more, lives depend on your actions."
"What is it you want me to do?"
Prince Ilathor looked out the window at the tiered city below. It was a long time before he spoke. "I need you to build the bridge," he finally said, turning to Ella.
"I don't understand," Ella said.
"I brought you here so you can build me the bridge that you built for your people after the Bridge of Sutanesta was destroyed. A bridge of light, I have heard it called. Only you can do such a thing. We have been waiting here for an eternity. The ferry has been destroyed so we cannot cross Lake Halapusa, and the lack of supplies is having no effect on the Petryans. I need you to build me a bridge across the lake."
"I see," Ella said. "I understand now." She shook her head slowly. "Prince Ilathor, you could have saved yourself some trouble, and Jehral a lot of effort. The bridge I built spanned a distance one hundred times smaller than what you need. It isn't possible."
"Please, I beg you to try," Prince Ilathor said.
Ella thought for a moment. She owed Ilathor a debt, for it was his essence that had allowed her to save the refugees and Miro's army at the Bridge of Sutanesta.
"There might be another way," Ella said, frowning.