Zain turned his head to smile at her. “No, little human. Behold, the glory that is Meya.”
She was too overcome for words, so she nodded dumbly as they flew through the city. Much like the first time, it didn’t take long to reach the magnificent palace, but this time the Valispath transported them straight through the outer walls and continued until they reached their destination somewhere in the middle of the impressive building.
“I don’t understand,” she said to Zain when they came to a halt in front of an intricately decorated doorway. “I had no idea the Valispath could go beyond Meya—and I guess its surrounding forests, too. But since it clearly can, why doesn’t Aven just access it to get back here?”
“The Valispath can only be controlled by a Meyarin,” Zain answered. “Aven may be one of our race, but the authority of his blood was invalidated with his disinheritance. He lost his rights as a denizen of our city the moment he was stripped of his title and banished. The Eternal Path is one of the many privileges Aven forfeited with his rebellion.”
“The Library too, right?” Alex asked. “That’s why he needs me?”
Zain nodded.
“What would it take for him to regain those privileges?” Alex asked. “To be able to use the Valispath and everything else again?”
“That’s never going to happen, Alex.”
“But, if it did?” she pressed. “What would it take? Hypothetically
“For Aven to regain his inheritance, his father and brother would have to be dead,” Zain told her bluntly. “If King Astophe and Prince Roka were eliminated, Aven would automatically regain his birthright.”
“What about his mother? Couldn’t she take the throne?”
“Traditionally, only a king can rule Meya,” Zain said. “Queen Niida wouldn’t be allowed to hold the position indefinitely so long as she still had a living heir—regardless of his state of banishment. Our laws would defend the right of rulership as belonging to Aven, and we would have no choice but to pledge our allegiance to him or become traitors to the crown.”
Alex wasn’t sure what her expression must have shown, but Zain squeezed her arm and sent her a comforting smile.
“Don’t worry, little human. Like I said, that will never happen.” With those confident words, he stepped up to the door.
“One last thing,” Alex said. “Could I use the Valispath? You know, because I apparently have Meyarin blood in my veins?”
She hated the idea, but if there was the potential perk of using the Eternal Path anytime she wanted, then admittedly that would be pretty awesome.
Zain laughed at the eager look on her face. “I’m afraid not, as it’s Aven’s blood you possess. His disinheritance technically means your disinheritance.”
The Meyarin was clearly amused by her disappointed pout, but he was also intent on keeping them moving. After knocking and waiting for a response too quiet for Alex to hear with her human ears, Zain opened the door and beckoned for her to step through first.
“I was wondering when you two would stop chatting,” Roka said, rising from behind his desk and walking over to them.
He was just as intimidatingly beautiful as the first time Alex had seen him—more so, perhaps, since he was wearing some kind of dark outfit with gold trimming that brought out the unique colour of his eyes. He also wore a swirling black and gold cape, which added to his impressive—not to mention, princely— appearance. But the grin on his face was warm and welcoming, and Alex found herself smiling back at him in response.
“It’s good to see you again, Alex,” Roka said, reaching out to place his hands on her shoulders. “I hope you’ve been well?” Before she could answer, he frowned slightly and added, “You’re frozen stiff. Zain, please tell me you shielded the Valispath?”
Alex hadn’t noticed how cold she was until he’d pointed it out. Her body was shivering to fight off the stinging bite of the wind from their journey.
“Forgive me, little human,” Zain said, seeing her trembling. “I didn’t realise you were uncomfortable.”
“Don’t worry about it,” she said through her chattering teeth. “I was too distracted by the scenery to notice the cold, anyway.”
“Be that as it may, we can’t have you freezing to death,” Roka said, and he unclasped his cape and placed it around her shoulders. It was way too big on her, but warmth immediately began to flow through her body, and she smiled gratefully at him.
“Thank you, Prince Roka.”
“I’m not a fan of formalities, Alex,” he said. “Just call me Roka.”
She furrowed her brow and looked from him to Zain and back again. “But Zain calls you by your title.”
“Zain is one of my closest friends,” Roka said, “but he also happens to be one of the most respected warriors in Meya’s elite guard. Because of that, he often has to maintain a semblance of formality around me, but he doesn’t usually call me ‘Prince’ unless it’s for official business, with witnesses present.”
“Like when he’s picking up a mortal and escorting her to Meya in the dead of the night?” Alex asked dryly.
“A perfect example,” Roka said, his lips twitching with humour as he turned to his guard. “For future reference, Zain, you can be at ease around Alex.”
“You can also stop calling me ‘little human’,” she told the guard, for what felt like the hundredth time.
“What would be the fun in that?” Zain asked with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.
Alex huffed at him but decided to let it go—for the moment, anyway. She followed the two Meyarins over to a set of plush gold couches on the far side of the room and collapsed onto the super-soft material.
“Is this your office, Roka?” she asked, eyeing the opulent furniture complete with a massive wooden desk piled high with all sorts of interesting objects, most of which Alex couldn’t begin to identify.
“One of them,” he answered, leaving it at that. “Can I offer you something to eat or drink?”
Alex couldn’t deny that she was curious about Meyarin cuisine, but it was the middle of the night and she could feel her bed calling her from miles away. She decided not to prolong their discussion for longer than necessary.
“I’m good, thanks,” she said. “Why don’t we fast forward to where you explain why you needed to speak with me so urgently?”
“I’m truly sorry for disrupting your sleep, Alex,” Roka said, and he did look like he meant it, “but I just received news of your encounter with my brother earlier tonight. For so long we’ve heard nothing of Aven and his dealings—although we do keep tabs on him from time to time—and then to suddenly have you come out of nowhere with your story… Well, I’m sure you can understand our surprise.”
“I definitely can,” Alex said. “But I’m still not sure why I’m here?”
Roka looked away and ran a hand through his dark hair before he turned his piercing golden eyes back to her. “Alex, I’ve spent the majority of this past week trying to convince our ruling council—and my father—not to insist you remain in Meya indefinitely.”