In a dubious voice, Roka repeated, “A… magical blade?”
Alex was aware of how ridiculous she sounded, but she explained anyway. “There’s some kind of weapon that keeps appearing out of nowhere whenever I need it. It’s the one Aven used to Claim me, and it’s also the one that ended up almost killing me that same day, but I, uh, never told you that part. When it appeared during my fight with Aven tonight, he reacted weirdly and called it A’enara. Does that mean anything to you?”
The Meyarins stiffened.
“A’enara?” Kyia’s body was coiled with tension. “Are you sure that’s what he called it?”
They seemed to be holding their breath as they waited for her answer. “Positive.”
“Roka, selith raen de A’enara le nada, Aven,” Kyia said to the prince, her tone sounding anxious. “Torgas fruen halsa de rilona.”
“Kantaris de Tia Auras frey selia,” Roka responded, and he rose from his seat and began pacing the room.
“Does someone want to clue me in?” Alex said. “In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t speak Meyarin.”
“Sorry, Alex,” Roka said, sitting down again but clearly on edge. “Can you describe the weapon?”
“Uh, sure,” she said, not sure why that was relevant. Surely ‘magical blade’ was enough of a description. “Size-wise, it changes when you run your finger down the edge of it. I’ve seen it transform from a dagger into a sword, and it’s come to me in both forms. As for the design, it’s pretty simple. The pommel is made of some kind of metal—maybe Myrox, but I’m not sure. When it’s a dagger, both edges of the blade curve in intervals, like dipping waves, and when it’s a sword, the waves stretch out until it’s almost straight-edged, but not quite. The only thing that always remains the same is its ice-blue colour. It’s… well, if I didn’t have such horrible memories associated with it, I’d admit it’s rather beautiful.”
During her description, the Meyarins continued to exchange wary glances.
“And it appears out of nowhere when you have need of a weapon?” Zain clarified.
“So far, yeah,” Alex said. “The first time I was caught in one of Hunter’s traps with my classmates and we needed to cut our way out.” She turned to Roka, “The second time was when I fought blindfolded against you here in Meya. And the third time happened with Aven just a few hours ago.”
“Can you call it now?” Roka asked.
Alex looked at him in puzzlement. “Um, how?”
“I’m not sure,” he admitted. “Can you feel it?”
She tried to keep the ‘Are you crazy?’ expression off her face when she answered. “Nope. Can’t feel a thing.”
“Did Aven try to reclaim the weapon?” Kyia asked.
Alex strained her memory. “He said, ‘Come, A’enara’, as if he expected something to happen, but it didn’t do anything. That made him a little… angry.”
“How interesting,” Roka said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
“Is anyone going to tell me what’s going on?” Alex asked.
They looked at each other before Roka answered, “I’m sorry, Alex, but I don’t think we should talk about this until we have more information.”
“Surprise, surprise,” she mumbled. More secrets.
“It’s for your own protection,” Roka assured her. “If you’re truly capable of wielding A’enara, then the threat you pose to our city—and the threat Aven will consider you to be to him directly—has just increased tenfold. We can’t let anyone else find out about this until we know if our presumptions are correct.”
Alex glanced between them, frowning slightly. “I don’t understand.”
Zain barked out a laugh, diverting her attention to him. “That’s because you’re about to drop dead on your feet.”
She shot him an unimpressed look. “Someone did drag me out of bed in the middle of the night.”
“And I’m sure that same someone is more than willing to escort you back right now,” Roka said with an indulgent smile. “Unless there’s anything else you want to discuss?”
“Nope,” Alex said. “The only questions I have seem to be ones you can’t answer.”
“Alex—”
“Don’t worry, Roka,” she gently but firmly interrupted. “I get it. Really. And I appreciate you looking out for me, even if I don’t understand why.”
He nodded in acknowledgement and stood, offering her his hand.
“One last thing,” Roka said as he led her to the door. “As you’re aware, Aven’s plans to infiltrate Meya rely on you getting him here through the Library. I was only able to convince the council to let you to remain at Akarnae by assuring them that you wouldn’t open a doorway through to Raelia again.”
Alex couldn’t hide her disappointment. “Are you saying I can’t come back?”
Roka curled his arm around her shoulders. “Of course you can. But until we have a better idea of Aven’s plans, you’ll have to journey here using the Valispath.”
“But I can’t access the Valispath. Human, remember?”
The prince grinned. “No, but Zain can.”
Alex looked from his brilliant smile to Kyia’s sparkling emerald eyes and Zain’s highly amused expression before she repeated, for the billionth time that night, “I don’t understand.”
Roka chuckled at her confusion and said, “I visited your headmaster earlier in the week. Together we negotiated for Zain to take on the role of teaching assistant in your Combat class. He’ll be accompanying you back to the academy for the time being and acting as a go-between for communication.”
Alex couldn’t hide her dismay. “Please tell me you haven’t assigned me a bodyguard? Not cool, Roka.”
The three Meyarins laughed at her obvious displeasure.
“I have better things to do than babysit a mortal,” Zain said. “You’ll barely see me.”
“Zain’s teaching position will allow him some anonymity while he carries out a different mission objective,” Roka explained. “His true task is to unveil Aven’s plans—or at least attempt as much— and hopefully without gaining my brother’s notice.”
“Oh,” Alex said. “I guess that’s okay.”
“I’m glad you approve,” Zain said, his eyes still laughing at her.
“Sorry if this seems blunt,” Alex said, taking in the massive guard’s appearance, “but how do you plan on keeping your anonymity when you look like you do? You’re kind of like the Incredible Hulk, without the whole pigment issue.” Seeing his baffled look, she clarified, “You’re not built for blending in, if you know what I mean. And like all Meyarins, you’re kind of, um… physically distracting.”
“Aw, does the little human have a crush on me?” Zain teased. “I’m flattered, Alex. Truly.”
Alex scrunched her nose at him. “You’re probably older than the dinosaurs. I’m not too picky when it comes to age, but I’m confident it’d never work out between us.”
Roka laughed openly, and Kyia giggled behind her hand.
“All right, little human,” Zain said, clearly amused even if he didn’t want to admit it, “it’s time to get you back to bed.”
With no other warning, he reached down and threw his arms around her waist, hoisting her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
“Let me down, you brute!”