I stop. "What?"

"You heard what I said. I can't go back until I get the answers I need." Now, it's Kael's turn to cross his arms.

"Answers for what?" There are no questions that needed to be answered. We must get the prince back to the castle, and that is all there is to it. Once we do that, the problem at hand will be solved.

"The war. Why it started and what it's about."

I glare at him. Annoyance seeps through my body like warm honey. We don't have time for him to stay at the camp and get information he could probably get if he simply bothered to ask his father.

"My father wouldn't tell me." He shakes his head as if he can read my thoughts. "I've tried asking him, and it never ended well. If I want the answers, I need to get them myself. And I'll only be able to get them if I stay here."

I groan, rubbing a hand over my face. "K - Your highness. . . Fine. But we can't stay long. Once you get your answers, we're leaving." Whether I force him to leave or not, he'll find a way back. At least this way, I can make sure he will be safe. That's my job.

"Good. I'm glad you've come to your senses." He stands up and shakes out his arms. "Just in time for the meeting, as well."

I blink. "The, what?"

"Don't worry. I was going to inform you either way." He pushes past Castien, Arlin, and I. "Blade, Bronn, and Eowyn – whom I don't think you have met yet – have arranged for a meeting to discuss the current events of the war and why they have recruited me."

Kael's mood has completely flipped, and my brain is still trying to register what he is saying as he steps out of the tent and calls for the three people he mentioned. They enter the room, and my eyes stop on a short woman with dark skin and black hair pulled up at the crown of her head. A human. I'd seen so many Elves that I hadn't expected anyone else.

She nods her head at me and smiles. "I'm Eowyn. I assume you're Sigrid." She turns. "Castien and Arlin, right?" When he nods, she sits down. "Prince Kael had kind things to say about the three of you."

"Oh, I'm sure," I say, taking a seat for myself.

Blade claps his hands. "Well, I say we should get right to the topic at hand. There's no time like the present."

Bronn rolls his eyes and goes to stand in the corner.

"The king's armies are advancing faster than ever before. We cannot hope to hold out against them without proper planning. Kael, your insight on your father has been a great help, but not as much as we had hoped." Blade scratches his forehead. "With the king's new use of fire, there's not much we can do."

"Hold on a moment." Kael put his hand up. "Fire? Why on earth would my father use fire against people? He's not that demented."

"You have no idea what your father is really like, do you?" Eowyn's eyes soften around the corners. She tugs at the ribbon tying back her long, greying tendrils of hair, allowing them to spread out over her shoulders. Pulling apart the hair on one side of her head, she reveals a scar, raised and devoid of the same pigmentation of the rest of her skin. "I got this from a fire caused by your father. Well, in a way.

"I was young at the time, maybe one hundred summers or so. My village had not yet known the ravages of war, but we knew there was an uprising along the southern borders of Towen. The Thadel giants and Holrux goblins had joined with a large group of humans who didn't agree with the current leadership. That's how the war started. Ranks of barely trained men were sent to be slaughtered in battles they were unprepared for. My brother included. It angered my people. They wanted justice for their lost sons, husbands, and fathers. And rightfully so. Soon, my village became a safe haven for the rebels."

She shakes her head, closing her eyes against tears. "King Rett" – she spits his name as if it's a sour taste in her mouth – "found out and ordered the destruction of my home. I can never forget the way my father tried to fight back. Or my mother's screams as she burned alive. There were very few survivors, none of whom were much older than me." She smiles at Blade and Bronn. "The Valerian Group found me one night and took me in."

I glance at Kael, who hasn't made a noise since Eowyn started speaking. His face is pale, eyes squeezed shut as a look of anguish passes over his face.

"Kael. . ." I put a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugs it off.

"I knew my father was a far less than perfect king, but I never knew the extent of it." He looks up, and the look in his eyes shocks me. Pure fury and determination blazes in his eyes like a pile of wood burning in a fire. "We need to end this war. If I can help with that, please tell me how, because I can't allow this to go on any longer."

Blade shakes his head. "I appreciate the sentiment, but you are not at fault. And if there was an obvious way to end the war, it would have been done already."

Kael sits back, deflated like a scolded puppy. I cast a glance at Castien, who sits in the corner, stone-faced as ever. As an elf born and raised in another kingdom, I'm sure he knows better than anyone. Yet, he tried out for the King's Guard. Why?

"But there must have been some reason for his presence here, correct?" Arlin voices the next question I'd been thinking. There is no point in swaying the prince from one side to another if there is no plan revolving around him.

"We needed him so we could get some insight on his father." Blade crosses his arms over his chest. "And now that we have it, we realize that it wasn't enough."

"Well, that, and we needed to find a way to get to the king. A way to weaken him and give us enough time to discuss an end to the war with the monarchs of Holrux and Thadel," Eowyn adds. "We tried to reason with Ugrevell, but the Erldwarf wanted nothing to do with the war."

"That's just like the dwarves. They keep to themselves unless it comes to gold," Castien grumbles.

I frowned. They don't speak much of Xorinth, but most of the Elven lords don't want anything to do with the war, either. I can't imagine Castien's father wanted his son included, though, but somehow, he's here. "I hate to say it, especially with the prince here, but the king didn't seem any less worried about the war with his son missing."

In the meeting room with the generals, they unanimously agreed to send Castien, Arlin, and I only, whether we came back or not. "My son is. . . Strong-minded," King Rett had said. "He has his own views. Ones that differ from mine. In the end, although he is my sole male heir, I could choose to abdicate the throne to one of his sisters."

One general had mentioned that the princesses were easily manipulated. King Rett could promise Princess Vix to someone he trusts, so that he could keep his best interests in mind once he is no longer king.

After that had been settled, they immediately turned to discussing current war matters. "They spoke of a secret weapon of some sort." I look to Castien and Arlin for help.

Castien shakes his head. "They never specifically mentioned who or what this 'secret weapon' was. And in times like these, it can be hard to tell whether it will amount to anything."

Blade scratches his chin. "Still, though, it cannot hurt to be too careful."

"So, what, then?" Kael asks. "What are we supposed to do? The longer we stand by idly, the longer people are at risk!"

"You would do well to bite your tongue," Bronn snaps from his corner of the tent. His eyebrows are knit together as a look of annoyance slips its way into his features.

Blade pinches the bridge of his nose, looking much older than his six hundred summers as he waits for his brother's mood to calm to a simmer. The tension is palpable, settling over the room like a blanket made of stone. I chew on my lower lip. It's hard to get anything done when all we do is argue the same point back and forth.

"Look, we have time. Granted, it's not a lot of time, but we need time to cool our heads." I need to at least get Kael alone to calm him down. If I can do that, maybe we can reapproach the situation.

Blade stands. "I agree. In the meantime, Sigrid, I must speak with you." He turns to Eowyn. "Would you take the others with you?"

Eowyn nods. She jerks her head at Castien, Bronn, and Kael before exiting the tent. I watch them go, wondering what Blade could possibly have to discuss with me that he can't discuss with all of them.

"I assume your mother didn't teach you much about the history of elves? Or much about our species in general?" Blade asks as he sits down on the floor across from me.

I shake my head. "No, she didn't. Arlin and I have never been sure why."

Blade frowns a little, a gentle downward curve of his lips. "Well, I think it is important that I at least inform you of the basics. We cannot afford to have an ally who knows extraordinarily little about her own species." He puts up a hand when I open my mouth to say that I'm only half elf. "Now, I know you have a heartsrune and Arlin does not."

I nod. "When Arlin got his, it stayed in its rock form. Mine was the only one that changed."

"Heartsrunes are important to elves. Each color contains a meaning more unique than the last. In a way, they shape our future." Blade gestures to a painting of different heartsrunes arranged in a circle around a black silhouette. "Some colors, however, are similar because they allow their holder to wield magic. By knowing who your mother is, I have no doubt your heartsrune is one of those."

Blade stands and pushes open the flap to his tent. He gestures for me to follow as he steps into the clearing. Castien, Bronn, Anakin, and Eowyn are gathered behind him.

"There is a way to test the magnitude of your abilities. However, it can be painful, so be advised." He smiles gently. "If you don't want to go through with it, we can just train you until you reach the full extent of your power, though that will take much longer."

I shake my head. We don't have enough time to waste. "It's fine. Just do it. Whatever it is."

Blade nods slowly before closing his eyes.

The power in the air is almost tangible as it surrounds me, bubbling through my veins like a pot of boiling water, searing every fiber of my being in a pain far worse than I could have imagined. Blade groans and the pain relaxes a little but soon resumes.

The ground comes fast as my knees give out and I writhe in the grass. I can't tell if I'm screaming, but the way Castien fights against Bronn in a futile attempt to get to me to get to me, I probably am.

"Stop."

The bubbling stops, but my body still screams at me in alarm. When I regain my strength, I push myself into a sitting position with wobbling arms.

"This has never happened with that test." Blade presses the heel of his palm to his temple as he stares down at me. "Where is your heartsrune?"

My heartsrune? No one besides my family has ever seen it. My mother always told me to keep it hidden because of its color. These elves know what the color means. If mother is afraid of it, how will they react?

"We need to know if we're going to help you."

I chew on the inside of my lip as I reach under the collar of my shirt and grip the thin chain connected to my heartsrune. When I pull it over my head, I hold it up so Blade can see it.

His eyes settle on the obsidian gem. Its crystalline surface absorbs the sunlight, smooth against my skin.

A spattering of gasps tells me the other elves see it as well. I glance at Castien, and he steps back a little, a look of worry passing through his eyes. For himself, or for me?

"Interesting." Blade crouches to my level, pulling back his sleeve to reveal an almost identical gem tied to his wrist. "You, child, are in for a long journey."