I had no trouble finding the place I’d seen the old woman. She’d been standing in a door frame under a sign that read Flower’s Tea, even though the tea shop was one door over. I lightly rapped on the door.

After a few minutes the door creaked open, and the woman stood in the door frame. For an older woman, she seemed bigger now, taking up the entire door frame and standing a foot over me. The wrinkles in her face etched deeper than I’d noticed, but her eyes flickered as if illuminated by candlelight.

“Uh, excuse me. Do you remember me? We talked briefly earlier.” I lifted my necklace so she could see. “You said if I wanted answers to come see you.”

Her lips spread into a smile so small I almost missed it. “Yes, of course dear. Come in.” She didn’t step aside for us to come in but led the way. The door opened directly into a stairway. We followed her up the stairs to a small dimly lit room above the tea shop. For such a small room, the woman had managed to fit a lot into it, having over a hundred different knickknacks—including things from skin journals to bird skulls—stacked atop twisting black metal shelves. Black chandeliers draped with purple fabric hung from the ceiling.

I glanced at Milena and Will. Will had his arms wrapped around him, looking around apprehensively. Milena’s facial expression wavered between bored and agitated.

The woman took a seat in a once bright green wicker rocking chair, keeping all three of us in her view. “What would you like to know?”

“Uh…” I looked at Milena and Will for assistance, but they just looked back at me. I turned my eyes back to the woman. “My necklace. What do you know about it? Why is it so special?”

The same smile as before slithered back onto the woman’s lips. “Your pendant is one of the Ilvistine Crystals.”

“What are those?” I asked.

“The Ilvistine Crystals are nine gemstones from the earth. They’ve been around for centuries, passing between the hands of laymen and the royal families,” the woman explained. “It's said that the person who has all the Ilvistine Crystals will have full control over the land.”

“What?” Milena spoke up. “Everyone is supposed to just obey some guy because he has a bunch of crystals?”

The woman shook her head. “No, my dear. When the crystals are all together, they'll release a special power to their keeper.”

Milena scoffed. “Okay, a special power. What kind of power?”

“It's never happened,” the woman replied. “So, I can’t say that I know.”

“It’s any person’s goal to have all nine crystals,” Will spoke up now. He looked at me. “Those men were probably searching for them and recognized it on you.”

I nervously fiddled with my necklace. “But this is just one. Where are the other eight?”

“The Vepors have two crystals; the Istrondruses have two crystals; the Charys have one. Three crystals are unaccounted for, so no one knows where they are, and the last one is rumored to still be hidden in Ketron Island. The Charys have banned anyone from looking for it.”

“Wow, the Romances and Artierans must be pretty bitter being the only ones without crystals,” Milena commented.

I shot her a glare, reminding her I was an Artieran. Well almost.

“Are the royal families trying to collect all nine?” Will asked.

“In theory,” the woman replied. “The royal family supposedly have an accord when it comes to the crystals. Each one is fair game. Whoever finds it keeps it, and the other royal families cannot try to steal it. I believe Daphne Chary banned anyone from looking for the last crystal to keep all nine crystals from ever being put together.”

“So, the men who raided our wagon,” I said, “do you think they were working for a royal family?”

The woman shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. As the young man said, it’s anyone’s goal to have all nine crystals. To have some kind of omnipotent power.”

Milena cracked her knuckles. “Well they’re not getting ours that easy.”

The woman raised an eyebrow. “‘Ours?’”

Milena nodded, and removed her own necklace from her pocket. “I’ve got a crystal too. I actually had two, but the other was stolen from me.”

The woman’s eyes stayed on Milena and her crystal a minute longer than they maybe should have. She stood up out her chair. “Well, being that you children are carrying such precious commodity, you should probably turn in for the night. The rascals really come out after dark.”

“She’s right,” I said to Will and Milena.

The two of them headed down the stairs. The woman followed us out.

I stopped just outside the doorway and turned back to her. “Thank you so much.”

“It's not a problem dear,” the woman said. “Will you be safe at…?” She inclined her head, waiting for me to finish her question.

“Oh, we’re staying at a little inn uptown. I think the name was Harold’s? I don’t know, but I think it's a quiet enough spot where no one will bother us tonight. We’ll be gone by morning.”

The woman nodded. “I wish you the best.”

I nodded and jogged to catch up with Milena and Will.

None of us spoke until we got back to the inn.

I almost thought we’d dropped the matter completely until Milena brought it up again.

She plopped down on the bed, spreading herself on top of the blankets. “Well now we know why those men freaked out on the wagon.” She shook her head. “Can’t believe I’ve never heard about the Ilvistine Crystals.”

I tapped my finger against my bottom lip as I moved around the room.

“Is something wrong, Elody?” Will asked.

I continued to move around the room, tapping my lip, for a few more minutes before answering. “If five crystals are in someone's hands, and the last one is still hidden, then my crystal is one of the unaccounted ones.” I stopped in the center of the room. “But why? I wear the necklace all the time, it's impossible that the queen or the king haven't seen it.”

“How would the king and queen have seen your necklace?” Will asked. “Which king and queen?”

I flashed a glance at Milena. I’d pretty much already let it slip, and we needed to tell Will because things were clearly just going to get more difficult.

Milena shrugged.

I looked Will in the eyes and took a breath. “Okay Will, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“What?” His eyes bounced back and forth between Milena and me.

“My name is Elody Bequette. And I’m engaged to Prince Errol Artieran.”

The color drained from Will’s face, as if he was staring at a ghost. “You're a princess?”

“To be,” I replied.

Will turned to Milena with the same wide-eyed expression. “Are you a princess as well?”

“Kind of,” Milena replied.

Will looked back at me.

“She's a prostitute,” I said.

Will looked back at Milena.

She ignored him and continued with the previous conversation. “So as Elody was saying, it's odd that her crystal is considered unaccounted for. The Artierans clearly know she has it. Who gave it to you?”

“My mother,” I replied. “And her mother gave it to her, and her father gave it to her.”

Milena sat up quickly, laughing to herself. “Of course.”

“What?”

“The crystal is unaccounted for because the Artierans didn't find it, nor do they technically have possession of it,” Milena explained. “But a certain marriage would have changed that.”

Will looked at me. “So once Elody married the prince…”

“... The Artierans would then have a crystal,” Milena finished. “It was so simple, yet I bet no one noticed.”

I slumped down into the only chair in the room. “Do you think… That's the only reason why he wanted to marry me…?”

“No, this Prince Errol sounds like he had genuine feelings for you. If he didn't really like you, he could have probably just have ordered someone to take it from you.”

Or he did know, and all these years he'd just been playing along. Our marriage was nothing but a way to boost the Artieran throne. Well I was happy I wasn't a part of it. But still, a piece of sadness lingered.

I looked at Milena and Will. “Do you guys mind if we turn in? I know it's not per se late but—”

“I've been ready to sleep since we got here,” Milena said, already getting under the sheets.

Will cautiously sat on the cot. It creaked under his weight as he shifted into a reclined position but looked like it would hold at least for tonight.

My head laid on the pillow, and within seconds sleep overcame me. For the first time, my dreams were black; just a dense, vast darkness. I felt I would lose myself in it, never escape it, until a loud crash made me open my eyes. The sound of breaking glass continued through my ears, and sleepily I sat up. I blinked once, then saw the broken window and the person trying to make their way through it.

The sage woman!

To my left, Milena was already hopping out of bed. “What the hell?” She went straight over the woman and tried to shove her back through the hole in the window.

The woman fought back, clawing at Milena’s throat and arms.

I looked at Will, who sat frozen on his cot. He clearly wasn't going to be of any help. I grabbed the lantern sitting on the table next to me and ran over to the struggling women. With one heavy thrust, I clunked it against the sage’s head. Or tried to. She ducked at just the right moment so it grazed the top of her head and proceeded to make an even larger hole in the glass. I

The woman grabbed a fistful of my hair and pulled me toward her. “Give me the crystals!” she hissed.

Milena drew her fist back and sunk her fist into the sage’s cheek, making her instantly let go of my hair. The abrupt action caused me to stumble forward but I quickly regained my footing.

“We’re out of here,” Milena said to me, tossing me my back knapsack so quickly I almost didn’t catch it.

Will, who was now finally off his cot, had his clutched in his hands.

Milena threw open the door and we followed her out the inn, up a few streets, through a few alleyways, until we reached the opposite edge of town.

While we were running, I’d checked behind us several times, and not once had I seen the woman following us. We finally stopped at a small wooden bench facing the street we’d just come down.

Sitting down, I took in big gulps of air. We probably hadn’t needed to run that fast, but we had, and now I was feeling the effects. Will looked like he would pass out, and Milena just fumed.

“What a bitch,” she said.

I looked at her and forced a smile. “Trust is few and far between out here.”

Milena returned my smile, then wiped her brow.

Having finally caught his breath, Will asked us, “What do we do?”

Milena sighed, rubbing her cheeks. “We need to just get out of here. We went to her for help and she tried to rob us. And who knows who else she’s going to tell? We need to just go.” She stood up, her knapsack hanging loosely on her one shoulder, and began walking away from the city.

Will and I exchanged glances. I don't think either of us were ready to get moving again, but we knew we couldn't make it without her. We prattled on behind her, our own knapsacks in tow.

“Where are we going next, Milena?” Will asked. “Are we just going to become nomads, constantly moving around?”

“We’re going to Pendine,” Milena replied.

“Pendine?” Will asked. “Why there?”

Milena stopped walking and turned to us. “Because this is ridiculous. Elody and I can’t walk the streets safely apparently thanks to these crystals. We hardly even know anything about them.”

“So why don’t you just get rid of them?”

“You heard what that old lady said,” Milena said. “Now I don’t know if it's true or if it's just another poverty created legend, but I know who would know. A royal family.”

“You expect a royal family to just give us information about something they want?”

“No, of course they’re not going to just give us the information,” Milena replied. “So, we have to offer them something they want.”

“The crystals,” I said.

“Not our crystals. The ninth one.”

Will put his hands to his face, clearly trying to follow along with Milena’s crazy scheme. “I’m sorry, is this another secret you two have? You actually have the ninth crystal?”

“No, it’s somewhere on Ketron. But I bet we can find it,” Milena replied.

“Milena, what is your plan in its entirety because right now it's sounding a little crazy,” I said.

Milena exhaled before explaining. “It’s simple really. We want to know about these crystals that we have. The royal families want the last crystal. Nobody in or from the royal families can set foot in Ketron, but we can. So, we offer one of the royal families our services in exchange for the information we want. They get the last crystal, and we keep ours.”

“And which family would so willingly accept our offer?”

“The Vepors are our best bet,” Milena replied. “They’re greedy, so an offer like ours is too tempting to pass up. If we get this crystal for them, they’ll be the royal family with the most crystals.”

Will hugged himself tightly. “The Vepors? You know what people say about them. They’re vipers with crowns.”

“We have to hope that their crookedness only makes them more inclined to accept our offer.”

“And how do you expect to get an audience with the Vepors?” I asked. “I’ve been around nobles and even the Artieran King and Queen themselves can hardly ever get an audience with them.”

“That’s why we’re going to Pendine. Prince Asa is always in Pendine. If we’re lucky, he’ll be in town.”

I stopped walking, my arms instinctively crossing.

Prince Asa Vepor. The oldest son of the Vepors, the one who hardly stayed at the palace because he spent his time in brothels drinking and sleeping with random women.

“Him?” I asked.

Milena, now noticing I wasn't following her anymore, stopped walking and turned to face me. “What?”

“I’m just… Not sure about all this,” I replied.

“Yeah, I’m with Elody,” Will said.

Milena crossed her arms. “Alright, then what do you two suppose we do? It sounds like neither of you just want to wander around forever. And Elody, from what I’ve been hearing, you don’t want to go back to the Vineyard. What else are we going to do?”

I sighed, rubbing my temples as I thought. The past few days had been filled with situations I’d never imagined being in, this being one of them. I absolutely did not want to return to the Vineyard. I wanted to travel, not wander around constantly watching my back. I opened my eyes and looked at Milena. “Yeah, let's go to Pendine.”

Will sighed, seeing he was now outnumbered. “Fine.”

Thankfully we came across a wagon heading to Pendine. Milena bargained with the driver to take us. I was still a little skeptical of men with wagons who promised to take us places, but I felt safer being with Will and Milena. We reached Pendine in two days, arriving just before the sun was setting.

“So how are we going to find out if the prince is in town?” That was the first question Will asked when we entered the city.

Milena rolled her eyes, like the answer to that question was simple. She looked around, then strolled over to a woman selling tiny wooden statues. She picked up one of the statues and started conversing with the vendor.

“Do you think this is going to work?” Will asked me.

“I don't even know what she's doing,” I replied.

“No, I mean getting the prince to make a deal with us,” Will said.

I hugged myself tightly. “I don't really know honestly. But we might as well try. What else have we got?”

Will didn't reply.

After a few minutes, Milena came back over to us, empty handed.

“You didn't buy one of her statues? After all that time you spent talking to her?” I asked.

“I wouldn't buy one if I had all the money in the world. They creep me out,” Milena replied. “But I got our answer. The prince is in town. In fact, he's staying a street over at the Golden Rod Inn.”

“You got that information from a woman who sells creepy statues?” Will asked.

Milena crossed her arms. “It's not the best job, but it works in our favor. She's out here most of the time, so she watches people all day. She probably saw the prince walk past. A patron told her where he was staying. So that's where we’re going.” Without waiting for our concurrence, she turned on her heel and started down the street.

Will and I had to keep up with her quick stride.

“Won’t the prince recognize you, Elody?” Will asked.

“Looking like this?” I asked. “I doubt it. Besides, I’ve never officially met him. Our families don’t exactly get along.” That was an understatement. I looked at Milena. “At the same time however, how are we going to actually get an audience with the prince? It's not like we can just walk up to him. And even if we did manage to, what’s going to make him want to talk to us?”

The sly grin on Milena’s face meant she’d already thought this part through. “Are you guys familiar what the prince spends his time doing here?”

Will and I shook our heads.

“He surrounds himself with prostitutes,” Milena replied. “And hello? Top notch prostitute right here.”

“Are you sure about this?” I asked. “Not to offend you, but I’m sure Prince Asa doesn’t see just any prostitute.”

Milena tossed me her grin. “Trust me, if anyone can contend against some other prostitutes to seduce a prince, it's me.”