“Hello to you too.” Alex gave Drestra a surprised smile. “Can this wait for a while? We’re kinda in the middle of something.”

“I’d really rather it didn’t,” she said, her voice holding a gravity that wiped the smile from his face.

Behind him two heavy footsteps moved closer.

A menacing boom and the grind of stone on metal.

The Sage’s gaze shot to something above Alex’s shoulder, making the young wizard spin around.

In a blink, Claygon had transformed from calm companion, to dangerous guardian. Two arms raised his war-spear, upper hands tightening on the haft. His two lower hands balled into fists as a flicker of light ran through the fire-gem above his eyes. Emotion hardened through their link.

There was no mistaking the warning in his body; a promise of aggression.

Alex panicked.

‘Claygon, no, no, no!’ His mind worked quickly. ‘No, no, she’s a friend! Don’t attack, she’s a friend! You remember, Drestra, don’t you?’

‘She…is aggressive. Could hurt you, father.’ The golem’s words flowed smoother, easier: less halting, but still tense, cautious in his overwhelming desire to protect. There was no anger in them, though. ‘She is preparing to attack.’

“Wait, what?”

Drestra’s hands had risen before her, fingers curved like an eagle’s talons, eyes blazing. From beneath the veil came the whispered chanting of a spell—spoken low, slow and steady—but ready to complete in the wink of an eye.

“Drestra, what’re you doing? That’s Claygon! He just transformed! He’s sentient now!” Alex snapped.

“I know that’s Claygon.” Her voice was flint. “So why are you telling him to attack me?”

Tension filled the air. Alex’s friends had gone silent. Grimloch was rising from the table.

‘Telling him to attack her?’ The young wizard wondered. ‘What the hell is she talking abou—Oh, by the Traveller, she doesn’t know his mind’s awakened!’

To an outsider—ignorant to Claygon’s new awareness and agency—it would seem like Alex had told him to attack the Sage of Thameland.

He raised both hands in front of him in a gesture to ease tension. “C’mon Drestra, nobody’s attacking anybody. Claygon gained sentience no more than twenty minutes ago. He probably had some memories and probably some vague thoughts before but—Shit, I’m getting distracted. Look, the point is, he’s just getting used to the world, and you looked real aggressive for a second there.”

Something flashed through her eyes, something that passed too quickly for most to read. Something that raised caution.

But slowly, the tension drained from the Sage and—more importantly—she stopped chanting.

“I…apologise,” she said to Claygon, sounding slightly unsure of herself. “I didn’t know.”

‘She…looks less aggressive now, father,’ the golem’s voice echoed in his mind.

‘I guarantee she’s not going to hurt me,’ Alex thought. ‘I guarantee it. Juuuust lower that war-spear, would you? We’re getting some looks.’

Throughout the dining hall, wizards had gathered to either have a quick meal, or discuss the day’s horrors, or both. Now, all looked ready to bolt as nervous eyes locked onto the Sage and the golem.

Alex frowned, noticing something about Drestra that he hadn’t until now; she was alone, there was no sign of Cedric, Hart, Baelin, or Professor Jules anywhere. He didn’t know if they were all still at their meeting, or engaged in some other task, but one thing was obvious, Drestra had purposefully separated from them to seek him out.

Alone.

Doubt rose in him, and he wondered if his promise to Claygon—that she meant him no harm—was actually as true as he’d assumed.

‘How can you guarantee she won’t hurt you?’ He asked himself. ‘Can you really be so certain? Look at her, just one glance at her body language and you know she’s hiding something.’ Maybe she found out who you really are and she’s coming to drag you off to the cathedral in Ussex? Or maybe she’s some shapeshifting monster trying to kill you. Stranger things have happened before, even as recently as today.’

He chewed on his lower lip and shook his head.

‘Listen to yourself. You’re sounding irrational, don’t let unknown monsters make you lose trust in our allies…still though, why is she here alone? Hm, you know, if she were here to drag you off to Ussex, she wouldn’t be alone, she’d be with Hart and Cedric. She’s powerful, and she’s not stupid. Challenging you by herself when she’s surrounded by wizards, and warriors in the middle of our territory would definitely be—’

‘I am lowering…my spear, father,’ Claygon’s voice boomed through Alex’s mind, pulling him from his thoughts.

“Okay,” Alex said, glancing at his golem. “Thanks. Drestra, everyone, it was all a misunderstanding and eeeeverything’s all cleared up now. Nothing to worry about.”

A wave of relief spread to his friends as he caught a slight movement from Theresa; the huntress was subtly moving her hands from the hilts of her swords.

‘This could’ve gotten bad. Very bad,’ he thought.

“Well now, look how easily misunderstandings can happen,” Prince Khalik gave a jovial laugh, striding to stand between Alex and the Sage. His voice was rich and calming; the voice of a young man trained from birth in statecraft, using all of his skill to unravel a dangerous knot. “It is good that Claygon is so protective, and I am sure he will learn well who his friends are. And you are one of his friends, are you not, Drestra?”

Khalik watched her eyes closely, as did Alex.

But this time, nothing betrayed her true feelings. Nothing he could see, at least; for the first time, he wished he could look beneath that veil.

“Yes, we’re friends,” she said. “I’ll never forget what Claygon did for me and my people, or all the hurt he suffered.” She looked at Theresa slowly, her eyes flicking down to her swords. “I’ll never forget what you did, either.”

The huntress flushed, quickly looking away.

“Nor you,” Drestra said, her eyes catching Alex’s gaze. “How could I ever forget what you did for me, Ffion, or mother. No matter what happens.”

She went quiet then, letting something hang in the air between them; a statement of trust, a declaration of loyalty…and a plea for trust in return. Slowly, some of Alex’s earlier suspicions subsided.

He wouldn’t say that there were bonds of deep friendship between him and Drestra like there were between him and his cabal-mates, but he’d built a level of trust with her. A trust that had grown from their first meeting in the encampment on the night he’d listened to her worries and given her some much-wanted advice.

Alex took a deep breath; he wasn’t sure what this was all about, but he’d put trust in her just as she had in him.

“I won’t forget what you’ve done for me, either,” he said with certainty, before turning to Claygon. “Remember how she and Hart saved us in Crymlyn? She’s a friend. Things are okay.”

‘So was Amir,’ a small part of his mind whispered; he noted the thought, setting it aside for now.

‘She’s a friend…I…understand.’ Claygon thought, and acknowledged his father with a deep nod.

Alex looked at Drestra closely. “So, you said something was urgent, right? Fine, let’s deal with it. Where do you want to talk? Is here good?”

“No,” she said. “It’s…something sensitive.”

The Sage threw a glance at Alex’s companions.

“Alright, then how about you, me and Claygon go somewhere and talk about it, then?” He watched her reaction closely.

If she showed reluctance at the suggestion that his golem be with them, that would end every bit of trust he’d put in the Sage. There’d be no more Amirs for him, not if he could help it.

But she didn’t hesitate.

Not a flinch.

Her cheeks moved as a smile grew beneath her veil, one so wide, the corners of her eyes crinkled. “That’s more than fine, shall we get going?”

Alex paused, considering the situation for a moment.

‘Maybe it’s better I find out what this is all about now rather than letting it fester and catch me off-guard later.’

“Aren’t Cedric and Hart going to miss you?” Alex asked, watching her carefully.

“They’re still talking over some matters with Baelin and Professor Jules,” she said. “I stepped out for a bit. This…this couldn’t wait.”

“Well, then, let’s get to it.” He turned to his friends. “Sorry to cut Claygon’s…awakening day short? Birthday…? Maybe we’ll just call it his introduction day. Anyway, we’ll be back.”

“We’ll be waiting,” Theresa said, looking at Drestra closely. A cautious trust lay in her eyes. “Take care of him.”

“Indeed,” Khalik said, his wide smile barely concealing a warning. “Do bring him back to us in one piece.”

“I will,” Drestra said, not bothering to ease their concerns.

Alex wondered just what she had in store for him.

“Is this far enough?” He gave a nervous laugh. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were luring me out to the woods to kill me.”

Drestra didn’t laugh.

She flew through the night ahead of Alex and his golem, her cloak billowing in the winter air. Below them lay the moors, covered in a blizzard’s worth of snow—low hills had disappeared beneath layers of white. Behind them, the research castle rose, close enough to take up much of the horizon, but far enough to be well out of earshot when quiet words were needed.

And up ahead?

Alex was wondering what could be waiting for him when Drestra finally did decide to start talking; that is, if she began talking: she just might start blasting without a single word instead.

But, she was holding all the cards since only she knew what direction this mysterious conversation would take. He rested one hand on his satchel where at least one booby-trapped sleeping potion lay, just in case. Just in case.

“This is far enough,” she said, abruptly descending toward the ground, “we can talk here.”

“Alright, well at least it’s not out in the woods,” Alex said, swooping down after her.

‘Father…if she wants to kill you…following her here…not good,’ Claygon said.

‘It’s just humour, big guy, just like we talked about. Just humour,’ he thought.

‘Humour…I should learn…’

He stifled a laugh as they landed: the image of a golem telling jokes nearly made him burst out laughing despite the tension of the moment. But that image did bring up a more serious matter.

‘I’m going to have to try and build you a device that’ll let you talk, Claygon. Maybe Toraka might know of a way to do it. Anyway, we’ll have to talk about that later.’

He pushed the thought from his mind, crossing his arms before him as he watched the Sage. Drestra shifted back and forth in the snow, anxiety playing through her body.

Tension.

Resolve.

Again, he gripped the satchel.

“So…what’s this about?” He asked. “And while we’re at it, where are Cedric and Hart.

Now she flinched, turning her head slightly, looking at him sidelong.

For a moment…her resolve seemed to shake; her posture shifted as what seemed to be different urges went to war within her. Alex said nothing, letting it play out, subtly preparing to defend himself.

‘If you’re some shapeshifting monster,’ he thought. ‘Let’s get this over with.’

She sighed, looking up for a long moment at the moon and stars dotting an inky night sky.

Then she turned to face him.

“I’ve been trying to decide how I’d broach this for…more nights than I want to say,” she said. “I was even asking myself for a while if Cedric and Hart should know first…but you’ve been good and honest with me. So, I decided to come to you first.”

Alex’s heart beat faster. “Come to me for what?”

Suspicions grew in his mind.

“We went to the Cave of the Traveller,” she said quickly, pushing the words out as though—if she didn’t get them out fast enough—they wouldn’t come out at all. “To investigate…anything having to do with Uldar, like we said we would. And, certain things happened. One of them was that I met these two guards from Alric who asked about you.Their names were Peter and Paul.”

Every nerve in Alex’s body frayed at once; it felt like someone had dumped a vat of ice water on him.

“I spent time with them in the Cave and we got to talking about Theresa and you,” she said, taking a step closer.

It took all of his will not to take a step back.

“And while we were talking about you…I learned something.”

“And what was that?” He asked, his mind trying to quickly put together what it might be.

“Well.” She looked him in the eye. “That every time my mother and father— may he rest peacefully with the spirits—celebrated my birthday…you were celebrating yours, in Alric.”

He kept his face neutral even as internally, he screamed.

“That’s right,” he said. There was no point in lying.

“They also said you left on the day of the Ravener’s return,” she continued. “You, your sister, Theresa and Brutus even left ahead of Theresa’s family. Did you go to the Cave? …actually, wait. Let me ask the real question.”

Her reptilian eyes met his.

Her crackling voice took a deep breath.

“Are you the Fool?”