Teyva’s heels clacked against the stone floor beneath her as she marched through the hall. Nephral clung to her shoulders, his tail wrapped around her neck and his deep eyes staring forward. She stopped at the door leading into her destination and threw it open, dipping her head a little as she strode inside. A scent akin to battery acid burned at her nostrils as she shut the door behind her. She resisted the urge to sneeze and cast her gaze about the room.

Paraklytus’ private office was separate from his laboratory and so was smaller than one might expect for the massive floating skeleton. The man himself had no concern for common sense things like gravity or sensible design, preferring to decorate his space in a way that fit him and him alone. The room had bookshelves built into the walls from floor to ceiling with display cases mounted on the ceiling itself. Aspect stones contained in those displays, their eerie shapes shifting and rippling now and then.

She turned her attention away from the ceiling and to the man himself, lingering next to his long, dark desk with a single bony hand resting on the surface. His eyes glowed with amusement as she stepped fully into his domain, crossing her arms.

“You didn’t tell the others about your condition,” Paraklytus said.

“I’ll explain it to them privately, I wasn’t about to drop that kind of bomb in front of the first elders,” Teyva said dismissively, waving a hand. Paraklytus didn’t respond, he kept his eyes fixed on her. She returned his stare with equal intensity, “What is Rani’s legacy?” She pressed.

“I do not know,” Paraklytus said.

“Don’t give me that,” Teyva said sharply, taking a step forward, “You watched me while I was in the forest while you were still in Nulakam. You know what this is,” she demanded, “You know what’s going on.”

The lich looked down at the ground and then up at her again, he looked to Nephral and then for the first time as far as she could remember, he made the sound of an audible sigh. He didn’t even have lungs but whatever it was that was bothering him clearly called for it. He turned to his desk and put both hands on it, staring down at the surface.

“My queen,” he said evenly, “I can see great distances but there are limits to even my powers. You know I cannot see into the halls of the Human leadership or listen to their conversations. There has to be a sufficient understanding of a place for me to-”

Teyva cut him off, “You’re delaying.”

“There was a disturbance at Rani’s palace,” Paraklytus said.

“I’m aware,” Teyva said, “It’s the only place I can think of that might contain something with that kind of connection to her. I want to know what it is.”

Paraklytus hesitated again and turned to face her, “I swore my name to you, Teyva, I ask that you have some patience, please. If you find the adventurer related to this situation, do not harm them,” He paused, “Especially not those who travel with them.”

Teyva looked him up and down, “This is important to you.”

“You could say a part of my soul is out there somewhere, metaphorically speaking. This is my responsibility to deal with, majesty,” Paraklytus said, “So I ask your forbearance on this matter. I know you would prefer me with you in the Badlands but I would much rather, very personally, handle this matter myself.”

Teyva rolled her jaw and then sighed, scratching the back of her head. She looked away and felt a bit of warmth on her face, “You don’t have to be so damn serious about it, I can’t refuse you if you ask me a favor, you know that, you bony bastard.”

Teyva glanced at the timer on her debuff, it was up to a quarter now. It had been about three hours since her first episode, putting the timer at about twelve hours. That wasn’t terrible, but two seizures a day could do a lot of long-term harm. She also had Stella to worry about. She shook her head and rubbed the back of her neck, taking a few steps further into his office and reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder. She looked up into his skeletal face and smiled at him.

“I’m going to trust you with this, alright?” She said, though the look of his eyes showed he understood more of what she was saying. It was a very gentle warning, that if whatever this was happened to be precious enough to him for him to hide from her, she would deal with it herself.

The lich nodded firmly, “I will never fail you.”

“Thank you,” She said and pat him once, “I’m relying on you.”

She left shortly after that, the lich lingering at his desk as she departed. She rubbed her thumb against her palm as she worked her way down the hallway. Nephral was talking in hushed tones, voicing his concerns. Normally she would have listened but her mind was elsewhere. His reaction was more than enough to clue her in on the possibility of what must have happened. He’d mentioned only once that he’d sired a child with Teyva Rani. Was it possible that such a person was still alive? She chewed on her thumb-talon and glanced toward the wall. Paraklytus was unflaggingly loyal, but this was possibly family they were talking about.

What if this forced him to make a choice?

The thoughts and worries bounded around in her head as she made her way towards the nearest sheer wall. She designated her next destination and the wall opened, allowing her to pass through and out the other side. She stepped out into the Pinnacle living quarters, the large circular room being a place that had seen so many important parts of her life. She passed the couch, running her fingers over it and eyeing the very spot where Stella had been born before stopping in front of her old bedroom.

She knocked on the door once, “Stella?”

There was no response.

Teyva sighed, “Stella? Come on now, it’s only a few months.”

Still no response. Teyva scratched the back of her head and shifted on her feet. Her daughter was only five years old, chronologically anyway. Yet at this point she was basically a young woman. If Sari was correct then she would be fully matured by the end of winter. Sari was never wrong about things like that. She’d predicted the very day that Azrael would go into labor, there was no doubt in her mind she was right about Stella. Teyva pressed her lips together into a frown and rubbed her arms, Stella was growing up way too fast, almost to the point of feeling insulted when she thought of people talking about how their own children grew up.

She only got a year of Stella as a toddler, only a year of her swinging from trees and playing in the grass as a child, only a year of her fretting about silly things as a pre-teen. With all her responsibilities, how much time had that really amounted to? Yet for some reason her daughter feared for her so fiercely, loved so intensely. Teyva chewed on her lip and knocked on the door again.

“Stella, dear, I’m coming in,” She warned, waving her hand over the doorknob and hearing an audible click of the lock disengaging.

Teyva stepped into the long room that had been redesigned by her daughter and others over the years. The large bed was smaller, making room for other things. Numerous swords hung on the walls that had all been polished and sharpened carefully. There were no less than three work-out mats with a punching bag in the corner and a wooden training dummy off to the side. Carvings of animals lined the nearest counter, each of them carefully crafted by a curious and dextrous young girl. There were small paintings on the wall as well, works of a talented young artist who had spent her life looking out over the wildlands but never experiencing them beyond brief trips into the grasses.

Teyva stopped next to one of the paintings and ran her fingers over it, “You’re so good at this,” She muttered, glancing toward the door to the bath which was shut. Teyva rolled her eyes, of course the girl couldn’t hear her at the door.

“Stella?” Teyva called, walking over to the door, “Stella? Can we talk?”

No response. Teyva felt her hackles rise a little as she made her way toward the door. She grabbed the handle and pulled, revealing a darkened bathing room. No sign of her daughter. She spun on her heel and held her hands out, concentrating on the shape of the city, the feeling of the dungeon around her, her connection to the living structure. Where in the world was that girl? She searched the visual memories of every manikin that stood guard through the building. None of them had seen Stella. That didn’t make any sense.

She began to rewind the clock, it felt like watching a security tape through the eyes of her summons. She wound back to just over an hour before she’d come looking for her daughter only to see herself walking out of the palace, waving delicately to the Manikin and winking at it. She had a bag slung over her shoulder.

“[Alter Self],” Teyva rumbled, “Teenagers.”

“Mother?” Nephral called from out in the adjoining space, “Is everything okay?”

Teyva marched to the door and threw it open, “No, we’re going to go find my daughter.”