I was surprised he didn’t follow us.

  “We need to talk about what happened back there.” I hurried to get in front of her. “Why was he calling you ‘my lady’?”

  “Oh.” Starna swallowed. “That’s um, well.” Her face got bluer as she thought and her pace got faster. “You know how my parents are Ambassadors?”

  “Yes.” I glanced over my shoulder while I walked backwards so I could look at her face. Trusting her to be aware of potential danger while distracting her probably wasn’t the smartest idea, but that was where we were at. “Um, how many did you feel this way?” I pointed with my thumb over my shoulder.

  “Just a little one.” Her words sped over her lips. “There’s not anything else that I feel, except a really big thing over there.” She pointed to her left. “But I’m pretty sure that’s an underground lake.”

  “You can’t tell the difference between a body of water and…” I smirked. “A body?”

  “Not from this far away.” She shook her head. “Cram enough people together and even the best trackers would have trouble telling the two apart from this far away.”

  “So then this little body, how big is it?”

  “I think there’s just two of them, but I won’t know for sure until we get closer.” She pointed to her left side. “These tunnels are so twisty, but we should be trying to go that way.”

  I turned around so I could watch where I was going, not that there was much to trip over. The debris had been mostly cleared away, leaving a smooth stone walkway between the rooms even if it did curve and twist.

  “The Ambassador thing?” I scrunched my brow. “I didn’t think you grew up at court.”

  I felt her glare on the back of my head.

  “I mean, I knew you grew up with Lessa, but I didn’t think Arkan let non-Elves in the court.”

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “My mother took care of us until we were ten.” Starna shivered as she recalled a memory. She shook her head to banish it. “Psider was her bodyguard.”

  “That’s how he knows you?” I glanced over my shoulder. “How’d your mother end up with a Kharm Venesero as a bodyguard?”

  “It was an honor given her by Queen Banrion.” The mage stopped and touched the wall. “I think we’re going the wrong way now.” She scrunched her brow. “Or the people are moving.”

  “It could be a big molerat.” I offered. “Or a wurm?”

  “Not a wurm.” She waffled her head as she remembered our last encounter with the hairy people sized dirt eaters. “At least not as big as the last one.”

  “Well, it’s not like we can go anywhere else.” I motioned down the tunnel. “These things only go in one direction.”

  “If this was just dirt, Psider could walk through it and make us a path straight there.” She tapped on the stone. “Stone takes longer for him to move around.”

  “Why do you call him a Wayfinder?” I hadn’t heard the term before, but I also hadn’t been around many Kharm. They lived in deserts, which were far from the many ports that I’d frequented.

  “It’s a title he earned from the Kimor during the Great War.” The beautiful Elf smiled as she remembered the stories he’d told her when she was little. “He was an apprentice to Master Krav back then along with Queen Banrion when she was just a Princess. They set off on a quest from Laleah to Hepool to stop the Demon army.”

  “Sounds like he has some stories he could tell.”

  “He doesn’t like to talk about it.” Starna’s voice filled with emotion. “After the war ended, he hunted down cultists around the world. When Queen Banrion became queen about fifty years ago, he went to Mastow Castle and served as her head of security until she sent him to watch over my mother.” She hung her head. “He tried to stay when mom left, but Uncle Arkan didn’t want a Kharm in the castle without a supervisor. I don’t know what Psider’s been doing since.”

  “Hey it wasn’t your fault.” I walked closer to her and lifted her chin with my finger. “Arkan was a piece of work, though he was about normal for an Elf.”

  She nodded. “I know, I just hated that there was nothing I could do about it. Mom was always so nice to everyone and Uncle Arkan was…” Starna sighed. “I’m just glad I didn’t pick up any of his prejudices.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t either.” I booped her on the nose. “You’re pretty, but I’m not sure anyone is beautiful enough to make up for that attitude.” I turned and continued down the tunnel. “Has the thing moved?”

  “No.” The voice was stronger and more certain. “It’s still right where it was.”

  “Good.” I picked up the pace. “Let’s go ruin some cultist’s day.”

  Rating, Review, Follow, Favorite, or Comment does wonders to boost my morale. If you want to help support my writing or check out advanced chapters, head over to my .

  Immersive Ink

  RR Writer's Guild