Chapter 26

Kaide, Alec, and I arrive in Shaelie and make friends with a group of jovial human merchants. We exchange magical notes with an accomplished mage, Anna, and I consult on her sister Tili's romance novels. After Shaelie we head towards the grotto and run across a young summer fae with a vague sense that he is missing something from his life. Consultation with Magdalena leads us to believe that he is Jaedien, a Treeborn Fae of Samsara who would be able to help us recover lost groves if he comes into himself again. He joins me in my journey towards the grotto and we pass through the protective barrier together, coming face-to-face with Hue, a dragon old enough to remember the rites between dragon and rider. It is here that I meet the eldritch spirits and learn that what I'm asking of them is not something easily given, though the depth of it remains unclear. I sing Thalien's song to them and begin the test to prove that I am willing and able to pay the price of my request.