Page 24 of The Starlight Savior

“Thank you,” Saige murmured. “I wasn’t always alone. I had Judith. But—”

It was never enough.

“It’s quite essential to have someone to care for you, to love you, when no one else can.”

Saige nodded along to the words, letting them seep in. If her parents hadn’t died, how would Saige’s life have ended up differently? Maybe she would’ve been a seamstress alongside her mother. Or would the wall of steel still pulse around her heart, mind, and soul?

There were so many what ifs circling through Saige’s head that they threatened to consume her. Now she felt it all, looking at Eva’s small hands grasping her own, as if she knew her. Loved her.

Eva was a stranger though. And Saige was only the girl they captured.

“Why don’t you take a look?” The handmaids turned her towards the mirror as Eva took a step back.

Saige barely recognized herself. Instead of dark tangles and knots, her hair cascaded down her back and over her breasts. Two strands were pulled back into a jewel encased braid. The dress fit her perfectly, as if they had taken her measurements in her sleep. A hand reached around her neck as a glittering necklace was placed on her chest. An emerald sat in the middle, silver stones set around it. There was no trace of a Brevillian villager here. Instead she looked like royalty.

“You look absolutely beautiful,” Eva mused.

“Thank you,” Saige said with a soft smile, hands running along the smooth velvet of her dress.

The fire-wielder behind her returned the smile. “Normally you’d wear kingdom colors and your family’s sigil. But we weren’t sure how you’d feel about that. Green is always a safe choice for travelers from Brevil.”

“You get many of those?” Saige asked with a laugh.

She shrugged. “Rarely. Enough to where we have fabric set aside.”

“So green for earth?” Her fingertips trailed at the emerald around her neck, down the flowers around her waist. Such finery could only be found in the capital.

“Precisely.” The handmaids gathered their belongings, packing up the powders and rouges.

“Well”—Eva clapped her hands—“I’m sure you’d like these cuffs off you now.”

“What?” Saige swung her head towards Conor. “B-But what if—”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Conor strode over, his large body standing over them. His eyes flickered across her body, lingering on her throat. “She said she knows nothing of magic.”

“King Vospella requested her to be unbound. She cannot show up with cuffs weighing her down.”

Conor looked from Saige to Eva, concern swimming in the hues of his irises. It reminded her of rare storm clouds that nourished Denholm’s crops. “The risk is too great.”

“I will take these off under one circumstance.” Eva and Conor peered at Saige with quizzical gazes. “No matter how many times I ask, no one seems to answer how I got here. Why your father”—Saige looked to Conor—“knew my family’s name. If no one can answer such things, then I refuse to attend.”

It was a gamble, dangling ultimatums in front of them. Conor and Eva could shake their heads, deem Saige not worthy enough to know such information. But would they truly send her away or deny her training after such energy was expelled retrieving her?

A crack in Eva’s calm mask was exposed as her lip trembled. “It was I who gave General Zathos and our maester your name.”

Saige cocked her head, ignoring the tightness in her chest. “How?”

“Your father…” Eva looked away. “He corresponded with our kingdom through letters. Your name was mentioned in one of them.”

“W-Why?” Saige exclaimed. Tears swelled, but she brushed them away with the back of her hand. She would not destroy her handmaid’s hard work.

“Oscar Nerestel worked closely in researching how to expel the mist, which was often fruitful. In his letters, there was the mention of his daughter. When our maester tracked down the rare magic point in Brevil, it was quite close to where the letters originated from,” Eva continued.

“We were told to keep a lookout for anyone named Saige,” Conor murmured, “and then you told me your name.”

Saige shook her head. “I still don’t understand. Why would my father ever write letters a kingdom away? Especially to magic-wielders?”

“To fight the mist.” Eva clutched at her necklace as she spoke. “Brevil has done nothing to assist Opela, believing their land is immune. But they are wrong. And your father knew that. He couldn’t sit back to watch Opela perrish.”