Kaila stood nervously outside of the door to Evran’s cabin, brought there be some inarticulable compulsion. Chatting with Lerrum earlier in the day, she’d learned a curious fact about the staff he’d bought for Evran. It was made from living Yggdrasil wood.

  “Enter!” said a familiar male voice from within the cabin. “Oh, hey Kai. What’s up?”

  “Well, did you bring it?” she asked.

  “Of course not! Why would I bring a giant horn with me?”

  Kaila give him a light smack on the back of his head. “No dummy, the new staff you won’t shut up about! Don’t tell me you forgot it again!”

  Evran retrieved his staff from under his bunk and posed with it. “Behold!”

  “It’s beautiful!” she said, walking over to examine the staff more closely. She gently caressed the wood with a forlorn look on her face. Tears collected at the corners of her eyes before running down her cheeks. She pulled her hands over her face to hide her shame.

  “I’m sorry. I guess it’s my turn to cry.”

  Saying nothing, Evran smiled and moved the staff closer to Kaila. She quickly wiped her tears and forced herself to smile before taking the staff to hold.

  “I was born beneath the world tree. My earliest memories were of me and my mother playing in her shade. The scent of the wood brought them to mind. Thank you, Evran.”

  “So you’re all the way from Avalon, then? What are you doing so far south?”

  “Father kicked us out,” she said, without the bitterness that usually accompanied the topic. “I’ll spare you the details, but I ended up living with my uncle on Sygel North before coming here. He’s the same one we were helping back at the Navigator’s Guild.”

  Normally, Kaila wouldn’t dream of telling anyone about her exile from the elven homeland, but she consciously made an exception for Evran. First, she trusted him — a strange thing to say about someone you’re spying on, but she did. Second, she wanted him to trust her. That would make Evran more likely to share things about his father, things that might be clues about his status as an avatar. From their conversation the day before, Kaila was starting to believe it might be true.

  “Before I forget, I’ve been hoping to ask you about this staff,” Evran began. “I can sense four enchantments on it, but everyone else swears there’s only three. Since the staff is elvish, I was wondering if, as an elf, you could weigh in.”

  “Sure!” Closing her eyes, Kaila meditated over the staff. “There are only three… restoration, attunement, and a wind magic enhancement. It does feel weird, though. Wait!”

  Kaila’s thoughts tugged at the strangeness of the enchantments. The way they’d been woven into the staff was untraditional. While not incorrect by any means, it felt awkward — as if it were concealing something. She pried deeper, peeking underneath the spiral energy patterns in her mind. She sensed it.

  “Evran, do you have elven blood?”

  “Oh, yeah, I guess. My father said his grandfather was a half-elf, so like, one sixteenth? How’s that related?”

  “Just wondering! And how much did Lerrum pay for this?” she asked suspiciously.

  “I think it was fifteen gold. Oh, but he haggled it down some. You know Lerrum.” Evran chuckled.

  “I’ll give you five platinum,” Kaila offered, a mischievous grin on her face.

  Evran rolled his eyes, assuming the offer to have been a joke. “So there is a fourth enchantment on it,” he replied with confidence.

  “It’s a rare one, too, and intentionally obscured. How long did it take you to notice?”

  “It was hidden? Oh, I guess the enchantments would sit more naturally if applied more traditionally, but then it would be obvious to anyone that a fourth enchantment was there, even if they couldn’t feel it. So, what is it?”

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  Kaila couldn’t help but be impressed. He must have a lot of experience with complex enchantments to intuitively sense them, let alone grasp the underlying theory. Even the most powerful of mages struggled to imbue objects with secret enchantments. Though an avatar could do it easily. Her suspicions deepened.

  “It’s called aurasight. It lets you see auras, a type of spiritual energy that all living things posses. Most elves come by the ability naturally, but those of mixed blood often need help developing the ability. This staff is meant to train you, though it’s strange that you’re even able to sense the enchantment with so little elven blood.”

  “So if I use this staff, I’ll gain aurasight?” he asked.

  “Not on your own. You’ll need an elf to teach you, and she isn’t cheap!”

  “Anything you want, just teach me already!”

  Her mischievous grin returned at Evran’s ill-considered acceptance. “Fine, but in return, you have to buy me more of those dwarven noodles when we get back.”

  They sat cross-legged on the floor in the middle of the cramped cabin. After returning to staff to Evran, Kaila guided him through a series of mediations and breathing techniques — the same ones she performed when learning as a child back on Avalon. Evran took to them like a full-blooded elf, a quirk that no longer surprised her. He was the son of an avatar, after all, not that those powers were hereditary. After almost an hour of training, Evran’s ability had manifested.

  “Ahh! Kai, you’re purple!” Evran screamed. “And what’s on your face?”

  She giggled. “How rude! You’re purple too, you know. Everyone is right after the Tempest. The color of our auras and how they flow about changes slowly over time, often reflecting our deepest emotions. Yours is usually a meandering blue or a lazy yellow, by the way.”

  “So what are the markings on your face and arms?”

  “Ah, those!” she said, running her hands through her hair. “It’s called aurachroma, a pigment we elves have in our hair, eyes, and in places all over our bodies. It causes our physical features to change color to match our auras. I bet this entire time you thought my hair was white, didn’t you?”

  “Of course I did! I must say, you look good with purple hair. And eyes.”

  Kaila pouted. “Most people would be offended by that second part…” she said coldly, alluding to the striking purple glow in the eyes of the stormborn.

  “I can’t believe you’ve been changing color this entire time and none of us ever knew!” asked Evran.

  “Yup! Though, you can’t see your own aura, so it always just looks white to me.”

  “Wait, does that mean you can’t see the markings on your own skin? But they’re so beautiful! I could draw them for you.”

  “Stop!” Kaila shouted, throwing up her arms defensively. Her face blushed intensely. “I’m not supposed to know what they look like until my future husband paints over them on my wedding night. It’s an elven tradition I’m really, really looking forward to, so please don’t ruin it for me!”

  She could see the various elegant swirls and dots adorning the skin of other elves, so she knew how beautiful they could look. Every elf’s pattern was unique. Kaila hoped that hers would be much like her mother’s, especially with that cute line over the bridge of her nose. As a child, she’d begged her mother so many times to tell her if she had it or not, but she never did.

  “Sorry, but I’m pretty good at messing up traditions like that, you know,” Evran joked. “Um, so I’ve been wondering… do I have any?”

  She shook her head. “Not that I can see. It’s unlikely, given your heritage. If you did, though, it’d be on your upper back. That’s the only spot the quarter-bloods usually have them.”

  Without missing a beat, Evran stood up while taking off his uniform. He spun around, revealing his bare back to Kaila. Keenly aware of the fact that she was alone in a room with a half-naked and totally oblivious boy, Kaila’s cheeks turned an even deeper red, as did the tips of her pointed ears.

  Evran had a series of five thin, diamond-shaped marks along his upper back, much to her surprise. He also had quite a scar stretching from the base of his neck all the way down to his lower back. How had that happened? And why not have it healed?

  “Well?” he asked.

  “You have a few.”

  “Awesome!” he said excitedly. “What do they look like?”

  Kaila loudly scoffed at the question. “Hey, that tradition goes both ways! If you want to find out, get an elf to marry you.”

  “Like that would ever happen. Come on, just trace them with your wand or something. I won’t tell anyone. And besides, I’m not an elf, so it doesn’t count.” Evran teased.

  “Evran Wright!” Kaila shouted with flirtatious indignance. “You have no idea how… how bold you’re being right now!”

  Evran turned to face her, seemingly having given up on learning more about his own aurachromatic markings. Still blushing, Kaila did everything in her power to avoid meeting his gaze. Had she succeeded, she might not have noticed Evran’s eyes losing focus.

  “Ev, you haven’t been using aurasight this entire time, have you?” She asked, concerned.

  He muttered something in response, but Kaila couldn’t comprehend his slurred speech. His legs wobbled briefly before the shirtless boy collapsed into her arms, his staff crashing to the floor. She struggled to keep him upright, not wanting him to fall and hit his head.

  Lerrum chose an excellent moment to barge into the room, Narro close behind. They all stood there in stunned silence for what must have been an entire minute. “Uh, congrats, you two. I guess we’ll be back later.”

  “Damn it, Lerrum, help me!” Kaila shouted. “Evran’s passed out again!”