Relana, having overheard the conversation, just laughed. She picked up her bucket and cane and shuffled over to the door. Exiting, she went after Angelo.
Roku sat next to Redkin, examining him closely. The boy's transformation was almost complete.
"I hope you are strong enough to survive, my young one." He laced his fingers with Redkin's and began a chant.
Their fingers began to glow with a soft, ethereal light.
Angelo slowed down, stopping to let Elana catch up. "Why did you let yourself get so old, my love?"
"Because I knew you let Xanther know where I was. You betrayed me, so do not call me your love." Elana scowled and gripped her bucket tightly.
"Relana, I—am sorry." Angelo let the remorse be heard in the tone of his voice.
"Not yet you are not. I promise you that you will be." She glared at him, her eyes filled with a cold fury.
He swallowed hard, knowing that she would hold true to that. Deciding to change the topic, he asked, "Have you been having difficulty getting berries lately?"
She frowned. "Ever since Landon left. I think the Solhain trees liked him better than me."
"Perhaps, but maybe he just kept the horror from taking control," Angelo suggested.
"Maybe." They came to a stop at the Mother Solhain. She scowled when she saw the thick black veins wrapped around its trunk.
"Angelo, I think that I know what is ailing Redkin." She turned to look him in the eye, fear shimmering like he had never seen before.
"What is it?" he asked timidly, not sure he wanted to know the answer.
"We will discuss it further with Renaldo when he gets here. But I do not think we are going to get many berries today."
Solaris appeared just outside Relana's small cottage in the woods. Voices caught his attention, and he saw a woman and a man walking out of the woods with meager buckets of berries.
"Solaris, what are you doing here?" Relana asked, her voice tinged with surprise.
"I heard about Redkin. Were you able to save him?"
"I was," Relana frowned, "but I had to call upon the Keepers. Do you have any idea what poison would be that strong?"
"I am afraid I do. That is part of why I am here. Where is Nodran?"
"He will be here as soon as he can. The letter said a day or so, but that was when Roku left, and it took him a day to get here, so it could be any moment. I was trying to come up with enough berries to make pies. They have to summon Alazar." Relana looked into the bucket. "But I fear I was not able to."
"Solaris, I fear Albis had a hand in all of this," Angelo added. "I know you do not like me, but Redkin has my loyalties now, and you know that is unbreakable."
Solaris growled when he was addressed by the man with her. He stopped to take a moment to study him.
A dark tattoo decorated Angelo's face. The marking was a tree, its roots at his chin, the trunk wrapped around his eye, and the leaves across his forehead.
He considered his words carefully. "Unfortunately, you are right. The Obsidian Cabal could not get all the starshards; there are just too many of them. They have four of the five Eldritch stones. We need to call a meeting. The vow of silence must be broken, or all that we have worked for will end in an instant."
Relana scowled. "I know, the horror already walks among us. We will discuss this further, but perhaps you can help us gather more berries? Use your magic on the trees?"
"I can try that. If it does not work, I have another method for replenishing mana."
Together they walked back to the trees. Solaris frowned when he reached the Mother Tree. "How long has it been this bad?"
"Not long. I got berries seven days ago, and it was not this bad then." Relana frowned. "I think it is accelerating the spread."
"I have a feeling you are right. I cannot get any more berries than you already have. I will summon my elixirs."
They all turned and walked back to her cottage. Angelo watched Solaris for a moment before catching up.
"Solaris? Do you know where we can find Kysain and Nitharis? We are going to need them if the Obsidian Cabal is successful with Aether."
Solaris eyed Angelo suspiciously. "Where do your alliances lie?"
Angelo gritted his teeth. "My absolute alliance is with Talveran."
Solaris stopped, turned to him, and crossed his arms. "Really? As I heard, Talveran died."
Anger flashed in Angelo's eyes. He gritted his teeth and stormed off.
Solaris chuckled. "What are we going to do with him, Relana? You know as well as I do that he is a member of the Obsidian Cabal."
"I don't know. Let us first focus on getting these berries back to the farm." Relana used a magic spell to absorb the magic from the grass around her. The gray disappeared from her hair. Her pace picked up, and the two of them walked back to the Solhain cottage.
Seraphis walked with extreme confidence into Xanther's throne room. "Well, sir, that did not seem to go very well. It seems you lost."
Xanther rolled his eyes. "How was I to know that Angelo would turn sides and be able to call Nexus? You claimed having faith in others was a good thing. I do not think I agree with you anymore." He stood up and walked down to look her in the eye.
"Well, I did not know that either. You told me that Talveran had no way to join the war." She crossed her arms and stared into his soul.
He growled, "Get out, Seraphis. I do not need your assistance anymore. Your advice to trust in others is bullshit, and I have no desire for it anymore."
"That is a shame because you know you have the fifth Eldritch stone. The Obsidian Cabal will not yield the other four, so perhaps you don't want to free him as badly as you say you do."
He crossed his arms. "Why would you even begin to suggest that I trust that organization?"
"That is an easy answer." She smiled with a wicked grin. "Because trusting in others doesn't always mean you trust them to do what you want. You trust them to be who they are and what their nature dictates. They do not have to agree with your moral values if they will bring about what you see as good."
Xanther chuckled. "Okay, you are not as much of a goodie two-shoes as I thought you were. Perhaps I shall keep you around a bit longer to aid me."
Seraphis just laughed. She turned and walked out. She snapped her fingers and stood before a blue-eyed alchemist.
"Did you convince him?"
"I believe I did."