The rest of the tour went fairly quickly, though Ruena never did get a chance to ask Justus what he meant by her father’s death being his fault. Bastian seemed to find quite a lot of things different from the past. Some of them were improvements, but most of them were not. Ruena could only guess that this must have something to do with the true purpose of Alodan.

  The problem came after the tour was over. Bastion asked Ruena to call Soral in for that meeting they promised and wasted no time in broaching the subject that was on his mind.

  "I just found out the two of you are in a relationship," he began, "Care to explain why it remains so ambiguous?"

  "Considering both our positions, it has to be," Ruena pointed out.

  "Who told you that nonsense?" Bastion demanded, "The more unstable your position, the more certain everything else needs to be. You should proceed with a formal engagement as soon as possible."

  "I knew that old man was talking nonsense," Soral growled.

  That comment made Ruena realize the only one who had actually told them it would be a problem was Densooth. Not only that, when he had told them, he had been trying to use it as leverage to convince Soral to do his bidding. Why had she never questioned his words even once? She had been betrayed by Densooth before. There was no reason to believe he was trustworthy.

  "We fell into his trap and ended up doing everything he wanted," Ruena realized.

  Bastion looked between them. "I will ask for an explanation about who trapped you later," he decided, "For now, we have more important things to discuss. How familiar are you with the founding of Althaedor?"

  "You mean the founding legend?" Ruena asked, "Dragons brought humans here from the forbidden planet after a human saved the first king of Thador's life. I only know the basics, not the finer details. Does this have to do with the founding of Alodan as well?"

  “Alodan has always been a part of Altea,” Bastion confirmed, “I am glad to see that the curse has become all but nonexistent in the current world, but instead Alodan has grown lax, and I do not feel the power of the Queen even though we are in Altea. How have things ended up like this?”

  “The Black Wolf,” Soral answered before Ruena could, “The old man, or Densooth. However you call him, he is the reason why things have come to be the way they are. He controls everything from the shadows as the Black Wolf, and directly influences Altea as Densooth, the Queen’s advisor. He is also immortal, but if you don’t know him that must mean he came after your time. Basically, he is obsessed with prophecies and uses them to control Althaedor.”

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  “An immortal obsessed with prophecies?” Bastion repeated, “Has he made a contract with the Guardian of Wisdom?”

  “I don’t know about a contract, but Zarius told me that Densooth paid the price for what he sought,” Soral replied.

  “If that is the case, the current state of things makes sense,” Bastion muttered.

  Ruena was growing more confused in a conversation where everyone knew what they were talking about but her. “What exactly is the true purpose of Alodan?” she demanded.

  “Let’s start with what you already know,” Bastion replied, “Alodan is a warrior house known for raising weaponsmasters. You already came to me claiming you wish to become one yourself. You could say that Alodan is Altea’s last line of defense in the worst case scenario. Should the line of Queens come to an end, Alodan has the right to defend the throne, and the ability to select the next heir.”

  “I don’t have any abilities like that,” Ruena rejected, feeling the intense pressure of responsibility that hung on his words.

  “Exactly,” Bastion agreed, “That is the problem. Alodan has lost the ability that makes it Alodan. You are neither a weaponsmaster or one with discernment. However, you have the potential to become the weaponsmaster, and your lover here has the ability needed to find the qualities of a Queen. My one concern is that your abilities seem too perfectly matched, as if you were carefully selected.”

  Ruena couldn’t help but share a look with Soral. They had been carefully selected. It was Densooth who had sent her to find Soral, and Densooth who had given her the prophecy proclaiming them a fated pair. It was a bit uncomfortable to think about, but Ruena had never felt the need to push Soral away just for the sake of fighting fate.

  “Densooth showed me the prophecies where I don’t meet Ruena,” Soral confessed, “In those prophecies, I become a very bad person. I don’t care if our meeting was part of his plans since I also prefer the future he chose.”

  “It seems I need to meet this Densooth,” Bastion noted, “In the meantime, you two should begin preparations for your official engagement.”

  “Why not just announce it?” Soral asked, “We can also hold the engagement ceremony later. I could even send out invitations in an instant, if you would like.”

  “Invivtations are fine, but we need to plan the ceremony before we can make them,” Ruena reminded, “Otherwise they will be lacking important information such as date and time.”

  Soral frowned slightly. “Well, I don’t think I could arrange everything in just a day. Maybe if I have a week, just to make sure everything is perfect. Mr. Mischief and Mr. Dehd Lee can help out, too. King Soral has to be able to make it as well. I can’t have anyone mistaking me as single.”

  “The names are his way of differentiating his other timelines,” Ruena clarified, noticing the baffled expression on Bastion’s face, “He has been living each day multiple times for years.”

  Bastion winced. “That sounds incredibly exhausting. I will wait to begin your training until after the engagement is finalized. You have a lot to prepare.”

  “Thank you,” Ruena told him, “If you had refused to come here, I would probably still be stuck in place. I finally feel like things are moving forward again.”

  “Just don’t push yourself too far,” Bastion warned. He left them to discuss their coming engagement in private. Well, it was less of a discussion and more of Soral babbling on about his ideas and reacting directly to Ruena’s thoughts about them.