Ella gently pushed open the door to Rennala’s library.

Her boots gently padded on the silk rug. The library had not been maintained, books scattered across the ground, stacked upwards in sloppy piles. Scattered candles were the only dim light in the room. The ceiling was so high that the top was obscured in shadows.

And at the center, the Queen of Caria, and mother of demigod lay, still clutching that damned egg.

“Lady Rennala?” Ella whispered.

Rennala opened her eyes.

Ella wondered how sane the woman was. Rennala did not seem to realize all her sweetings were gone, or did she? Ella had no idea if the sorceress recognized that Ella was the one who had beaten her before, or if she had forgotten.

“Ahhh… Thou….” Rennala murmured, looking down at her, egg still cradled. “Is it thy wish to be born anew? To become a sweeting, reborn of my beloved egg?”

”Aye, My Lady,” Ella said. “I require more strength from my runes.”

Rennala’s eyes refocus as she stared down at Ella, a new sort of light in them, though what kind of understanding she had reached Ella could not tell. She doubted it was good.

Rennala picked Ella up and lifted her into the air, and as her feet dangled off of the ground, she was now keenly aware of just how tall the Queen of Caria was compared to her.