Illiya Gravewood's Arc

Chapter 3 of 6

Illiya stepped back into the corridor with the staff in her hand. The portrait still watched her through the open doorway. She meant to walk away and think, but a student passing by slowed and looked up at the frame. Then the student looked at Illiya. The name came out of their mouth, soft and certain, and their eyes did not move from her face. The student was an elf, blond and bright-eyed, one eye blue and one green. He did not flinch or apologize. He tipped his head toward the portrait, then toward her, as if matching two halves of a sum. "They told us you would come," he said, and walked on. Illiya stood alone in the corridor. The name was no longer a secret she carried. Someone had been told to expect her by it. She followed him before she chose to. He carried a ring of wildflowers under one arm, bright petals spilling between his fingers. A thick book glowed softly against his hip, its cover marked with a bright sun. He did not turn when she fell into step. "Who told you?" she asked. He lifted the flower ring a little, as if it answered for him. "The same person who left your desk waiting," he said. He set the crown on a low bench outside a classroom and went inside without looking back. Illiya picked it up. The petals were warm. She knew now there was a third person in this story, and that person was still here. She held the crown in both hands and felt the heat steady against her palms. The portrait was a mark. The desk was a mark. This boy was a mark too. She turned back toward the records room with the warm flowers in her grip. Whoever had set these pieces out for her had also told others to watch for her face. She would find them before they found her again.