The Dragon Prince The City of Smoke and Night

Chapter Nine Aditi and Aaravos

"This is what Ephai is building," Naima said as she laid out the blueprint on the table in the study at Katolis Castle so Callum and his friends could see it the next morning. "Wow, that is one big weapon," Callum said. "If that thing is fully operated, it could be the end of Xadia," Rayla agreed in worry. "And the Human Kingdoms too." Ezran nodded. "But while Karim and I were in Aaravos's prison, I found this in his bookshelf." Naima took out the diary. "It's Queen Aditi's diary. Karim told me that Khessa wanted him and Janai to find it so they can learn about her. And I've been thinking about the day Lux Aurea fell and Aaravos's involvement in Aditi's disappearance. Everybody said Aditi disappeared but none of them can find any trace where she went missing. But what if there's a reason they can't find a clue? Maybe she didn't disappear at all. Aaravos must have stolen Aditi's diary and hid it in his prison to keep anyone from discovering what really happened!" Rayla laughed with amazement. "Naima, the way your brain works is so cool." She shrugged modestly. "It's a gift." "I think reading the diary can give us some information about the connection between Aaravos and his involvement in Aditi's disappearance." Callum turned to his friends. "Who's ready to jump into the past?" "You do know who we're talking about here?" Rayla said. "The disappearance of Queen Aditi is the most ancient mystery in the history of Xadia. It has been unsolved for as long as any elf can remember. If we make this decision, there's no turning back. But the fate of Xadia and the Human Kingdoms are at stake, I say we'd give it a try." "Count us in too," Soren chimed in. Then Naima opened the diary. The pages inside were yellowish white and a musty scent filled the study as if Naima were the first person to open it for what it had been ages. Despite the aged parchment, the queen's black ink handwriting remained clear as day and readable. Naima flipped through the pages until she stopped at a page. She cleared her throat and began to read. "Dear diary, it's been a week since I implored Mother to let Aaravos stay in Lux Aurea in order to master the Sun as a primal source. He keeps distracting me from studying my diplomatic lessons to eventually become the next queen of Lux Aurea. I'm starting to feel like he's been breathing down my neck ever since he arrived. Why can't he just leave me alone when I am already betrothed to another Sunfire Elf?" Naima stopped reading for a moment to see her friends' bewildered faces. "You don't think Aaravos and Aditi used to be a thing before his imprisonment, do you?" Callum asked. "Yeah, it sounds too crazy to be true." Rayla shook her head in disbelief. "Keep reading, Naima." She nodded and said, "I was studying about Sol Regem in the library where Aaravos arrived to get under my skin for the fifth time this week. He told me he was surprised that I was stressed over reading about Sol Regem and he said I should know all about him since I worship him so much. I tried to tell him to go away but he said I needed to relax for a bit. And when I asked him how I would do that with him bothering me, he came to me and gave me the most relaxing shoulder massage I ever had. Then he massaged my neck and thighs. I have to give him credit. He may have tried to pester me during my study time but he turned out to be quite the masseur. But when he asked me for a kiss, that's when I drew the line but he kissed me anyway. And to my surprise, I found myself kissing him back." She and Team Zym couldn't believe what they were hearing. "I told Aaravos we would never speak of that incident again and no matter what tricks and charms he pulled, I would never indulge with him again. Or so I thought." Naima read a few pages that explained how Aditi's friendship with Aaravos bloomed into romance over the years and she came to a page that described an argument Aditi had with Aaravos about his peace proposal with humanity and teaching them primal magic and challenging the dragons' rule in Xadia. "If I hadn't convinced my mother to let Aaravos stay in Lux Aurea, none of this would have happened," Naima said. "It was becoming clear to me that he was not the same Startouch Elf I fell in love with anymore and his new goals would pose a threat to Xadia and my own people as I know it. Someone once told me the sun is another star and the stars never lie to him." She looked up at her friends. "Before I made myself and Karim escape from Aaravos's prison, Ephai told Karim that the truth of his grandmother's death is more complicated than he thinks," she said. "And he absorbed some of Karim's anger in a bottle for the cannon. Ephai needs the emotions of three elven mages of the Sun and Stars and one emotion of one human mage of the Ocean to activate the Heart of Charringmoure." "What are those emotions, Naima?" Callum asked her. "Negative emotions powerful enough to activate the cannon. Anger, envy, deceit, and doubt. I think Ephai just talked about Khessa and Aditi's deaths in front of him to make him mad on purpose so he can obtain his anger for the cannon!" Suddenly two dots glowed on the blueprint. One dot was yellow and the other dot was purple. "Ephai has already obtained Karim's anger and Aaravos's deceit," Naima said. "If he fills the cannon with my doubt and his emotions, he'll use his magic to activate the Heart of Charringmoure. We need to tell Janai and Karim now." She grabbed the diary and blueprint off the table and they went to the Sunfire Elves' camp. Janai and Karim were happy to see their friends had returned but they noticed their serious expressions and knew they had found out something about Ephai's plan. "We have a lot to tell you," Naima said. While Janai was calm over Naima's explanation, Karim was completely overwhelmed by all this information. "Ephai knows I would be the perfect source of negative emotions for the Heart of Charringmoure," he said, grabbing his head in frustration and regret. "I let my own emotions get the best of me and I played right into his hands. But I just don't understand why Aaravos is interested in me to assist him in his plans? What does he see in me that none of my people can't?" "The only reason why Ephai wants to recruit you and teach you everything he knows, Karim, is because Aaravos wants you to become his successor in following in his footsteps." Naima stopped and sighed. "And that's not all. We found out what happened to Queen Aditi. She didn't disappear after all. Aaravos killed her with a spell to disintegrate her body into ash. That's why nobody was able to find her." "But why would he do such a thing?" Janai asked. "There's no easy way to say this." Callum gulped. "It's because Aaravos used to be in a relationship with Aditi before his imprisonment and he's kind of your estranged grandfather." He grimaced at the startling words he'd spoken out of his mouth. Janai's tent grew deathly quiet as she and her brother were too numb with shock to speak. The silence broke when Karim collapsed on the ground from hearing what Callum had told him, as if the words alone stole his magic right out of him.