The Blessed Curse (The Elder Blood Chronicles, #4)(124)
“In Anthe’s visions, Zyi returned to Delvay and woke the heroes. Anthe is very rarely wrong, and even though I am confused as to how your dead sister will arrive I can see there is a chance of it by the expression on your face,” Madren explained.
Memories surfaced in Neph’s mind of his last days with Zyi and her tear filled words the night she left home. Maybe one day you will lead here, and I can come home again. The words had seemed unbelievable at the time, but now they echoed clearly with truth. He was the High Lord of Delvay now and Zyi was finally coming home. His throat tightened at the thought. “I don’t even care if she can awaken the heroes. It’s enough to have her home finally.” Neph spoke softly and wiped his face before the first of the tears could form. Looking up, he smiled at Madren and bowed his head. “Thank you, Madren. I was on the brink and if not for you I don’t think I could have pulled back.”
Madren nodded once and gazed around the room. “That’s what friends are for, Neph. I know you have never considered me a friend, but I hope that changes in the future. I have enough enemies in life and there are too many people that simply don’t care. What I need is a true ally and Delvay has always been just that.”
“And always will be,” Neph promised quietly. He looked slowly around the room once more and calculated everything that needed to be repaired. There was so much, but with Madren’s help he could probably have it done within a week. Nodding once, he summoned his traveling bag and dumped it on the floor in front of him. The storage gems clattered noisily to the cobbles and Neph stooped to pick one up. He paused before opening it and grinned at Madren. “I have to warn you. They still don’t think much of me as a leader and they most likely won’t be in a very good mood.”
“I’ve dealt with you when you were pissed, Neph. I doubt there is anything they can say or do that will shock me,” Madren replied with a smirk.
“Well here we go, then,” Neph murmured as he cracked the first gem.
“All hail High Lord Nephondelvayon,” Madren said softly and bowed in Neph’s direction.
“Words I never thought I would hear,” Neph muttered quietly as he cracked gem after gem. For the first time since Jala left, he felt a glimmer of hope building in his chest. The first step was securing Delvay. He wasn’t sure what would come after that, but perhaps Zoelyn would offer suggestions. She had always been wiser than he. He had just never truly listened to her before. It wasn’t until after she was gone that everything she had said made sense, and now he finally had a chance to prove that he understood her. The Delvay he rebuilt would be a place just like she had dreamed of, where you could speak the truth without fear and no one was forced into a life he didn’t believe in.