Within days of sending the letter to her older brother he had sent her a small box and letter.
' Dear Sitara,
I do hope this was what you inquired about. It was no trouble to get the item as it was laying about. The area has long been abandoned however I did find another stone you may find interesting. I miss and love you dearly
Return home soon
Love Nebri'
Sitara quickly opened the box and found two stones inside. The larger of the two looked like the stone from the book the smaller stone resembled a large pebble but it had a warmth to is. She put both in her small pouch she hung from her belt and went to find Inara and Davian.
"Inara?" Sitara stopped as she heard Davian call for Inara. She waited.
"It's okay Davian. I don't get them all the time it's not a big deal," Sitara heard Inara sniffle.
"But you're bleeding does Sitara know about this?" Davian asked his voice tense.
"She worries if I even blink wrong Davian. A little bloody nose would have her over the top you know that," Inara sniffled a few more times. Sitaras heart pounded in her ears. She wanted to rush in and make sure that Inara was fine. But something held her back.
"Besides it's already stopped. I probably just bumped it wrong in practice," the smile clear in her voice.
"I still think you should tell her. Maybe she knows how to make them stop quicker," Davian's voice got closer to Sitara who backed a few feet from the archway. She quickly ducked into a small lip in the wall under the pole they used for torches in the night.
"Davian if you tell her she will be up all night watching me breathe. She hardly gets sleep as it is I'll tell her if it happens again okay?" Sitara held her breath as they walked down the hall in the opposite direction.
She quickly walked down the hall back to her chambers she shared with Inara and put the letter from her brother in her pouch. She turned to look out the window and chewed on her thumb nail. She wouldn't let Inara know about the stone yet not until she saw the state of inaras life force for herself.
She went to the book she had taken from the library earlier. While the liquid that was put in inaras bath had magical properties it was strictly used in the unseelie coronations. Sitara went through the book hoping she was wrong.
Úlëa is a sap extracted twice a year from the ancient tree that resides in the unseelie capital. The sap gives the monarchs their red tipped ears and increases their other abilities.
Sitara kept reading looking for what happens if a Seelie fae is exposed to the Úlëa. Just as she lost hope of finding the effects on the Seelie fae she saw a small part at the bottom of the page almost faded away.
Seelie fae may suffer from headaches or bleeding of the nose. In extreme cases death occurs if exposure occurs for long periods of time.
Sitara pressed her fingertips to her temples. Inara had been getting baths with the sap for years at this point and how was the liquid even getting to the Seelie capital. Her brother was the only one in charge of extracting the sap from the tree and he would never send any to the capital without telling her.
Shortly Sitara entered the room to turn in for the night.
"We missed you in training," Inara said to Sitara who was distracted in her own mind.
"I'm sorry Naree I got distracted in my reading," Sitara smiled as she spoke to Inara. Inara sighed and rolled her eyes. She loved Sitara but wished she'd stop worrying long enough so they all could spend time together that didn't involve reading and training.
"Come on my father wants us up early he has a surprise for us in the morning," Inara said climbing into the bed. Sitara nodded her head. She went and changed into her bed clothes for the night. She quietly stepped back into the room hoping Inara was already asleep. That was the good thing about the young princess she fell asleep rather quickly and was a heavy sleeper. Sitara often had to shove her off her as she liked to lay on her. She took the stone her brother sent her and placed it on inaras chest just above the heart.
The book stated that the stone reacts to the life force of a fae. The brighter it shines the stronger the life force and the lighter the shine the weaker it is.
Sitara held her breath as she watched it start to glow but the glow never got as bright as it said in the book. Even with half a life force since she lost a twin it seemed to light. Sitara grabbed the stone off inaras chest and squeezed it to her chest the light from holding it so close to her heart nearly blinded her. She realized then what she needed to do.
"There's no turning back now," she said to herself. She quickly went to the closest and grabbed a few pairs of clothes. For weeks she had been studying the map of thovur she didn't have anything to sacrifice to the selkies of Undulav sound so her only option was to brave the wraith infested mako sica. If she planned it right she could hit the small oasis that scattered the dessert region and make it to the aenor in ein-suph.
She took one last look at Inara before leaving the room. Hopefully she would be back by months end with the Aenor. She stopped at the pantry for the baths and peeked in to see if the Úlëa was kept there. Much to her surprise it was. Not wanting Inara to be subjected to the slow poison anymore Sitara took the bottles with her.
Just down the hall within the shadows Deimos followed her. He knew not to trust the czar with something as delicate as this so he had been following her ensuring she remained in the dark but once he saw her confront the maid he knew it was only a matter of time before she did something. However her actions surprised Deimos the girl kept an even composure never speaking to anyone of her concerns. He watched her look around and flee down the hall. He waved his hand and his shadow separated from him.
"Follow her. If she heads to Ein-Suph bring her back," Deimos said to the creature. In response it made a brutal noise as if it tried to speak.
"Yes alive. I need her alive," Deimos responded looking back toward where she went. The shadow at an unbelievable speed took off after Sitara. He stood there for a while longer before he went and looked in the bathing closet. He sighed softly.
"Now what am i to do? She took it all," he let out another sigh before closing the door and retreating back down the hall. He would wait for his shade to return with the girl.