"Don't give in to your fears, Sylvia. Everything that seems so difficult now will one day become a reality. – The demoness heard the voice of the golden-haired boy, the Creator of Vakkerland. – "You are so preoccupied with your worries and difficulties that you have forgotten about me."

– I did forget… Hund, the poisoned Derek, the road… It's all tearing my mind apart, and the fear that I won't be able to get the antidote in time is slowly driving me insane," Sylvia said with only her lips, lying on the sand with her eyes closed. – Why did you let it happen? Why did you let me feel happiness and love and then take it away from me? What if he dies?

– Sylvia! Come on, my queen, open your eyes! – Evans' voice, full of concern, drowned out the soft childish babble of the boy-God.

– Your shouting won't help, you fool! Get back!

Sylvia felt something hot grasp her ice-cold palm, and a pleasant warmth spread through her body. This warmth seemed to envelop her insides and the fiery flower on her stomach, made her pale cheeks blush and filled her eyelids with power.

The queen opened her eyes abruptly, inhaled noisily and looked around, searching for the golden-haired boy with her gaze. God was nowhere to be found, but Evans and Astrid were sitting next to her. Their faces were full of excitement. Astrid clutched Sylvia's palm tightly in hers.

– What's wrong? – The demoness whispered, still feeling that pleasant, unfamiliar warmth in her body.

– You passed out," Evans explained briefly, wrapping the girl in her fur cloak. – Astrid, fetch a flask of water! Sylvia needs to wet her throat.

Astrid let go of the demoness' palm and jumped to her feet. The warmth that Sylvia felt in her body began to fade, and when she was brought a flask of clean spring water, the warmth disappeared completely, but the queen felt full of strength and energy.

– Don't do that again… Scared us to death! – Astrid said with a light nervous laugh and sat down on the sand. She put her palm to her eyes tiredly and took a deep breath: – I'm soaked from this sun too… It's so hot!

– You should drink some water, too… Drink as much as you like; luckily there are plenty of streams around," Evans glanced at her friend, but he was still sitting next to Sylvia and didn't seem to want to move.

– Thank you, I feel better already… Or rather, I feel fine," the demoness took a couple of sips of cold fresh water and handed the flask to the healer. Then she rose to her feet and grinned, shaking off the skirt of her long black dress: "How strange that I, born in the heart of fire, fainted from some miserable sun! Or perhaps in Emmerlend even the sun has some magical power and hates demons? No need, Evans, I'm not cold at all," she added hastily, as Evans tried again to put a warm cloak over her. – You're not cold either, are you, Astrid?

– It's not cold… It's more like I'm dying of heat, and I'd love to hide in the shade… But there's not a tree or a bush around, just bloody sand! – Astrid replied tiredly, and laying down on her back, muttered to herself: – I wish I could sleep for a couple of hours… At least in this damned heat!

– Alas, we can't afford that luxury. We have to get to the market and back to the house before sunset," Sylvia said in an apologetic tone.

– What? You're talking to me? – Astrid raised her eyebrows in surprise.

– To you," the queen smiled softly.

– But how… I was speaking very quietly," Astrid said incredulously.

Evans frowned and glanced at his friend, thinking that the coldness between the ladies had returned.

– But I heard you as I hear you now. – Sylvia tilted her head to the side. – And that's very unusual, because in Kaldwind-" Suddenly her face brightened. – Evans! – "Is it possible that my powers have come back to me? How could I have forgotten? We are in Emmerlend!

– It seems so! – Evans's face lighted up too. – But you'll have to try using your powers to find out for sure. I've heard demons have telekinesis?

Astrid looked at the demoness with some favor in her eyes and waited breathlessly for Sylvia to reach out her hand to the small stone. But the stone didn't budge, and all three of them hummed perplexedly.

– I think I jumped to conclusions too soon," the queen said quietly and lowered her hand.

– But you've got your demonic hearing back, and that's a good thing," Evans encouraged her. – I think your powers will come back to you gradually.

– What good would that do? – Astrid said sarcastically. – We'll go back to Kaldwind anyway, and Sylvia's powers will be gone again! And how nice it would be if they stayed! Then we could easily kill the monsters that guard the precious herbs! As it is… We'll have to sweat. – The girl opened the water flask and drank it greedily, but her strength never returned.

– You don't look well… So pale. – Evans walked over to her friend and caressed her in the somewhat disheveled braids she'd braided on the way to the gorge. – 'If you want, we'll still rest for a couple of hours…'

– There's more. I don't want to delay our company," Astrid replied firmly, waving her hand away from Evans' palm. – I'll be as bright as pure silver…" She met Sylvia's surprised gaze and grinned, "That's what people like me call silver coin. We have our own lingo, crude and incomprehensible to the ear of a well-bred princess.

– I hope you will teach it to me, so that I can respond to my husband, when he once again pisses me off, – smiled the demoness, not a little offended. – But let's share a meal: I'm so hungry that my stomach is aching like a cat whose tail has been stepped on.

Astrid and Evans laughed good-naturedly, and in a few minutes the travelers were happily munching on softly crusty bread with delicious brown cheese, which Sylvia and Evans had bought from an Emmerlend farmer they had met on their way.

Astrid, still as tired and lethargic as ever, spent the rest of the ride on her horse to the nearest town, Nittedal, where Evans said they could get anything they wanted, even very ancient and rare artifacts. While the girl was dozing helplessly on the back of her faithful Gro, Sylvia and Evans, talking quietly so as not to wake Astrid, were leading their horses at a brisk pace. The sun had disappeared behind white, dense clouds, and the heat had subsided, giving way to a pleasant coolness.

– Perhaps it is indelicate to ask you this, but… Sylvia, how much gold do you have? – Evans asked quietly, his eyebrows furrowed.

– I haven't counted, but I think I have more than enough gold…" The queen looked at her companion with interest. – Do you want to buy something? Something very expensive and rare?

– Exactly," the healer grinned. – A weapon. You have a dagger with Andrada magic that can't kill, I have claws that can hardly fight monsters with… We need something else. A weapon that could kill even the most hideous of monsters quite easily.

Evans knew the purpose of his queen's journey: she told him about her witch grandmother, the poison Hund had used to poison King Derek, and the herbs needed to make the antidote. She did not forget to mention the unknown "Guardians" they were sure to meet on their way. It was the first time the healer himself had heard of these creatures, but as soon as Sylvia's confession reached his ears, he immediately thought of a plan, and that was why he had stolen a whole precious week of the Queen's time and brought it to Emmerlend: they needed to acquire a weapon worse and more formidable than steel claws and a lady's dagger, which could not be used to take a life, even at the risk of their own.

– I see you're quite good at this sort of thing. But what exactly do you want to find? – The demoness asked, somewhat flattered by Evans's knowledge.