A Burning in the Bones (Waxways #3)

Chapter 37 Nevelyn Tin’vori

37 NEVELYN TIN’VORI

When they reached the front door of the Tin’Vori estate, Nevelyn released her magic. All that departing energy dropped her to a knee. She took three heaving breaths before hissing for Josey to knock at the door. I swear, if Ava left for some reason…

The door swung open. Ava eyed the pack of children.

“Right. I was thinking we needed more of them.”

“Get them inside,” Nevelyn gasped. “Now.”

She was pushing back to her feet when someone shouted at her. Nevelyn spun, prepared to defend against an attack, before realizing it was the viceroy’s voice. The same citywide spell they’d used before. His voice echoed up and down the street.

“Kathorians, this is Viceroy Gray. I have important news for you. The vote of no confidence has passed. Seventy-seven percent of you voted to remove the current governors. I have chosen to honor the will of the people and I have officially signed that measure into law. That means the following governors will no longer rule their designated districts….”

One by one, he listed off recognizable names from the great houses. Every single one of them had just been divested of power. Nevelyn also heard the breathlessness in his voice. His words rasping slightly. As if he’d been running? Had he escaped? All she really wanted to know was whether or not Dahvid was safe.

“… new leaders will be elected in the coming weeks. But I also come to you tonight with dire news. I do not know if I’ll even be able to get this entire message to you. The Kathorian government has been investigating the origins of the plague that swept through our city. We have recently discovered that this disease was no accident. The conspiracy we discovered to allow its spread around Kathor implicated all of the great houses.”

Nevelyn’s breath caught. She knew his words weren’t true, but that didn’t make the claim any less shocking. First, he’d stripped the great houses of power—and now he was publicly accusing them of treachery. Looking up and down their street, she saw windows open to the night. People were leaning out to listen to his message. It wouldn’t take long for this lie to sweep through the whole city. How could they even hope to counter it?

“It wasn’t enough to have a monopoly on our magical resources—they wanted a monopoly on who was magical. We first learned that the disease removes a person’s ability to cast spells. We have confirmed that this is a permanent condition….”

There was a great bang in the background of his speech. Followed by a low rumble. When the viceroy’s voice returned, he was speaking even faster. His words nearly blurring.

“Anyone with the plague has been cut off from their magic. We now know why. The great houses all chose candidates that would be immune to the disease they were allowing to spread. The plot was designed to force the rest of the city to be even more reliant on magic, and the houses—as always—would be best positioned to reap the benefits….”

More background noises. There were other voices that sounded less distinct than his. She thought she heard the words “now” or “go” in the muddled backdrop.

“When I met with the so-called immune at Beacon House, they attacked me. I escaped but I am on the run. They’re coming for me. As your viceroy, I am officially granting emergency…” There was wrestling. The sounds of a struggle. And then his voice knifed back in one final time. “Emergency powers to the Makers! They can help us! Our city… it’s no longer safe! The immune are coming… taking over. Oh, gods, someone send—”

His voice cut off sharply. The silence that followed felt like a living, breathing thing. Nevelyn couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. It was a damn master stroke. In a single speech, he’d connected all the remaining wizards to the great houses and swung blame for the plague to them. As if they’d all somehow planned on being immune to the blight. As if any of them had any choice in what was happening. They would all be targets now. Feared at best and hated at worst.

Ava still stood in the open doorway. The children were huddled in the hall beyond. Her sister was clearly confused about what had happened, about the message she’d just heard, and most of all about Dahvid’s absence. Nevelyn’s only relief was in knowing that Dahvid was likely safe. If the viceroy had been so desperate to get off one final message, it meant they’d cornered and captured him. But as she looked up their street at all the people still leaning out of their windows, whispering to one another, she couldn’t help wondering if the worst was yet to come.

Nevelyn stumbled inside.

“Shut the door.”

She was safe. They were safe. For now.