Library
In the center of the room stood a wide table strewn with parchment, each sheet inscribed with intricate runes and glyphs. Math recognized some symbols from Kai’s work, but these were far more complex—interwoven patterns that pulsed with latent energy. Kai leaned in, studying the sigils.
“Sanis, what is this?” Kai’s voice was hushed, her mouth slightly agape.
The King of Lomar lowered himself into a chair. “A great working. The greatest I’ve ever conceived. So great, I haven’t dared to attempt it.”
Kai blinked. Her surprise bit into Math, sharp and uncertain. Not just at the scale of the magic, but at Sanistral’s admission. “Should I be flattered?” she asked, the anxiety under her words unmistakable.
“Yes, I rather think you should.” Sanistral leaned toward Math, lowering his voice like he was sharing a secret. “She is truly brilliant, you know.”
“I do know,” Math agreed.
“Stop, I beg of you!” Kai’s cheeks colored as she waved them off. She took a breath and steadied herself. “Please. You were explaining your working.”
“Was I?” Though centuries older than Kai, Sanistral looked boyish for a moment, his grin full of wry mischief. “Very well, since we’re here. Unless you’d prefer to browse my collection of historic treaties?”
“Sanis.”
He chuckled. “Yes, yes, I know. I can’t help myself. So—to business. The foundation of what I propose lies in a discovery: that the magical energies that power the solstices can, in fact, be anchored to physical entities.”
Kai’s surprise curdled into horror.
Math let out a short laugh—then stopped when the king shot him an irritated look. “Sorry,” he said. “But are you telling us you’ve figured out how to make a god?”
Sanistral frowned, clearly aggrieved. “They wouldn’t be gods.”
“How do you figure?”
“Gods arise from belief—rituals, worship, myth. This would be different. A conduit to the solstice energies, yes—but not divine. Just a wizard, taping directly into the source of their magic.”
The king straightened. “Don’t you see? Right now, we live at the mercy of celestial tides we cannot control—a cycle of birth, chaos, order, and death. But with gatekeepers—people able to open and close the flow—we could regulate that power. We could keep the world in balance.”
Kai folded one hand behind her back, studying Sanistral. “Even if such a thing were possible—and I’m far from convinced—it would require an impossible amount of energy—”
“Monumental,” Sanistral agreed. “The undertaking of a lifetime. Many lifetimes.”
Kai was worried—Math could feel it, sharp and rising, twisting into fear. And if she was afraid, he had every reason to be. For all her affection for Sanistral, she clearly didn’t like what he’d just said.
Math didn’t fully grasp the energies involved, but he could imagine their scale. Sanistral would’ve needed a cadre of gravers—or else decades to channel that power alone.
Maybe not decades.
Maybe centuries.
Just how old was King Sanistral? Lomar was older than Rokasmaa, and as far as Math knew, it had never been ruled by anyone who wasn’t named “Sanistral.”
So … there was no Sanistral the Twenty-Seventh, was there? Or Sanistral the Fifteenth or Sanistral the Third. It had always been the same man.
“What do you need us for, again?” Math asked.
“I need Kaiataris to check my equations, of course. I’d hate to have made a mistake.” Sanistral gave Math a thoughtful look. “I hope you won’t be terribly offended when I say I doubt I’ll need you at all.”
“Not terribly offended, no.”
“But I shall need one of the Parnathi Queens.”
Both Kai and Math exchanged a glance.
“Why?” Kai asked, turning back to her mentor.
“Because you can’t tie both sources to one person, obviously. I suspect this only works if you use individuals with deep—what’s the term your order uses for elemental affinities?”
“Resonance,” Math murmured.
“Yes. Resonance. You need people who strongly ‘resonate’ with each pole, respectively. The return of the Parnathi Queens isn’t just timely—it’s the key that makes this possible.” He waved a hand, too casually. “Convincing them is another matter, but I’m confident we’ll manage.”
Math shuddered—violently—then realized the disgust and horror weren’t his.
Kaiataris’s face was a mask, offering no hint of what she felt underneath.
“You would offer such power to the Parnathi Queens.” Her voice was soft.
Sanistral looked briefly confused, then deeply chagrined. “Dearest … I should have remembered how you feel about them.”
“Oh yes. I rather think you should have.”
He sighed. “Forgive an old fool. I know this is unpleasant. But consider the alternative.”
Math wanted to take her hand—but didn’t dare.
“Very well,” Kai said carefully. “You would anoint one of the Parnathi Queens—a race that sees humanity as little more than seeds for their reproduction. I don’t approve, but perhaps a truce is possible.
Perhaps one of the Queens says yes. Who, then, do you propose as the candidate for Order?
” Her tone carried just enough edge to suggest she already knew his answer.
King Sanistral smiled. “There’s only one person I’d trust with such power. You, my dear.”
Kai froze, then swallowed. “Me.”
“I don’t think—” Math started before he even knew what he meant to say.
“She wouldn’t be harmed,” Sanistral assured him. “Kaiataris is precious to me—I won’t see her hurt. But surely it’s obvious: Order should be tied to a graven wizard. And between the two of us, I’m not the better choice.”
Math couldn’t argue. In fact, this trip was going better than he’d dared imagine. Sanistral had been pleasant, helpful, and unusually willing to take them seriously. He even had a plan—not just for the Queens, but for the deeper problems with magic itself. It was all …
It was too good to be true.
“You’ve given me a great deal to consider, my old friend.” Kai’s expression suggested she’d just tasted something sour—or rotten.
“I’m sure I have,” Sanistral said kindly. “But it’s not a decision you must make tonight. Rest. In the morning, we’ll meet with the Rokasmaa ambassador and see whether this must be done the hard way or the easy.”
Kai shot Math a worried glance but nodded. “Yes. A proper bed sounds wonderful.”
“Excellent.” Sanistral stood. “I’ll have someone show you to your rooms.”