Chapter 27
O ver the next couple of weeks, I met with Zoya to learn control of my powers.
From time to time, Spencer and Emberly joined us for practice, which seemed to be the only way I could get time with Spencer.
The extra guard duty made it impossible to find excuses to have dinner together without planning events that included Egan, but his new ability to speak into my mind helped to make the time apart not so hard.
I could find great control with my powers, and my neutral face became much harder to break as well. Spencer loved to test this by telling me some things he hopes to do to me one day while we are around others.
Fifteen days after the first event of the tournament, Father sent word that he wants to hold a meeting.
He scheduled it for Juniper’s office again, since they hadn’t fixed the ‘ears’ in his office.
We hadn’t met since the day of that event, so I was both eager to find out what he wanted, and nervous about it.
I knew it was ridiculous to hope, but I wanted it to be that he had enough to lock Egan in a dungeon so we could end this tournament.
I also hoped that this meeting would let us get away with a private dinner with Spencer again. My memories keep going back to that evening before the sparring event, and how much I wished we could have continued.
Amyra, Ivy, and I rushed to get to the meeting and ended up being the first to arrive.
Juniper had invited Zoya and Emberly to be with us as well, and they arrived shortly after we did.
While waiting for the others to come, Zoya and Emberly experimented with Amyra and Ivy to see if they might have magic as well.
They had Amyra with a glass of water in front of her, trying to get a drop to lift.
Ivy, with her gold eyes showing powers like Juniper, was trying to convince a piece of paper to move without touching or blowing at it.
Mostly, the only thing they could do was giggle at the attempts.
After one giggle fest, Amyra and Ivy started taking deep breaths to calm down. I tried to help Amyra a bit. I leaned over and whispered into her ear. “You laugh now, but imagine what you’ll be doing when I have my head between your legs, and my hands holding your hips down?”
Amyra blushed furiously. She tried to push me away. Zoya scolded her. “You need it if you want to be serious about figuring this out. Plus, it’s more fun to watch. Now look at that glass and think about that rain drop.”
I bit my lip as I leaned towards her ear again. “How many times do you think I can get you to scream my name? Last time was seven… do you think we could go for eight times tonight?”
Amyra squirmed, but her concentration stayed on the water.
“I really hate you right now.” She said with a grin.
“Mmm, but that’s never what you say when my fingers are deep inside and my tongue is where it belongs, is it?”
Ivy squealed. “You’re doing it Amyra!”
I pulled away from her ear and looked at the glass. There were several drops of water floating above the rim, suspended in the air. I covertly placed my hand on her lap and rubbed her thigh over her dress. “That’s my girl.”
A knock on the door interrupted the moment. I pulled my hand off Amyra’s leg, and she allowed the water to drop. Juniper checked the door and opened it to welcome Spencer, Ethan, and Father.
I still had my smirk and Amyra was blushing wildly, as if anyone but her knew what I said. Spencer’s voice entered my mind. ‘ I can imagine what you said to her. But why? ’
It was my turn to blush. I still was getting used to this mind talking. I replied, ‘ helping her find her water magic. She lifted a few drops just before you arrived. ’
‘Good girl. Both of you. I can’t wait to hear more about what you said. Or see what you promised.’
I looked at Spencer as he took his seat across the table from me. Father and Ethan had chosen the last two seats by me. He smirked, and I just knew that he enjoyed he could see how he tortured me.
Juniper cleared her throat, giving each of us a raised eyebrow.
“Before we start on the big news, a small win to share. Amyra has found her magic. She can use water, and if she trains well, she will also be able to use healing magic. I am glad that we brought enough priestesses down the mountain for this winter.”
As people congratulated her, I watched as she suddenly blushed before looking towards me with a tinge of guilt on her face. I looked at Spencer, and he has that knowing smirk, telling me he spoke in her mind too.
Father cleared his throat after a moment, and all three of us turned as red as raspberries with our embarrassment.
He didn’t seem to notice, thankfully. “We have some more information about Egan. We think his father, King of Scoria Bay, is involved with his plans, and is the one who ultimately planned the plot against our princess here. Imprisoning Egan without sufficient evidence risks alienating Scoria Bay’s allies.
Since one of those countries is Crystalford, Prince Frederick’s home, we need to tread carefully to not create a second problem. ”
Crystalford imported a lot of our meats and cold weather supplies, and losing their support could deeply impact Juniper’s province. I nodded in agreement. We still needed to justify this to the Council as well, which meant being able to outshout Lord Denenbaum in an argument.
“What more do we need?” Ethan asked.
“We need to tie him directly to a high-ranking Belus priest, as they are the ones that are more vocal about the desired assassination. Or we need to prove what’s in the letters that we think are going to his father.
Or we need to prove he’s wielding magic at all.
He’s smart to use powers that aren’t visible in public. ”
“Is there anything any of us can do to help gather that information?” Spencer asked. His dedication to stopping the plot overwhelmed me, bringing tears to my eyes.
Father sat and thought for a moment. “Emberly, Spencer, you can speak in minds, but are you able to read minds you don’t speak into?”
Spencer shook his head no. “I haven’t figured that part out yet.”
Emberly didn’t speak, but how she looked at Father and he looked back, I could tell they’re having a mental conversation. As the rest of us sat awkwardly waiting, I wondered if this was how it feels for others when Spencer and I did this.
Father cleared his throat. “OK, thoughts aren’t an arrestable offense, but this can be helpful.
Now, it’s our belief that Egan and the Priests of Bel know that magic is alive and well in this country, and that the Oracles of the Gelid are assisting our people with mastering its use.
So, the test will incorporate that knowledge.
It will be intense, and Spencer, all three of you, will take part together.
It is unwinnable. We hope that Egan will lose control as he realizes he is losing, and that he will either reveal magic, or that he will say the quiet parts out loud. ”
“So, you don’t think we can cancel this?” I hated how my hopes felt dashed.
Father shook his head. “Unfortunately, no, we need to trip him into sharing more than he has so far.”
“Do we still plan for me to be present?” I really dreaded being in the same room with a man who was working to kill me, even if Spencer would be there as well.
Father nodded. “Since they announced that aspect, it must happen. However, we are taking many precautions to provide safety to all in the room. Emberly, I need to meet with you to navigate how we could use the priestesses to enhance that security.”
I nodded, unhappy to share a room with Egan, but knowing there wasn’t much of a choice.
“OK, so the show must go on. Is it still delayed because of Egan’s ankle break?” Ethan asked.
“Not currently. Our healer evaluated him personally, and she believes that whatever magic he has is helping to mend it quickly. It’s not as fast as what our healers can do, but he is healing faster than he should.”
“Do we know where this magic is coming from?”
“Our Priestesses back home are still trying to find any historical documents about that, but we don’t know.
All our texts showed that magic was traditionally granted to create a level playing field.
There is one ancient text that hints that individual gods could grant powers to mortals at will, but we have no signs that any gods are awake, so that doesn’t seem to be the answer. ”
“What are signs that gods are awake? Could they be happening in Scoria Bay, but not here?” Amyra asked.
“There are many signs, but the biggest one is that when a slumbering God wakes, the earth shifts and creates a mountain to welcome them home. There haven’t been any newly formed mountains.”
“Could this God have been awake the whole time? Maybe that’s why Scoria Bay is so secretive about what they do?” The question came out before I even understood what I was saying.
‘ Astute guess, Princess. ’ The voice was unfamiliar, not Emberly’s or Spencer’s. It echoed in a weird, unsettling way that others hadn’t.
My eyes widened. I motioned for a pen and paper. As soon as Juniper handed them to me, I wrote, A man just spoke to me in my mind: Astute guess, Princess .
All eyes shot to Spencer. He held his hands up and shook his head. I wrote again, I’ve never heard this voice .
Juniper rushed to her desk and pulled out a fresh bundle of twigs, lighting them to search the room for ears.
‘That’s right, Princess. We haven’t had the pleasure of meeting yet.’ The voice shared again. ‘Though you have certainly shared many other pleasures with me. You’re quite the naughty little girl.’ A grotesque laughter fills my mind.
And again, I wrote. ‘And he’s able to read what I’m writing.’
I laid the pen down. I didn’t know who or what this was. Emberly snatched the paper and showed it to Juniper. They turned to me, and the fear between the three of us was so heavy.