Chapter 28
I was shooting daggers at Rhaevan.
How dare that two-faced, manipulative crackhead reveal my magic? I had specifically told him it was something I intended to keep secret.
So that was why he had been disappearing all this time.
He hadn't been avoiding me. He had been plotting. Plotting to drag me back to the capital.
Jerk.
I was so furious that I could practically feel the heat radiating off me.
Rhaevan, meanwhile, looked genuinely confused by the murderous glare I was directing at him.
Even Lysenne and Lucien appeared mildly uncomfortable, which was fair because I was fairly certain my face currently belonged in a cautionary tale.
After a long moment, Theo cleared his throat.
"Cassiane," he said carefully, "are you alright?"
That was when I looked at him and let out a deep, dramatic sigh. It was long, entirely intentional, and fully deserved because if there had ever been a situation that justified dramatic sighing, this was it.
I finished the remaining piece of cookie in my hand, because priorities still mattered in moments of crisis, brushed the crumbs from my fingers with unnecessary precision, and straightened slightly, returning to what I believed was a calm, composed, and entirely reasonable version of myself.
"I'm afraid," I said, my voice perfectly even, "that I won't be of any help."
I paused.
"In fact, I'm not entirely convinced you have the right person. I do possess magic, but it's weak. I can't even move a stone without blasting something else."
Silence followed.
Theo leaned back slightly and folded his hands as though this conversation had already gone exactly as he expected.
"I think," I continued, smoothing my tone further, "there has been some confusion."
"No," he said immediately. "Not even a little."
"In fact," I said, refusing to be discouraged, "I am quite magically unremarkable."
Beside him, Lucien released a suspiciously laughter-shaped breath.
I did not look at him.
I had chosen peace and would not be distracted by random background noises.
Theo, however, looked rather interested.
"That is curious," he said, "because what we detected suggests otherwise."
My fingers tightened around the armrest.
Detected.
That was an unnecessarily unpleasant word.
"I think your detection system is flawed," I replied. "You may want to recalibrate it. Or replace it. Preferably both."
"Cassiane," Lysenne said gently.
"No," I cut in, still smiling because if I stopped smiling this entire conversation might collapse into something significantly less manageable.
"Let's be very clear. I have no interest in magic, and I would very much like to remain uninvolved in anything that includes phrases like 'kingdom in danger.'"
Theo's gaze remained steady.
"Four years," he said quietly.
That made me pause.
"You disappeared for four years, and during that time a very specific magical signature appeared near the southern borders. It was unstable, untrained, but undeniably powerful."
My throat went dry.
"That could be anyone," I said quickly. "There are many unstable and untrained people in this world. It's actually a very large and thriving category."
Lucien coughed.
Again.
Theo leaned forward slightly.
"And yet this magic reacted to emotional stress, manifested defensively, and disappeared whenever it was observed, specifically in the forest near an old inn."
My heartbeat betrayed me.
Because that was not general.
That was not vague.
That was me.
Good grief. These people had a better tracking system than modern intelligence agencies.
"I panic easily," I said. "Emotionally, not magically. The two are entirely unrelated."
Rhaevan shifted slightly.
I noticed.
I wished I hadn't.
Theo watched me for another moment before speaking.
"You are afraid of your magic."
Everything inside me stilled.
Because that was true.
I let out a short laugh that convinced absolutely no one.
"I'm afraid of many things," I said. "Responsibility. Commitment. Poor decisions. That doesn't automatically make them dangerous."
His gaze didn't harden or soften.
It simply waited.
And somehow that was worse.
I looked away first.
"I don't want it," I said quietly.
The words slipped out before I could stop them.
The moment they did, I froze.
Because that wasn't denial.
That was an admission.
Silence settled heavily around me.
Theo nodded once, as though something had just been confirmed.
"Whether you want it or not," he said calmly, "it exists."
I swallowed.
"And ignoring it does not make it disappear."
I forced myself to look back at him.
"Then that sounds like a me problem," I said. "Not a kingdom problem."
That should have ended the conversation.
Unfortunately, it did not.
Theo leaned back again, his tone becoming neither softer nor harsher, merely clearer.
"Magic is not as simple as this kingdom has made it seem."
I frowned despite myself.
"In this world there are three forms of magic. There is structured magic, which is taught and regulated by the Tower, external magic, which is drawn from artifacts or contracts, and innate magic."
Something tightened in my chest.
"The rarest kind," he continued. "It is unpredictable, emotionally reactive, and unstable when suppressed."
I didn't interrupt.
Because despite myself-
I was listening.
"Your mother belonged to a lineage that possessed this magic. The Ardentia dukedom was not banished because their magic was evil."
That made me look up.
"They were banished because their magic could not be controlled."
Oh.
That was considerably worse.
"Your magic is not dark," he said. "It is unregulated, and because it is tied to emotion, suppression does not weaken it. It builds."
He paused briefly.
"The longer you ignore it, the more dangerous it becomes."
Images flickered through my mind. Moments I had ignored. Moments I had dismissed.
"No," I said quietly. "I've been fine."
"For now."
I exhaled slowly.
I hated how certain he sounded.
"The kingdom of Varynthar has learned to imitate this kind of magic," he continued. "They force it into controlled vessels. It is unstable and it corrupts."
Lucien spoke then, his tone sharper.
"They weaponize it."
I glanced at him.
Serious now.
Slightly less annoying.
Marginally.
"And that," Theo said, "is why we need you."
I let out a quiet breath.
"That still makes no sense. If their magic is unstable, why would mine help?"
"Because yours is real."
The answer came without hesitation or dramatics.
It was simply a fact.
"You are the source. You can control it, stabilize it, and counter it."
I stared at him.
"This is a terrible plan. You're asking someone who has spent years avoiding magic to suddenly use it to save kingdoms."
"Yes."
"That sounds incredibly unsafe."
"It is."
That was not reassuring in the slightest.
"But it is necessary. The Tower can help you understand it and shape it into something stronger."
Silence followed.
I looked away.
Because this was the real problem.
Not the magic.
Not the war.
The expectation.
"I don't want to become..." I stopped.
I didn't finish because I didn't need to.
"Not if you learn before it consumes you," he said.
For the first time since this conversation had begun, his words didn't sound like a trap.
They sounded like a warning.
───
Lysenne spoke then, her tone gentle but firm.
"Cassiane, this must remain confidential."
I looked at her.
"Only the people in this room know the truth about your identity and your magic."
I let out a quiet breath.
Of course.
Hidden.
Unacknowledged.
Entirely unsurprising.
"For your safety, and to prevent Varynthar from learning about you, you will continue to be introduced as someone taken in by the king. Your training at the Tower will be explained as a personal interest."
I nodded slightly.
"That was always the plan, wasn't it?" I muttered. "The inconvenient ones stay in the shadows."
She didn't argue.
That told me everything I needed to know.