Chapter 35 Stanhope
Isat at my desk surveying the map. Twenty-three. There were twenty-three girls. No, not girls. Not children. Not even people. Abominations. Living proof of everything that had gone wrong in Verith. They had no right to the magic they possessed.
I awaited Lucius's report. I had sent him to confirm the girls' locations.
Their families were unfortunate complications.
I had no desire to dispose of them. But if they stood between me and what had to be done, they would leave me no choice.
These were the remaining girls from the marking.
The ones who had refused my mercy, who had escaped the reckonings.
I had found them all. Today, Verith would begin healing.
Three sharp raps sounded against the door, breaking my concentration. A servant hurried inside, nearly tripping over the threshold as she bowed.
“M'lord,” she stammered, her eyes fixed firmly on the floor. “Lord Lucius has returned.”
“Send him in.” I dismissed her with a lazy wave, never bothering to look up. “They’re gone.”
A silent heartbeat passed before he dared to speak.
“My Lord… how did you know?” He stepped closer to the desk hesitantly.
I plucked the pins from the map one at a time before hurling them across the room.
I rose slowly from my seat with a sharp inhale.
He shrank away as I let loose my power. I stepped toward the window, looking out over the city.
Dawn had hardly crested, and already I was done with this insufferable day.
“How many?” I did not need to explain the question. The enforcers had told me they escaped already. Only Lucius knew exactly how many of these detested girls there were.
“Thirteen.” His voice was barely above a whisper. “And…” He gulped. “Their families.”
Pressure throbbed behind my eyes and my breaths came sharper. I hurled my brandy glass into the fireplace. Flames roared as sparks spat across the hearth.
“They should never have been able to cross the wall, Lucius.” I drew a deep breath, forcing my rage back beneath the surface. Lucius trembled. “Where were the patrols?”
Lucius did not move. He did not speak. He only stood silently with his head bowed and hands crossed before him.
I allowed my power to seep across the room.
Persuasion only worked when the desire to obey already existed.
I could not force a thought into someone's mind.
My power could only coax forward the one already waiting there, buried beneath fear or stubbornness.
I could pluck the thought from their mind, fuel it, bring it to fruition, but only if they had thought it first.
“Tell me, Lucius, where were my enforcers?” My voice was low, saccharine sweet. It helped if they were scared, but not of me. Lucius’s lip twitched. That was when I knew I had plucked the right string in his mind.
“They were exactly where they were meant to be, my lord.”
He blurted it as though saying it faster would take the edge away from the realization.
“The patrol was split when they encountered two groups. They tried to fight them back, to capture them. We lost some of the men and others were wounded,” he continued. “They seemed far too prepared.”
“Two groups?”
He nodded.
“Prepared indeed. They must have an informant of their own.”
I spoke aloud though I was not speaking to Lucius.
He knew nothing of strategy, only how to follow instructions.
It had made him particularly useful in poisonings and reckonings, but utterly useless when it came to plotting battle.
No, that was my forte, and the rebellion started in the name of those Detested witches had yet to see my secret weapon.
“Lucius, when was the last time we heard from our little spy?” I could feel the warmth spark in his mind.
“They have not checked in today, understandably so. I imagine they're rather occupied with the aftermath of their little rescue attempt.”
A smile tugged at his lips. “I have a feeling they meant to take all of the girls. They failed in that aspect at least.”
A small chuckle escaped him. “I have no doubt that they will be back to attempt to collect the rest.”
I poured us each a glass of brandy and waved him over. “Then we know what we must do next. We must make sure they do not carry any of the remaining girls over the border. We must ensure they do not grow their ranks. I believe it is time that you called our spy for a meeting.”
Lucius sipped the brandy slowly then wiped his mouth with a handkerchief. “What if they refuse to meet?”
I patted his arm. “They cannot refuse, Lucius. They know exactly what the consequences are, exactly what is at stake.”
I tapped my chin, mulling over the right move to make next.
“Oh, Lucius.” I stopped him before he could leave the room.
“Bring me my protégé. I think it is time I learned more about what makes my spy tick.”
He left the room and I returned to my map.
I pulled the last of the pins representing the escapees.
I looked over the remaining girls’ locations.
Thirteen had been taken but ten still remained.
My initial thought was to remove them, take the girls to the caves beneath the Verisepth, drain their power and be done with it.
But the rebels would be back. The Prevailing Diviner would come and with him, she would return.
I took in a deep breath and left the remaining pins exactly where they were.
Safe, for now. They would come for the girls, but this time, I would have my spy lead them down a path of my choosing.
They had the element of surprise in their last attempt.
That was the only way they had evaded the enforcers.
This time, I would have the upper hand. Let them come.
This would be the opportunity I needed to put an end to the rebellion once and for all.
A sharp knock rattled the door. “Come.” He stepped cautiously into the room, head bowed, but a spark in his eye that said it was not out of fear.
“How are you finding your accommodations, my boy?” He locked eyes with me.
“My accommodations are more grand than I could have asked for. I thank you, my lord, for your hospitality and the opportunity to learn at your side.” I waved his comment away as though no thanks were needed.
“Tell me, young man, what would you give for someone you loved?” His brows knitted at the question, but his answer came swiftly.
“Anything.” He was sure in his response. Good.
“Anything is a dangerous promise.” I crossed to him and offered a glass of brandy. “Do you suppose that is a family trait?”
“Perhaps not anything.” He tilted his head. “I suppose it depends on what was being asked of me and why.”
I smiled. “Suppose you were being asked to lie, to betray, to allow innocents to suffer.” His eyes grew dark. “Suppose, though, that it was for the greater good. By sacrificing the few, you could save the many. By allowing chaos, you could restore order. What then?”
He straightened his shoulders. “Then, my lord, I would do anything.” There it was. I took a slow sip of my brandy. That was all I would need.