Chapter Thirty-Two Garrick
Chapter Thirty-Two
Garrick
Riela blinked at me, and her brows drew together in a little furrow of confusion before she shook her head in denial. “That’s
not possible. I’ve never met another Etheri. I didn’t even think you existed outside of fairy tales, and even those are getting
harder to find. There’s a book in your library that includes a story about an Etheri princess, but in my book’s version of the story, she was an ethereal human. Isn’t that odd?”
It was at least interesting if not odd, but she didn’t give me time to respond before adding decisively, “So you must be mistaken about the seal.”
Her reaction appeared genuine. She truly didn’t know. Some of my anger drained away. “There is no mistake.”
“But who would bind me, and why? And how? You said the door has been closed for a hundred years, and the seal on the forest is even older. I’m twenty-eight, and the
only time I set foot in the woods was when I was five. I certainly didn’t meet any of you then; I would’ve remembered.”
That caught my attention. “You were in the woods?”
“Briefly. My father found me before I’d made it very far. I guess I was able to leave because it was before my magic manifested,
sealed or not.”
Perhaps, but I had another suspicion. “What about your mother?”
Her head bowed. “She died giving birth to me.”
Something wasn’t adding up and my suspicions grew. “Are you sure?”
“Am I sure my mother died while giving birth to me?” she asked slowly. “Do you even hear yourself?”
I did, but the question was too important to disregard because it made her uncomfortable. I stared at her until she answered.
“My mother was the daughter of an impoverished minor noble in Obrik. She and my father wanted to get married, but her family
refused to allow it, even after she became pregnant, because they wanted her to marry for money.”
The little mage sucked in a steadying breath, then continued, “Father traveled to Obrik to elope with her, but I decided to
arrive early, while they were still on the road. Without the aid of a healer, my mother died, but I lived—barely.”
My interest sharpened. “So no one in your village ever met your mother?”
“She’s buried there. Otherwise, no. My father was devastated by her death. He had no reason to lie to me.”
“Are you sure?” I repeated.
Her fists clenched as anger flushed color into her cheeks, and her eyes sparkled with righteous fire. As much as I didn’t
care to be the cause of her anger, she was glorious when her temper was riled.
“Doubt and insult me as much as you think necessary,” she growled, “but leave my father out of it. He was the best of men,
and you could’ve learned a lot from him.”
I softened my tone before I drove her past rational thought. “I’m not questioning his honor,” I murmured. “But he could’ve
been lying to protect you.”
“Or you could be wrong.”
I wasn’t, but I wasn’t entirely sure how to prove it just yet. “Your magic is sealed, Riela. I suppose I could be wrong about
the origin of the seal, but there’s no question that it exists.”
It was clear she didn’t quite believe me, but at least she stopped arguing. Her expression flittered from skeptical to thoughtful
and back again.
“Have you heard of anything like this before?” she asked at last.
That irritating sense of familiarity rubbed against the edge of my mind, but I couldn’t quite grasp what it was. “Maybe,” I admitted. “Something about it seems familiar. I would have to do some research. It would be easier if we were in Lohka because the library is
better.”
Riela’s eyes widened. “The library is better in Lohka?” When I nodded, she grinned. “I definitely have to open the door now; I just need to figure out how. Can you break
the seal on my magic?”
I let my power sweep over her again. Now that I knew what I was looking for, the seal was slightly more obvious, a tiny eddy
in the swirl of her magic. Unraveling it would take time, but it was possible—if perhaps not the best idea.
“Yes,” I said. “But until we know why it was put in place, we need to be careful. An Etheri sovereign wouldn’t set a seal
like this without a good reason.”
“Such as?”
“Protection, most likely. Either for you or for those around you. Binding the entirety of your magic would require a vast
amount of power, and it’s not something that would be undertaken unless the situation were truly dire.”
She shifted in the soft grass and focused on the burbling fountain while she fidgeted. Her thoughts were easy enough to guess—she
was wondering if her magic had been sealed for her protection or as protection from her.
My guess was the former, but I needed to be careful until I knew for sure. Because if she was enough of a threat for an Etheri
to bind her as a child, then there was no telling what would happen if I removed the seal now that she had come into her full
power.
Even if the binding was for her own protection, removing it at this point could still kill her.
Riela’s gaze snapped back to me, eyes wide with fear. “If you didn’t place the seal, which it seems like you didn’t, then
that leaves King Roseguard.”
I dipped my chin, having already arrived at the same conclusion. If not Feylan, then at least someone he was allied with, which did not make sense. Why give up a powerful mage?
“Why would Roseguard seal my magic?” Riela asked, echoing my thoughts.
“He wouldn’t. If you were powerful enough to be a threat, then he would’ve either killed you or kept you. He wouldn’t waste
his magic binding a human.”
“If it wasn’t you, and it wasn’t the Blood King, then who was it?”
That was an excellent question, and one I couldn’t answer exactly. “I’ve lost many of the spies I once had in Feylan’s court,
so I don’t know who he’s allowed through the door recently. But the seal on your magic would’ve taken time and power to craft.”
“So an Etheri didn’t just curse me for fun?”
“No. And I don’t think it was meant as a curse. Someone was trying to protect you—most likely, your mother.”
She frowned, not following. “My mother died giving birth to me. She wouldn’t have had time to find an Etheri to bind my magic,
nor would she have assumed I was going to have magic.”
“I think your mother was Etheri.”