Page 33 of Blade of the Nightking

Before I could speak, the door opened.

Aedric sauntered in, relaxed, a smile already forming as his gaze found me. His eyes roved over my naked form with open appreciation, a suggestive smirk tilting the corner of his mouth.

“Well?” he asked lightly, amusement warming his eyes. “Did she pass her examination with flying colors?”

The smile slipped from his face the moment he saw the blackened orb.

Aedric straightened. “What’s wrong?”

Saerena hesitated, flustered. “My Lumen discovered the manner by which she healed, my Lord.”

“And?”

She was silent for what felt like an eternity before her lips finally parted. “Siphoning.”

The word landed like a weight dropped into water. The air in the room seemed to thicken at once. Hamish stiffened, still facing the wall, his shoulders locking tight.

Aedric blinked. Then an uncertain smile tugged at his mouth, as though she’d told a poor joke. “That’s not possible.”

“It is,” Saerena’s face was etched with fear.

His gaze moved to me, the last trace of ease gone.

“El…?” he said carefully.

I shook my head, suddenly acutely aware of my nakedness. “I don’t know what she’s talking about.”

“Siphoning,” Saerena’s tone betrayed her apprehension. “The absorption of another’s magic to strengthen one’s own. It’s unholy. A banned practice.”

“It’s impossible,” Aedric said again, shaking his head. “Siphoning can only ever occur between bonded pairs.”

“Yes,” she agreed.

“I would have felt it.” Strain threaded his voice. “I would feel the loss of my magic even now.”

“My Lord…” Saerena looked near-terrified to continue. “It was not your magic she siphoned.”

“Then whose?” Confusion crossed his features. “Who could she have siphoned from? There was no one else with us but⁠—”

He stopped.

His head whipped toward me.

“No,” he breathed.

Saerena swallowed and lowered her gaze. “There are still traces of him inside her,” she said, her fingers twisting at her waist. “His magic’s signature is unmistakable.”

The floor seemed to drop away beneath my feet, a sickening sense of free fall opening inside my chest. I wished, absurdly, that the Vein could swallow me whole as dread flooded through me.

“My Lord—” Saerena began.

“You’re certain?” His head jerked sharply to the side to address her, though his eyes never left me.

“I am.”

“Thank you, Saerena,” he said curtly. “That will be all.”

Hamish opened the door for her, but she hesitated again at the threshold.