“Maybe it’s a good thing,” Ambrose said slowly, still deep in thought. “Maybe this makes me too important to kill now? Wouldn’t this make me invaluable to the empire?”
“I…” Their eyes met. “Don’t know.”
She looked into his eyes, searching for what he was thinking and though she couldn’t read his mind, she didn’t see anything there that comforted her.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked.
He seemed to battle with something inside him. “No one has ever been able to wield multiple Elements. No mage. No royal. No god. I honestly don’t know how the gods will react to this.” His eyes darkened. “I wish I did.”
Ambrose forced a few deep breaths, trying to calm her nerves before they rained down a storm of lightning down on them. “Akadian, have you ever been outside the Capital?”
“Yes.” His grip tightened again. “Why do you ask?”
“I think it’s time to advance my training.” And escape. But she didn’t say that.
He raised an eyebrow at her. “In what way?”
“It would seem I need more practice and exposure so we can really see what my magick is capable of, don’t you think so?” The words came out faster than she meant them to, and she tried to recover. “For the empire, of course. If I can control multiple Elements, wouldn’t it be important for us to figure out the extent of it? I’m sure Casimir would be thrilled to get that report.”
A look fell over Akadian’s face and she wished she could know what he was thinking.
“I guess I could see about taking you outside the city to train in the forest. It would be extremely dangerous, there are creatures you can’t imagine in those woods but you would be able to let your magick go without worry of hurting someone nearby. I suppose there’s no better place to try than somewhere those skills might actually be useful.”
Relief washed over her. All she had to do was be patient and make her escape. She knew the woods, and could survive in them for as long as she needed to. There was no way she could convince Adym to leave with her and she’d just have to find a way to get word to Ernaline when she made it out safe and could come back for her. This could be her only chance at a real escape and it hung on Akadian’s ability to convinceCasimir. She might’ve had better odds letting Thornehart kill her when he had the chance.
Either way, there was no turning back now.
* * *
Casimir stood above a kneeling Akadian as he relayed the events of the final night of the festival. The empty, rough stone room they met in was illuminated only by a few firelights along the walls. They were so deep in the palace, no one could hear them but Casimir still froze the only exit with a wall of ice so thick, it would be impossible for anyone to eavesdrop. Water droplets—that had been a slight annoyance as they dripped from theuneven ceiling—hung in the air, frozen in time like shards of glass.
“He said she used Wind Magick. He attacked her unprovoked as soon as he caught her alone,” Akadian relayed from a bowed head. He would gladly accept the punishment. She never should have been left alone.
There was no mistaking the look that fell over Casimir, his rage seeping to every corner of the room. “Andwhy, was she left alone?”
“It was my fault,” Akadian submitted. “I lost sight of her at the festival and couldn’t find her again until after he attacked. By then, he’d already done plenty of damage.” His stomach twisted at the memory of finding her.
A cold pulsed from Casimir as ice crept across the floor and froze everything that wasn’t breathing. “Why was he ever allowed to get that close to her in the first place? I’ve told you how important this one is, haven’t I? Have I not made myself clear enough?”
“No one could’ve predicted the behavior of the lieutenant. He acted against the empire.” Akadian kept his head down and his eyes trained on the floor as each word came with a plume of steam out of his mouth.
The temperature dropped further and Akadian was beginning to lose feeling in his extremities as Casimir drew closer. “I’m starting to wonder if I misplaced my faith in you when I tasked you with being the one to watch her.” Casimir bent down and wrapped his cold fingers in Akadian’s hair and yanked his face to meet his. “Do you think I’ve misplaced my faith? The gods have always had such high hopes for you and what you could accomplish. You’re one of their favorite creations you know.”
Akadian clenched his teeth and bit down on the rage growing inside him, and forced himself to meet Casimir in the eye. “No. Of course not. I live by the grace of the gods.”
Casimir pulled his face closer. “Yes, youdo. And you’ll dowellto remember that.”
“I would never forget such a gift.”
Casimir released Akadian. “Good. Because I still have use of you. It would be so disappointing if you failed me now. I’m not done with you,” he purred and placed a hand on Akadian’s shoulder. “Yet.”
* **
A couple of days later, Ambrose met Akadian in their shared area as he draped himself over the couch. The night of the festival he took her to Lily who healed her, all while demanding that they tell her exactly what happened as she frantically ran her hands over her injuries, glaring at Akadian as she did so. When she was finished, he brought Ambrose back to their chambers and placed her into bed where she fell asleep before her head even hit the pillow. When she woke up, he was sulking more than usual and she gave him a couple days to lick whatever wounds he seemed to be nursing before she brought up their conversation again.
“Yes, your training has been cleared,” Akadian told her. “I formed a group that’s going to be accompanying us while we travel just to make sure everything goes smoothly.”
Ambrose did her best to hide her excitement as she strolled out the door and into the gardens, Akadian pulled himself from the couch and followed.
