Darcy raised an eyebrow. “I drank the vials she gave me.”
“You took her blood into you?” Rana Akshaya demanded.
“No. It was a potion she made.”
Coquelicot looked up from her pile of eggs. “My blood would have been too strong for him. I created an elixir which bonded a trace of my bloodto his own, created in my own body with my knowledge of him. His body has absorbed it, so traces of the bond always remain, even when he does not take the elixir. That was unexpected.”
Elizabeth turned sharp eyes on him. Why had she known nothing of this? Not that she understood anything about the lesser bond in the first place, but still, Darcy should have said something.
Rana Akshaya studied Darcy again. “So it isnotthe lesser bond.”
“No, Eldest. Nor is it the true bond. It is something different.”
Those huge eyes drilled into Darcy. “Your Talent. Is it different since you drank the elixir?”
“What you just saw me do is far beyond my previous abilities.” He paused, as if considering. “My land bond has seemed stronger, but I thought that was because I gave the earth my blood recently.”
“Blood with a trace of me,” said Coquelicot proudly. “Because a poppy bloomed from it.”
“And your mage abilities?”
“I rarely employ them in the usual scheme of things, so I cannot say. I find it unusually easy to send to Coquelicot.”
The giant gold eyes blinked once, twice, three times. Then Rana Akshaya said, “Try a mage skill now. One which is usually beyond your skills.”
Elizabeth straightened. Enough was enough. “He has already used too much of his Talent today. It is dangerous for him to do more.”
Rana Akshaya’s attention turned briefly to her. “If he exhausts his forces, I will replenish him, as I once did for you, Companion Elizabeth.”
The memory flashed back to her, of her first meeting with Rana Akshaya at Netherfield, when she believed her to be a mortal mage and still thought dragons were extinct. Of overusing her Talent in a magical test from Lady Anne Darcy, and Rana Akshaya healing her. It felt like a lifetime ago. “That is acceptable, but only if he is willing.”
Darcy glanced in her direction and depressed one eyelid in an almost-wink. She understood his message; he was not taking this particularly seriously.
She could feel him gathering energy from the air, but only a bit. She had grown to know his stances during his training for his mission, and she could tell when he was making an effort. Today he was only going through the motions. A wise plan.
And so she waited as the minutes ticked by and the sun disappeared behind a cloud. Finally Darcy turned his hands palm up. “Nothing, as I expected.”
Then a raindrop fell on her sleeve, and another. And Darcy’s mouth dropped open.
Darcy had been so silent during their return to Pemberley that Elizabeth had feared his Talent might still be drained, but no sooner were they inside the house than he ushered Elizabeth and Frederica into his study. Closing the door firmly, he turned to them. His voice was low and tight as he said, “I want to know more about what this bond is doing to me. Now.”
It did not take any wifely intuition to guess he was more distressed than he wanted to admit. “As do we all, I imagine,” Elizabeth said. “Clearly it is not the lesser bond, since no Talent is shared in that. But what it is…” She spread her hands to indicate her lack of knowledge.
Frederica, apparently deciding no refreshments were going to be ordered, helped herself to a glass of wine from the side table, and wisely said nothing.
“Something has changed,” Darcy said. “I was attempting to create a thunderstorm, and as such, it was a failure. But I have never been able to cast more than the slightest breeze, much less a single drop of rain!” He stared at his hands. “And I was barely trying! Do other companions, with the true bond, gain new powers?” he demanded.
“Cerridwen bonded me when I was eight, long before I was aware of any mage powers. Not that I have much mage Talent to speak of, apart from sending.”
Frederica said, “Except the ability to shake the foundations of the earth and destroy everything for miles around you.”
“Including myself, which is hardly a useful skill!” Elizabeth retorted.
“What of you, Frederica? Did your bond change anything?” Darcy asked.
“My old abilities are stronger. I can cast a whirlwind now, which I could never do before, but wind manipulation was always my strongest Talent. Sending was my weakest, and now I am fairly competent at it. But anything new?” She paused, hesitating. “Not really. Just more powerful.”
“What of Roderick? Do you know if he developed new abilities?”
