And all over again, I realize how much Ihatebeing so blindsided by this. Olbric and Dom are two of my closest friends in the Crux, but through all their planning and sneaking, they never so much as had a single conversation with me about any of it. If they had, maybe we could have avoided this whole mess before it happened.
“What happens when the guard catches up to him?” I ask, forcing the thoughts away as I take my seat across from Arlon. Of course the Royal Guard are trained, but pitting one against a wizard, even one who isn’t a confident firefighter, seems like a recipe for disaster.
“I don’t know,” Arlon says through a sigh. “Once he drags Dom back from the mountains, hopefully Thora will see this for what it is - a foolish misstep. With luck, I can at least negotiate him out of a cell in the King’s prison.”
My stomach plummets. “And on what grounds could they hold him?!”
Arlon rubs his eyes tiredly. “Illegal possession of magiline.”
The declaration makes me feel numb. Before the Tower, wizards were allowed to carry their spells to and from the Crux without issue. The Crown doesn’townwizards, but itdoesown magiline. Everything we use, from the focuses in our casting rooms to the divination pillars in my parent’s estate, is on loan from the Kingdom of Straetham. As are the spells Dom is carrying around his neck into the godsdamned mountains.
Sothisis how they justified making this a matter for the Crown. “Fuck.”
“My sentiment exactly,” Arlon says. “But I’m afraid we have bigger things to worry about.”
I fight back a groan. “Because we need to leave for Marikadar in four days?”
“BecauseIneed to leave for Marikadar in four days,” Arlon corrects, and my thoughts stall as I register what he’s implying. “I plan on teleporting the Strae delegation to Marikadar. Olbric will be joining me, as will Allisande. Alix is fluent in Cashir and has also agreed to come. Though I trust our translation spells, I would like another fluent speaker just in case Olbric continues to be... obstinate.”
I swallow a swell of emotion. Olbric’s barely left his room since I spoke to him. His spells are locked away in Arlon’s desk, but I was able to convince him that Olbric wasn’t a flight risk. So far, at least, he hasn’t made me a liar. He retains permission to move about the Crux unsupervised, though he’s exercised that right very little.
“There’s no telling how long the talks will take,” Arlon continues. “It could be days; it could be weeks. Because of that uncertainty, I’ve gotten approval from the Crown to appoint you as interim Grandmaster of the Crux.”
My stomach does a strange flip. For a second, I’m speechless. “Are you serious?”
Arlon chuckles tiredly. “I am. Thora even endorsed you when the Crown expressed doubts.”
I’m surprised I’ve made that good of an impression on the Guard Captain, but I must be doing something right to have earned that endorsement.
“Garrett and Bridgette will be returning to the Crux until the peace talks end, so you will have a full master’s guidance and advice, if you need it,” Arlon says. “Now that Cecily has earned her corpimancy mastery, she’ll be taking over as the wizard on staff at the health clinic for the time being.”
“Thank you for that, sir,” I say, relieved. Between the part-time position I undertook while Garrett was out east, and then the full-time position that was foisted on me while he was relegated to the Crux, I feel like I’ve had my fill of corpimancy for a lifetime.
“King Thermilious will be attending the peace talks along with a number of his advisers. In his stead, his Queen Mother, Tramella, will be overseeing the dealings of the Kingdom.” Arlon’s tone is serious as he says, “I suggest you request an audience with her as soon as I’m gone. No doubt she will be reporting everything back to her son once he returns home.”
His meaning is clear enough. Impress Tramella during this interim period, and maybe, just maybe, it will lead to smoother sailing with Thermilious in the end.
“Yes, sir,” I say, unable to stop the excitement from leaking into my voice. There’s been such an endless wave of bad luck that I never imagined an opportunity like this would fall into my lap. I’m not going to squander it.
“I’ll make an announcement about your position to the rest of the Crux at dinner tonight,” Arlon says. “Since you are still in the process of earning your full mastery, Garrett and Bridgette haveagreed to field any mastery petitions while I’m away. You will have full authority to give assignments, but Galiva, donotattempt anything with the captured Tower wizards. The situation between Straetham and Immenbach is kindling just waiting to catch fire. I don’t want to accidentally create sparks by sending any of our own into the mix.”
That is a difficult order to swallow. We rest on a knife’s edge of war with Immenbach, and any move on this front is dangerous. But I try to plan for all possibilities, and there may come a time when I don’t have a choice.
“I won’t act unless I have to,” I say. Something unspoken passes between us, a silent understanding. It reminds me of when I got my illusion mastery, and I feel that same trust settle over me now.
Arlon sighs before he stands to meet me, his hands closing gently over my shoulders. “Alright. Do you feel ready for this,doldora?”
“I’m ready,” I say as I lift my eyes to his. “Thank you, Arlon.”
His hands lift to cup my face, his thumb stroking gently over my cheek. “Did you know that I’m the reason that the Crux has to get royal approval to appoint a new Grandmaster?”
“I’d guessed,” I say with a wry grin. No doubt appointing a nameless bastard to head the Crux was a scandal of the highest order.
Arlon chuckles before he brushes a kiss to my forehead. “I know what it’s like to have the odds stacked against you, Gal. And I know that you’re capable of toppling them in your favor.”
It’s what I need to hear. What I’m trying to get myself to believe. I draw in a fortifying breath. “I’ll talk to the Queen tomorrow.”
“WHAT THEfuck,Olbric!”
