I shoved another round of eggs into my mouth and turned back to Gaige. He gripped the back of his neck, but relented. “I found some disturbing tomes and spells in Yazmin’s room.”
My back straightened. “Go on.”
“They’re coded, but not beyond deciphering.” He toyed with a piece of parchment that was full of scratched-out words and numerals, as if he’d already been hard at work. “It will take time, but I have a feeling these hold the answers we’re looking for.”
Noc’s brow furrowed, and he nudged away his plate of untouched food. “Like?”
“Like why she went to all the trouble of sending you to Oslo’s Ruins and Silvis’s Ruins only to hope you’d fall prey to a Nix Ikari when she could’ve easily killed you both with a beast in her arsenal.” He gave a sheepish shrug. “No offense.”
“None taken,” Noc said.
“That, and…” He hesitated, glancing up for a moment at Kost before dropping his eyes to the texts before him. “This is blood magic. She needed your blood forsomething. I can only imagine it has to do with the old Charmers’ prophecy. She had notes on that too.”
“Prophecy?” Kost asked.
Gaige nodded. “There’s an old hymn sung to Charmers when they’re kids. It’s really just a lullaby nowadays, but… It’s all about Ocnolog’s return and the destruction he’ll cause.”
Ice settled across my skin, and I dropped my fork. Noc glared at Gaige and then at me, but I ignored him. “The lyrics are also etched beside Celeste’s statue in the throne room. There’s something about someone helping Ocnolog find peace too. Right?”
“Yes.” Gaige picked up one of Yazmin’s notes and grimaced. “Yazmin clearly sees herself as this person. All these spells were her attempts to make it happen. I think, anyway.”
“What do the spells entail?” I asked.
“I’ve only managed to get a few words out of this.” He lifted a leathery piece of parchment. My stomach churned. “Ocnolog’s name is in here. From what I can tell, it seems convoluted and impossible to accomplish. I’ll have to keep digging.”
Gaige’s somber voice hammered a nail into my heart and served memories up fresh in my mind. Hadn’t Wynn said something of the sort when he’d tried to tame me? Something about a spell and the things she needed not existing? A dull ringing sounded in my ears. This had to be what he was referring to.
“There are a few books back in Cruor that might help.” Kost’s voice was low, but he gave Gaige a meaningful nod. “We’ll find the answers.”
“I just don’t understand why she felt the need to go to such lengths. To turn on her own kind.” Heat simmered through my veins. Was she so blinded by the desire to tame Ocnolog that she’d sacrifice her own people to make it happen? I’d seen Celeste’s tears. Whatever plans Yazmin had, they weren’t right.
Gaige stared into nothingness. “I’m at a loss myself.”
I slammed my hand against the table. “Gods dammit.”
“Leena,” Noc said as he rubbed my shoulder. “We’ll get her.”
Gaige tucked the leathery parchment carefully in a tome. “She was right, by the way. Our meeting records were here all along. I just never thought to look. I never realized she’d altered our memories.”
“She did what? How?” I stared at the books before him, recognizing one of the thick tomes that Actarius had penned with his magic. The one with meeting records dating back fifty years.
“It’s all here.” His fingers listlessly moved across the text. “After we denied her petition for an outright attack, she conceded. But only on the surface. We close every meeting with a ceremonious sharing of wine. She must have come prepared for us to deny her, because she slipped a potent, memory-altering potion made from Quolint secretion into our drinks.” He stared at his goblet for a long moment before clearing his throat.
I struggled to find words. Quolint secretion. The smallest amount would certainly cause memory loss. Not many Charmers owned such a creature, but it wasn’t surprising that Yazmin had one. Or that she knew how to brew this disastrous concoction. Nothing about her surprised me anymore.
Gaige cupped his chin in his hands. “That whole day is wiped from my memory. Even now, reading what we discussed, it feels completely foreign. Almost as if it were a lie—that’s how strong Quolints are. I never would’ve thought to check for it.”
“You couldn’t have known.” Kost’s voice was soft, forgiving. Gaige looked up at him and paused. A faint blush touched his cheeks.
“We stopped her yesterday. We can stop her again.” Calem chased the last piece of his waffle around his plate.
Oz grunted. “She put our family in danger. She has to answer for that. And if that means going to war… Then count me in.”
“Your support is appreciated.” Gaige let out a long sigh that seemed to age him ten years. “Hireath is in disarray. Raven left last night to escort Kaori back here. They’re on their way now. An emergency meeting will be held in front of the people to name Leena as Crown of the Council.”
My throat went dry. “What? No. Gaige it should be you. Or Kaori. Or Raven.”
He smiled, the first genuine sign of relief he’d shown all morning. “The people have already spoken. Some saw what you did with the Vrees. And, well, you know how rumors spread. You’re the only one they can trust. The one who would lay down her life for a beast—and for all of them.”
