“There’s nothing to fear if you can’t use it to your advantage,” she chided.
Point made. I found satisfaction in her frustration. Her brows inched together when she looked at her daughter on the ground and then returned a glare in my direction. “Why do the draveths want you dead?” she asked.
“Don’t know. Why don’t you find one and ask?”
Frustration flashed in her face, and I assumed she couldn’t find them or else they wouldn’t give her the time of day. “I’m not strong enough to use my magic against them.” It was apparent the admission bruised her ego. “And Diehle has disappeared.”
I couldn’t determine if she knew he was dead or believed he left.
“Now you can’t use a curse against me or your daughter.”
“It was never about Amelia. You nearly killed her,” she accused.
“Yeah, because I was the one who released the curse,” I shot back.
“The curse was for you!” she snapped. There was more to her anger than her daughter’s life being placed in jeopardy. I suspected that was the lowest of her priorities.
“More death attributed to your actions, but this time you have nothing to show for it,” I said.
Her averted gaze was the confirmation I needed. One or more of her poor followers had died in order for her to perform the curse. And I wondered what she’d bargained with Diehle for his involvement. Was he aware of it when I visited?
Her anger exploded. She grabbed me by the face but then yanked her hand away as if I were a hot stove. Vina was deathly afraid of me because she didn’t know whether the protective spell was in place or not. Her uncontained anger was making herreckless and she was relaxing her hold on the immobility spell. But I didn’t have enough movement to get to my Taser.
“Where are the others?”
“Ashinwas?”
She nodded.
Fighting the urge to say something vulgar and unhelpful, I settled for, “I don’t know. Your resources have proven to be better than mine. I don’t have access to my magic because it’s locked.” That didn’t seem like new information to her.
“It’s locked in you,” she said with a smugness I wanted to wipe off her face. That wasn’t good. What other spells were out there that could circumvent my restrictions and how could I use them to my advantage?
“I have a proposal,” she offered. “The draveths are a wealth of magic and information. If given the opportunity to explore their knowledge, I can unlock your magic. And…” Hesitating, she considered me for a little longer, and I hoped I was showing the greed and unscrupulousness she was looking for. “And…” she repeated, “I can use them to get to the Laytherium.”
I wondered how she’d come upon knowledge of Umbryth. She’d figured out a way to block out the shadow gods, so it wasn’t unthinkable that she’d know about their realm and their magic. My heart grieved for Amelia because she’d never truly have her mother. Vina’s ambition and power hunger would always be a higher priority than Amelia. And Vina was ruthless enough to destroy her in the process.
“You want to enter Umbryth?” I asked.
“Or tear apart the realm that divides us,” she provided, hubris mingled with avarice. “You’ve managed to broker a deal with the vampires, who regard you very highly. They don’t have many abilities that are worth anything, but they have one very special one. Their ability to compel. It works on the draveths. I believe that with their knowledge and my magic, we can gainaccess to Umbryth.” She prattled off her plan as if it wasn’t the most reprehensible thing imaginable. “We can destroy the veil and acquire more magic,” she went on. “I can release you from your restrictions. All of your kind.”
“I don’t trust you. What would keep you from trying to take the magic for yourself?”
“From what I’ve gathered, I wouldn’t have access to the full spectrum of your magic. And you’d have full access to your magic as if you’d successfully completed the Spellrend.” She shrugged. “A destroyed Laytherium would mean more access to magic.”
I didn’t correct her misinformation—because I wasn’t completely sure she was incorrect. Since the shadow gods had nothing to do with my locked magic, I couldn’t imagine how destroying the Laytherium would release it. And if by some chance it did, I couldn’t imagine putting my faith in Vina. I was unable to keep the apprehension from my expression.
“Or I could kill you,” she said flippantly, producing a dagger. “Or her.”
Her eyes flicked to Amelia. Or where she should have been. Then Vina’s shirt turned crimson. Her hold slipped from me. Amelia was glassy eyed as she stared at the blade plunged into her mother before pressing some object against the wound. Vina crumpled to the ground.
That made me think that the blade hadn’t punctured any vital organs and was intended to spill blood and bind Vina to whatever was in Amelia’s hand.
Vina tried and failed to get to her feet, her eyes fixed on the object Amelia held. A peculiar object I remembered seeing in Diehle’s collection.
Vina coughed around her words. It might not have been a killing strike, but it was obviously a painful one and it wasdifficult for her to keep focus. “How did you get a thaumavore?” She winced.
Amelia didn’t answer, her lips moving at a fervent rate while placing distance between her and her mother. Burnished tendrils pulled from Vina and disappeared into the small clawlike vessel in Amelia’s hand as her hand glowed a brilliant white. The stained knife in one hand and the peculiar object in the other, Amelia’s eyes were glistening with unshed tears.
