Cerridwen went on, “But if they serve two roles for you, that’s a good thing. Knowing it will help you gain control faster.”
“It seems so,” Joy replied, lifting a forkful of chicken to her lips. She seemed, to Reagan’s muted approval, a touch more at ease tonight.
If Joy’s familiar was an earth one, like his, Cerridwen’s and his mother’s, she was a natural protector too. Resolute and forthright in word and actions. Some claimed their access to mana came more readily because they were grounded in their own element at all times, which explained why they were often stronger wielders.
It was a partial truth at best, one that didn’t account for how this girl could wield eight times her weight, but it was something.
“Did he help you the same?” Reagan asked Jane, and the table stilled.
Her fingers tightened around her fork. “Nothing conclusive,” she said, apparently not wanting to expand.
Silence lingered until Finn cleared his throat. “Since we’ll have a guest for the staff meeting after dinner, I should share some news now.”
Gwin exhaled loudly.
“We must decide what to disclose in the meeting,” Barracus said.
None of them wanted to speak with Varian there, and none pretended otherwise.
“The paper announced an interesting piece of news today,” Finn continued. “The Scion Order’s petition isn’t moving forward. It had enough signatures for debate, but was rejected by magisters at court.”
“How sad,” Gwinifer murmured, twirling her dagger idly over the table.
“A reliable friend told me there’ve been small uprisings in Ashenagth,” Finn added, “though nothing official has reached the news.”
“Ravenna wouldn’t stomach the spectacle,” Reagan said, thinking of the Lady of Ashenagth. “She’d cover any scandal that might damage the Order’s image.”
“Does Ashenagth support the Order?” Jane asked, likely recalling what she’d heard.
“Openly,” Reagan replied. “Madden’s family used to have the means to fund their agenda before they were left penniless. Now he has the estate’s funding.”
“And that much influence over its Lord and Lady?” she pressed.
He inclined his head in a quiet nod.
“Gwin thinks Madden is Ravenna’s lover,” Finn added with a crooked grin.
Jane huffed a laugh.
“I know they are. I saw them together once,” Gwin said. “Her union with Balthazar was purely political. Madden might as well be therealLord of Ashenagth.”
“Perhaps Atkus could return to the relevant part of this report,” Barracus interjected.
“It seems the Order received this badly,” Finn continued. “They spent years on this petition and now it was denied. They will grow restless, especially since other countries have been more successful. Maybe Varian can give us insight, if we can pull it from him.”
Reagan nodded, already calculating how best to extract what he needed from his cousin.
“I suppose you were right,” Jane murmured, her gaze finding his.
“I usually am,” Reagan said. “What about, this time?”
“In Erisea,” she said, “you explained that as long as the principles of peace stood for all mageborn, the Order’s petition would never pass.”
The memory returned to him vividly. He hadn’t expected her to remember, considering what had happened to her right before he’d shared about the Scion Order. But Jane listened when she didn’t need to, absorbed more than he thought she cared to. Even then, when she believed she would return to human lands, she had wanted to understand. Or perhaps she had simply wanted more.
“It isn’t a good sign,” Barracus warned, drawing Reagan’s focus back to the table, “if these uprisings are being silenced. If we think they are involved with meddling with the curse, we need to keep an eye on them. We need to know what the Order is planning.”
“They’re probably licking their wounds,” Gwin said.
