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“Dear Ambi.” I blinked and wiped away my tears. “How did you do that?”
“That is not your concern.”
I stared at her. “It is.”
“Do not come near me again in public. I have gone through great lengths to keep my power hidden—”
“That’s why you shaved your eyebrows and hair?”
“I leave tomorrow. I cannot be here for this war—”
“Why not stay and fight?”
“I have lost enough.” Her voice grew shaky. “I will not continue to lose more.”
“If the Quiet King wins, then you will never be safe.”
She snorted. “And if the mages win, what? You think we are safe then?”
“Yes.”
A dark chuckle left her. “Just like everyone has said, you know nothing about mages.”
“Then, tell me.”
“I don’t have the time.” She inched back. “I need to gather supplies and—”
“When I spotted you, all you were doing was standing around those cats. You weren’t gathering supplies. What did you need?”
“Money to get it.”
“How about I get you all the supplies and more?”
Her frown deepened. “No.”
“But, I have so many questions.”
“I cannot help you, Blood Queen.”
“Why are people calling me that?”
“That is a very long answer.”
“We have the time.”
“We do not. I must get my supplies.”
“I will give you a horse and wagon full of food, water, and all the comforts you would need for a long trip—blankets, pillows, a small trunk of gold.”
She blinked.
“But, I need all of your time until tomorrow morning.”
“To answer questions?”
“And teach me how to use my magic—”
She laughed. “You think I can teach you that in a few hours?”
“I want to know what you know.”
“That is years upon years of study and practice.”
“What can you teach me by the morning?”
She smirked. “I can teach you how to run from the Quiet King.”
I scowled. “I won’t be running. I have two young girls to protect.”
The woman widened her eyes. “Do they. . .?”
“What?”
“Do they have red hair?”
“Yes.”
She shook her head. “You must protect them not only from the Quiet King, but the mages too.”
A cold shiver ran through me. “The Ground Mover has been nothing but nice to me.”
“Because they think you are ignorant to your power, which. . .you are. The other dominas that you brought to this village have all been stunted.”
“Stunted?”
“The gloves. They stunt our powers, and slowly drain them. It hurts when you take them off. . .like. . .you are peeling off your skin.”
Tension gathered in my shoulders. “The mages put those on the dominas I freed?”
“All of them. In fact. . .the only reason why those blood mages are still alive is because you are here.” She gave me a sad smile. “Regardless of who wins this war, in the end those blood mages will be dead, if not by the Quiet King, then. . .”
“What if I talked to Ground Mover or Tru?”
“They are the ones that will order the executions of the blood mages. There is no need to talk to them.”
I shivered. “No. There has to be another solution. The Ground Mover would never.”
The woman whispered, “You really. . .don’t know. . .”
I turned back in the direction of the Mystic Market. My stomach twisted. “Then, will the mages really help us with the war?”
“To get rid of the Quiet King? Yes. They will unite and help you with that.”
“And once they help us. . .they may kill us.”
“That is without a doubt. Your kings will be the first to go, because they would pose the greatest danger. Then, you will die right after them. They may kill you three right on the battlefield and pile your dead bodies along with the Quiet King.”
“But. . .they have been nice and welcoming—”
“It is not that they are evil, it is because they are terrified.” She shrugged. “Were you not scared just now when I had control of you?”
“I was.”
“From childhood, other mage children are taught that blood mages are evil. They learn that we are practitioners of dark magics, able to manipulate life-forces in ways thought impossible.”
“I want to learn how to do this.”
“To even talk about it, is to be executed.” She touched her chest. “And you want me to teach you among our enemies.”
“We all do not have to be enemies. If they knew more about blood mages and understood—”
“Know more? All know more than you, Blood Queen.”
I sighed.
“Blood mages are powerful beings that can control blood,” she said, her voice low and serious. “They are so powerful that in ancient times, even vampires feared them.”
“But, vampires nowadays no longer know about their power?”
“Because so many blood mages have been killed.” She glared at me. “And who do you think killed them?”
“Other mage tribes.”
“Correct.” She nodded. “The same ones you have aligned yourself with. They all have spilled our kind’s blood, including the Ground Mover.”
It horrified me to think of that sweet old man harming people.
“Throughout the years, grimoires containing secrets of blood mage power have been destroyed or hidden from us. I do not know as much as you think. It would be smarter for you to exercise your leg muscles to run for long amounts of time.”
