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My power quivers in my chest, bringing to mind visions of the uses I could put it to. Freezing the conspirators in place so they’re helpless while the soldiers ride in. Yanking the details of their plans from their mouths.
I brace myself for Stavros’s angry refusal, but he’s lapsed into a pensive silence instead. His gaze slides to me. “Perhaps it is time we took that step.”
I stare at him. “Are you serious?”
He’s claimed that he’s come to terms with my riven magic, but I never imagined I’d hear the day when he gave it his overt approval.
The former general grimaces. “It isn’t my preferred strategy. But we’ve run out of those. I think it’s clear that we can trust your abilities more than the fiends you’d be inflicting your power on.”
Alek speaks up, quiet but emphatic. “And it’s going to start hurting you again if you keep denying it when you’re in danger, isn’t it? They’re putting you in worse situations than the students here ever did.”
I haven’t told him how much my magic has already been punishing me. I wet my lips, grappling with a barrage of conflicting emotions.
“I don’t… I don’t know what would happen if I let it loose on that large a scale,” I admit, my hands clenching. “I don’t know if I can count on Kosmel to guide the consequences if my life isn’t directly under threat. Icouldcause a total disaster.”
Casimir strokes his thumb over the back of my hand. “I’m sure it couldn’t be worse than what the scourge sorcerers are planning.”
“Who can say?” A ragged laugh escapes me. “I don’t even know what’ll happen tomeif I give in to the magic that openly. Somehow the middle of a scourge sorcery initiation doesn’t seem like a great time to find out just how easily a riven soul can go insane.”
Pointing out the danger I could be putting myself in gives all three of the men pause.
“Maybe not,” Alek concedes after a moment. “But you have the option. If the situation becomes dire—if you see an opening you can’t pass up—”
I can’t picture any circumstances where I’d happily give my magic free rein, but I dip my head in acknowledgment. “I’ll keep my locket on me too, in case it does seem worth signaling for help.”
“You should carry more knives when you go,” Stavros says. “You can justify it by saying you wanted to be prepared for anything—they have asked you to stab people in the past.”
Casimir gives my hand a quick squeeze. “I should touch up your false godlen brand regularly.”
I touch the spot between my breasts where he reapplied some makeup just a couple of days ago. “It’s fine for now, but if I haven’t been called on in a couple of days, definitely.”
Alek perks up. “And I can find some almreed tea for you to start drinking regularly. I don’t know what would directly counteract the drugs they’ll use without knowing what those substances are, but almreed has a general anti-toxin effect. It’ll at least lessen the effects of anything reactive that you ingest.”
Julita sighs.I’m sorry I don’t know what drug Borys and Wendos used. They didn’t want to share their actual secret “knowledge” with me.
That’s not her fault. I smile for both her sake and Alek’s. “I’ll do my best to avoid the ingesting, but that’d be great to have as a backup plan.”
Stavros rakes his hand through his hair. “All right. I’ll keep thinking about additional measures. If anything occurs to the rest of you, call us to this room or pass on the message however you can.”
Casimir bumps his shoulder softly against mine, but his gaze lingers on the other man. “I’m sure Ivy knows that we’re doing everything in our power to protect her.”
Something about those words and the look Stavros shoots the courtesan sends a wobble through my pulse.
The former general steps away, his gaze sweeping over the three of us in our closer cluster. “It’s settled then. I’ll go on ahead in case there’s anything you wanted to… discuss in more privacy.”
He steps into his cord and wavers out of view in an instant.
Heat blooms in my cheeks. What exactly does he think we’re going to do in his absence?
What does he realize we’ve already done in the past?
Julita’s presence squirms at the back of my skull, but both Alek and Casimir clearly remember what I said to them last time. Alek simply takes my other hand. Casimir gives me a quick but tender peck on the cheek.
“We really will do whatever it takes to see you back here safely,” Alek says, his bright eyes flashing with resolve. “And if they hurt you… I won’t rest until every one of those pricks is dead and buried.”
I grip his hand tightly in return and manage to summon a teasing tone. “Bringing out the violent side beneath the straightlaced scholar. I like it.”
Casimir gives my knuckles one last caress. “I’d be right there with him. But in the meantime, I’ll pray to all the godlen to watch over you while you defendthemfrom this menace. Now you should get some rest. We don’t know when you’ll be called on.”
