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Feeling dizzy with relief, I go limp against Atlas and Scott, the latter burying his nose into the crook of my neck and holding me closer. Kano’s expression doesn’t change as he nods his head firmly.
“The queen will hear about this. I will make sure they are dealt with.” He looks like he’s about to leave, so I stop him with an outstretched hand. I know he’ll do his best to get to the bottom of what happened, and although he has such a close connection with the queen, I trust him on this. Before he disappears, though, he needs to hear what I was about to tell the others before he arrived.
“There’s something else I need to tell you.”
The tone of my voice must tip the others off that this isn’t going to be good news, all of them reacting to the tension in their own way. Syn bares his teeth in a snarl, while Nicolai’s body tenses and Joel’s hands ball into fists at his sides. Atlas and Scott attempt to stay calm, holding me against them, but it’s easy to feel how on edge they all are.
Meeting each of their eyes, I come to Kano last, focusing my gaze on him. “What do you know about the Lake of Dedication?”
Clearly not expecting this direction of conversation, he raises an eyebrow. “It’s a myth. If it was ever real, it’s been lost for centuries.”
Atlas hums in agreement. “Many believe it dried up long ago.”
Feeling a lump in the back of my throat, I cough to clear it and pray to the goddess that they believe what I’m about to tell them. After all, I’m telling them that what they thought they knew is wrong, and their lake of legend has been close this whole time. “It’s real, and it’s beneath Haven. That was the lake they pushed me into.”
“The lake beneath Haven is our water source,” Kano replies slowly, and I watch him process what he just learned and what that could mean.
His expression turns horrified. Atlas doesn’t seem to have made the same connection yet, and the others are watching us with confusion.
“Will someone please explain what’s going on?” Nikolai asks, glancing between us.
Kano takes a deep breath, scrubbing his hands over his face, looking exhausted from the weight of the knowledge. “The Lake of Dedication is a magical body of water that can weaken the powers of those who drink it if they don’t fully follow their leader or mean them harm.”
Guilt settles over my brother as he explains, clearly having worked out what this means. This is all information that he should know, yet the queen has been keeping it from him. Not only did he not know she was using the lake, he didn’t even know it existed in reality.
Taking pity on him and my mates who seem even more confused than they were before, I clear my throat to begin. I tell them everything else that I learned about the magic of the lake and how it used to be used centuries ago, including how the queen uses it today and its weakened powers. When I tell them about Maliki’s accusation that my presence was changing people’s allegiance without me having to bless the lake, Atlas and Kano share a meaningful look.
“Laelia, you were submerged in the water, did you swallow any?” Joel asks, suddenly alert as he looks me over with a frown.
Drinking from the source is supposed to have a far stronger effect. If I swallowed it, in theory, that would cause my power to weaken. With the threats on my life and the deadly challenges the queen is throwing at me, I need my power at full strength now more than ever. Looking inside myself, I search for any changes to my power. As I search, I feel relief as I find that everything feels the same, even after using a large portion of it earlier during the attack.
“Some,” I reply after a moment. “But I don’t feel any different.”
Kano is staring at me with a look of consideration and tilts his head to one side like I’m a puzzle he’s trying to work out. “Magic has always affected Laelia differently. Let’s just keep an eye on things.” Releasing a sigh, he tilts his head back and looks up at the ceiling as if trying to bolster up the energy to tackle a great challenge. After a moment, he rolls his shoulders back and turns his attention to Atlas. “I’ll go down to the cells and make sure they are being dealt with properly. I will make sure this is taken care of.” The face of the general is back as he prepares to leave and face the rest of Haven. “Rest up, sister. I’ll make sure you’re not bothered and that any challenges are pushed back.”
Wasting no more time, Kano turns and strides from the room, everyone silent as he leaves. It’s only as the main door to my suite slams shut that anyone moves, seemingly holding their breath until now.
Syn uses this moment to stalk forward, resting his hands against the footrest of the bed and leaning forward with a sceptical expression. “So you’re telling me that the queen has been using magic water to control her people? If that’s the case, how come your magic hasn’t weakened since you started drinking it?”
Put like that, it does sound ridiculous, and I understand why he’s questioning it. His second question holds a lot of weight and is also something I want to know. Since I arrived here, my magic has blossomed, and if anything, my power has only grown as I’ve learned to wield it.
“Perhaps she is weakened,” Scott suggests, “and we just never knew her strength beforehand.”
This is all still so new to me that my magic could be affected by the water. I’ve barely used it outside of Haven, and I never knew how to use it, so a dip in its potency wouldn’t really be noticed. Another thought comes to me, chilling me to my core. If my magic is currently weakened, that would make me the most powerful witch here, even stronger than the queen.
“She’s got the blood of the goddess. The water might not work the same on her as it does on everyone else. Maliki even mentioned that allegiances have been changing since she arrived, and she’s never blessed the water. She’s clearly different from a regular witch,” Atlas insists.
Everything they are saying makes sense, but it’s also really disturbing to me. My brain is overwhelmed from everything that happened today. This morning’s challenge feels like it was weeks ago now, but it’s only been eight or so hours since I was fighting a minotaur. The party, followed by another attempt on my life, has only topped off my shitty day, and I can’t deal with anything else.
Thankfully, Joel senses this and squeezes my leg through the covers before addressing the others. “That’s enough for now. We need to let Laelia rest.”
Hums of agreement fill the room, and I don’t bother to protest as Scott and Atlas rearrange me between them, making sure I’m covered by the blankets. My mind shuts off as they take care of me, and I fall asleep within moments.
ChapterNine
Dragged from a deep sleep, I groggily swim to the surface of consciousness. I don’t think I’ve been asleep long, and it takes me several moments to work out what woke me—voices. They are trying to be quiet, and from the muffled quality of the sound, I know they are talking in the other room. That on its own shouldn’t have woken me, especially with how deeply I was asleep, so instead of ignoring it and going back to sleep, I focus on the voices.
“I really don’t think now is a good time,” Atlas says quietly. There’s no malice in his voice, but even I can tell he’s not going to change his mind on this. I can even imagine the wide stance he’s standing in, his arms crossed over his chest as he bars entry to the bedroom.
