“What does it all mean?” I asked, struggling to understand. “Possessing the powers of light and dark.”
“I can’t reveal too much.” He showed his palms in an apologetic gesture. “Only that those with your gift are meant for extraordinary things.”
“Like what?”
“Well, the one before you came at the height of the human and demon war. She ended the demon lord’s reign.”
“Lord Onyx?”
“His father,” he clarified. “She drove back the demonic army and helped make Bremloc what it is today.”
“You can’t be serious.” Nerves assaulted my belly and exploded upward, bouncing between my ribs like pieces of shrapnel. “I’m not heroic or strong, Lupin. I sure as hell can’t fight demon lords. I punched myself in the face once while trying to pull up my blanket. Does that sound heroic to you? No. Baking amenity muffins and handing out peace tea? Sure. I’ve done it loads of times when trying to get my men to behave and consider myself quite the pro. But I can’t, like, actually fight. Or do magic. Or anything that requires me to run.”
“Evander? You’re talking too fast. Take a breath.”
I deeply inhaled and sharply exhaled.
“Good. Now take another but slower.”
I sucked in another breath and slowly released it.
“Better?” he asked.
“A little. Would hate to see my blood pressure right now though.” I rested a hand over my heart. “You said all conditions must be perfect for someone like me to be born. How?”
“The answer lies in your blood.”
“My blood?”
“A child of light and dark.”
“More riddles? That’s it.” I searched for something to lob at him and zeroed in on the soap bottles lining the tub. “Do you want to smell like lavender or pine? Because I’m about to chuck one of these at you.”
“Now, now. Calm down.” Lupin eyed the bottle inches from my hand. “No need to resort to violence.”
“Speak now, wizard, or face my wrath.”
His lips twitched. “It’s not a riddle. I simply answered your question. A child of a light mage… and a dark mage.”
My scalp prickled. “You’re saying my dad was…”
“A dark mage,” he said, finishing my unspoken thought. “Quite the scandal when he was born. A royal hadn’t been born with magic in several generations, let alone with dark magic. Some believed he was an illegitimate heir, that the queen had been unfaithful to the king. Untrue, of course, yet it made him a sort of pariah within the family, as well as within the council and among foreign nations. Apart from one.”
“Haran,” I whispered.
Lupin nodded. “I’m not sure if you’re aware, but Haran is a place of high-arcane energy. Rivers of mana flow beneath the kingdom’s soil, much like the field of glowing flowers and weeping willow you saw last night. Imagine that but greater. Many of the people born in Haran are mages because of this.”
I thought for a moment. “Is that why King Silas was interested in my dad? Because he had dark magic?”
“Yes. Silas wouldn’t allow any of his daughters to marry just anyone. They would’ve had to possess the same gifts. So, a treaty was put into place. An alliance through marriage was one of the terms.”
My chest deflated. “And then my dad broke those terms when he chose to marry my mom instead.”
“Unfortunately, yes.” His eyes twinkled in the fading rays of sunlight spilling in through the stained-glass window. “Elias and the king traveled to Haran soon after to renegotiate terms. King Eidolon even offered to surrender certain territories he’d refused in the past, such as Exalos.”
“The city of shiny things,” I said, recalling the silly name I’d given it.
“The mountains, as you know, contain gemstones and jewels. Many of them can be used for spell work. Crafting amulets, magical staffs and wands, and to strengthen enchantments. For a place like Haran, the mountains and its shiny things are invaluable.”
