He leans closer to me, and I feel my own desire rising with his, something deeper and more primal growing within me.
Elanar pulls us apart, and my first instinct is to strike at him, but he just stands there, while I feel my emotions start to recede to a more manageable level. “As with all abilities of our kind, the trick is letting go of them. You were impressive here today, Lyra, but we still have to work on your control.”
I nod, not able to form words. Alaric looks at me, then Elanar, as if he isn’t sure what to do next. I can still feel his love, but his face is a mask again, as if he’s afraid of the sudden burstof emotion. He hurries away as if afraid that he’s gone too far, and Elanar gives me a nod before hurrying after him.
“We’ll meet to train tomorrow, Lyra.”
And every day until I master the skills he’s teaching. I hope it will be enough. The skills I’m building may help me to save the city. As for Alaric… I’m not sure what to do there. Confusion reigns in me, and I flee the space where we’ve been training just so I won’t have to think too hard about it.
I need to get back to the palace, before I’m missed, feeling my heart pounding in my chest as I go. I don’t know if it’s down to what almost happened with Alaric, to the training, or to the growing threats in the city. Somehow, they all feel bound up together, and until I find answers to all of them, it feels as though every threat will hang over me forever.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“You’ve been meeting with Alaric,” Rowan says, when I get back to the palace. He intercepts me in the halls, before I can even get back to my rooms, which suggests he’s been waiting for me.
I look at him carefully, trying to work out whether he has evidence of that, and what he might do about it if he does. I decide to take a risk, since Rowan is the one who suggested that I should work with the resistance this time.
“I have,” I admit.
“Have you been able to do anything yet that might stop Selene?” Rowan asks.
I hesitate, looking around pointedly at the corridors, and the servants who pass by from time to time. Any one of them might overhear what we have to say, and we have no way of knowing which, if any, are controlled by Selene.
Rowan seems to understand, gesturing for me to join him out in the palace gardens. We walk out into the sunlight, away from anyone who might be watching or listening.
“So,” Rowan says. “Do you have a solution?”
“I’ve found something that might help,” I say. “A facet of my magic that might let me counter what Selene’s doing.”
“How?” Rowan asks. “Your magic is about animals, not people.”
“I’ve been shown that my magic can also let me feel people’s instincts and emotions. I can influence them too,” I say. Rowan looks surprised, then worried.
“So you have psychomancy as well?”
“It’s not quite psychomancy,” I explain. “I can only influence emotions, not give people instructions, or take over their minds completely.”
At least, I don’t think I can. Elanar hasn’t suggested it, and I can’t feelpeople’s thoughts. I can tap into their animal instincts, not control their conscious thoughts.
“Even if you could, I trust that you would never use your abilities the way Selene is,” Rowan says. “Does this mean you’re in a position to take her on directly?”
I shake my head. “I don’t think so, not yet. I still need to practice and get better at this. Once I do, I may be able to undo her control over people and protect them from her.”
Rowan looks pleased by that, but he frowns afterwards. “But in the meantime, she’s expanding her control. She has the freedom to go where she wants, and now she’s running these so called ‘salons’ in Ironhold, drawing people to her to be seen with her or just to talk. With her powers, you can imagine how dangerous that is.”
I can. People will be drawn to Selene by her fame, because she’s a symbol for a return to the order of the empire, or just because she’s bringing together people who want the opportunity to connect with one another.
“She’s building a court around herself,” I say.
Rowan nods. “That’s my fear. And I’m worrying that it’s too late to do anything about her. She has guards around her the whole time, and I suspect they’re to protect her now, rather than contain her.”
“You were thinking about having her killed?” I ask.
“I can’t get the votes in the senate,” Rowan says. “But she’s such a threat that… I’ve thought about it, I’ll admit that. And I hate that she’s put me in a position where I’m thinking about that.”
I know Rowan has a much harder job than me as the First Senator. He’s the one who must make that kind of decision. But I hate that we’re talking about the possibility of killing Selene, because she’s too much of a threat to stop her another way.
“I want to see what she’s doing,” I say.
