I sensed his pride through the small spots where our skin touched. “Excellent, Avalon. Now draw that power inwards, toward that gaping spot in your chest. Can you feel it? It’s so empty, it almost aches. You can fix it.”
Instinctively, I knew what he was talking about. It felt like a dead spot in a green field. Like it had never gotten any sun, or it had been salted and was now barren. How could I heal something so damaged?
“I don’t know how,” I whispered, and he gripped my hands tighter.
“Yes, you do. It’s an instinct, buried deep in your mind. You just have to let go.” His words were earnest. “Suck in a deep breath, and pull the power in with it. Place it in your empty puddle.”
Shaking my head, I did as he suggested. Concentrating on that buzz of power close to the surface of my skin, I sucked in a deep breath. I imagined the power like rain, aiming it over the barren place in my chest. I pulled and poured, until I could hear my gasping breaths in my ears.
Finally, the power filled the empty puddle. I kept going, until the puddle turned into a pool, and the pool into a lake.
“That’s it,” Lierick encouraged. “Feel that power. When the spot feels full, stop.”
Turning it off was almost as hard as starting, but eventually, I swallowed around the lump in my dry throat and drew the power back to my limbs.
“You look radiant right now, Avalon Halhed. Your power is a heady sensation,” Lierick rumbled. “Now scoop up a handful of that power and try to predict what's about to happen.”
Scoop, he says. Just scoopy scoop it out. How fucking insane.Still, he’d gotten me this far. Scrunching my face, I tried to mentally fill a cup and let it infuse my brain or something.
Then, like a moving painting behind my eyes, I saw Lierick leaning forward and kissing me. His lips were soft against mine, his tongue flicking out to run across my lower lip. I saw Alucius pushing between us and snapping her teeth at him, before she grabbed the front of his shirt and dragged him off the log.
Then stomped on his nuts for good measure. Yeah, Alucius didn’t play.
My eyes slid open, and he was right there. So close that his smile flashed in the afternoon sun and he was all I could see. Nothing else in the forest existed. The pink tip of his tongue peeked out from behind perfectly straight, white teeth.
I put a hand out and pushed him backwards, though a whole other part of me wanted to grip his shirt and pull him closer.
Alucius stood and growled low in warning, but I looked down at her. “It’s okay. Lierick is going to mind his manners.”Now.Scowling at him, I tried to calm the wild beating of my heart. “You’re lucky. She mauled you in my vision.”
The stupid man just grinned as I pulled my hands away and edged backwards. Away from temptation. “It was probably worth it.” He clapped his hands softly. “Congratulations, Avalon Halhed, Heir to the Ninth Line, you just used your foresight powers. Next step, changing the future completely.”
Goddess help me. Or maybe this was her fault all along.
Twelve
Vox
Ichewed the inside of my cheek as Master Proxius dithered on, the excuses about where he’d been flimsy at best. Looking past him to Svenna, I raised an eyebrow, but she just stared back at me stubbornly. I wondered if she hadn’t told him that I knew about Lierick, or if Proxius was more oblivious than I’d first thought.
Letting him talk in circles about being on a ship that was bound for Fortaare, I knew he wanted me to draw the conclusion that he’d been in the Capital without overtly saying so. The verbal swordplay may have bamboozled me once, and if I hadn’t known about Lierick already, hadn’t already discovered Svenna was a spy, he may have managed to do it again. Or maybe he truly was oblivious.
Waving a hand, I created a bubble of silence. No one outside of this room would hear what I was about to say. “Did you see my father while you were in Fortaare?” I asked lightly, my tone slightly bored. “Perhaps give him an update on my progress?”
Master Proxius shook his head. “Unfortunately, no. You know how busy the Baron of the First Line is.” His pulse was normal, his breathing even, not an ounce of stress showing on his face.
“Better than most. I’m not surprised that he didn’t have time to see you. ” I gave him a crooked smile. “What does surprise me is that no one realizes the Master of Boellium War College is a member of the Second Line.”
He froze, his eyes going wide. I smiled at him, but it was all teeth as thetalto protect against the Second Line’s magic chilled against the skin of my chest. I hadn’t known for sure that he was Second Line, but the feel of thetalactivating proved it better than words ever could.
I’d had Shay track down this talisman from an antiques dealer in Doend. A lot of people collected antique talismans, and this one was no exception. I’d paid a pretty penny for it, but that had already paid for itself. The hunt was still on for more, or for someone who could replicate the magic in mine.
As a rule, only the Line you were protecting against could imbue atalwith the magic it needed to defend against attacks. Historically, it was given freely, a sign of friendship and camaraderie, but when that failed, enough money could persuade a poorer member of a Line to give up a little magic.
I could ask Lierick to create one for Avalon and Hayle, and Shay as well, if I actually trusted him. Which I didn’t.
I tapped my chest with my forefinger, indicating mytal,and Master Proxius’s face paled. “Let’s just say that I’ve met your Heir and taken measures to protect myself against him. But I’m not going to expose you to the Baron, so don’t look so frightened.” I sighed heavily, wishing I had Avalon here. This had all seemed easier when her hand was wrapped in mine. “I’d just like us to continue without this subterfuge between us.”
Master Proxius licked his dry lips. “So be it. Mostly, time and opportunity led me to this position. I was a school teacher in Ovl, and then later, headmaster there. I trained in the Dawn Army when the opportunity arose. When the position came up here in Boellium, everyone assumed I was from the Fourth Line. Theyaren’t great at record keeping there, and no one was intent on looking too hard.”
