Vi lifted her hand and summoned flames around her palm. They snaked and wriggled between her fingers, illuminating the room in a red-orange glow. She extinguished them by balling her hand into a fist.
“Yes, well… I have enough Firebearers. Sorry to disappoint you.” He pursed his lips together and looked back down at his desk. “If you excuse yourself without issue I will spare you the trouble of calling the guard for trespassing on the Tower uninvited.” Vi didn’t buy his dismissal for a moment. She’d bet anything that if she stood and walked off, he’d follow to see what secret passage was the Tower’s weak spot.
“I never said I was here to offer you my skills as a Firebearer.”
“You’re still here?” Egmun glanced up at her.
“We both have something the other needs, and I think we should work together,” Vi continued calmly, folding her hands over her lap. Egmun was now staring at her, saying everything with his eyes. Vi let the moment drag out. She was making a bold move, but the magnitude of her plans could hinge on little else. “I consider myself a researcher of crystals as well.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Of course you don’t.” Vi smiled and stood, walking over to one of the windows with purposeful strides as she spoke. She acted as though the office was her own. “Then I’ll just talkatyou for a moment, and let’s see if anything sounds interesting to you…
“I grew up in the West reading about the power of crystals and hearing all the colorful stories that surround them. Stories of a power unlike any other. There was one thing, more than anything else, that entranced me—the Sword of Jadar.”
“The sword is long gone.” His whole attention was on her now.
“So they say… So I want people to believe.” Vi glanced over her shoulder as the man jumped to his feet.
“You have it?” He was so hungry for the answer that he was nearly drooling over the question. Vi had been away from people for so long that she’d forgotten just how foolish power-hungry men could be.
“I do.”
“Are you a Knight of Jadar?”
“If I was a Knight of Jadar, would I be offering the sword to a Southerner?” Vi arched her eyebrows. “The Knights seek the sword to bring back the might of Mhashan. They’re old men yearning for a renaissance of their glory days because they can’t handle that the world has changed.” Vi allowed venom to seep into the words. “Mhashan is gone. And I don’t want to use the crystals’ power to bring back the past.”
“Then what do you want?”
To save the world. “Must I want anything more than the pursuit of knowledge?”
The hard line of his brow softened at the question. She’d disarmed him. Just as Taavin had advised her, Egmun was a man who thirsted for knowledge above all else. Curiosity was an irresistible carrot for him that Vi now dangled at the end of a stick.
“Prove you have the sword,” he finally demanded.
She clicked her tongue. “It doesn’t work that way. Like I said, we each have something the other needs. It doesn’t serve me to give you my bargaining chip without first getting something in return.”
“The Sword of Jadar is quite the bargaining chip. What could I possibly offer you of equal value?”
“The crown prince.”
“What do you need him for?”
“If you are as well-researched on the crystals as your reputation has led me to believe, then I assume you know about the barrier in the Caverns?”
“You mean the door?” he clarified. It didn’t entirely confirm her suspicion that he was the dark-hooded man she’d seen at the Caverns, but it did support the theory.
“Yes, it leads to the heart of the Caverns, where the true power is. The sword can unlock that power, with the right ritual.” The best lies were grounded in the slightest bit of truth. “But the barrier was formed by the late Empress Fiera.”
“It’s true then, the rumors of her death?” Vi nodded, wondering just what rumors had been flying about while she lived in the shadow of the Caverns. “Then, that means…”
“We need the crown prince to get to the true power. His magic is similar enough to his mother’s. He’ll be able to undo the barrier if we train him well enough with the crystals,” Vi finished for him. She didn’t actually know if Aldrik could undo the barrier alone or not. Fiera seemed to have an instinct for Lightspinning, despite all odds. Perhaps her son would as well. If not, Vi would be there to make sure there were no hiccups.
“We?” Egmun repeated, sounding somewhat offended.
“The sword is nothing if the door can’t be opened. And opening the door is useless without the sword because you will not be able to access the heart of the Caverns without it.” Vi crossed back over to him, perching herself on the edge of his desk. Placing her palm flat against its surface, ignoring the papers, Vi leaned toward the blue-eyed man. “Like I said, we need each other.”
“How do I know I can trust you?”
