“This much power wouldn’t. It’s far more refined, not wild like the stones you use. This has been honed.”
“Yes, I read all about how Jadar honed the crystal with the blood and sacrifice of Windwalkers,” Egmun said lightly, as if stating a passing fact about the lineage of Solaris and not the most heinous period of the Dark Isle’s history. “Finally, after all this time, it’s—”
“Minister.” Victor stood, breaking the moment.
“What?” Egmun turned to glare at his young apprentice. But Victor wasn’t deterred.
The young man reached out his hand. With one finger, he touched the hilt at the guard, running up along the blade. Victor’s eyes narrowed. When he pulled his finger back, a line of red was cut into it.
“It doesn’t feel like our crystals, Minister, because it’s not.” Victor leveled his gaze at Vi. She met it and kept her face passive.
“What are you talking about?” Egmun balked.
“Look closer,” Victor practically snapped at the man. It seemed to jostle Egmun out of the power lust that had clouded his eyes. Now, he inspected the sword far more intently. “You’re a Waterrunner too. You know illusions.”
“What do you see?” Egmun asked.
“It’s a subtle… shift. Only visible when you touch it. A good illusion, indeed. But not a perfect one. There is no such thing as a perfect illusion.”
Vi watched as her hopes were crushed under the heel of Victor’s boot. Egmun wrenched the weapon from her hand. He waved it around, watching it carefully. Then, Egmun began to laugh.
“Well done, Victor. You passed our test. You may go.”
“Minis—”
“I said go!” Egmun barked. Victor dismissed himself, but not before giving Vi a rather satisfied side-eye. She had to hold herself back from reaching out and snapping his neck then and there. The world would be better for it. Of that, she was nearly certain. Once the door was closed, Egmun brandished the sword at her. “What is this?”
“The Sword of—”
“Lies!” he roared, slashing it through the air. “Lies, lies, lies.” Egmun slammed the weapon into the side of his deck and Vi watched it leave a deep gouge. Sure enough, her illusion writhed as the weapon wriggled. He pointed it back at her, advancing. “You, you’re a Firebearer. I saw it. You can summon flames.”
Vi held up both hands in an effort to be non-threatening. But tiny fires illuminated each of her fingertips. Both to prove his point, and to show that she could fight back if she wanted.
“How are you doing this?” He stopped. “Unless… unless you have an associate. Someone working with you. Was that why you were in the Waterrunner storeroom?”
“No one is working with me,” Vi insisted calmly. “The illusion is mine.”
“Impossible.”
Vi lowered her hands and with them, the illusion fell alongside her hopes.
“That’s impossible,” he repeated, looking between her and the now unveiled sword.
“It’s not when you know how to use the power of the crystals. Idohave the Sword of Jadar. But I will not show you until we are leaving for the Caverns with Prince Aldrik.” Vi locked eyes with the man. “Consider this demonstration my proof of the sword.”
“You—”
Vi wrenched open the door behind her and stopped him mid-sentence. “You will summon me when we are to leave for the Crystal Caverns and not a moment sooner.”
Before he could answer, she slammed the door and retreated to her room, where the empty scabbard in her hand and the silence that surrounded her were solemn reminders of her failure.
Chapter Eight
Vi paced her bedroom,looking out over the city of frost that glistened like fire in the light of the sun disappearing over the Western mountaintops. Solarin shone brighter than ever before, for every day brought them closer to the prince’s coming-of-age ceremony. The relentless march of time continued against her, seeming faster and faster with each passing hour.
“We need to leave,” Vi said to Taavin, worrying the crystal stone that contained the power of the Sword of Jadar between her fingers. “We should take the Sword and go, get the crown before Victor can, and put an end to this.”
“We need to stay. Aldrik must go to the Crystal Caverns with the sword, otherwise we risk disrupting the flow of time so dramatically that a new Champion won’t be born,” Taavin said calmly, clearly trying to soothe her anxious energy. Vi bit her tongue. “You have already proved you can transfer the energy from the sword to the Caverns. All will be well. You’ll preserve Yargen’s essence.”
