Chapter 34
A DARK RITUAL . . . blindfolds and blood . . . no longer soulbound . . . five casters . . . auras
“There’s one more thing,” Illiana said to the group gathered on the dark beach. “The possession spell is too powerful for any one caster to perform. It requires the amplifier hex and at least five casters. Among us, we only have me, Rangar, and Anter. We need two more.”
“Two more who must be of the utmost trustworthiness,” Rangar emphasized.
“My father will assist,” Anter said. “That leaves the Viklunds of Vil-Rossengard as the only other possible casters: King Hans or Queen Karin.”
“I am not well acquainted with either,” Mars said. “Which does not incline me to trust them.”
“I don’t know that we have a choice,” Anter said. “Of the two, Queen Karin is more skilled with magic. She was an apprentice mage before marrying Hans.”
“Ask her, then,” Bryn declared. “It’s a risk we’ll have to take. The parlay begins at noon tomorrow, so we’ll need to perform the spell tonight. Let us return to our rooms and feign going to sleep; after the final servants have gone to bed, sneak out and come to my chamber. Elysander, you’ll need to disguise yourself as a healer.”
Elysander nodded. “I can steal a healer’s uniform from the palace laundry.”
The group returned to the palace solo or in couples to dispel any rumors that they’d been conspiring. Back in their bedroom, Bryn shed her dress with its soaked, sandy hem and slid on a white robe.
Once Rangar had changed, he sat on the bed and pulled her into his lap. Circling her waist with one hand, he combed the other through her loose hair. With concern in his eyes, he said, “I don’t like this idea.”
“Illiana is a skilled witch. Her ability rivals even Mage Marna’s.”
His thumb grazed her bottom lip, then her chin, as though sealing every detail of her face into his memory. “Yet it is an unknown hex. Granting you the ability to possess Queen Amelia’s body is only the first half of the challenge—Illiana will still have to bring you back to your own body.”
Bryn shifted on Rangar’s lap until she could slide her hands around his shoulders. Looking him squarely in the eye, she said, “I promise you, Rangar, that by this time tomorrow, we’ll be sitting like this again. You in your body, and I in mine.”
His eyelids dropped slightly. “I’d rather have you under me, if I’m being honest.”
A smile curled on her lips. She kissed him softly, but as fire stoked in her body, it grew more insistent. Rangar gripped the back of her skull and seemed ready to guide her down to the bed when a soft knock came at the door.
“Damn the gods,” he muttered, then kissed her harder and faster before breaking away. “Come in.”
Illiana entered with a basket of supplies. She began clearing the dining table of their leftover dishes.
“Mars is staying behind in our room,” she said. “He’s going to make a loud trip to the latrines in about an hour, so it doesn’t seem like all our rooms are suspiciously quiet. Now, Bryn, it’s best to lay on the floor, so any spilled blood is easy to clean up. I’ll use this table for my tools.”
While Rangar helped Illiana clear the table, the door opened again. This time, Elysander slipped in. She’d covered her hair with a white scarf and wore the black uniform and gray apron of a healer. She clutched a basket of oranges.
She motioned to the fruit. “I took these from the kitchen. They’re supposed to be good for an upset stomach. If anyone comes to check on Bryn, I’ll say we need more and send them to the kitchen to get them out of the way.”
They made a makeshift bed for Bryn on the floor atop a sheet, and then Illiana handed Bryn a vial. “Drink this. It will help put your mind into a trance. You’ll experience strange sensations until your spirit is back in your own body.”
As she took the vial, Bryn was reminded of the first time she’d undergone a hexmark carving. Rangar had forbidden her from getting the translation hex, as the spell was untested. Yet she’d gone through with it anyway on the rooftop of Barendur Hold, held down by apprentices, wild visions coming to her from Mage Marna’s potion.
She lifted the vial to her lips, but Illiana said, “Wait. One more thing. You’ll need a blindfold. Amelia must be the first person you see after receiving the hex. You could possess the wrong person if you see anyone but her.” She pulled one of Mars’s black silk blindfolds from her pocket and fastened it around Bryn’s head.
Someone rapped gently on the door. Rangar’s footsteps crossed to let them in. “Anter. King Otto. Queen Karin. Thank you for coming.”
Blindfolded, Bryn could not see their company, but she listened carefully for the sounds of their rustling clothes and gave them a nod.
I can only imagine how Mars feels like this all the time.
“It’s a bold plan,” a man’s voice said that could only be King Otto. “We were always led to believe possession was beyond the bounds of magic.”
“In the Mirien,” Illiana explained, “Magic has been forbidden so long that we weren’t able to study the traditional magical masters. We’ve had to develop our own spells. It’s given rise to some hexes no one thought possible.”
“And you consent to this, Lady Bryn?” a woman said. It had to be Queen Karin.
