Calivan shrugged. “I am a Calbernan. Just because I wasn’t allowed to risk my life and my sister’s happiness by seeking gold and glory like the rest of our warriors doesn’t mean I didn’t pursue other methods of protecting my people and the women of my House. Now, before we begin, I need you to share some of your power with me. Once I understand what your gifts are, I’ll be better able to train you in how to use and control them.” Calivan held out his hands.
She made no effort to take them. Ever since the Shark, the idea of touching any Calbernan but Dilys was anathema to her. Ari had been different, of course. She’d been trying to save his life, and he’d been too damaged to be any threat to her. She didn’t think she’d be able to touch even her own guards except in the direst of emergencies—and they were men Dilys trusted implicitly, men he’d handpicked to protect her and absorb her magical overflow should her gifts threaten to overwhelm her.
Of course, once she becameMyerialandDonimaof House Merimydion, she’d have to get over her phobia of being touched. It was ridiculous to expect Dilys to serve as her conduit for every gift of power she’d be required to make. There would be too many. She was destined to be the engine that powered an entire nation. According to Dilys’s mother, the pregnant daughters of House Merimydion would expect—no, require—her to share her gifts so their children would be born strongimlanisin their own right. The powerful daughters of the royal Houses would expect the same, so that more Sirens could be born. The sons of Calberna, heading out to war, also deserved every advantage her gifts could give them.
She could not regard them all with suspicion. Every man in the world wasn’t a rapist lusting for a victim. Every Calbernan wasn’t magic eater slavering to take by force what magic she would not share freely.
Still...
“Can I not just demonstrate my gifts, instead? Would that not give you a good idea of what I can do?”
“What you can do, yes, but not how you do it, or the amount of power you’re capable of generating.”
“I’m capable of generating quite a lot.”
“That’s only natural. You are a Siren, after all. However, it would be much more beneficial to understand exactly how powerful a Siren you really are. That will enable me to tailor my lessons to suit your needs.”
His reasoning made perfect sense. Of course, he needed to understand as much as possible about her power so he could help her learn to control it. So why was she so hesitant? This was Dilys’s uncle—theMyerial’s twin brother. He couldn’t possibly mean her any harm.
And yet, still, her whole body throbbed with resistance at the idea of letting Calivan touch his skin to hers.
Mistaking the reason for her reticence, Calivan said, “You needn’t worry about generating more power than your guards and I can contain. I have taken the liberty of preparing several crystals capable of storing any excess power.” He pulled a shining, polished stone the size of a goose egg from the pouch at his waist. “One of my more recent discoveries in magical devices. The crystal can be imbued with magical energy from any source and used for a variety of purposes. It can store spells. It can be used to power magical artifacts. The energy can also be extracted and used by anyone with the proper knowledge and ability—Calbernans, for instance—with very little power loss.”
“Are you intending to store my power in those stones?” she asked.
“I hope so. I would certainly like to do so. It would allow me not only to measure how much power you’re capable of generating, but also to experiment on your magic without constantly needing you to be present.”
“I need to think about that for a little while. What if we start with a demonstration and work our way towards having me share power with you or storing it in those stones?” She flushed a little, feeling embarrassed by her reticence. She didn’t want this man to think she didn’t like or trust him. He was an important member of her new family.
Thankfully, Calivan didn’t appear to take offense. “We could do that, of course, if that is what makes you most comfortable. But I won’t be able to truly understand what we’re dealing with until you share your gifts with me. Every holder of great power wields that power slightly differently than anyone else. It’s in those differences that we find the true keys to control.”
She flushed again, and bit her lip in shame for her own cowardice. “Of course. That makes sense. It’s just that... well, after the Shark...” Her voice trailed off.
“I understand.” His eyes were kind. His voice soft and full of sincerity and compassion. “I’m so sorry. I should have thought of that myself. If you’ll follow me, I have a reinforced chamber built deeper in the mountain, where you can demonstrate your gifts without fear of causing harm.”
“Dilys? What’s going on? Why are you ransacking Prince Nemuan’s office?” In a whirl of sheer silk and subtle perfume, Alysaldria entered the small palace office that had been assigned to Nemuan Merimynos in his role as commander of the Fourth Fleet. Behind her, two of her guards positioned themselves on opposite sides of the doorway.
“I’m looking for information.” Dilys kept rifling through the drawers. His mother had been in a meeting with theDonimariwhen he’d first sought her out, so he’d decided to search Nemuan’s palace office for clues to the traitor’s identity while waiting for the meeting to end. “Ari says Nemuan blamed House Merimydion for the deaths of his mother and sister. I’m hoping he kept some sort of journal that might give me a clue as to what he meant.”
“If he did, he’d be unlikely to keep it here. Not that I’d put too much stock in Nemuan’s claims anyway. The poor boy was clearly grief-mad.”
Dilys ignored the fact that his mother called Nemuan, a man who’d spent the last two years terrorizing sailors across the Olemas Ocean, a “poor boy.” To her, despite his treachery, Nemuan was still the son of aMyerial,and a cousin she’d watched grow from infancy. His treason was the final, regrettably tragic turn in a life derailed by suffering. Dilys’s mother had a hard time seeing bad in the people she loved.
“So grief-mad that it took him almost twenty years to take action against us?” he replied instead. “Forgive me,Nima,but that doesn’t track.”
She laid a hand on his bare shoulder, warm power pulsing gently into him, a soft caress of energy shared instinctively through the bonds of maternal love. “We have no idea what was in Prince Nemuan’s thoughts all those years,moa elua,nor do we know what set him off. Although,” she admitted softly, “I think it’s clear that your impending betrothal to anoulaniwoman was a factor.”
“Nima.” Finding nothing enlightening in the late prince’s desk or filing cabinets, Dilys abandoned the search and rose to take his mother’s hands and raise them to his lips. “According to Ari, Nemuan was insistent that House Merimydion was directly to blame for the deaths of Siavaluana and Sianna.”
His mother made a sound of distress. “Such madness. As if any of us would ever wish harm upon another royal House—let alone the House of my father’s beloved sister!”
“That’s what I said. After all, what possible motive could any of us have?Tey,you becameMyerial,but you didn’t want it.”
“No, I never did. I never even wanted to rule House Merimydion. My dream of a perfect life was your father and me and a cottage by the sea, loving one another and raising our children.” She laid a slender hand along his cheek, gazing up at him with eyes shadowed by an old but still strong sorrow. “And then, he was gone, and simply surviving from one day to the next was almost more than I could bear. Even with you and Calivan there to keep me going, I could feel myself Fading. I’m ashamed to say I wanted it.” Long black lashes swept down over her eyes. “As much as I loved you both, I wanted to join your father more.”
His throat grew tight. “I know,Nima.” He’d always known. It was, in fact, a secret fear that had long lived at the back of his mind: that his love, her brother’s love, her duty to House and country wasn’t enough to hold her to life, not when her longing for his father beckoned to her from the grave.
“Ironically,” Alysaldria continued, “though I didn’t want the Sea Throne, though I still don’t want it, Siavaluana’s death saved my life. She gifted me her power before she died. That gift stopped my Fade, helped me hold it at bay all these years since.”
