Or was this just some sort of horrible coincidence?
My eyelids shot open.
Collum was ten years older than Milo and me. If anyone knew about what was going on, it was her. After all, she had been the one to press the book into my hands.
But how could I speak with her without creating suspicion?
My brain swirled with plan after plan, trying to come up with a way to talk with my cousin, but none were possible. They were all too dangerous, involved asking Adis for permission, or risking blowing Milo and my cover.
No, I was on my own now.
I would have to figure out the way the Seid magic worked, and why Adis wanted it, on my own.
CHAPTER 5
Reading the red book turned out to be easier than I had originally thought, the words coming easily—almost deeply—from my chest, as Adis stood with his back to me. Markus and Syrus leaned against the wall behind where my knees kissed the cold stone floor.
I couldn’t deny the questions that bubbled up after the events of the days prior. Would reading the red book increase the wind power? Something told me that was not the case, but I kept the thoughts to myself as I read line after line in my deep voice.
Like with the black book, I was soon hoarse, forced to push the book aside, but to my surprise, a green one was tossed roughly at me the moment I set it on the stones. For the amount of pressure the viscount placed on me to read, he certainly didn’t value the books at all.
Which made me wonder if they were the sources of the magic, or I was.
Swallowing, I studied the new book, just as I had the red one. This time, the words didn’t seem foreign at all, but I didn’t tell the viscount that, afraid the book would be snatched from me and I would be returned to my room early.
As my gaze absorbed line after line of text, I found myself even more confused than before. Like the black and the red book, the green one wasn’t necessarily profound. Rather, it was a collection of blessings and short lessons, similar to fables—like one would read to their children. How that connected to the wind power which was now flowing through my veins, and that of the viscount, Markus, and Syrus, I was unsure.
“Viscount?” A deep voice came from the doorway.
Before I could blink, both the red and green books were snatched from me and tucked away, out of sight, and a kick was embedded in my ribs, causing me to keel over on the floor. Previously, I might have hastily righted myself, but due to being on my monthly menses, and the lack of food and vigorous hours they kept me working, I found myself unable to do so. Instead, I was forced to peer at the intruder from the odd angle where I lay against the cool stones.
Maybe something was wrong with me, as I found the cool stones soothing. I closed my eyes, wondering what the purpose of this room had been prior to my arrival.
“Am I interrupting?” the deep voice asked. I recognized it, but couldn’t say from where.
“No. Just punishing an imbecile,” Viscount Adis hissed. I was kicked again for good measure.
“Hm.” With that noise, it all came rushing back. General Otho was the deep-voiced stranger.
“What can I do for you, General?”
The stone against my cheek vibrated as someone moved across the floor. “We are losing sorely to Malheim. The last wave of men from the village was nothing more than twigs in soldiers’ clothing. We need to retreat so I can properly train more. That, or we need to take their offer of peace.”
The last string of words struck a chord deep within me. Why was the war continuing if Malheim had offered peace? Though I hadn’t taken to university as speedily as my brother, everything I had learned since leaving my home that fateful day was contraryto what they told us students. Until Viscount Adis had shown up at my door, I had no idea Ralheim had even been at war. And now there was a peace deal on the table? Why wouldn’t we automatically accept it?
“You know as well as I do that we need their tax income. Ralheim is failing and cannot sustain itself on the current population, General.”
A sound akin to a growl came from the general’s mouth. “Perhaps that is a result of your one-child policy and the fact that you pull all the young men into useless wars after they come of age. It’s hard to maintain a population on females alone. Especially when each home can only keep one child.”
A pause, then, “Are you questioning my decisions, General?”
I could almost hear his hesitation, even though I couldn’t see his face from my current position. A cramp curled in my gut, stealing my breath, and I bit my lip to keep from emitting a groan.
“No. But I will warn you, we are on the losing side of this battle. It would be wise to cut our losses now and attack again when we are once again stronger and our numbers have replenished themselves.”
“Thank you for your input, General. I will take it into account.”
Maybe I had been spending too much time with the Viscount Adis, but I knew from his tone that he would not consider the general’s words at all. I cracked open my eyelids just in time to see his feet, clad in black boots much less shiny than those covering Adis’s feet, treading toward the door.
