I struggled to swallow my next bite of food, wondering when the stew, which had been decadent just moments before, became too thick. Well, at least now I knew that Cal had very little actual information about what his brother did. Which meant I would have to ask about our real plans later.
“We will pack you some provisions for thejourney back,” Alaine offered before looking me up and down. “Also, since you didn’t bring any other clothes, you can borrow something of mine to sleep in if you like, Runa.”
I hadn’t thought about what I would sleep in, as I had become so accustomed to just sleeping in my clothes. But now that I thought about it, the thick gown, which was now quite tattered from my run in with the people of Bru, would not be the most comfortable for sleeping. “That would be lovely, thank you.”
For the rest of dinner, Alaine, Cal, and Otho mostly joked about the old days. And though Otho smiled and even laughed from time to time, I could tell it wasn’t his real smile. It wasn’t the one I had seen in the laundry room that day he was covered in blood.
There was something more going on here. Something Otho hadn’t told me.
And I needed to figure it out, fast. Before I gave Otho any more information he could possibly use against me.
Because, at this point, I wasn’t sure he was actually on my side.
I was running through the forest, Milo at my side. It was nice that we could finally run together, now that we no longer shared a single identity.
Those peaceful thoughts didn’t last long, however, because when I looked behind me, I found none other than Viscount Adis on our heels, his eyes set on Milo’s back.
I don’t know how it was possible, but our progress forward stopped, even though we were pumping our arms and legs as fast as humanly possible.
Then Viscount Adis leaped for my brother, his arms outstretched?—
Wait, I had magic.
Withoutthinking of the consequences, I lifted my own hands to blast away the viscount with my air magic. The puff of air left my hands, but before I could celebrate, an arm wrapped around my middle, dragging me back. There was a look of horror on my brother’s face?—
I jolted awake, gasping for air, only to find there really was an arm around my middle. I frantically struggled, fighting to get away?—
“It’s me.” Otho’s voice was strangely calm in my ear. “I’m going to let you go now.”
As soon as my waist was free from his hold, I scrambled forward, twisting to press my back against the wall while I took in the situation. I was on the floor, on the edge of my makeshift bed, Otho kneeling by my pillow. His own bed was empty, the blankets ruffled to indicate he had indeed been sleeping before he disturbed my sleep. My eyes narrowed. “What were you doing?”
His gray gaze narrowed right back, and I fought to not let my eyes stray to his exposed chest. “I think the better question is, what wereyoudoing?” He indicated toward the bed. “I was sleeping peacefully when I was suddenly awoken by a windstorm which was strangely confined to only this bedroom.”
The color drained from my face, and I peered down at my hands. Had I been performing magic in my sleep? I shook my head. I had tested out the wind powers before and they weren’t that strong?—
“Just tell me where you got the books for magic.” His gaze was intense, but my gift revealed he wasn’t surprised.
That sentence alone answered so many questions. I swallowed. “So, you know about Seid magic then.”
“Unfortunately, yes.” His voice was flat, emotionless. His fingers picked at the edge of the blanket.
I briefly debated making a run for it but knew I wouldn’t make it far. Since he already seemed to know more than theaverage Ralheimian I decided it didn’t matter anyway. “Viscount Adis has several books.”
Now it was my turn to watch as the color drained from Otho’s face. It was dark in the room, but the light from the two moons filtering in through the window was enough to see the stricken look on his face. “No . . . it can’t be.” He sat back on his heels, relaxing his defensive pose. Still, I remained pressed against the wall, on edge.
“He only has minor magic. I read him empathy, metallic attraction, and the wind power you saw before you left.” I sighed. “Collum read him persuasion—I wasn’t in the room for that.” Something I regretted now that I was a spy.
His gaze shot to my face, searching it for something. “You’re a reader.”
I nodded. There was no point in denying it when we had already come this far. “It’s why Adis kept me after you said I was too skinny for the army . . . Wait, how do you know about readers?” My voice had steadily grown louder during the sentence, and now Otho lifted a finger to his lips, tilting his ear toward the ceiling to listen for a moment before continuing.
“Adis’s father worked to bury these towns, and the truth of how magic passed from person to person, but he neglected to bury all the memories.”
His words were heavy, and I wanted to ask who he had known, or if he had lost his own parents to the Purge, but I kept quiet instead, pointing to my irises. “The gold rim appears when someone has first been read magic. Adis had me reading to himself, Markus, and Syrus. He said he is not above using magic to win the war.”
His Adam's apple bobbed, and he licked his lips, seeming to be at a loss for words. Then, “He’s going above my head then.”
I dipped my chin, remembering how Adis had mentioned Otho’s aversion to magic. “He said that, yes.”
