From the other side, Brunn and Ycken stepped closer, their curiosity obviously piqued and their fear of the flame-spitting monster she supposedly was under control.
“You are sure your mother didn’t have fire magic? Or your father?” Brunn prompted with that stern look she remembered from her first trial.
Lory shook her head. “I wasn’t aware I was from a magical bloodline at all before the day you conscripted me to Ashthorn.” They didn’t need to know her father was still alive. No matter his abandoning his family and kicking Lory and Evven out into the dirt when they’d found him when they were younger, she wouldn’t take any risks.
Every word hurt, her throat dry from two days without water, and her stomach rumbled at the view of the raw meat in the bowls. Carefully, she lowered her palms into the bowl, picking up the thick, red slice.
“If I cook it, I can eat it?” She knew better than to trust any of them—even Khayrivven, no matter the heat smoldering in her stomach at the sight of him.
“That was the deal.” Lenya sat down across from her once more, leaning back in his chair as he flicked his fingers, and Aiden’s face contorted with agony.
What horrible magic did the Master of Whispers have to inflict such pain without even touching a person, without visible proof of what he was doing?
“You’re wondering what it is that I can do?” Lenya guessed right and didn’t fail to smirk at her as he watched Aiden gasp for air.
“Leave him alone,” Lory demanded, ready to get to her feet once more and throw herself at the Master of Whispers, consequences be damned. “You said if I summoned my magic, you wouldn’t hurt him.”
Lenya shook his head. “I said,summon your magic, or he dies.” He took a long, hard look at Frost, at the haze rising from his palms as his magic strained to break free. “He’s not dying, is he? Just a little … uncomfortable.”
Monster, that was what Lenya was. No wonder the students didn’t dare speak of him. He was evil, a sadist.
“Oh, by the Guardians, Espetto, leave the boy alone.” Brunn shifted as if ready to put herself between Lenya and Aiden, but she remained where she was, face hard and eyes sparkling dangerously as she met Lory’s for a brief moment. “We’ve come to a conclusion, so there’s no point torturing the ice wielder.”
Frost sagged in his chair as Lenya lowered his hand. A trickle of blood spilled from his mouth onto his shirt, and his features slacked as he inhaled a deep breath. Ice climbed from his fingertips all the way up to his swollen lip and his bruised neck, where Lenya’s magic must have done damage, forming a layer to cool the worst of his injuries.
I’m sorry, Aiden,she thought, focusing on the piece of meat cooking between her fingers. The flames were hot, but not uncomfortable, and her pulse had slowed, the panic of what would happen to Aiden smothering the burning need spreading whenever she dared glance at Khayrivven.
The meat was almost done.
“I know.” Lenya gave Brunn a punishing look, but his posture remained relaxed, as if no one and nothing in this room could hurt him. “Hand Falcrest has informed us of your magic, Vednis, and now we’ve seen it for ourselves. We’ve also heard about your achievements in Veiled.” Throwing a glance over his shoulder at Khayrivven, he paused, Lory’s heart rate spiking all over again for fear of what he might see if he looked too closely at him.
“The youngest captain in the common army, and the youngest hand at Ashthorn Ward.” A hint of pride shonethrough as he turned his back on Khayrivven once more to watch Lory’s reaction. “What has he taught you, Vednis?”
A lump the size of the meat in her hands formed in her throat, and Lory fought to swallow it before she’d give away anything.
“He’s instructed us in Veiled techniques, especially how to master obstacles, alongside his magic lessons, of course.” That was neutral, right? They couldn’t make anything of that except that he was a dutiful and skilled teacher.
“Of course,” Lenya echoed with a terrifying grin. “And has he shown you the sort of magic he holds? Has he ever told you why he’s the youngest hand at Ashthorn?”
The lump moved to Lory’s chest, where it formed an iron fist around her heart until all she could do was shake her head.
From the corner of her eye, she watched Khayrivven turn to stone, his muscles nearly shaking from how still he stood.
“He uses unorthodox methods of teaching, that’s for sure, or he wouldn’t be so valuable to King Ulder and his magical units. But he also carries secrets that would mean your certain death if he ever shared them—and his.”
The fist started squeezing, and her breath stuttered as she forced her panic down, fighting the dark edges of her vision.
What the fuck was happening?
“He told me he used Almelyte powder on you to first trigger your magic. Is that true?”
Wait a moment… Was it her on trial or Falcrest?
She nodded. “He did.” Her choked voice carried into the silent mess hall, and the meat slipped from her still-burning fingers into the bowl.
“And he said you had light magic?”
Again, Lory nodded. Whatever Lenya was trying to achieve, it made breathing hard and her heart leap into a frenzy, hammering against the steel layer slowly constricting it.
