Lexie frowned. “I don’t know.”
“My father…” I had to tell them. I needed to tell Trew as well. “My father’s putting together an army to attack Syllavar. He’s vowed vengeance for her death.”
“What if Velmire took your sister, then…” Derren’s sympathetic gaze met mine. “They stand to gain if your court attacks ours. They’ve always coveted our power.”
“In the past,” Kerralyn said. “They proposed a breeding program, would you believe. Like your court, they have their ownDay of Mercy,but some keep their power hidden from the public, using it only in private.”
The courts thought a Day of Mercy was the only humane way to handle those with a touch of magic, that killing them kept people from going mad.
When maybe they never did.
“Is that why Trew took our children?” I asked.
“I know a bit about your children,” Derren said, his tone sharp. “Some were placed in my village. I met them. Grew up with them.”
“What?” The word came out a half-shout. “You mean this isn’t the first time your court took them?”
“Not all, but some.” His chin lifted. “We protect them. We don’t harm them.”
“We supposedlyreformthem,” I said, my shoulders sagging. “I’m beginning to believe nothing was reformed, that the children…”
I didn’t like thinking my father had hurt them.
“I was told they’re given back to their families after training,” I said, my heart cratering.
What were my people doing with the children?
Derren’s gaze met mine. “You can’t strip magic away.”
Lexie’s lips thinned. “If they can reform or train children, why kill the adults?”
“A good question.” My shoulders slumped. I loathed the part I’d played in it. I was forced to be the Lady of Mercy when I was ten, but what was my excuse at my current age?
The wind picked up outside, rattling the glass panes. Somewhere in the castle’s depths, a door closed with a hollow bang.
“I went to the reformatory many times and begged to meet with the children. I wanted to make sure they were alright. My father…” He’d scolded me when I was young and threatened me to stay away when I was older.
Why hadn’t I forced my way inside?
“My father’s advisors…” Mostly did what he told them to do. Everyone did, actually.
Even me and Addie.
“Advisors can be amazing or nasty,” Kerralyn said, no doubt thinking of Kira.
My mother was afraid when I’d used my power in the garden. I could still feel the sting of her fingers gripping my wrist too tight, the tremor in her voice that had made my little girl heart race with confusion and fear. The memory had haunted my dreams for years.
She’d begged me never to show magical ability again.
Untrained, I hadn’t known how to suppress it.
And here, no one did. Power was welcomed, lauded even. The Riteof Bonds was a brutal trial, but it was optional, not forced on anyone. Some made it through, and they bonded with beasts who enhanced their power. They were trained on how to use it, how to fight.
Those who chose not to compete in the Rite were also given training, though their power remained limited.
They weren’t forced to drink poison.
No one feared magic in this land. No one panicked that their daughter would be taken away if she showed some ability. No one worried they’d die if they were exposed.
