“When we arrived, I immediately left to strategize our defenses. Koerlyn is proud, and when I took you from him, I not only robbed him of something incredibly valuable, but I embarrassed him too.” He seemed rather pleased at that fact. “We were anticipating an attempt to infiltrate the city, and yesterday, we received word of a small troop posing as a caravan of villagers. We intercepted them last night.”
Oh. So maybe Harthon’s other priorities really were that pressing.
“How did you hear about them?” I asked, returning to the broth.
“I have the best information network in the Territories.”
The tight-lipped answer offered nothing but the obvious. It reminded me of his previous words about Koerlyn torturing me for information. If that troop had succeeded and dragged me back to Third…
“But you’ve waited long enough to know what’s going on, so here it is, Etarla. You’re our way of infiltrating the Domus.”
I coughed on the broth, sputtering. Harthon couldn’t have been any less blunt if he tried.
His forehead creased. “I’m going to revise my statement from earlier. You can stop eating while we speak. I’d rather you not choke to death.”
“Is there a different, more appropriate reaction for people who are told they’re the key to entering a very much inaccessible city?” I croaked.
“It could have been calmer.”
I laughed, the sound dry and bitter. He’d stolen me away, imprisoned me in his Citadel, all for an impossibility. “Right. How about this for a calm reaction: you’ve lost your mind.”
Harthon sat back, dwarfing the chair. Knees open, elbows resting on the armrests, he was wholly untroubled by my statement. “How much do you know about the Domus?”
“I know the general details. It’s a swirling, reflective field that no one can pass. It appeared after a period of unrest. Nothing has been heard from Centralis since. Princepes like to say King Donon brought the walls up because of his own cowardice, and they’ve sucked the life from our land and skies ever since.”
“You don’t believe what the Princepes say to be fact?” he questioned.
“I have an innate distrust of our Territory leaders. Considering their penchant for kidnapping,” I said, giving him a pointed look, “that distrust is sound. Plus, the truth of the Domus never reallyconcerned me. It’s been there for twenty-five years, and it isn’t going away.”
Amusement lifted his lips. “Despite our penchant for kidnapping, that information is true. But it’s missing quite a few important details, some of which we omit from the public, and some of which are just unknown to current Princepes.”
“Why would you omit details from the public?”
“Us Princepes tend to fight over many things. The one commonality that unites us is our general desire to stay in control. Certain information would promote hysteria and unrest, which threatens that control.”
It was no secret that our leaders valued their power, but when Harthon stated it so bluntly, disgust lodged in my throat. We were all just the Princepes’ little captives, ruled under their fists, controlled by their whims.
“King Dononwasa coward,” he continued, his contempt for the ruler evident. “His control on the Territories was slipping, and the Princepes that used to be loyal to him began planning coups. Farms and food supply had struggled for a few years, and Donon knew it was only a matter of time before he was overtaken. So, he called on hismagvisto do something.”
A strange being had erected those walls, they said. I never really thought it to be true. “Magvis?”
“You’ve never heard of it?” He said it like I was an ignorant fool.
I blushed. “I’ve heard of it. I just didn’t think it was true, so I never bothered to know more.”
“A majority of the public only started to hear of themagvisafter the Domus, and even then, we’ve kept details limited. Themagvisis a being that…controls things in unnatural ways.”
“You’re telling me King Donon had a witch?”
Harthon shook his head. “Not a witch. Not like the ones fromfictional stories, anyway. Themagvisdidn’t cast spells or make potions, and her feats didn’t come easily. What we do know is that themagviswas capable of manipulating our physical world, and only very rarely.”
The explanation only birthed a thousand more questions. “Manipulating our physical world as in erecting the Domus’ walls? Is there only onemagvis? Are there…are there other beings out there that can do this?”
Harthon handled the assault in stride. “Yes to your first question. And for your others, there has only ever been onemagvisat a time. A newmagviswas only created when the current one gave birth and died doing so. The first was discovered long ago and was quickly adopted as the king’s personal weapon. Locked away, isolated, and kept only for use when needed. Amagvisis the only being close to magic that we know exists.”
“But if themagvisis so powerful, how could one ever be locked away?”
“According to the stories, the very firstmagvismade an oath to a king. Protection for ownership. That oath was passed down through its bloodline.”
