“Yeah,” I breathed, utterly transfixed by this truth. Standing, I leaned over the knee-height table drinking in how each dagger was crafted for an intended purpose, none of them the same. “You can manifest any weapon at will?”
“Yup. As long as I’ve seen it, held it, or drawn it.”
“Incredible.” Plucking another dagger from the mix, I stood tall, getting used to its weight. Once acclimated, I flipped it over. Steel now pinched between my fingers, the grin on my face was the only warning before I flicked my wrist, aiming at his shoulder.
“Shit!” he squealed before the familiarthunkof the blade sinkinginto wood made my heart sing. His topknot poked past the oversized shield he’d conjured before his shocked—if not hurt—eyes found mine. “Not cool.”
Smirking, I leaned to grab another blade.
“Absolutely not,” he said, making the daggers disappear.
“You’re no fun,” I pouted.
Incredulous, he looked to his family for backup only to find poorly veiled amusement. “Seriously, I get enough of this from them already,” the kid groused.
“It’s true,” Sidrick said through a chuckle.
“At leastweknow you can manifest a shield,” Artton supplied, eyebrow cocked at me in accusation.
“What?” I said, taking my seat. “I didn’t aim for anything vital, and Myron is in the other room. He would’ve been fine.”
“Wait? What? You didn’t know I could shield?”
“I took a calculated risk.”
“With my life,” he countered.
I winked at him. “Welcome to adulthood, kid.”
“Wait, I’m older tha?—”
“Kaelun,” Caius interjected.
“What?” he said, swing his arm in my direction to indicate that I should be the one addressed in theHigh Lordtone, and the look of betrayal on his face had me to bite back a laugh.
“She wouldn’t have thrown the blade if she didn’t know on some level you could defend yourself,” Caius offered.
“Yeah, a courtesy I’m sure doesn’t extend to me,” Artton chimed in.
I offered him a saccharine smile, letting him know just how right he was.
Before anyone could throw the conversation further off topic, Caius looked to his nephew. “Grab Myron for us. We’ll need him for this conversation.”
I was suddenly nervous, as if Caius’ innocuous words wereanything but. Now sitting on the edge of my seat, I offered Myron a forced smile as he took a seat to my left.
“Did she say yes?” he asked.
My head whipped to Caius. “Say yes to what?” My cautioning tone was unmistakable.
Side-stepping it, he said, “We’ve been discussing how Thaddeus attempted to steal the spark for himself and how he and Wymond believe they can siphon it using spellcraft.”
“Okay,” I said, unsure I wanted to know where this was going.
“Now that Kaelun is here, and Myron is willing, we believe that seeing the memory of Thaddeus’ attempts would help us understand the magic involved to discern if it’s possible, and if it is, how to protect you should they manage to get a hold of you.”
Ice filled my veins.
“Whoa. What just happened?” Kaelun said, his voice filled with concern.
