My heart sank. It was over. I was out.
“The balance of power is a delicate thing,” Heidi said. “Each bloodline blessed by the Trinity of Weavers plays a part in that balance. The Arcanus are connected to the Weave by threads that we cannot possibly begin to understand. The loss of the Blackthorne bloodline sent a shockwave through the fabric of power, which took decades to stabilize.” She gave me a pointed look. Seriously, was she about to give me a lecture now? “Onyx may be blocked from the Weave, but they were never cut off entirely and still contribute to the balance in some way. I do not wish to see what happens if we lose this most tenuous connection.”
Wait… Wait a bloody second. Was she saying what I thought she was saying?
Portia huffed. “As much as I value your insight, Heidi, I don’t agree with it. The Weave is made of sturdier stuff than to be destabilized by the loss of a bloodline. If anything, it would leave more power for the rest of us.”
Portia Reign was a true bitch.
“What is your vote, Heidi?” Walter asked. “So that we are clear. Nay or aye?”
Yes, please, I needed her to be clear.
She fixed dark eyes filled with undecipherable emotions on me. “I vote we let her stay. I vote aye.”
Relief surged through me, leaving me dizzy.
Portia threw up her hands. “Well, in that case,youcan mentor her when she’s unbound. Iwon’thave her in my tower.”
“Yourtower?” Heidi arched a brow.
“You know what I mean,” Portia said. “She’s not welcome in East Trinity Tower with the sorcerers.”
“She can stay with the covens,” Heidi said. “Once she’s unbound. We can put her in an administrative position to protect the bloodline as per theArcanum Lex.”
“Now wait a minute,” Portia said. “Surely returning her power is enough to meet the terms of theLex. We are effectively giving her the means to protect herself. The rest should be up to her. If she is to be a student here, then she must be treated like everyone else.”
The other Coterie members made sounds of agreement.
It was fine. I’d handle whatever was thrown at me, and I’d survive it. Portia wouldn’t be getting rid of me so easily.
I understood why she didn’t want me around, though. I was a reminder of what she obviously believed to be a lapse in her brother’s judgment. I was certain all the Reigns hated me. All except maybe one—my stepbrother Kian.
Portianotwanting me around made perfect sense to me, but why did Heidi Embercrest agree to host me?
Incantors generally had very little love for sorcerers. They hated that we could tap into the Weave without having to use spells or potions. That the Weave ran through us, amplified simply by a focus object. To them, it probably sounded like anarchy. But my bloodline of sorcerer was an anathema. There were enough incantors in our family tree to have given us the ability to wield both kinds of magic. It made us an outlier, unpredictable but powerful.
Maybe she was looking to take me under her wing and use me somehow? Whatever the reason, if it kept the others off my back so that I could focus on my real purpose of finding theLibra Veritas, then I was good with faking being grateful to her.
Shit. Walter was talking. Focus, Anamaya.
“…Bramble under Vitra’s mentorship until your power has been unbound,” he said. “Heidi, can you explain what will happen next?”
“Of course.” Heidi inclined her head toward him before focusing her attention on me. “The spell that blocks your access to the Weave is powerful and will need to be removed in stages. You’ll see the Weave Watchers tomorrow, and they’ll determine how best to unravel it.” She smiled kindly. “We’ll take it from there. Any questions?”
The way Dori had described her, I’d expected her to be a total harridan. But she wasn’t. Not to me. Which meant she definitely wanted something. I could work with that. “I do have a question. How will you punish the Border House radio operator who almost got me killed?”
The silence that followed was pregnant with expectation.
Portia was the first to break it. “I hardly think that’s any of your concern.”
I glared at her, choice words springing to my lips, but Heidi’s warning earlier about respect helped me shape my response. “With all duerespect, I wasn’t speaking to you.”
Beside her, Heidi bit back a smile. “The incantor responsible has been stripped of his position in the Border House and relegated to Domestic duty for the rest of the year.”
Domestic duty? Seriously? “That’s it? That’s the punishment for attempted murder?”
Her gaze hardened. “You can trust that Domestic duty for a year is a fitting punishment for a Raichand.”
