Kai looked between the two of them, suddenly understanding what the vial he still held contained. “You made a Tidecaller synth?”
Clover put his hands up in defense. “I assure you this is not what it sounds like.”
“Then explain why Thames felt the need toCollapseand inject himself with a synth I’m assuming containsyourblood.”
Clover tipped his head toward Thames. “Ask him. I had no hand in this.”
Thames seemed upset at their lack of understanding. His breathing was erratic, his eyes wild and frenzied. “You told us that Collapsing expanded your limits,” he said to Kai and Baz. “But I’ve seen the way you both struggle. How you, Kai, bring nightmares to life against your will. And you, Baz… how frightened you are to use your power. You both claim Collapsing makes you limitless, but the Shadow’s curse still has a hold on you. On all Eclipse-born.”
“You’re not making any sense,” Baz said.
Thames looked desperately at Clover. “Tell them what you told me.”
“Cornelius?” Cordie pressed at her brother’s silence, a hint of suspicion in her voice.
Clover’s throat bobbed. “When Baz and Kai mentioned how synthetic magics were made in their time, I thought it might be the key to unlocking Tidecaller magic in others—something I’d been puzzling over for some time.” His gaze hardened on Thames. “Inevermeant for you to experiment on yourself like this. You should have told me what you were planning—what if your Collapsing had gone horribly wrong? What if you’d drowned in the pool before any of us got here?”
“Why were you in the pool in the first place?” Luce asked, brow furrowed.
“Because I had to die, of course,” Thames said matter-of-factly. “Isn’t that how a Tidecaller is made? A brush with death to unlock their latent Tidecaller powers.”
“That’s not exactly how it works,” Baz argued. “I mean, yes, a near-death experience is needed, but notanyonecan become a Tidecaller.”
“But see, that’s what Cornelius was trying to disprove.Tell them.”
Clover looked ashamed. “You must understand… what I did, I did for the sake of all Eclipse-born. I wanted to find a way to share the kind of limitless power that I have as a Tidecaller with others—withyouspecifically, Delia.”
“Me?” Cordie gasped with a nervous laugh. “Cornelius, what is this? You’re scaring me.”
“You can’t survive in this life without power, dear sister. Remember where we came from? Without power, we would have never gotten ourselves out of that place. We would have suffered more abuse at the hands of those who were meant to care for us if it weren’t for my power finally getting us out of there. It was my magic that kept us safe, that lifted us from the hole of poverty and into the comforts of wealth. My power that gave the name Clover all the prestige it now carries.”
“And I thank you for that, brother. But whatever you’ve done, whatever you’re trying to achieve… isn’t it enough to just be safe and comfortable?”
“No. Don’t you see? My being a Tidecaller, your lack of magic… in our society, these are the kinds of secrets that have the power to destroy us. I wanted us to beuntouchableso that no one could hurt us if our secrets came out. And I wantedyouto have the same amount of power that I do, if only to protect yourself should something ever happen to me.”
“I’ve never wanted such power,” Cordie said.
“I know. It’s why I kept this from you. I knew you wouldn’t understand.”
“Understandwhat? Please, brother, just tell us before I lose my mind.”
Clover motioned to the pool, the Treasury at large. “It started with the Selenic Order. Everyone I experimented on was a willing participant, I assure you. I thought the key to unlocking Tidecaller magic was simply to have a brush with death, nothing more, just like what happened to me when I was a boy. I convinced my fellow Order members to make a ritual out of it, told them this would bring us closer to divinity—that it was a necessary step in bringing back the Tides. They thought I was a Healer with a morbid fascination with death and divinity, and they were more than eager to help. And so, for years, we would come down here, slice our palms open with a ceremonial knife, and bleed into the pool, which is said to be blessed by the Tides. Thus combining the magic of all four lunar houses. Well, allfive, if you count my own.
Clover glanced at the glowing pool as if he could see the scene playing out. “And then we would drown one of our own in the water.”
Cordie’s hand flew to her mouth. Luce looked at Clover like she’d had him figured out all wrong—a sentiment that Kai shared.
“No onedied,” Clover added as he caught their horrified looks. “I never let it get that far, healing them when I felt they were close enough to death. Eventually, though, I realized my method wasn’t working, and I thought maybe it was my own healing magic that was interfering. No one had savedmeas a child. I had to claw my way back from the brink of death on my own. I suspected it would have to be the same for everyone else. To become a Tidecaller, they would have to fight for their life. If they did not survive death, then it must mean they were never fit for Tidecaller magic.”
“Cornelius…”
“I stopped it then, the whole thing. It didn’t go any further.” Clover’s gaze drifted to the glowing pool again. “The only thing that might giveeveryonethat kind of limitless power now is going to the gods themselves. To the Deep, where the Tides and the Shadow reside. That is where true power lies. The source of magic itself, of godhood, kept locked behind a mighty gate, while most people here are left with only faint trickles of magic or none at all. I want to make magic whole again. To bring both the Tides and the Shadow back, and with them, the power that made us limitless. I will plead with the gods myself if I must—anything to elevate us all to what we were always meant to be.”
“But don’t you see? I did it,” Thames said triumphantly. “Your original idea was right: wecanmake Tidecallers out of anyone. It’s why I came down here to Collapse and try it for myself. I extracted my own silver blood, mixed it with your Tidecaller blood, injected the mixture into my veins—”
“I never asked you to, Thames. What you did was reckless—”
“I just wanted you to love me!” Thames yelled, eyes full of tears. “I wanted you to value me, to appreciate how far I was willing to go for your vision—ourvision. Can’t you see?”
