After me, Barron Wright was sent to the runners and François Zielke, the inquisitors, and just like that the ceremony was over.
I made my way to my friends in the stands.
Kleos, Lucian and that bloody interloper had been whispering all the way through my ceremony, but the moment Gideon and I approached, they fell silent.
I narrowed my eyes. “What’s going on?”
‘Nothing,” Kleos lied, her voice off by an octave. “We reserved a table Zest.”
She was truly awful at deception.
I snorted. “That’s starting to be your go-to move when you want to hide something. Come on, I know that face. What’s up?”
“I’ll have you know that I reserved itbeforeknowing I’d need a bribe.” Kleos pouted. “It was awell done on passing trainingtreat.”
“You’re the best of besties, thank you,” I said dutifully. “Now let me know what’s going on.”
I hated not being in the loop. I hated it even more when they told fucking Cas and not me.
She knew me too well to bother with further diversion. “All right, let’s get going, then. I’ll fill you in on the way.”
It took an inordinate amount of self-control, but I didn’t demand to know why, exactly, Cas was still tagging along withus. I could allow that he didn’t have any other plans in town, having woken up less than half a day ago with no memory—according to him. But did he really have to crashmycelebration?
I supposed he also had to eat, but still. It was weird enough that he’d been at my ceremony.
Kleos threaded her arm under my elbow. “I don’t want you to freak out.”
“’Cause that’s reassuring,” I grumbled, immediately tense. “’Fess up, there’s no way I’ll relax until I know.”
She sighed. “We popped by the house—my old house—while you were changing. I had a few things to grab. And, well, it’s my magical reserves. You know, I used to drain my power into whatever I could find—random stones, little objects.” I nodded, urging her along. “And your crystals, of course, but over the last few months I had to drain myself more. I locked them all in a box under my bed. It’s gone.”
“Fuck,” Gideon groaned. “What do you mean, gone?”
“What do you think she means, doofus?” Lucian retorted. “Someone took it.”
That wasn’t good.
Magic stored in objects could be used by just about anyone, including completely regular humans—hence why Kleos’s crystal worked as shields for me although I had no magic of my own.
“How many are we talking about?” I asked, just as freaked as Gideon.
“I don’t know exactly, I didn’t keep track—but a lot. Hundreds, maybe.”
I gasped.
Such objects were seriously regulated, not only because of the amount of mischief someone with extra power could achieve, but because using power from an object wasn’t taxing. A witch or wizard using their own energy knew their limits, and could riskserious harm if they pushed past it. Draining an object was all fun, no consequence. That made the practice seriously addictive—more than most dangerous drugs.
“Err—Kley? That’s amajorcitywide, no, worldwide security issue,” Gideon said. “So head over to dinner without me. I have to report it.”
“I reported it before the ceremony to your mother,” she assured him. “And frankly, they could have been stolen any time over the last week. Might as well eat.”
I exchanged a frown with her cousin, uneasy.
After a second, he shrugged. “Yeah, fuck it. Let’s eat.”
I groaned. “You must be joking. Weren’t you saying, like, five seconds ago that it was a major threat?Rightly.”
He shrugged. “Sure. But that doesn’t mean skipping a delicious meal is gonna solve it any faster.” Putting his arm around my shoulders, he squeezed me a little. “Come on, Protector Silver. Party now, work tomorrow. Or, like, Monday, nine a.m..”
