Then his grip on Inez tightened. She whimpered but ceased her fight against his hold. Damien held her tight against him ashe finished a bind, one hand wrapped around her wrists while her arms were clasped in an abjurative bind.
“Eri, what are you doing here?” He scanned her from head to toe, brows knit in a worried line. “Are you okay? What did they do to you? Did they hurt you?” His face darkened. She had never seen him so angry. So raw.
Erinna’s heart twisted. Maybe she could tell him the truth. Damien was her friend—had been for years. The academy would be the fastest, safest way off this island. He could help her.
Then Inez let out a small, broken whimper, and every hair on the back of Erinna’s neck stood on end.
Damien’s grip on Inez’s arm was firm but not cruel as he pulled her to her feet. He kept his hand steady on her shoulder—more like he was guiding a frightened animal than restraining a criminal.
He took a step forward.
Erinna stepped back.
Damien gave her a puzzled look, as if he didn’t understand her hesitance. Then his gaze dropped to the bulging satchel at her side, and his expression hardened. “What are you doing here, Eri?”
It wasn’t a question. It was a command.
Her fingers tightened around the hilt of her dagger. She could tell him—part of it, at least. Enough to make him understand without revealing everything. A shipwright kidnapped by pirates. Believable. Simple. He was her friend. He would believe her. Wouldn’t he?
“I—” She spoke faster than the lie could fully form. “They stole one of our boats and took me as collateral.”
The words tasted like sawdust. Wrong and cowardly. But what else could she say? Erinna was cursed and searching for answers in a dead mage’s library? That would earn her a cell next to Inez’s.
She let the dagger drop from her hand, the blade hitting dirt with a dull thud. Her palms opened in surrender, and she prayed the scrapes, the bruises, the blood smeared across her clothes would sell the story.
Damien’s eyes narrowed, studying her.
Erinna risked a glance at Inez. The diviner’s fear had intensified, her whole body trembling under Damien’s careful hold. She looked like she wanted to scream, to warn Erinna, that she was making a mistake.
Erinna’s stomach churned.
Finally, Damien’s features softened, and he took in a long breath. He believed her.
“Does your father know where you are? He never reported you missing.” Erinna winced at the topic, but a flutter of hope bloomed at the look of genuine surprise. It meant that they hadn’t found him, yet.
“No, he didn’t make it back home in time after the late Chancellor Hagan passed.”
The mage’s expression was unreadable, and Erinna could only hope she was more convincing than she sounded. Damien’s gaze dropped to the ground, his brows furrowed in thought.
Inez used the distraction to her advantage. With a grunt, she broke free of Damien’s hold, but the academy-trained mage was quick to recover focus.
He pulled on the arcanum that surrounded her. Froze her in place with his abjurative Talent. Beads of sweat dripped from his brow to his chin. He’d exerted more than she thought. Damien was on the precipice of Burnout. Once his magic waned enough, she would have to make a hard choice once again.
A vein bulged in Damien’s temple. The magic was taking more effort than he intended. He absentmindedly patted the academy pendant pinned above his heart. A witchstone focus given to every initiate.
“Be straight with me, Eri,” he finally said, and Erinna’s heart dropped. His tone was steel. Unforgiving.
“What are you going to do with her?” Tears burned behind her eyes, but Erinna blinked them away.
“She’s an escaped aberrant, a traitor. You know what that means. But Chancellor Tyril is willing to make a deal with her. Servitude in exchange for her life.”
Erinna couldn’t hide her disgust. Damien recoiled, as if her reaction was a physical slap in the face. “We’re not monsters, Eri.”
But they are, she finished the thought.Weare.
“Is she to be the new King’s Eye?” she asked, pointedly, but didn’t need Damien to respond. She could see the confirmation flash across his eyes. They needed another dog to collar and chose the next best candidate.
“It is a mercy for her, Eri.” He said it with such conviction, Erinna went numb. What would he think of her then? She eyed the dagger on the ground.
