Aden looked back, intrigued.
“It’s the one on the center table. Behind Ian.”
“I’ll go take a look.” He left them with a wink, as if he knew they were just trying to get a moment alone.
“Onric, I’ve figured it out.” Ashlin squeezed his arm, unable to wait any longer. “The magic does not come from the element of chaos, as the councilor claimed. It comes from the harmony of song.”
“What do you mean?” Onric’s eyes were focused intensely on her, and he leaned down close so she would not have to speak too loudly to be heard.
“Look at the tall figures in this panel. They are not causing a storm, they are singing. I know it seems straightforward, but the way the needle hums with energy when you use it also points to the power of harmony, not chaos. I...” She paused, despite her excitement.
“Yes?” His eyes were intense, but his face was open. She could trust him. She wanted to trust him.
“I have also found some other evidence, but I am a little nervous to tell you.”
He placed his hands on her shoulders. “The protection of my status is yours, forever. When I said that I would take the fall if we are discovered for any of this, I meant it. And I still mean it.”
She nodded and took a deep breath. “Earlier tonight, I learned...”
Chapter 32
Onric focused intently on Ashlin, but before she could finish sharing her thought, a terrifying rumble shook the ballroom and the light grew dim.
Immediately, Ashlin stopped speaking. The musicians stopped playing. Someone started screaming.
Onric automatically stepped in front of Ashlin, protecting her with his body as he looked for the source of the noise.
A dim light was centralized in the center of the room, near the dais, and a hooded figure in the crowd began to speak in deep angry words Onric did not recognize.
A Majis had infiltrated the castle.
“I’m a castle guard...” he started to say over his shoulder to Ashlin.
“Go.” She pushed his back. “Do your duty.”
“Get out of here! NOW,” he replied as he sprinted towards the dais, where Ian stood still as though in shock.
“Ian, move!” Onric yelled.
The hooded figure held a reddish light between his hands. Eerily, it did not illuminate anything around it, and all Onric could see of the attacker was the edge of the man’s hood. The rest of him was shrouded in darkness. The candelabra overhead were still burning, but some trick in the air had dimmed their illumination so that most of the ballroom was shadowed.
All Onric could see was the glowing orb pulsating, growing brighter as the attacker chanted. The orb throbbed, and the attacker drew back his hand to hurl it at Ian.
Other guards throughout the room ran forward, pressing through the crowd, but none of them would make it to the dais in time.
“IAN!” Onric screamed.
A flash of bright light blinded him momentarily.
Then, the dark haze in the air disappeared and the room was as it had been before.
Only everything was now in chaos.
Trusting the other guards to search down the attacker, Onric focused on the dais. He could no longer see Ian. He jumped up on the back of the raised platform, which was already swimming with the guards who had arrived barely moments before him.
They had gathered around the spot where Ian had been standing, weapons drawn. Onric pushed his way through them.
Ian was kneeling on the floor, bending over the form of a giant beast.
