“He was a marshal in the army,” Isa replied, “but he paid a peasant to take his place on the battlefield and instead focused his time on writing reports to Queen Delphine. His books are mostly just compilations of that correspondence.”
“Queen Delphine?” Aden interjected. “I thought he was later than that.”
Isa shook her head. “No, he was in her army.”
“So, he himself was a Majis,” Aden said.
“Not necessarily,” Isa replied. “Many in her troops were coerced into fighting for her.”
“But he was a marshal and had enough means to keep himself off the battlefield. It is more likely than not that he was a Majis.”
Isa nodded, considering his point. “That would make sense. But how does it change things?”
“I don’t know,” Aden sighed. “Keep reading a few more pages with that in mind?”
Instead of answering, Isa picked up the book again. She skipped forward a handful of pages and began to read from another place at random.
The content was the same. Boring.
“This is putting me to sleep.” She yawned. “The lilting nature of his lists is almost poetical. Ten units of this, and ten barrels of that. They sent troops to accomplish this, and troops to accomplish that. It’s like he can’t mention one thing without mentioning it’s opposite or complement.”
“It’s harmony,” Aden said, sitting up.
“What?”
“It’s harmony. If he was part of Queen Delphine’s army, they would have been fighting with magic. It’s as though he is reporting to the queen that they are keeping everything in balance and harmony.”
“I thought you said the magic is based chaos?”
Aden’s shoulders slumped back down again. “It is, at least insofar as the examiners have discovered. But there is another part we don’t fully understand yet that relies on harmony. My... eyesight was worse immediately after the curse, but an old seamstress knew some magic from her ancestors. She went on about harmony canceling out chaos and sang over me, restoring some of my sight. The examiners must have discovered the harmony element of magic, which is why they are requesting the Floutast.”
Suddenly, Isa felt too warm. She shifted away from the fire, still thinking about the middle part of what he had said. “You willingly let a Majis perform magic on you?”
Aden’s eyes were focused on her, his pupils small and intense. “She restored my eyesight. It was completely different from the attack at the ball. It was calming, and healing.”
Isa shook her head. Magic was evil, not to mention absolutely unlawful. “Then why did she not completely break this curse?”
“It cannot be broken,” Aden said. “If it could be, I would not be here, hiding in the mountains.” His voice was wistful, hopeless. The reminder of his condition instantly dampened his spirits.
Despite their light tension over the use of magic, Isa wanted to comfort him. She had been thinking about his curse, and Blanca’s words from that night in the tower came to mind. “Are you sure about that?” she asked. “The curse inThe Queen of Silverreignwas broken when Andrew returned to Amelya, sacrificing his surprise inheritance and promising to take up her responsibility to her oppressed people.”
“It’s just a myth,” Aden said, dismissing her words.
“A myth, a legend, a saga.” Isa smirked as she spoke, recalling the same words he had used against her. “A story that is told for the purpose of passing on wisdom from one generation to the next.”
His lips twitched as he recognized his own words.
“Say it was a story based on truth,” she continued, “and he did use magic to break Amelya’s curse. How did he do it?”
“I don’t remember the details,” he replied. “I wasn’t particularly paying attention when I read it.”
“Would he have used the magic of harmony or chaos?” Isa mused. “Could he even have been a Majis, though, to wield power? He started as a swineherd. I thought all Majis were nobles.”
“If it really was based on truth,” Aden said, “and he could wield magic, why did he not use it during the battle? He could have destroyed his enemy sooner and returned to help Amelya before she died. It just doesn’t make sense for that part of the story to be true.”
“I’m just making theories,” Isa said defensively.
“Good theories,” Aden replied. “I did not mean to discourage you.”
