Strange? Like King Umbri’s banners hanging from the walls and not Wycke’s family’s? The smoke pouring in from the windows from the city burning around them? How he’d love to tear those memories from his mind. Of hearing how Nyanda threw her infant son from a tower… “No. Saris took me out, and Radre came with us.”
“Hmmm…” Aberfrer strolled back and forth. “I’ve always wondered how so powerful a sorceress contained so little magic at the end.”
From what Wycke had heard, she’d been powerful, even holding back the invading forces for a time. “Maybe she used all her power in the battle.”
“Perhaps. However, Myrgren Castle sits on a vein of pure magic for those who can gain access, as she did. She’d have tapped in and called limitless power.”
Which explained why Wycke accidentally used magic there before being brought to the capital. He hadn’t tried to tap the wellspring during his spy mission with Saris. “If it’s so powerful, why don’t you do the same?”
Aberfrer shook his shaggy white head. “A human body wasn’t meant to hold so much raw energy. It takes its toll on mind and body.”
“Were there ways for her to, I don’t know, put it somewhere?”
“Like in a box?”
“Sure. Or her grimoire, her familiar.” Hopefully, Chynne still lived. Wycke might need a rescue if he couldn’t find common ground here.
Ifthe blasted familiar put in an appearance.
“Magic requires a magical soul, once separated from the source, no matter how tiny the spark. Power never survives placement into an inanimate object. It must have a living host.”
“An animal, maybe?” Chynne?
“Possibly. A person is preferable.”
Wycke shot his gaze upward, connecting with Aberfrer’s. “What about her son?”
“Her son is dead, killed by her own hand.”
“Did you see a body?” Of course, Wycke couldn’t come out and tell this man of Piers’ existence directly, only to have him kill Wycke, take his power, then hunt Piers. But if it could save Piers…
“No, but your sister assured us…” A thoughtful look replaced the doubt on the old man’s face.
How could Wycke reveal enough of the truth without revealing too much? “At the time, my sister was little more than a girl, who feared you’d kill a helpless baby. So, of course, she lied.”
A touch of understanding lit Aberfrer’s eyes. “It all makes sense now. Sorceress Nyanda transferred magic to her son.”
She what? The magic wasn’t Piers’? “But why? It’s not like she’d live again through him.”
“There were so many people in the room.” Aberfrer resumed his pacing, muttering to himself all the while. Maybe he’d gotten too close to lots of magic at some point. Wycke wouldn’t swear to the man’s sanity.
Oh, the stories told to Wycke of Myrgren’s sorceress. The only positive thing he’d ever heard about the woman was her lovely eyes and cold beauty.
“From what I’ve gathered about Nyanda, she’d look for someone in a better position to further her goals.” Someone like… “A mage, perhaps,” Wycke offered.
Aberfrer regarded Wycke with a bit more respect than a moment ago. “No. Not a mage. A suddenly powerful mage might draw too much notice. She’d want someone in power, certainly, though not necessarily with ample magical abilities of their own, if she wanted to go undetected.”
Wycke pulled in a deep breath, heart pounding a frantic beat. “A soon-to-be-crowned king?”
Aberfrer’s eyes widened. Then widened some more. “Lady Nyanda hid the bulk of her power in her son and sent him away. Gave him to your sister, correct?”
Please, let Wycke not be throwing Saris under a human-realm bus. All she’d knowingly done was save a child. She hadn’t intended to help the sorceress, had she? No. Never. She’d hidden the child to protect both the child and Wycke, kept Sir Broderick’s secret out of loyalty, would never aid such evil. “Yes. She sent him to the human realm in the care of a trusted guard.”
“Your brother may possess just enough magical ability to house Nyanda’s spirit. Between my draining her and what she gave to her son, she needed to rebuild before she could come out of hiding.”
“It’s been a long time.”
“Magic takes time. If she indeed possesses your brother, she’s had many seasons to grow, reconnect with her followers, reach the level of magic needed to tap the wellspring.”
