“When needed, I was hard on them. But all your predecessors were eager, motivated, and honored to be here.”
I didn’t feel honored. I felt trapped. “It’s hard to keep my attention with so much reading,” I said instead. “This is more than I’ve ever had to do in my entire life.”
“You mentioned your grandfather taught you to speak other languages, yes?”
I rubbed my thumb over thecommunicasettled against my chest. “Only the basics, and orally. He knew I struggled with literature. Letters sometimes appear jumbled to me.”
Gregorios steepled his fingers. “The Astrals Choose those who draw their attention—the ones who embody the core characteristics of their Zodiac sign. You must have done something noble or admirable for Scorpio to find you once you became detectable.”
I couldn’t fathom what noble action I could have possibly done to make Scorpio believe I couldruleher queendom.
“I have been meaning to ask,” Gregorios said. “Did anyone else know of your brother’s special talents?”
“Apart from our grandparents, Kole, Mel, and Ross… no.”
A ghostly look overtook him. “That’s more than I expected. Why did he never reveal himself to an Academy?”
“I think a part of him wanted to, but he didn’t like the idea of being controlled.”
“Most Scorpions do not,” he said. Right. Basil was also Scorpion. I wondered what he would make of this revelation. “Now, are you ready to take your training seriously?”
“Iamtaking it seriously.”
“I may be blind, but I can tell your attention is elsewhere. You must embed yourself into the Scorpion culture. The people will revolt against you if they discover you have had no ties to them—they value loyalty above all else. The barons and other courts will vote to execute you if word gets out of your apostate connection, even if coerced and fleeting. You must not give Maryn a reason to check your foot.”
Only Raithe and Felaf could see it, but that didn’t give me much comfort. They weren’t loyal to me, only what I represented. A chill ran up my spine. “And you don’t suspect that Maryn has anything to do with the curse? She seems quite content with her level of power. She’s ensuring the tutorseducate me, certainly, but it’s apparent she wants me to fail by rushing me to findhudro. How long does it normally take to find it?”
“For some, it only took weeks. Others, months. The curse has everyone afraid. I—weall feel powerless, so I cannot fault Maryn’s urgency. I did not see anything in her blood to give any indication of such treachery when the barons selected her to be queen regent twelve years ago.”
“And since then? People change.”
“Outside transitions of power, or in the case of the apostai, I must have permission to use Blood Sight on someone. Taking Blood Sight by force, or forcing someone to use Blood Sight, can have disastrous consequences.”
“What… kinds of consequences?”
Gregorios was contemplative for a moment. “Apart from broken trust, my sense of self would diminish. What tethers me to my humanity would wither. It would be harder to distinguish my mind from what is real and present. The same would be true for any acolyte, or unspoken gifted.”
I could tell such ideas rattled the seer. They rattledme. I never truly fathomed the dangers of Blood Sight. Basil had been right to be cautious.
“All that to say, I cannot ask to use Blood Sight again on Maryn without a valid reason. If I were to accuse her of being an apostate, she is volatile enough to believe I could be one myself.”
“You’re the seer. You’re aChosen. Don’t tell me she would vote to have you executed?” At his silence, I leaned forward. “How can she have this kind of power if she’s not Chosen?”
“Our queendom’s laws were not written to accommodate a regent for longer than a year. She has absolute power over our court in the absence of a royal. Now, I suggest you keep such a dangerous idea about Maryn between us. Instead, let us focus onprogressing your ability to findhudro.Will you please recite to me the core fundamentals of harnessing the power of water?”
“Water is water.” I waved my hand in the air. “What more is there to understand beyond needing it to survive?”
“Water is not so nominal. The sooner you understand that, the sooner you’ll findhudro. Do you doubt my years of collective ancient wisdom or the teachers from Academies who have guided past royals on this very journey you face?”
I thrust my forehead against the cover of the book and groaned before straightening to recite its words aloud.
“The foundations ofhudrostem from the ability to bond with the magical element of water. How quickly one is able to findhudrodepends on the emotional state of the wielder seeking its power. Water flows all around and within. It governs dreams, empathy, intuition and represents love, compassion, forgiveness. Just as Gaianos would perish without water, humanity cannot exist without emotions. Water is the element of the unconscious. When an internal imbalance is present in the one who seeks to findhudro, so shall the external world suffer.”
Gregorios nodded. “Water is like a mirror, a reflection of the depths of your soul. You cannot harness such power if you do not understand your own. There are texts I want you to read to familiarize yourself with the ways of water that will make our sessions progress more easily. A good ruler must also understandaero,gi,andpyro,” he explained of the other three elemental powers.
I blinked at him. “The tutors already have me reading books on proper court etiquette, political history, and economics. I’ve never read this much in my life, Gregorios. I have the attention span of a fruit fly. Studies, knowledge, intelligence were all Basil’s area of skill, not mine.”
“Your brother is not here.Youare,” Gregorios said, exasperated. “Honestly, Novah, you must move forward. Yourmind will fester like a stagnant body of water the longer you cling to your past.”
