Page 178 of The Last Syphon

“I’ve told you half a dozen times.”

“You got something better to do?”

He thought about it for a moment. “Good point.” Sighing, he got to his feet with a flourish. “While you were gone, I managed to get into Prince Walder’s office. It wasn’t being guarded, which I did find suspicious, but I figured it was because they knew no one was stupid enough to try to steal from him. Well, except for me.” He winked.

Inara didn’t smile. She was far too stressed.

“Anyway, the book was exactly where you said it would be, surrounded by a mountain of paperwork on his desk. I managed to flick through it before that bitch Larissa caught me. It was written in another language.”

“Another language?” She frowned, turning to face him. “What language?”

“How the Fates would I know? I just knew I couldn’t read it. But some parts of it looked like they were being translated. There were notes attached to paragraphs.”

“Prince Walder was translating it?”

“I guess so. I mean, he had the book, so it had to be him.”

“Why?”

“Again, I say, how the Fates would I know? You’d have to ask him.”

Inara rolled her eyes.

“But”—he raised his finger in the air—“I did read something interesting from the notes. Something I think you’d be very intrigued to know.”

“What?”

“You remember during the Shielder Trials, when you syphoned from me?”

She nodded.

“And how you were able to draw far more power than what you knew I possessed?”

Again, she nodded.

“Well, it turns out, when power is offered, it is far more powerful than when it is taken.”

Inara frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Well, during the trials, I offered you my power, remember? You wouldn’t take it at first, even when I told you to, and I had to touch you skin to skin and will you to take it. When magic is offered up freely, without force or coercion, it’s stronger than if you were to seize it yourself. Interesting, right?”

Very interesting.

Of course, there was no way for her to know that, and if anything, learning that little bit of information just made her more eager to get her hands on that damn book. What else was in there about her powers? What else could she do that she didn’t know?

Inara crossed the small cell and gripped the bars that separated them. “What else was in there?” The prospect of finding out more about herself pushed their current predicament to the back of her mind. Helped distract her.

Felix pursed his lips. “I don’t know. That was all I read before Larissa caught me coming out of his office. I tried to talk my way out of it, but she was immune to my charms. Which is fucking insane because there’s never been a situation I couldn’t talk my way out of.” He sounded…almost petulant.

It made Inara chuckle for the first time since this whole ordeal had started.

“She ordered me to be searched immediately. She thought I’d gone in there to steal something of value. Gold or weapons or something. I’ll tell you right now, I wish I had. Then maybe she might not have found the book.”

Inara sensed his guilt, and her face softened. “It’s not your fault.”

Anger-filled brown eyes slammed to her. “Yes, it is.”

“No, it’s not, Felix.”