Crown of Danger (The Hidden Mage Book 2)

by Melanie Cellier

  “Those are advanced workings,” Duke Gilbert said. “I’ve heard you chose law enforcement as your discipline of study.”

  Darius nodded at him. “I believe any ruler must know their own laws and how to uphold them.”

  “Well said, young prince.” The Head of the Seekers nodded acknowledgment of Darius’s beliefs.

  “You cannot depose me,” Cassius said, fury and fear making his voice rise.

  “Actually, we’re the only ones who can,” Duke Gilbert said. “And only in favor of your heir. Personally I feel we are ready to proceed to a vote.”

  “Not so fast,” Duchess Ashten said, and I held my breath. Her discipline had long supported the king. “We must first agree on the exact terms to be put to the vote. Are you proposing that Prince Darius be immediately crowned as king? While still at the Academy? Such a thing is unheard of.”

  “It is preposterous,” Cassius spluttered.

  My eyes found General Haddon. He had worked his whole life to see his own flesh and blood on the throne in place of Cassius, and yet rumors said he wanted no king without complete loyalty to him. He must be furious that Darius had not warned him of his intentions. But he held it in much better than Cassius, giving no sign of such feelings on his face. Darius must have been right about his father, because I felt sure that once the king could have matched the general for careful circumspection. He showed no such restraint now, however, every word out of his mouth only reinforcing Darius’s case. It had been a master stroke to allow his father to remain in the room.

  “Certainly there can be no official coronation before he graduates,” the elderly Head of the Healers said. “But it seems clear he already has the intelligence, maturity, and control for the role. He can be named king-elect immediately, and Cassius may remain as king-regent until the young prince’s graduation.”

  “And what exactly does that mean?” the Head of the Growers asked, her brow furrowed. “Regents usually rule in everything but name, holding the throne for young children. What is the role of a king-regent if we also have an adult king-elect?”

  “It means that Cassius shall remain on the throne in Kallmon,” Duke Gilbert explained, “but every one of his decisions must be ratified by either the king-elect or the Mage Council. And he shall have no authority to delay or prevent the coronation of the king-elect at the nominated time.”

  “That sounds reasonable,” the University Head said.

  He turned to General Haddon, and the rest of the Council followed his lead. The general had been remarkably silent throughout the meeting. Ostensibly, it should be the king’s supporters who were the greatest danger to Darius, but they had always supported the crown in anticipation of Darius’s ascension. The general and his supporters were the greater unknown. But they had hated Cassius for decades, and Darius was the general’s own grandson. Haddon would need a sufficiently compelling—or crafty—reason to oppose him, thus why Darius had tried so hard not to give his grandfather warning to prepare for his accelerated coup.

  “Let us vote,” the general said after an extended pause.

  Chairs scraped and clothing rustled as everyone adjusted their positions slightly.

  “Very well,” Duke Francis said. “As the one who called the meeting, I will call the vote. All those in favor of transferring power to the crown prince under the terms outlined by Duke Gilbert please indicate now.”

  He looked around the room expectantly.

  The first hand up belonged to Gilbert, and his action produced an avalanche among those who supported the crown. Their loyalty had always been predicated on the eventual ascension of Darius to the throne, and they no doubt thought their moment had come. But Darius wouldn’t truly have succeeded in his purpose unless he gained the votes from both factions.

  I held my breath as I watched General Haddon. Duke Francis cleared his throat, and in response, the general’s hand slowly rose. As soon as it did so, the rest of the hands went up. His faction remained loyal, then.

  “It is unanimous,” Duke Francis said in stentorian tones. “The Council hereby rules that Cassius of Kallorway be henceforth known as king-regent, while his eldest son, Darius of Kallorway, becomes king-elect, with his coronation set for his graduation from the Academy.”

  Darius abruptly sat down, and I let myself sink back against my chair. We had done it. We had secured Darius his throne. And yet my emotions still whirled.

  Darius had won, there was no question about that. But it was not unalloyed victory. We would not be truly free from his father for another two years.

  Chapter 22

  None of the members of the Mage Council lingered, and I couldn’t blame them given the expression on Cassius’s face. Within minutes, Darius and his father were alone in the room.

  Darius immediately stood and crossed to stand over his father. Cassius responded by leaping up himself, but I noticed for the first time that he was shorter than his son.

  During the meeting, Darius had maintained an air of calm control, a fitting contrast with his father’s fury. But now that he was alone with his father, he let his own anger blaze from his face.

  “You told the kingdom you would give me the throne, and now you have been held to your word.”

  Cassius tried to speak, but Darius continued over the top of him.

  “We have had this conversation once before, when I reminded you of Princess Verene’s importance to Ardann.”

  I stiffened at the mention of my name, pressing even closer to the wall as Darius continued speaking.

  “At that time I made the foolish mistake of thinking you still had enough sense to care about the well-being of Kallorway—or at least enough self-interest to consider your followers’ opinions on the matter. I was wrong, and so here we are, having a very different conversation.”

  “The Mage Council are fools the lot of them if they cannot see how that girl has you under her thumb,” Cassius snarled.

  Darius leaned forward, his hands clenching into fists and every muscle tensing. Even from my hiding place behind the wall I could sense the danger radiating from him.

  “Last time, I explained to you that Verene’s safety was important to Kallorway. But I no longer have to play your games, Father. I am the one in control now, and so I tell you openly that Verene is important to me. Nothing and no one is more important.”

  Cassius stepped back. He looked almost nervous, as if he hadn’t seen this side of his son before. Cassius had raised his son to be strong and controlled, but apparently he hadn’t anticipated the fire that burned beneath his mask or the contained power he had been keeping leashed.

  Darius stepped forward, following him. “If Verene is harmed again—in even the smallest way—I will not hesitate to destroy you.”

  The silence that filled the room at that pronouncement was dark and choking.

  “Do you understand, Father?” Darius’s voice dropped almost too low for me to hear, and yet the threat it contained did not diminish. “I will destroy you in every possible way.”

  Cassius swallowed visibly. His eyes narrowed.

  “All this fuss over a girl,” he said, trying for nonchalance and failing. “I can assure you I have no further interest in her.”

  Darius didn’t loose his father from his gaze, holding him for another long moment before shaking his head and turning for the door.

  “You were always ungrateful,” Cassius spat after him. “I should never have wasted my time on you instead of your brother.”

  Darius paused by the door, a harsh laugh rolling from his lips.

  “You think Jareth would be more grateful? It is you who are the fool, Father. You held a kingdom in your hands, and you lost it. The sooner you accept that, the better your remaining years will be.”

  “And how many years might that be?” Cassius asked, regarding his son with narrowed eyes.

  Darius shrugged, his voice uncaring. “That’s up to you, Father, and the decisions you make next. Kallorway is mine to protect now. You can acc
ept that and get out of my way, or you can become one of the threats I must guard the kingdom against.” A dark note reentered his voice. “I wouldn’t recommend the latter.”

  He pulled open the door and was gone.

  My legs trembled despite the seat that still supported me. Darius had said I was more important to him than anything. Had he meant it? Everything in his manner had seemed sincere, but he had been talking to his father. Was it all just part of the act his father had always forced him to play?

  Cassius stood still for a long moment, his eyes on the closed door, and his face ugly. Fury and bitterness warred for dominance, but slowly something else took hold. A dark determination that made me shiver. Cassius’s own ability was sealed, and with a unanimous vote of the Mage Council, he had no discipline to support him. But my composition had blocked someone from coming to his aid. He still had an ally or allies. And if I was right, and it was Jareth, then we were still in deadly danger.

  I waited, but Cassius left the room a moment later. With his exit, I felt the power that had ringed the room dissipate. My composition had completed its task.

  I slipped out of the hidden cupboard, my breath coming fast, and my legs still shaky. My left hand clenched and unclenched repeatedly around the two halves of parchment hidden in my pocket.

  My composition. I had completed a written composition—not taken control of someone else’s working but initiated one myself. And I had used the strength, control, and expertise of someone else to accomplish it.

  When I found myself at the door of my suite, I blinked in surprise. I couldn’t even remember finding my way through the maze of back corridors. I had received too many shocks in the last few hours to be thinking clearly now.

  Slipping into the room, I hurried straight to the desk and sat down. Picking up a pen, I laid it against a piece of blank parchment and then hesitated. The certainty I had felt while linked to Duke Gilbert was gone, and I struggled to call up the right words.

  Withdrawing the crumpled composition from my pocket, I smoothed it out and carefully aligned the two halves. Using the words as a guide, I began to write.

  I hadn’t even made it through the binding words when I stopped. I didn’t need to go further to know the experiment was a failure. No power built at the shaping of the words, straining to be released. It felt nothing like it had done in that hidden cupboard.

  I sat back, taking several deep breaths. The events during the Council meeting had not unleashed some latent ability for written compositions. Instead it seemed I had stumbled on a much stranger ability.

  The door to the corridor opened with force, but I didn’t even turn around, still staring blankly at the parchment before me.

  “There you are! Where have you been?” Bryony’s voice asked breathlessly. “Have you heard the news? The Mage Council has voted Darius king-elect, and they’re saying he’s to be crowned immediately after graduation!”

  I nodded numbly.

  “Verene?” Her voice approached behind me. “What’s going on? Why do you look like that? This is good news! It’s everything you’ve been trying to achieve. You’re safe now!”

  She reached the desk and leaned over my shoulder. Frowning, she picked up one half of the torn parchment.

  “What’s this?” When I didn’t answer, she spun my chair around, giving my shoulders a gentle shake. “Verene? What’s wrong?”

  Her actions snapped me out of my state of shock, and I stared at her wide-eyed.

  “Sorry, I just…It’s all a bit much…” I drew a long breath, trying to regain my equilibrium. “Yes, I did know about Darius. I was there.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “You found a way into the meeting after all?”

  I shook my head. “No, but it turns out the room they used had a hidden viewing spot. Zora showed it to me.”

  “Ooh!” She looked delighted. “How brilliantly sneaky. So it’s all true then?”

  I nodded.

  She glanced down at the parchment in her hand. “So were you needed to protect them? Did someone try to interfere?”

  I bit my lip. “I think so. And I don’t think the Council was expecting it. Not here in the Academy, I suppose.”

  “Then it’s a good thing they had a guardian like you watching over them.”

  “Bree, I…” I swallowed and tried again. “Bree, I composed that.” I pointed at the parchment she had just returned to the desk.

  She frowned at it. “I don’t understand. You mean that’s the composition you took control of? How did you end up with the pieces?”

  “No.” I shook my head. “I wrote that. I composed it.”

  She looked at me anxiously as if she thought I had lost my mind under all the pressure.

  “Verene…”

  “Sit down.” I pointed at one of the sofas. “I’ll tell you everything, but it might be a shock. It was for me.”

  She obediently positioned herself on the sofa, and I let everything that had happened pour out of me. Her eyes grew rounder and rounder, and several times she looked like she was refraining from jumping to her feet.

  “So you actually composed that,” she said when I finished, pointing at my desk.

  I nodded.

  She seemed to be struggling for words.

  I gave her a pleading look. “It doesn’t make any sense. Does it?”

  “Not in the normal definition of sense, no.” She laughed abruptly, delight breaking across her face. “But when were you ever normal, Verene?”

  Leaping to her feet, she danced across the room to grab my hands and pull me up as well.

  “You can compose! For yourself!”

  “Not exactly for myself,” I said, my lips twisting. “I stole his power, Bree! All his training, even his energy—the essence of him. I just reached in and stole it.”

  She frowned. “You say that as if you took something permanent from him. Did he lose some of his knowledge because you borrowed it?”

  “No, I don’t think so.” I bit my lip. “But he did lose some of his energy—I could feel his reserves were lower.”

  She wrinkled her nose, dismissing my concern.

  “He’ll get it back soon enough. It might be an unusual situation, but you’re hardly the first two mages to share energy.”

  I should have known that an energy mage with the ability to gift energy would consider my actions less of a violation than they seemed to me.

  She looked at me, assessing my expression before speaking in a quieter, more earnest voice.

  “I’m not saying you should start using this ability at every moment. Caution is clearly called for. But the very fact that you’re worried is why I’m not. What you did wasn’t something frivolous, and it wasn’t for yourself. You acted to protect the Council. And from what you said, the duke would have written the composition himself if he could have. For all we know, you might have saved someone with that working, Verene.”

  I swallowed. “I wish I had your certainty.”

  “You’ll get it. You’re just still in shock.” A gleam entered her eyes. “But we need to practice! Try if you can connect with me.”

  “Right now?” I stared at her.

  “Of course! Why not? You said the actual composing didn’t drain any of your energy, and it can’t have cost you much to connect with the duke. At least it never seems to cost you much energy when you connect with active workings.”

  “No, I don’t think it cost me much,” I said slowly.

  “Well, come on then! What are you waiting for? I’m dying of curiosity to see what it feels like.”

  Despite myself, my mind flew back to the moments of connecting with the duke, curiosity gaining the upper hand.

  “I’m not sure it feels like anything at all. He didn’t seem to notice, anyway.”

  She held out her arms wide, as if offering herself as a sacrifice. “Come on! Try it.”

  I licked my lips, trying to remember my exact words and the sensation that had accompanied them. Being alone in my suite made
it easier to focus on Bryony’s energy than it had been in the council room, and it helped that she was so familiar to me. I had monitored her energy levels a thousand times.

  With the duke, I had taken control of one of his workings first. But it hadn’t been connected to him like the open working of my attacker. I hadn’t needed my connection to the working to provide a direct pathway to the duke, it had merely given me a sense of him that had made his energy easier to identify and connect with. Did I need that with someone as familiar as Bryony? Having felt the sensation once before, I only had to focus on her energy to feel the pull to connect with it.

  “Connect,” I murmured, as I had done with the duke.

  Instantly I was inside Bryony’s energy. It hit me differently from the way it had with the duke. Being prepared no doubt helped, but it was more than that. The duke’s energy had connected me with his vast ability and expertise, and I had been overwhelmed by something so far beyond my understanding. It was different with Bree, though.

  I had been with her through all of her training. Theoretically, at least, I understood her ability almost as well as she did. And energy mage abilities were far simpler, comprising a single type of working. On top of that, her overall knowledge was far shallower than that of the Head of Law Enforcement.

  “Is it working?” she asked. “I can’t feel anything, but you have a funny expression on your face.”

  I nodded slowly. “It’s working.”

  “What does it feel like?” She leaned forward, her face eager. “Can you read my thoughts? What am I thinking right now?”

  “What? No, of course I can’t read your thoughts! I’m in your energy, Bree, not your mind.”

  She looked almost disappointed, although I felt nothing but relief. I didn’t want to read anyone’s mind.

  “Can you feel my ability then?” she asked.

  “Yes, I can. It’s all there before me, so much clearer than it was with the duke. It’s less overwhelming.”