“That’s not it, Samara,” Elaine started.
“No? Then what is it? If you’re not offended by the fact that I brought you into Caster, and managed to get you help, I might add, then tell me, why are you so offended that we’re here?”
“Because Caster isn’t as secure as the city,” Elaine managed to spit out.
“Not as secure? It’s a part of the city. It’s no different from any other section.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. Caster was never part of the original city. It was added later, and that matters.”
“Why does that matter?” That was the first question that came to Sam’s mind, rather than trying to understand more about how Caster could have been a later addition to the city, especially when many of the buildings were older.
Elaine sighed. “Caster was here long before the rest of the city came. It was annexed as the city grew, but there’s something about the section that prevents the same protections. It’s probably why Marin stayed here.”
Bastan had stepped forward, moving away from the door. He frowned, watching Elaine with a curious expression.
Elaine managed to sit up, swinging her legs over the edge of the cot. She scanned the room, her gaze settling on Sam for a moment before shifting to Alec and nodding as she mouthed the word “thanks.” From there, she turned to look at Beckah and tipped her head, something like recognition passing across her eyes. Sam suspected that Elaine had been to the university often enough that she recognized even the students. Or maybe, Elaine was keeping tabs on Sam and had gone and observed Alec and his classmates. That seemed more likely than anything else.
She shook her head, tearing her attention away from the others, and turned back to Sam.
“It’s the city, Samara.”
“What’s the city?”
“You’ve asked how we’ve managed to keep the Thelns away, how we’ve managed to provide protection for as long as we have. That’s what I’m telling you. It’s the city.”
“How can the city provide protection?”
Elaine looked again at the others in the room, before shaking her head firmly. “That’s not an answer for here, not one for anyplace that isn’t secure.”
“Where would you rather this conversation take place?” Sam asked.
“We need to return to the palace. That’s the only place we can have the conversation that you need. It’s the only safe place to discuss this.”
Sam let out a frustrated sigh and turned her attention to Alec, shrugging. “I guess we’re going to the palace. I guess that’s the only place where she feels comfortable talking about this,” she said, having a hard time keeping the annoyance from her voice.
Alec started to reach toward her, and then caught himself.
Sam swallowed, suppressing the rising frustration she felt, knowing that it would do no good. It wasn’t Alec’s fault what was taking place. And it wasn’t Alec’s fault that she felt the way she did.
She pushed past Bastan, not waiting for the others to follow.
24
First Visits
Alec had never been inside the palace. Since learning about Sam’s connection to the princess, Alec hadn’t had a chance to come here. The only time he’d been near a member of the royal family, he’d been with Sam, but that was in the university, not in the palace. It was somewhat disconcerting being here.
Everything around him seemed more ornate than it needed to be. Chairs were gilded and heavily carved. Floors were covered with expensive-looking rugs that would be unattainable anywhere else in the city. Tapestries on the walls were clearly well-made, though Alec didn’t have the same eye for them as he knew Sam—and Bastan—did. Sculptures were scattered around the room where they now gathered, and Alec imagined the cost of them, and could only imagine how much everything in this single room was worth.
Sam took a seat near the hearth, leaning back in an enormous plush chair and kicking her feet up on the table. Alec shot her a look, which she promptly ignored. He stood stiffly near the back of the room, waiting to be invited in, and fearing that perhaps Sam had gotten ahead of herself.
“You don’t have to stand there so stiff,” Sam said.
“I’m not stiff, it’s just that—”
“It’s just that your friend isn’t here?” Sam asked.
Alec frowned. “That’s not it at all. Beckah only came with me because she was concerned. We’ve been—”
“Beckah? Her name is Beckah? If that’s not a highborn name, and I don’t know what is.”
“Most of the people in the university are highborn by birth,” Alec said.
“I would say that all are.”
“I’m probably the farthest from highborn at the university.”
“And closer to highborn than I’ve ever been,” Sam said.
Alec looked around the room and saw the comfortable way Sam sat, noting the cut of her dress, even the sheen to her skin, now much less tanned than it once had. Did Sam realize how close she had become to the highborns?
Not that he necessarily wanted her to realize it. There was value in Sam not knowing that she had moved up in the world. She maintained an edge, one that helped her as she struggled to improve.
“Where did Elaine go?” Alec asked. It was better to change the topic than to get Sam even angrier. He hadn’t seen her in weeks, and now that they were finally in the same room, he didn’t want to get into an argument with her. All he wanted was for them to get along.
Were he honest with himself, all he really wanted was to continue to work with Sam and the easar paper, though he didn’t know how much of a supply Bastan had. Probably more than he let on.
“She was injured, so I suspect she went to make sure that everything you did was meant to help, not to harm her.”
“Why would I hurt her? She’s your mother.”
“Maybe for the same reason I would hurt her. She abandoned me, Alec. She… She didn’t care that she had left me, alone in the city, and with my mind somehow twisted by Marin and her augmentations. She didn’t care that I might still be out there. In all these years, she didn’t try to find me.”
“I’m sure she cared,” Alec said.
“Are you? She didn’t care about my father. She said it was too dangerous for him to remain with her, but it feels like she abandoned him, letting him go when it no longer made sense to have him in her life. I think the same thing happened with me.”
Alec doubted that was the case, but he didn’t know anything about Elaine other than that she was a Kaver and possessed the same types of skills as Sam. Her Scribe came from the highest of the highborns, which made Sam’s and his connection feel somehow… less. He suspected that she wished she had someone more like the princess as a Scribe rather than him.
As he stood there, debating what to say, the door opened, and Elaine strode in, followed by someone Alec had not expected to see.
“Master,” he said, tipping his head politely to Master Helen.
“You’re the Scribe?” Master Helen asked, looking over to Elaine.
“I see you’ve met,” Elaine said. “That might make this conversation easier.”
“I don’t think any of these conversations will be easy,” Master Helen said.
Alec noted that Sam seemed to have tensed, and he frowned. “What is it?”
She stood, her hands clenched at her sides, and nodded toward the master. “Her. She’s the one who has been trying to help me with my memories,” Sam said. “At least, that’s what she claimed she was doing. Have you been telling her what I’ve been saying?”
Sam took a few steps forward, and Alec reached for her arm, not wanting her to do anything too rash. Sam could be impulsive and had something of a temper. It wouldn’t be a good idea for her to attack one of the masters, certainly not one who had the favor of the princess’s Kaver.
“I asked her to help you, nothing more,” Elaine said. “Anything that took place between you it was just that—between you.”
Alec wo
ndered what Sam might have shared with the master.
“Sit,” Master Helen said.
Sam glared another moment. Alec wasn’t certain whether she would agree, but she sat back down, this time, on the edge of the oversized chair, and turned her attention to the hearth, essentially ignoring Elaine.
“You said we had to come here for answers,” Sam said.
“Please explain it to them,” Elaine said to Master Helen.
“They are not of age,” Helen said.
“Not of age?” Elaine asked. “That one just saved me from three Thelns. Were it not for her, I would have been either killed or dragged out of the city. Tell me that she’s not of age.”
“Three Thelns?”
“And she didn’t have her Scribe with her,” Elaine said. “I think it’s reasonable to share with her. I’m not sure about him.” She nodded to Alec.
Master Helen gave a slight grin. “I believe he is more trustworthy than she.”
“Why? Because he’s a student at the university?” Elaine asked.
“No, because Master Eckerd felt that he was worthy enough to bring into a head trauma procedure.”
“Eckerd?” Elaine asked.
Master Helen nodded. “That was my reaction, as well.”
“Why? What reaction are you talking about?” Sam pressed.
“Interesting,” Elaine said.
“Are you going to keep talking about us as if we aren’t sitting right here?” Sam asked.
“What are the chances that both Kaver and Scribe are accelerated like this?” Elaine asked.
“The Scribe was trained by Aelus. Of course he would be accelerated.”
“All right. I think it’s time that you explain why you brought us here and why you’re talking around us.” Sam stood and looked at Elaine. “You promised that we would be told more when we reached the palace. How is the city able to protect us from the Thelns?”
Master Helen’s gaze went from Elaine to Sam, and finally to Alec. Her eyes narrowed as she seemed to consider the question. Then she shook her head. “Just know that it does. Without the city, the Thelns would have even easier access, seeking to destroy those with blood magic.”
“And you?” Sam asked. “Do you have the same blood magic?”
Helen shook her head. “I am neither Kaver nor Scribe.”
“I just thought…” Sam began.
“Yes. You just thought.” She turned her attention to Elaine. “It is a mistake to think that we should share with those who are too young to protect themselves.”
“Too young?” Sam asked.
Alec was surprised that it seemed the master physicker was commanding Elaine, the princess’s Scribe. How many physickers other than Master Helen would have the same confidence?
Helen studied Sam. “Yes. Too young. From the conversations we’ve had, I can tell you with certainty that you are too young for what you seek to know. Stay and train, become useful. The city is safe.”
“Safe? We’ve been attacked by Thelns multiple times,” Sam said.
“In an unprotected outer section. I can promise you that we are perfectly safe here.”
“For how long?” Sam snapped. She would have to be careful, especially around someone like Master Helen.
“I thought Elaine said that I was useful? I think the fact that I helped save her from three Thelns proves that I am useful and that I am progressing in my training.”
“It proves nothing other than that you have learned some, but you have much still to learn. I will return to visit with you later this week. Perhaps if you make progress there, you will continue to make progress with your training.”
Master Helen turned and left, not even paying any attention to Alec as she did. Elaine remained for a moment before she followed Master Helen from the room. It left Alec and Sam alone.
“What is this?” Alec asked. “Why are they keeping things from us?”
“I believe Elaine has been tracking Marin but hasn’t found her. I think she ended up having Thelns follow her into the city.”
“But if the city has protections that keep the Thelns from gaining access…”
“It wouldn’t be the first time they managed to get into the city,” Sam said. “If there are protections in place, I’m not entirely sure how they managed to get into the city before, but I know that it troubles Elaine. And whatever Marin is doing has to be related.”
“You think Marin is somehow allowing the Thelns to enter?”
Sam stared past him and at the door. “The merchant attacks. The Thelns in the city. Marin missing. It has to be related. I just don’t know how.”
Alec watched her for a moment before deciding to ask the question that had been bothering him. “What’s the real reason you haven’t come to the university?”
“I told you. I tried, but you were with… your friend.”
“This has nothing to do with Beckah. What is it?”
“Well, it was the first time. But the second time, I couldn’t get in.”
“If you had truly tried, you would have been able to reach me. The university wouldn’t have kept you out, not anymore.”
He noted the pained expression on her face.
“What? There’s something about that which bothers you.”
She shrugged. “It’s… difficult for me.”
“It’s difficult for me, too. That doesn’t change that I want to—”
“It’s difficult for you? You’re highborn. You’ve always known who you were and what you were. But for me, all of a sudden, I have access, and I’m granted access to places that I never could have gone before.”
Alec stepped closer toward her. “That’s what’s been bothering you? You’re upset about being granted this access? That you’re treated like a highborn now?”
She shrugged. “Well, yeah.”
Alec laughed until she shot him a hard glare. “I thought you’d be happy to be highborn. Weren’t you the one who kept telling me how much more access the highborns have than anyone else? Why is it now that you’re essentially highborn that you are struggling with it?”
“I have never wanted to be highborn.” Alec arched a brow at her. “I haven’t. I wanted to know where I belonged. I wanted to know where I fit in. Once I learned that my mother was not only alive but also a Kaver, I thought I might actually begin to feel like I had someplace where I belong.” Sam swallowed. “Instead, it makes me wonder if maybe I was better off before. Maybe it would have been better for me just to think my mother had died.”
Alec shook his head. “You don’t mean that. I know you don’t mean that.”
Sam looked down at her hands. “I’m not sure what I mean. All I know is that I’m no closer to understanding my abilities than I was before I found her. Well, maybe some. But most of that has come from the training of others. She’s been gone. You’ve been gone. And I… I continue to train, but I’m not getting any better.”
Alec leaned over and took her hand. Her hands were soft and smooth and fit his. They were hands that he had cut into more times than he cared for, needing blood for their magic, so they could use the easar paper. In the short time they’d known each other, he’d seen her injured and had done things that had hurt her as he’d attempted augmentations, but she’d always seemed so strong to him.
Here she was, more vulnerable than he had ever seen her.
What could he say that would make her feel better? What could he do that would show her that he saw things in her that he suspected she didn’t even see in herself?
“Is it true?” he asked.
“Is what true?”
“You took on three Thelns?”
Sam shook her head. “Elaine took on three Thelns. She was augmented, so she took down two of them before she needed any help.”
“That means that you jumped in and tried to fight off one Theln?”
“He was the biggest one,” Sam said.
“I wasn’t saying that because I thought that you should have done more. I’
m just saying that perhaps you’ve improved more than you realize. You had always needed augmentations to face the Thelns before. If you were able to fight this one without any augmentations…”
“Fight might be a bit generous. I managed not to die. I might have distracted him a little bit, but I don’t think I did much more than that.”
“You saved Elaine.”
Sam sighed. “I saved Elaine. Marin’s home is gone. And now, there’s no way to see what she’d been up to and no way to find her.”
“If you did find her, what would you even say?”
“I don’t know. Maybe nothing. Maybe I would demand that she tell me why she used me. Maybe I’d demand that she tell me why she used Tray.”
“Even after everything that’s happened, you’re still worried about your brother?”
“He’s still my brother. It’s strange. I know that, just as I know that he isn’t really, but in my mind—and my heart—he’s still Trayson. My brother.”
“I don’t think it’s strange. I think it makes perfect sense. You’ve only known him as your brother. Anything else would be wrong.”
“I wish I could find him. I don’t know what I would tell him, and I don’t know that if I did find him, it would matter at all, but I’d at least like the chance to try.”
“Then find him.”
Sam glanced up, meeting his gaze for a moment before turning her attention back to her hands. “Elaine wants me to focus on my training. After facing those Thelns, I understand why. Once I’m better equipped to fight with the staff and the other techniques they teach, I’ll be better able to manage augmentations, as well.”
“You’ll regret it if you don’t look for Tray.”
“What of you? If I’m supposed to look for Tray, what are you going to do?”
“Helen seems to know something. She might not want to share, but I’m going to get her to tell me,” Alec said.
“It seems she’s going to come find me later this week, so if I learn anything from her, I’ll let you know.”
“Has it been helping?” Alec asked.
“I don’t know if it’s been helping, but I think she’s been trying to get to some hidden memories. They’re there, but I don’t know how to reach them. Whatever Marin did blocked those memories. All I have are blanks where they should be.”
Poisoned: The Book of Maladies Page 17