He thought back to Opal’s prophecy when he’d left Tregydar. She’d told him to reclaim his birthright. Blinded by ambition, he’d took that to mean the throne. But if his father was really the Miestryri’s brother, Silvano was meant to be her right-hand man. Her adviser. Her protector.
Instead, he was her enemy.
How could he have botched this so spectacularly?
He had only one choice left. He would abdicate the throne and turn over the control of Crystalmoor to Arianna. Then, provided she allowed him to live, he would go back into permanent exile.
Jax walked over and stood at his left hand. “Are you okay?”
Silvano swallowed his guilt. He’d barely spoken to Jax since returning from Lord Maynard’s house. He should tell him the truth about his parentage, but fear stopped his tongue. What if after learning the truth, Jax abandoned him? It was the intelligent thing to do. Sooner or later, Arianna would succeed, and when that happened, Jax could be executed as a traitor right alongside him. Keeping this secret was cowardice. “I feel like all my dreams, my ambitions, have been burned to the ground. What do I do now?”
“Are you asking as my Miestryri, or as my friend?”
Silvano let out a humorless laugh. “I’m not Miestryri. I can’t be.”
A commotion in the hall, followed by shouting, drew his attention. The door burst open and a man walked inside. “I beg to differ.”
Jax stepped in front of the throne, taking on a protective stance. Silvano shot out of his seat at the unfamiliar voice, his hand going to the hilt of his sword. The man was average height and painfully thin. His silver robes hung off his body like curtains. His white hair was cut bluntly at his jawline, heightening the sharpness of his cheekbones. He carried himself like a man in authority, someone who was used to being obeyed without question.
Every hair on Silvano’s body rose. There was something about the man that felt wrong, like a film of oil on water. “And who are you supposed to be?”
A red-faced guard ran into the throne room a moment later, wheezing as he announced, “Head Magi Cadmus requests an audience.”
“Requests? Hm… that’s a tad bit politer than I would phrase it. Demanded is closer to the truth.” Cadmus stopped five feet away at the base of the dais. Though Silvano was taller by several inches, he got the sense that Cadmus was staring down at him.
He stifled a shudder. “And why should I grant you an audience? The Order has no authority here. Crystalmoor still holds sovereignty, and I am still the Miestryri.”
“I’m glad to hear it. I would like for you to remain Miestryri.”
That pulled him up short. He squinted suspiciously at the Head Magi. “Why?”
Cadmus studied him intently, as if he could see through his flesh and down into the bone. Silvano resisted the urge to pull his clothes tighter around him. Then, Cadmus smiled like a crocodile with a meal in sight. “Let’s just say that it would be a mutually beneficial arrangement.”
“I can’t see how it would benefit you at all.” Silvano clamped his lips shut before he revealed that Crystalmoor was in chaos. Arianna and her sharks were already circling the carnage, and the last thing he needed was to invite more. It would turn the civil unrest into a feeding frenzy he couldn’t hope to survive. He changed tactics, turning the focus on his deep-rooted hatred of the Order. “Just two months ago, my companions and I launched an offensive attack on the Order which did not end well for you, if I remember correctly. On a personal note, I have little incentive to form an alliance with the Order. The Magi left me a dreg while the Tregydarian rebels Gifted me.”
“Your attack was nothing more than a small hiccup in the grand scheme of things. My disciples had the mess cleaned up within a week. And as for your Gifting… I allow my Magi a certain number of… let’s call them freedoms, when it comes to such matters. You, Silvano Lei Miore’, were never meant to be a dreg, but the Magi stationed here was bribed to refuse your Gifting.”
“What?” Silvano’s fists clenched. “You lie.”
“I most certainly do not.” Cadmus pulled a scroll from his robes and held it aloft. “This is a correspondence I received twenty-five years ago from Magi Phillip who detailed the arrangement he made with the Miestryri and his adviser. Not only was he compelled to bind your Gift with the suppressive elixir, but he also gave you a Deleo to further suppress your abilities.”
Silvano’s hand went to his neck where the Deleo had hung for over two decades. He’d thought it was a gift, but Opal had recognized it for what it was. She’d taken it from him and had it destroyed. Days later, his Gift had been awakened.
Jax took the scroll from Cadmus and read it, his face paling. “It’s true, Miestryri.”
“Now, I understand that you have… an unfortunate history with the Order, but I believe we can put that behind us and move forward as allies.”
Silvano sank back into the throne. The Head Magi’s presence made little sense. Least of all his desire to form an alliance. A dozen questions flitted through his mind but the one that finally escaped was, “Why me?”
“I respect power and influence.”
“The power I have tenfold, but influence? Hardly,” he scoffed. “You’d only have to sit through five minutes of a council meeting before you realized it.”
“You’re too modest. Did you not win approval for not one, but two, highly ambitious projects?”
In the back of his mind, Silvano wondered how Cadmus knew about that. Did the Order have spies in the small council as well, or was his knowledge a byproduct of his Gift as a Magi? Still, he couldn’t take credit for that victory. He shook his head slowly. “That was achieved through threats and blackmail, not my charming personality. It seems I make new enemies on a daily basis.”
“Curious. Would you consider Mara to be an enemy?”
Silvano glanced up sharply. “I’d say my feelings about her are irrelevant.”
“Indeed. Yet the fact that you watched her get captured and haven’t yet mounted a rescue tells me everything I need to know. You’re afraid of her, aren’t you? When you close your eyes at night, it’s her face you see, tormenting your nightmares. You’re terrified because you finally saw her lose control, exposing herself for what she really is.”
Sweat beaded on his forehead, and he clutched the armrests on the throne. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jax throw him a curious look. He squeezed his eyes shut as the memories flooded through his brain. He whispered, “A monster.”
“The world is full of monsters, Silvano Lei Miore’. Let me help you defeat yours.”
Silvano pulled himself from the unending torment and fixed Cadmus with a hard stare. The Head Magi had a talent for words, and obviously had no qualms about playing a man’s fears against him. He couldn’t afford to be played into a bad deal, no matter how desperate he was. “And what would you get out of this arrangement?”
Cadmus jerked back, apparently taken off guard by the blunt question. “Excuse me?”
“You’re a powerful man.” Silvano waved his hand in his direction. “I doubt you would do anything for free out of the goodness of your heart. So tell me, what would you want in return”
“Do you know what I find interesting? You remind me of myself when I was younger. We have similar tragic family histories, you and I. My mother abandoned me, and my father was executed for consorting with a Seer. The man who raised me, my grandfather, was a harsh, unyielding man. I tried so hard to please him, desperately seeking love from a man incapable of the emotion. Each misstep was punished swiftly, and brutally, until I learned not to fail. When he died, and I inherited the mantle of Head Magi, I thought I could do better. I wished for a better future for the Order, just as you hope for a better future for Crystalmoor. A mistake, I soon discovered. If I offered my disciples an apple, they stole the whole bushel. They did not fear me, and so they did not respect me. Without that foundation, you have only the illusion of control.” Cadmus edged closer, pinning Silvano with his stare like a preda
tor. “You ask what I would gain in return? Obedience. My disciples will eliminate your rebellion and unite Crystalmoor under your control, much like they aided Rei Tomar when his sister was mounting a coup. In return, you will pledge your loyalty to me.”
Silvano swallowed, feeling suddenly small. “And if I refuse?”
Cadmus smiled cruelly. “You’re an intelligent man, are you not? One thousand of my best disciples are stationed outside the city, awaiting my signal. If you choose to throw away my generous offer, they will kill every last man, woman, and child while you watch, powerless to stop it. Then I will tear down your precious city and wash it into the sea until there is no evidence that it ever existed. And then, we will travel to every city, every village, and every hovel, reducing them to rubble and ash. Only once you have lost everything dear to you, I will end your pitiful life. Like Seralle, Crystalmoor will fade into oblivion, and your name will never be spoken again, except when whispered as a curse from fearful lips.”
Silvano trembled. “You are alone and unarmed. Defenseless. I could have Jax run you through right now.”
Cadmus seemed unconcerned by the threat. “He won’t. Do you want to know why? Because he knows the truth of my words. He sees you, a broken man with no hope—a dead man walking—someone who has already given up. Pitiful. I offer you an opportunity to not only stay in power, but to turn your vision for Crystalmoor into reality.”
Jax refused to meet his eyes. Silvano let out a breath, realizing that he’d been trapped. “So you’re saying that I have no real choice.”
“You always have a choice. It’s just that some are more lethal than others.”
“Fine. I accept your terms,” he spat. “If you can defeat my sister’s rebellion and unify the country, I will swear my obedience to you.”
“Good.” Cadmus dipped his chin once. As he was turning to leave, he said, “Oh, one last thing. I’ve learned to not take men on their word alone. Words are, after all, as plentiful as sand and equally as worthless. So, when I return to Order Headquarters, I will require a token of your loyalty to ensure you will not break faith the moment I leave.”
A horrible suspicion sprung to mind. “What kind of token?”
“You already know. A pleasure doing business with you. We’ll be in touch.”
Cadmus swept from the room without another word. Silvano collapsed, his head in his hands. What had he just done?
16
One week. That’s all it took. One week for the Order to sweep through East rock and wipe out the rebellion. One week to successfully unite the people under Silvano’s rule. He should have been overjoyed with the results, but he couldn’t help but feel sick. How had the Order done it? Perhaps it was better not to know.
And Cadmus… Silvano’s loyalty wasn’t something he trusted on word alone. And now it was time to pay the price.
His long-time friend, Tomar, the Rei of Kearar, had entered into a similar agreement when his sister, Tamara, had attempted to seize control. After the Order had wiped out her supporters, unifying Kearar under Tomar, the disciples had taken his oldest son, Tamil, as a hostage. And now they would do the same to him.
Silvano’s feet were leaden when he paused inside the natural archway of a hidden inlet. For generations, children would come here to splash in the shallows. The warm water—a few degrees warmer than the sea—reached his knees as he waded inside. Sea turtles swam lazily by, weaving through the brightly-colored coral, munching on seaweed as they went. And there, up ahead, was Lucinda, stroking Glass in the bright afternoon sun.
He hesitated, watching how peaceful and happy they looked, playing as though they didn’t have a care in the world. In just a few minutes, he would shatter her entire world. Perhaps he could lie and say that Arianna had taken Lucy with her when she fled the country. There was nothing he could do to stop it, and Cadmus wouldn’t be able to hold it against him. A quick glance over his shoulder dashed his hopes. Four disciples in their gray robes waited just outside the inlet. There was no going back now.
Lucinda shot a beaming smile at him. “Look what we found!” She fished around the coral before pulling a starfish from the water. Its bumpy limbs waved around as she turned it over to expose the glowing blue underbelly.
Despite his mood, Silvano couldn’t help but smile at her childlike joy. “It’s beautiful.”
“Come sit.” She patted the rocky ledge next to her. “If you’re very still, you might see the purple-spotted octopus that likes to hide just there.” She dipped her chin to the shaded area of the inlet full of underwater crevasses.
“What, no lobster friends today?”
“They don’t like the shallow water very much. It would be too easy for a hungry human to come and snatch them up.”
Silvano reached over and pulled a strand of seaweed from her coiled hair. “Lucy, there’s something I need to talk to you about.” His voice cracked.
“What is it?” Her large green eyes peered up at him—completely innocent and trusting. He couldn’t bear to break her heart.
He had no choice.
He took a shaking breath. “You know how there were some people who weren’t happy that I was anointed Miestryri?” She nodded, and he continued, “Well, Head Magi Cadmus came to help me. He and his disciples have been working hard to unite our country.”
“So it would be safe for me, right?”
Silvano swallowed the bile that burned his throat. He was supposed to protect her and keep her safe. How could he turn her over to a man he despised? “Exactly. I wanted it to be safe for everyone. Our people deserve that.”
“What’s wrong?”
“There are many ways for someone to serve their country. Cultors grow our food. Armises protect us. The small council makes decisions to improve our lives. Sometimes, the way we want to do things isn’t the best way, and we need to make hard choices. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Her face scrunched up in confusion. “Sil, you’re scaring me.”
“Now that the job is done, it’s time for them to go back to Order Headquarters and you… You are going to go with them.” He could see the moment it dawned on her, and the devastated look on her face would forever be seared into his memory. Before he could change his mind, he motioned for the disciples to approach. Lucinda clung to his legs in a claw-like grip. “I’m sorry, Lucy. I love you.”
“Please don’t send me away! I promise I’ll be good. I won’t run away from my tutors anymore. I’ll do whatever you tell me. Please!”
He closed his eyes, as if not seeing her would somehow shield him from her grief. “I’m so sorry, Lucinda.”
“Sil, please!”
The disciples pried her arms from his legs and dragged her away. She screamed and thrashed like a seal caught in a fisherman’s net, but she couldn’t break free, no matter how she struggled. Glass screeched in alarm. The dolphin chased after the disciples, slamming into them and whipping them with his tail. He transformed from a gentle familiar into a savage in a desperate bid to save her. One of the disciples went under, and Glass swam on top of him, holding him down. The nearest disciple cried out and rushed to help. She drew her sword and, without hesitation, plunged it through Glass’s skull.
The water ran red.
Lucinda’s anguished cry was unlike anything he’d ever heard. His heart shattered. He collapsed in the water, not caring that the sharp coral lacerated his hands. The disciples dragged Lucinda out of sight. A sob wrenched free from his throat, and tears flowed freely down his cheeks.
He curled up in the water and wept.
***
Hours passed before Silvano made his way back to the castle, still covered in Glass’s blood. He shrugged off his guards’ concerns. He couldn’t be bothered to care. He was numb. For once, he was grateful to feel nothing.
Jax met him at the top of the steps and rested a hand on his shoulder. “You did the right thing.”
“Then why does it feel like I’ve made the biggest mistake of my life?” Si
lvano whispered. The full force of what he’d done slammed into him, and the words came rushing out. “They killed him, Jax. They killed her familiar. He was just trying to save her. Her screams…”
Jax looked like he was struggling for words. “We all have to make sacrifices for the greater good.”
Silvano shook his head. “Family shouldn’t be one of them.”
Head Magi Cadmus walked up, flanked by twelve disciples. It was the only thing that kept Silvano from attacking him. “Miestryri, I had begun to wonder if you weren’t coming to say goodbye.”
“Where is Lucinda?”
“Asleep. She was having a fit, so our Healer decided to give her a tonic to sleep.”
“You drugged my sister?” His hands balled into fists. Disciples or not, Silvano was seconds away from pummeling the man. He wanted to tear Cadmus to pieces with his bare hands.
Cadmus appeared nonplussed. “It was for her own comfort and safety, I assure you.”
Silvano closed in on him and glared down at the man. “I would hope her safety is a priority for you.”
“As long as loyalty is a priority for you.” A smile played on his lips. That, more than anything, terrified Silvano. One step out of line and Cadmus would take out the punishment on her. He couldn’t risk it. As much as it killed him to submit, Silvano backed away and nodded. Cadmus continued, “I sent a team of disciples and a Veniet across the border to track your other sister, Arianna. She won’t get far before she’s captured.”
“Thank you, Head Magi.” The words were bitter on his lips, and he sank into a reluctant bow.
“Excellent. Well, it has been an absolute pleasure working with you.” Cadmus led his disciples down the steps and began to climb into a waiting carriage. “Oh, I almost forgot. I left a present for you in the throne room. Consider it a parting gift, from one friend to another.”
Silvano watched as the carriages rolled down the street, wondering which carried Lucinda. She was being taken from the only home she’d ever known to be raised by strangers. Would anyone at Order Headquarters give her comfort? Would she ever forgive him? He waited until the carriages had disappeared beyond the horizon before trudging into the castle, his heart torn from his chest.
The Dreg Trilogy Omnibus Page 67