“I would think seeking out her kind would be the practical move for an elemental arriving in a foreign land, especially one such as ours.” Zander watches her closely, and I begin to understand where his suspicions are born from.
So must Wendeline, because she meets his gaze with a sureness that is rare for her when she is in his presence. “I am the highest ranked caster in the sanctum, and I have not offered sanctuary to any elementals.”
He seems to weigh her answer. “Do we need to fear her?”
“Can she summon Aoife—is that your question? Not if she is collared. Beyond that, it depends on her intentions. But if she is escaping Neilina’s grip, then I suspect not.”
He nods slowly. “If she’s not with you, then she’s in hiding somewhere.”
“Do not forget, from Argon to Skatrana, to Seacadore and then here, is several weeks of travel. At least.”
“So perhaps she hasn’t arrived yet.”
“Perhaps. Or she has, but she is staying hidden for reasons of her own.”
“Or she doesn’t know if she can trust me,” I say.
“There are plenty of rumors to stir confusion,” Wendeline agrees.
But what if Ianca somehow knows what I am? I’ve worked so hard to keep that secret to myself. What if this elemental arrives and unravels it all? What if she sees me as the threat Sofie warned me about and that’s why she’s coming here? I agree that I need to speak to Ianca, but if there’s a way to do it without Zander breathing down my neck, that would be safest.
An impossible feat, likely.
“You may go now, Wendeline. This conversation must remain between the three of us.” Zander watches her steadily.
“As expected, Your Highness.” She eases out of her chair, curtsying first to Zander, then to me.
I point to my face. “Thank you. For patching me up. Again.”
“You are certainly keeping me busy.” She winks and then departs, leaving Zander and me alone in my sitting room, wedged onto my settee.
Zander’s chest heaves with his exhale.
“You don’t trust her.”
“And you do?”
“Yes.”
He peers at me. “Completely?”
I stall on my answer. I trust her to heal me and, I think, to not hurt me. But I also know she repeats everything we discuss, and her duty is to Zander.
“You are no different than I,” he says, as if reading my thoughts. “I know she is honorable, but I do not know if she holds more allegiance for her people than for mine.”
“She left Ybaris, though. She came here on her own years ago.”
“I’m talking about Mordain, not Ybaris. And for what reason did she leave everything behind?”
“For Margrethe. She saved a baby who would have been killed.”
“That is the tale she gave us, yes.”
“You don’t believe it?” A pinch of betrayal flares with the suggestion that Wendeline might have fed me a false sob story.
“Stings, does it not? To be deceived by someone you find yourself caring for unexpectedly.” He pauses. “Do you never sense that she is leading you along a certain path with the information she provides? That she knows far more than she lets on?”
“I don’t know?” Everything Wendeline has told me is leading me somewhere, but it’s because I’m ignorant.
“I’m not saying that I do not believe her on that account, but I also know that Margrethe is not the only one who has received letters from Mordain.” He gives me a knowing look.
“Wendeline too? About what?”
“I do not know. If I ask, she will lie to me. It is enough that I know, and she knows that I know.”
“How does she know that you know?”
“Because I know.” He smirks. “This is a fun conversation.”
I smile, despite everything. “Can you read her pulse?”
He snorts. “That woman is a vault. No. Casters are well trained at guarding their emotions. Anyway, the letters she has received are most likely information-seeking and nothing more, but I also do not trust Mordain to have Islor’s interests in mind. You heard what Wendeline said. The guild has its own power struggles. There are those who want to break free of Neilina’s rule. We know they used Margrethe as a pawn in whatever scheme they are spinning, and I can only assume that letter Wendeline revealed was not the first one Margrethe received. It proves that you are also somehow involved in a plot they have whipped up, fed from old prophecies.” He studies his hands. “I fear what role Islor may play in that.”
I’ve learned that Zander is naturally distrustful of everyone, but he’s also not wrong. “You don’t think Wendeline is on the side of Neilina, do you?” Just the thought brings a pang to my chest.
“If you are asking whether I think she was conspiring with you, no, I do not believe so. She is the one who encouraged my parents to take their repast before the ceremony rather than after. It is because they did that Ybaris’s plans fell apart and we are sitting here now. I am quite certain she does not support your mother’s ways, but that does not mean she is not working with those in Mordain who have a specific agenda. Someone taught Margrethe how to summon Malachi.”
“She taught her everything she knew,” I echo. But was it Wendeline who taught Margrethe that skill, or someone else? This mysterious G? Can I begrudge any of them? If Margrethe hadn’t broken the rules, I have a feeling I’d be dead in both this world and my own. “I think you can trust Wendeline to do what’s right, though.”
“I would like to think so, but I no longer trust my judgment when it comes to what I want to be true. For now, I must trust her to a certain degree. Her knowledge is invaluable to us.” His hazel eyes dart to me before turning away. He hesitates. “I did not like seeing what Tyree did to you.” He frowns, as if it bothers him that he would care.
Is that concern tied to this idea of being bewitched by me? I bite back the urge to ask. It’s clearly a sore spot. “I wasn’t a big fan of it either.” I touch the tip of my nose, marveling at how perfectly it has healed.
“And you didn’t like seeing what I did to him.”
“Setting fire to him? You’re surprised?”
“You were terrified. It was as if you’ve seen something like that before.”
I swallow. “I don’t know. Maybe I have?”
He studies me. “Are you afraid I would do something like that to you?”
“You’ve certainly threatened it enough times.” He literally could have ignited that heavy brocade dress as it clung to my sweaty limbs.
“But I wouldn’t.”
I want to steer the conversation away from talk of setting anyone on fire. “What are you going to do about the vials of poison?”
“Send men to watch the area around Lyndel. If we can keep the Ybarisans in the mountains, they can’t cause too much trouble. But we do not know how many there are and informing keepers that their tributaries may be plotting to murder them will have immortals all over Islor taking matters into their own hands.”
“Maybe if you gave them a reason to not want to murder their keepers, they wouldn’t try.”
“Abolish the entire tributary system?” He smirks. “So simple, is it?”