My anger, punctured by the weight of sorrow that hung over Quirin, swelled again.
“If Cadence has been hurt, I’ll—”
I cut myself off, infuriated by the empty threat. I had only known what it was like to be powerful for a few short weeks after my activation, but it had been enough to make the loss of my ability now hard to endure. I plucked at the neutralizer strapped to my waist, an absentminded gesture I had developed during my captivity. I had only tried to remove it once—a futile effort that had brought the General’s warriors swarming—but I had dreamed many times about doing so. When I did finally get loose, I was going to bring this whole settlement down.
“Where is she?” I asked instead. “I insist on being taken to my sister.”
“She’s not here,” Renley said impatiently from behind me. “I told you. My mother went to get her.”
I looked between the gravestone and Quirin, my anger overtaken by confusion.
“Her body isn’t here,” Quirin said quietly. “I just wanted something to mark her passing. We sacrificed the chance for a final goodbye when she chose to go after Cadie.”
“Don’t call her that,” I snapped, regretting the words almost immediately. Whatever he had done to me, I was talking to a man who was already utterly broken.
He cleared his throat. “Cadence, then. She and Lawson broke off from the hunting party and will have continued on to Tarona. The General only permitted Dara to carry out her plan because she was on the verge of death. It would have been too risky, otherwise.”
“How very convenient for him,” I said, scorn dripping from every word. “Because the life of a good woman is nothing compared to the General keeping all his precious secrets.”
Quirin glanced up at me, and I stumbled back a half step, speared by the intensity of the fire in his eyes. But a second later the emotion was shuttered, the gaze that moved on to his son holding nothing but grief.
Interesting. Quirin agreed with me, but he was hiding it from Renley. Maybe I wasn’t the only one who saw that his son was in thrall to the General.
“Lawson will be bringing Cadence back on his own,” Renley said. “They haven’t arrived yet.”
I blinked, hope blossoming again. We didn’t know anything for sure, then.
But when I opened my mouth to ask another question, Renley grabbed me roughly by the arm and towed me away. I would have protested if I hadn’t caught a glimpse of Quirin. He had turned back to Dara’s marker again, his shoulders shaking, and our presence apparently forgotten.
As soon as we were out of range of Quirin, I yanked my arm free and glared at Renley.
“Cadence is tougher than any of you suspect. She’ll find a way to avoid capture.”
“We captured you, didn’t we?”
“I was tricked,” I hissed through gritted teeth. “But Cadence is too young to remember any of you. She won’t be so easily fooled.”
“Won’t she?” He raised an eyebrow. “Maybe not, but then maybe she’ll come by choice. Maybe she wants to be reunited with you.”
I froze. Surely Cadence wouldn’t willingly walk into the trap just because of me. No, she was smarter than that.
“Why do you care so much, anyway?” Renley asked impatiently. “You were always trying to avoid her so she wouldn’t ruin our games. You found her annoying.”
“I was six!” I glared at him. “If you had any siblings you’d understand. Of course I found her annoying when we were both children. But she’s also my best friend.”
Renley shrugged, as if such matters were beneath him.
“Why does the General want Cadence so urgently anyway,” I muttered. “Cadence’s seed hasn’t even been activated yet. She’s only just turned seventeen, and there was no one to activate her but me.”
“Are you sure about that?” Renley gave me a superior look. “Only the presence of a power mage drove off the General the night we took you. So, unless there’s some other power mage hanging around the Guild…”
I gaped at him, unable to think of anything to say.
His satisfaction grew. “Why do you think we’ve waited so long to try again? A more cautious approach is needed with a power mage in play.”
“But how is that possible? Who…?” I shook my head.
I’d had weeks to adjust to the shocking revelation that a fourth affinity existed and that Cadence had a power seed. It had explained a lot of the things our father always refused to talk about. But in all those weeks, no one had mentioned their belief that Cadence had already been activated.
I quickly pulled myself together. “If that’s true, then Lawson has no chance. Your precious General wouldn’t want Cadence so badly if her ability wasn’t strong. It’s not as if he doesn’t already have access to plenty of people with a weak power ability—that describes almost every one of the original inhabitants here.”
“Don’t underestimate us,” Renley said with narrowed eyes, although I knew his own power seed had yet to be activated. “Lawson wouldn’t be able to succeed without the help of one of us—even if we aren’t as strong as your precious sister. You’ll see. Combined they’ll succeed. Mother will have used her ability to help Lawson get in, and then been ready as back up if his initial efforts failed. If Cadence really is too powerful for Lawson to capture, then Mother will have found a way to convince her it’s in her—and your—best interest for her to come willingly. They had a designated meeting place for her to send Airlie to meet up with Lawson and everything. If his attack went wrong, all he has to do is wait for her there. I have no doubt Lawson and your sister will show up here at any moment.”
My hands clenched into fists, and I considered launching myself at Renley. But that was another thing I had tried once only. The General might have given in to Quirin’s persuasion to let me wander the camp at will, but he wasn’t letting me get away with anything that might presage an escape attempt.
Instead I took several deep breaths. “I don’t believe Lawson is strong enough to do anything of the kind. You’re the one who’ll see. He won’t come back at all. If Cadence doesn’t take him down herself, someone else at the Guild will. Evermund wouldn’t just sit by and let her be taken.”
Despite having only known him for a short time, my faith in Evermund was absolute. In all my dealings with him, he had demonstrated that he took his responsibilities seriously. He wouldn’t leave a young, vulnerable girl to fend for herself.
A clamor arose near the gates, like a crowd gathering to greet someone. Renley flashed me a triumphant look.
“That will be them now.”
He took off running, and I dashed after him. We were soon ducking and weaving around others, all moving in the same direction. Renley got close enough to see the gates first, swinging back to me with a huge grin on his face. My heart seized.
“It’s Lawson,” he said as I reached his side. “Just like I said.”
I jumped up, trying to see over the people in front of me. One of them moved, disappearing back into the crowd, their curiosity apparently satisfied, and I pushed forward into their place.
Lawson, a plants mage with whom I’d had almost no contact, stood just inside the gates, his expression closed off. He certainly didn’t look like a triumphant conqueror. I waited several breaths, scanning in every direction before training my eyes on the gate behind him. When it started to slowly swing shut, I turned back to Renley, buoyed by relief.