He shook his head. “Everyone’s been distracted with the tour. You can’t blame yourself. And none of us are responsible for whatever it is that happened to her.” His eyes wandered toward her body, fresh concern filling his voice. “Maybe no one is responsible for it. She was a power mage, wasn’t she? That’s how she hid from you?”
“Not a mage, but we shared an affinity.” I kept my voice low, even though the others in the room weren’t paying us any attention.
“What if…” He let the words trail off, as if he didn’t want to speak the rest of the sentence aloud.
I considered his words, trying to work out what had him so worried. As soon as I guessed the direction of his thoughts, my stomach clamped and twisted.
“You think this might have happened because of her affinity?” I asked. “Like a condition that’s unique to us? Is that possible?”
He shrugged. “I’ve never heard of anything like it, and I can’t imagine why you would suffer different illnesses from the rest of us. But how else can there be a condition neither Hayes nor Colton have ever encountered?” He growled. “I wish I could get a proper look at those books in the forbidden section of the library. There must be more practical tomes in there that would mention such a thing if it exists.”
“I would settle for something that actually explains how to use my ability.” I glanced at the others, but they were still involved in their own conversation. “We only spoke for a matter of minutes, but she taught me something new. I might be stronger than she ever was, but she actually knew how to use her ability. If only I had someone—” I cut myself off as I realized how my lamentation might be received.
Sure enough, Zeke grimaced. “I know. I’m sorry. I wish I could be more help. I didn’t expect your affinity to work so differently from the other three.” He ran a frustrated hand through his hair.
“Actually, I might have an idea about that. From what Dara showed me.” I groaned. “But I don’t have time to think about that now. We just got proof about Airlie’s abduction. She needs to be my focus now.”
“Airlie?” Zeke gave me a strange look. “I don’t think—”
I held up a hand, cutting him off. “Don’t tell me I need to focus on myself, or that I can help her better in the long run by learning more about my ability. I’ve been telling myself that for months, but this is different. If I have a chance to go after her, I have to take it.”
“I—” Zeke frowned, glancing toward Evermund before shrugging and letting the matter drop.
I gazed out the window again. Some light still lingered thanks to the start of summer, but how long would it take to gather forces and supplies? Too long, probably.
Evermund approached, breaking my focus. “Master Colton is going to take charge of Dara’s body. He and Hayes would like a chance to study the condition that killed her more closely.”
I nodded, only half listening.
“I’m going to speak to the king,” he continued, capturing my full attention.
“Good.” I nodded. “We’ve wasted enough time.”
Zeke looked at me sideways before directing his words at Evermund. “Do you mind if I come?”
Evermund’s brows rose, but after a moment’s hesitation, he nodded his assent. Zeke looked back to me.
“You don’t mind being left alone, Cadence?”
I assured them I didn’t just as two servants stepped through the door carrying a stretcher. They were clearly used to working with Colton because they barely broke stride at the discovery that Dara had already died, moving with detached efficiency as they lifted her body onto the stretcher.
Within moments everyone had left the suite, going their separate ways while I stood alone, tears in my eyes. She might have been a raider, but I had sensed kindness in Dara, and she deserved a better send off than this.
Where was her husband now? Was he already mourning her?
I returned to my interrupted packing with mechanical movements. Only once I’d finished loading the last of Evermund’s office supplies did I look down at the bag and give myself a mental shake. I was wasting my time. These were items for the tour, not for a rescue mission. We wouldn’t be taking them with us.
With dismay, I remembered that our bags of clothes were already removed. Most likely they had been loaded into a wagon already—probably into the most inaccessible spot, given how such things always seemed to go.
I winced. Hopefully whichever servants were assigned the task of retrieving them wouldn’t be too resentful about the matter.
Without anything to keep my hands busy, I soon found myself pacing up and down the suite. My mind whirled in circles, trying to settle on the practical matters needed for such a journey but instead leaping from thought to thought without latching on to anything.
It seemed forever, but finally the door opened again. I burst into speech without waiting for Evermund to step fully inside.
“I’m ready to leave immediately. We’ll just need to have someone retrieve—” I broke off as I absorbed his face and manner. I had never seen him look so thunderous.
“What happened?” I faltered.
“There will be no rescue mission.”
“What?” I stared at him, trying to absorb his words. “The king won’t send any guards with us? We have to go on our own?”
Evermund’s eyes sparked. “We are not even released for that. My uncle accepts that Airlie has been abducted and is being held against her will, but he cannot spare anyone with the tour about to begin. Not even me.”
“Oh.” I sank down onto the closest chair, all the anticipation draining out of me. “I suppose especially not you. You’re one of the strongest mages in the kingdom.”
My earlier thoughts seemed foolish now. We were in the aftermath of a fresh attack with multiple foreign delegations present, and we were due to leave on the tour tomorrow. Of course the king wouldn’t agree to send out a group of mages and soldiers on a separate mission.
I looked up at Evermund. I had never heard him refer to the king using their family connection before or heard him speak of his monarch with such rebellious anger. But when he felt my eyes on him, his mouth twisted into an apologetic grimace.
“I’m sorry, Cadence. I know the timing is bad, but I thought I had a chance of convincing him. If we had your sister back, it would be a strong extra layer of protection on the tour. But…” He sighed, slumping into a chair himself. “He said if we had specific information on her location, he might have considered it, but as it is…”
Disappointment churned inside my stomach alongside embarrassment at my naivety. But I had to acknowledge the king’s point.
“If only Dara had told us where they are.” I sighed.
“He’s on edge because of the strength of that mage who attacked us.”
“She said his name is Lawson,” I reminded him, inconsequentially.
“Lawson, then. We still don’t understand how the General got his hands on such a powerful mage. The census has been completed, and no one of particular strength is missing from Tartora. Not from any affinity.”
“He must be a raider, then,” I said.
“He must.” Evermund looked more uneasy than that fact seemed to warrant. “And, given that, King Marius is on edge. We don’t know if another attack is coming.”