“Once Sarana’s magic was in the rings,” Galdric said, “Torvin wore them all at once, coaxing his own healing magic through them, focusing his power to merge with Sarana’s. That was all it took to, essentially, fuse the elemental magic into another person.” His voice lowered. “When Torvin started using death magic, the Hand stopped working. But Sarana was concerned about him having children one day who might inherit his healing power, since she knew if they came for the rings, he’d be able to build his own magical army —”
Much like what Navok was already doing without the Hand, Kiva thought, her anxiety growing.
“— so she separated them and had her closest allies from Jiirva, Hadris, Valorn, and Arden hide them in their own kingdoms. Navok doesn’t know where they are — I told him she buried them deep in the Uninhabited North, but he sent a team to search for them, and he’ll soon discover the truth. He’s smart, and he has the resources to learn who she really gave them to, especially now that he knows what questions to ask.” He made a helpless, apologetic gesture, before finishing, “He can’t do anything until he has all four rings, each imbued with magic, and then Kiva to wield them, but still . . . it’s not an ideal situation.”
Caldon glared at him. “You think?”
“You said he needs Vallentis magic,” Ashlyn pointed out. “Mirryn can give him air and fire, but that’s all. So he doesn’t just need Kiva, he also needs us, and we won’t —”
“Oriel and Aunt Ariana.” Caldon swore. “They’re still at the River Palace. They can give him earth and water.”
Jaren clenched his jaw at the reminder that his mother and brother remained hostages in Vallenia. Kiva knew it had to be eating him up inside, but feared any comfort she might offer would only make things worse.
“It’s also possible that Sarana’s power is still in the rings,” Galdric told them. “They could be ready to go without needing any extra Vallentis magic.”
Caldon swore again.
“So all Navok needs is to find the rings,” Torell summarized, having stayed silent for most of Galdric’s speech, “and then coerce Kiva into helping him, and he’ll be able to —”
“I’m afraid so,” Galdric confirmed.
This time it was Jaren who cursed, before rubbing his temples and frowning down at the table. “We need to get to them first,” he said. “We can’t risk Navok having that kind of threat looming over us. He’s already powerful. With magic, he could be unstoppable.”
Before anyone could agree — or argue — Cresta started chuckling.
“I’m impressed,” she said, smirking at Jaren. “My first thought was that if we took Kiva out of the equation” — she sliced a finger across her own throat — “then there’d be no threat. But well done to you for not going there.”
“Cresta,” Torell snapped, while Kiva just shot her a disapproving look.
“What?” Cresta said. “I can’t be the only one thinking it.” To Kiva, she added, “I don’t want you dead. But you have to admit, you’re causing all kinds of problems.”
“Has no one else thought about the obvious yet?” Kiva asked, ignoring the redhead, and voicing what she’d realized the moment Galdric had mentioned what the Hand could do. “If we get the rings, then Jaren can get his magic back.”
Everyone around her stilled enough to indicate they hadn’t thought about it. The openly stunned look on Jaren’s face had Kiva’s cheeks heating, and she quickly added, “And we could also create our own magical army to defend against Navok’s. So keeping the Hand from him won’t just stop him from gaining his own power, but it’ll mean we can stop him from taking over Evalon — and Wenderall.”
There was a pause while her companions processed her words, and then Ashlyn said, “That’s a solid argument, but if we go after the Hand, it could take us weeks. Months. We’d have to travel across the continent, and then figure out where the rings are. That whole time, Zuleeka —”
“Pardon me,” Galdric interrupted, “but the rings were given to the ruling families of the kingdoms I mentioned before. Only for safekeeping, though — you merely have to ask for them back.”
“We’d still have to travel —”
“I can use my windfunneling,” Galdric offered. “We’ll need to ride part of the distance on horseback, but once we’re within a few hundred miles of each city, I can magic us the rest of the way.” He eyed Ashlyn. “If you’re a quick learner, you can, too.”
“Bold of you to assume you’re coming,” Caldon said to the ex-rebel leader.
“If you don’t want to lose weeks traveling all while Zuleeka wreaks havoc on Evalon and Navok prepares to invade with his magical army, then you need me,” Galdric stated evenly. “And I can offer guidance with Kiva’s training, too. Don’t forget, when Navok is no longer a threat, she’ll still need to face her sister.”
The queasy feeling returned to Kiva’s stomach.
“I don’t like this,” Ashlyn said, her lips pursed. “By going after the rings, we could be playing right into Navok’s hands.”
“We most likely will be,” Jaren said, looking equally unhappy. “But would you be content doing nothing while he’s actively searching for them? Wouldn’t it be better to have them secure in our possession? If he tries to steal them from us, we’ll be ready. We’ll be expecting it. And like Kiva said, we can use them to create our own elemental army to combat his. That alone is reason enough to risk it.”
That seemed to sway Ashlyn, but Jaren wasn’t finished.
“I’m the last person to want to leave Evalon right now,” he said in a low, pained voice. “Knowing that Zuleeka and Mirryn are on the throne, that Mother and Ori are their captives . . .” His throat bobbed. “I hate it, more than you can imagine. But I also recognize the danger Navok poses. We need to prioritize our enemies. Once we get the rings, we can deal with him, and then we can give our undivided attention to removing Zuleeka and Mirryn from power.”
Ashlyn held his impassioned eyes, before finally nodding. “Let’s do it,” she said. “I’ll send word to the other outposts and have some of our soldiers make for Vallenia while we’re away, just in case any of Navok’s anomalies manage to slip through the border unnoticed. Eidran, can you see to that?”
Kiva jolted, having again forgotten that the stealthy man had been in the room the whole time.
“I think I’ll be more useful accompanying you,” he countered in a soothing rumble. “We still have questions about the anomalies. Galdric said he knows of magical communities in three of the kingdoms you’re traveling to — while you’re collecting the rings, I can seek them out and try to uncover some answers.”
“Smart,” Jaren said quietly.
“Good point,” Ashlyn agreed, before rising to her feet. “Windfunneling or not, we don’t have any time to waste. Take the rest of the day to prepare, and then first thing tomorrow, we’ll set out.”
“We, who?” Cresta asked, cocking an eyebrow. “I’m a free woman now. I have things to do, places to see, people to —”