Honor-Bound [ Lore of Penrua: Book III ]

34

Ealin had had enough. She could not do this any more.

Her father had become more sophisticated in his methods; that much was true. After years of practice, he was adept at performing the bloody ritual that could imbue a Starborn mage with Arcborn power. Selecting the right subjects—victims, Ealin sometimes thought, although she tried not to—and ensuring they could not reveal the secret of what happened behind his closed chamber doors took skill, though. He was the archmage, a powerful man, but it was still a risk.

On the rare occasions when they performed the ritual, Ealin coped better with the effects. She was no longer squeamish about it, and she needed less rest. Perhaps it was because her body was stronger. Perhaps it was because anticipation of her father's satisfaction brought her through the worst of it.

She was coping better with it all physically, but it was clear now that this method of claiming magic was not a solution. What Jaeron wanted was to instill magical properties into the blood of the Starborn, and as the second moon waned after each procedure, that magic would wane from her blood along with it, and she would become less and less able to exercise the faculties the Arcborn blood granted her. She was convinced now that somehow her body consumed it. If she was right, she might live the rest of her life relying on others for her powers. That they had not yet arrived at a permanent solution had prevented the archmage himself from undergoing the transfer of magic.

"Father," she said one night as they sat around his small tea table, nursing their cups in silence. "I have an idea."

He cast a glance at her. There were shadows beneath his dark eyes, proof of his exhaustion. Although he did not speak of it, there was a war brewing outside the walls of the Mage's Keep. Ealin knew this from rumors. Years ago, one of the princes had been slain by an outlaw queen. Since then, tensions had been rising between the Starborn and the Arcborn, and every so often, news of a skirmish or a battle would reach the apprentices in the Mage's Keep, fodder for late-night whispers and speculation.

Jaeron was one of the emperor's closest counselors, and his commitments weighed upon him. Moreover, he had expected to have long solved the problem of Starborn magic by now, and he was growing ever more frustrated with the failures.

Her failures.

"What is it, Daughter?" he asked.

"A solution to the problem. A way to grant you the power of the Arcborn without having to carry magical trinkets. I think I know."

A smile teased at the corner of Jaeron's mouth, and an answering frustration and pain flooded Ealin's heart. She'd seen such a look a hundred times on her father's face; this was no different. Only she wished he would take her seriously. She wished he would see her as able to contribute to their journey toward Starborn supremacy. Instead, he seemed to see her as a subject in his experiments and little more. At times, he seemed to see her as nothing more than an inconvenience.

"Go ahead, little bird. Tell me."

Ealin plucked a bloodstone up from the tea table. "If our bodies cannot bear the magic blood," she said, "but bloodstones work for us no matter how old they are or how often they are used, then if we were to make them a part of our bodies..."

He frowned at her, but raised a brow as if to say, Go on.

"There are men who lose teeth and are given new teeth. There are those who lose an eye and are given a new, glass eye. Why can we not do something similar with the stones that grant us power? One stone is all it would take."

He was still frowning. "And so, to earn their properties, you would lose an eye and give yourself a new eye?"

"No. I don't know. But there must be a way."

"What you offer is no solution, Ealin. Already, mages wear amulets and carry staffs with bloodstones affixed to them." He nodded toward his own staff, which stood in the corner, surmounted by a glowing red orb. "Lose the amulet, lose the power. Being disarmed during combat can spell death. This is the same thing we have done for centuries; it is no solution."

She lowered her gaze, tracing the rim of her tea cup with a fingertip.

"No. We must find a way to make it part of us. That is our quest." The archmage sighed. He narrowed his eyes and took a sip of tea, gazing across the rim as if he could see something far beyond that shadowed room. "It is the most important problem I will ever solve...but it is now a question for the future."

"Father?"

"We are at war. We must crush this rebellion, lest we all fall to the chaos. Any subjects we take, I shall pour into bloodstones. It is not ideal, but it's certain."

"But I thought...I thought we did not want to rely upon bloodstones."

"We don't. It is not the ideal, child, but we must be pragmatic. We haven't time to spend on experiments and theory. Bloodstones are not our vision, but they are certain. We know how to make them. We know how they work. And their power never wanes."

Ealin hated her father's experiments. Why, then, did news of his shifting focus hurt? Why did she have to swallow a plea? If we just try one more time. If we just push forward, Father, we can make it work. Together, we will achieve your dream.

The archmage looked at her, and surprise touched his features. Then, he graced her with a very rare thing: a smile. "Don't be forlorn, little bird. We will take up the work again when the time comes. This war will not last forever, and someday, we will have our power. It will be as natural to us as our own skin and bone."

It was that final word—bone—which gave Ealin the idea that would change everything.

While we watch Ealin now, so changed (we think) from the woman she was when Uachi first met her, here is another brief peek into her history. There will be one more glimpse of her past, although whether it reveals very much of who she truly is, I will let you decide. 

I am currently working on the very last chapter left to write in this book! Unless something drastically changes as I do some light revision, this novel will end at 75 chapters, so that gives you a little perspective on what is coming! 

Have an amazing day, my friends! 

xx Mina