Ciardis opened her mouth, ready to object. She wasn’t really upset about the slander against Serena. But she thought she’d been fairly good in the courts...so far. Aside from a few minor indiscretions all of which were done in the service of the Prince Heir. But she couldn’t speak. As soon as she opened her mouth she’d felt it close just as fast. Her lips were sealed shut as if by magic. She lurched up from the stool or at least she tried. It was impossible to do.
Straining her body, she felt the shackles of air tighten around her waist and legs; the air was weighing against her body. It was as if an invisible force had been dropped on top of her. Her body began to tremble—not in fear, but in fury. She narrowed her eyes as she stared from face to face on the council trying to determine who it was that bound her to her seat. Unfortunately two of the panelists were unknown to her; she was sure they were council members, but the new rotation had just started and so she wasn’t sure which ones they were.
She looked to Madame Maree’s right, knowing that this wasn’t her power. The magic that bound her was one of compulsion. It felt like air magic, but she’d studied enough to know that this wasn’t natural.
Finally she caught the eye of the one male panelist whom she knew. The one they called the Rithmatist. Ciardis stayed silent. She knew confronting him about it would be futile. Ciardis was brave but not stupid.
The Rithmatist was known for his fondness for cruelty and his heartless approach to discipline. He was known throughout the streets of Sandrin for his exotic tastes and his fixation on street girls. One of the servant boys, a friend of hers who often gave her gossip in the halls, had told her to watch out for the man.
“At first glance you’ll think you’re with your grandpapa,” the boy had told her while scrubbing a banister. He was slowly edging down the steps backwards, carefully cleaning and polishing the wood along the rail.
“But that man is a snake. A snake in fine clothing, so watch your step,” he said. A woman had come up behind them at that moment. “What was that?”
“I said watch your step, ma’am,” he quickly muttered. “Just polished the floors and they’re a bit slippery.”
The woman raised an eyebrow, nodded coolly, and hurried off. Ciardis left just as quickly.
Back in the moon room, the Rithmatist continued to stare, unblinking. He was the stern-looking man that was eyeing her through eyeglasses with his chin was perched on his folded hands.
“Miss Weathervane, I don’t believe you were invited to speak,” he intoned. “In fact, we would prefer you did not.”
For the first time Maree Amber let a genuine smile grace her lips, one of cold delight. “Very nicely done, Armand.”
Looking at Ciardis, she said, “Another attempt at an outburst by you will be looked upon unfavorably, Miss Weathervane.”
“Now see here,” Serena said, rising, “she didn’t mean any harm.” For once Ciardis was glad to have Lady Serena present. At least she was standing up for her.
Maree Amber’s smile turned brittle. “Sit down before you also are forced to.”
Serena balled her fists, again ready to object. The man to her right tapped her wrist and handed her a note. She turned as pale as a moon lily and sank into her chair.
“As I was saying, Miss Weathervane,” Maree Amber continued, “your behavior has been a mark against the Companions’ Guild in the eyes of the nobility since you came here a short time ago. You may have the favor of the Prince Heir now, but you’ll need more than the boy to survive in the courts. You need the guild.”
Ciardis’s eyes had begun to water. She couldn’t help it and was struggling to hold back her tears.
They were tears of anger, of retribution, and not of fear. She turned her eyes slowly from the Rithmatist to Maree Amber, asking silently for permission to speak.
The woman smiled cruelly, acknowledging the tears glittering in Ciardis’s eyes. She thought she’d won. Far from it.
“Speak, Ciardis,” Maree Amber said with a leisurely wave at the Rithmatist to get him to loosen his grip.
“The nobles here are useless creatures! They’re arrogant, spineless, and they think they know everything.”
“Those are your betters and you will respect them—”
The latest panelist who had yet to speak stirred. He’d been sitting in an elegant sprawl and leaned forward in interest when Ciardis had been allowed to speak. His rings were bejeweled and his golden hair was styled in loose curls. He said in a loose drawl, “Please, my dear, continue.”
“They are my betters only by birth. I know what’s it’s like to truly live in the Algardis empire. They? They live the lives of fairytales,” she finished in an irate huff.
Serena had grown progressively paler throughout Ciardis’s speech.
The bejeweled man smiled and his eyelids lowered as he studied the defiant girl who sat on the stool as proudly as if she sat on a throne with the court seated below her.
Softly he said, “Untested power such as hers could be the spark that flamed the court.”
“Maree,” he said in a louder tone, “I think we’ve found her.”
Meanwhile, Ciardis was furiously thinking to herself. This insufferable council was supposed to be on her side, to be her mentors, to protect her and advocate for her. From the start they’d been nothing but hateful. She thought of all the things she’d love to do to them—setting them on fire and drowning them figured prominently in her imagination.
Maree Amber’s mouth thinned into a line. “Armand,” she snapped, speaking to the Rithmatist, “Release her.”
She stood, her seat floating silently back without a touch of her hand. The man with the golden hair also stood.
“Ciardis, you will come with us,” said Maree Amber, venom in her words.
Ciardis stood warily. At Serena’s signal, she walked around to the back of the panel and followed Maree Amber and the weird man.
The older woman turned to the man once the doors of the moon room had closed behind them. “You know of her family’s history. We can’t have another mistake like that. Are you
The strange man folded his hands into his pockets as they walked down the hall. “Very.”
Ciardis’s shoulders sagged. She had a hunch that she’d gone from hell to high water.
Chapter 14
Maree Amber guided them straight to her office. A suite with a huge balcony facing the beach, it was open and airy. Curtains framing the balcony fluttered in the wind as they took seats around her massive desk in the center of the room.
“Look at me, girl,” commanded Crassius. His eyes, a blue as bright as his hair, narrowed as he tilted her head up with his fingertip. He stared straight into her eyes as his pupils began to enlarge.
Ciardis didn’t move her head. Although she was tempted to bite his fingers off just to be ornery. She could feel his magic searching inside her with tentative pushes against her mage core.
“What are you looking for?” Ciardis asked.
Irritation briefly masked his face. “A sign.”
“A
He dropped his finger from her chin and looked over at Maree Amber, who had sat back in her ornate office chair and watched them with intrigue.
He nodded at Maree Amber and Ciardis swore the woman closed her eyes in frustration.
“Crassius, even if it is
She stopped in mid-sentence and held up a hand to halt his protest. “I don’t doubt your abilities.”
She turned hard eyes on Ciardis. “What I do doubt is this person’s ability to act as a vessel for the plans we’ve put into motion.”
“Hey!” protested Ciardis. She wasn’t as exactly sure what it was that Maree Amber was doubting about her,
