How much had Anna known about the Captain?
She had spent some time in his fortress. He didn’t really know what she knew, but he questioned whether or not she’d even been aware of it. Perhaps she had known. Maybe that was the reason she’d gone to the fortress in the first place. Or perhaps it was because she could use magic more openly around him.
If only he had a chance to speak with her. Given everything that had occurred in the city since taking on these two jobs, Gavin should’ve taken the time to reach out to her.
“He’s an enchanter, isn’t he?” he said.
The timing made sense. He hadn’t pieced it together before, but now that he started to think through it, he thought he understood. The time when the Captain had risen to power. The reason behind him building such an incredible fortress. That few knew anything about him.
“Did you know?” he asked Gaspar.
“I’ve suspected. None of us really know. That’s one of the things I’ve looked into since I left.” He looked over to Desarra. “The bastard keeps an element of mystery around him.”
“So even though he must have been a part of the sorcery war, he somehow managed to position himself in such a way that he gained even more power after it? This despite the fact that the constables removed all of the enchanters with any power?”
“Sometimes even those without power,” Desarra whispered.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Gaspar asked.
“What would I have said? That he’s used his authority to harm us? That he’s an enchanter?”
“I would have cared,” he said.
“It was better this way,” she whispered.
“Better for who?” Hurt filled Gaspar’s eyes.
There was no answer, and Gavin turned away.
“So,” he said after giving them a few moments of silence, “the Captain has held a position of authority in the city, using enchantments he’s not supposed to use, and he continues to cause difficulty for others who have power. That about right?”
“It’s more than that,” Desarra said. “He doesn’t have much magic on his own. That’s why the constables left him alone. They knew that much about him.”
Gavin nodded in understanding. “He doesn’t have much power on his own, but he uses the other enchanters he’s buying to gain strength. Is that what he’s doing?”
“As far as we can tell,” Desarra said.
“And then he learned of Alex?”
Could the Captain want the egg for himself?
It would be a complicated ploy, and one Gavin wouldn’t expect to work.
“I didn’t know who she was at the time,” Desarra said, looking over at Gaspar. “When you wanted the layout, I thought it was for another one of the enchanters who’d been taken. It had been a while since he’d managed to purchase one. They don’t allow him to purchase too many, but…”
Gavin leaned forward. “Who is she? I mean, other than her ability to augment enchantments.”
She had to be significant otherwise. He tried to think about why that would be the case, but he wasn’t sure.
“She’s Zella’s daughter.”
Gavin got to his feet and started to pace. He glanced over every so often, and his mind worked through everything that he’d learned. Strange for a city that disliked magic this intensely to have so much within it.
Why should this city be so different than any others that I’d been in?
Some were more open and welcomed the idea of magic, recognizing its value. In others, the sorcerers were a part of the community, and they worked with the people rather than trying to subjugate them. In still other cities, it was more like the way Yoran had once been. The people had been conquered, and they lived under the rule of a sorcerer. There were some like Yoran was now, where magic was expelled. In all of them, there was always an undercurrent of power. Gavin should’ve expected this city to be no different.
Gavin paced in front of the fireplace, looking all around the inside of the room, trying to piece together everything he’d heard and everything they’d implied.
What did I need to do now?
Gaspar and Desarra talked quietly.
Gavin looked at Olivia. “If the Captain keeps taking—”
“Not taking. Buying.”
Gavin nodded. “Buying other enchanters, then what are they interested in?”
“They’re interested in freeing those who have been purchased,” she said.
“It’s not just about freeing them though. It’s about something else, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“What?”
“There’s a reason Zella was willing to offer the egg to the Mistress of Vines,” she said.
He leaned forward. “What?”
“They want revenge.”
“Revenge for what the Captain’s doing?”
“For all of it. The Captain primarily. They view him as responsible for not only the capture of people like Alex and others but also what happened to their parents.”
“Why?”
“Because he was one of them. He betrayed them. And they’re hoping the Mistress of Vines will finally get that vengeance.”
“I suppose I can understand that,” Gavin said. Maybe this was just something he needed to leave alone. Vengeance was a motivation he well understood. “Then we wait until it plays out.”
“You can’t,” Olivia said.
“Why not? I don’t really care if the Mistress of Vines or the Captain has the fortress.”
“All they want—we want—is the freedom to use our magic without fear.”
“So you convinced the Mistress of Vines to help.”
“When they took Alex…”
Gavin shook his head. That had been the tipping point for the enchanters. Either that, or the Mistress of Vines propositioned them. He didn’t know which.
“If they attack, if the Mistress of Vines succeeds, there will be open war within Yoran again,” Gaspar said, looking over to him. “I’ve lived that before. I don’t want to see it again. For as bad as he might be, the Captain did accomplish one thing. The magical war ended.”
“Only because the constables were using enchantments to hunt those with magic,” Olivia said.
“The alternative was worse,” Gaspar said.
“Are you sure?”
They were both right. He’d seen it. Gavin had been through a few places where there’d been a battle between those who had magic and those who
