by Lisa Cassidy
Casovar nodded sharply, and Cario smiled once more before turning on his heel and striding out. He didn’t even glance at Alyx. She was up and after him before Casovar had time to realise what she was doing and stop her. Outside, Cario’s long strides were carrying him down the hallway leading to the main palace entrance.
Anger building, she went after him. “What are you doing here?”
Cario slowed and turned, his expression still unreadable. “Hello, Alyx. I would have expected a warmer greeting from a friend.”
“We’re not friends.”
A shutter fell over his eyes, and he nodded. “I suspected that you had overheard my conversation with Romas. Especially when I never heard from you. Not even a letter.”
Her shoulders stiffened. “I don’t write letters to those who betray me.”
Something like scorn flashed over Cario’s face. “You think you know so much, but in fact you know very little.”
“What is it I don’t know? That you’re a council spy who pretended to be my friend so that you could spy on me for months?” Alyx pushed back the tears that threatened. “I counted you as my friend.”
“And I counted you as mine!” he snapped.
“Right. You spy on all your friends, do you?”
Her raised voice caught the attention of a passing servant, and they both fell silent while the startled-looking young man quickened his pace down the hall. It was Cario who broke the silence. “Perhaps you might give me the chance to explain?”
She stared at him for a moment, then spun on her heel, pushing open a nearby door that led to the gardens. His footsteps sounded behind her as she led him to a more private area before eventually stopping by a bubbling fountain.
Cario spoke before she could. “I am no more a council spy than you are.”
“Then I suppose Tarrick and I imagined what we overheard,” she mocked.
“In what conversation between us over the past year did I ever sound like I want to be anything like my family? When did I ever do anything to suggest being a spy for the council is something I would do?”
“You were spying. Clearly whatever you said to me was a lie.”
“The council thought I was spying on you. They were wrong.”
That momentarily gave her pause. His eyes were bright with intensity, an emotion she’d rarely seen in the cool and unaffected Cario Duneskal. “What does that mean?”
“After our first year at DarkSkull… well, I was slated to join Galien’s group for second year. It made perfect sense—he was the most powerful student, and I had the most powerful mage connections.” Cario sat down by the fountain, shoulders slumping. “It was the last thing I wanted. I hate everything Galien stands for. I wanted nothing to do with combat patrols or being a warrior mage. I thought if I could get into your group, I could escape everybody’s notice. I had no idea you were a mage of the higher order.”
“How does this end in you being a spy?”
He looked up at her, and for the first time she saw Cario stripped bare of any masks. His rawness tugged at her on a visceral level. “I knew of the council’s interest in you, even though I didn’t know why. I went to my grandfather, and told him that if he could organise for me to join your group, I would spy on you for him. It was the only way I could think to get out of being with Galien.”
She huffed out a bitter laugh. “Self-interested as always. Why am I even surprised? What did you tell them about me?”
“Honestly?” A smile crossed his face. “I told them you liked needlework, and kept dreaming about some prince back home. I said you got bored in classes and kept making Finn do your homework for you. In short, I told them nothing of any value.”
“Cario…” She hesitated, unsure of whether to believe him.
“You’re right, my motives in going to my grandfather were selfish,” he said earnestly. “But that doesn’t mean I was ever willing to do what I told him I would. I pretended, Alyx. I swear to you.”
She lifted her hands helplessly. “I have no reason to believe this. After all the lies I’ve been told, mostly by the council... tell me how I can believe you, Cario?”
“Read my mind,” he whispered. “Go on. I know you can. You’ll see the truth in there.”
His hands trembled in his lap and he’d turned pale as death. Alyx had never seen Cario so shaken, so utterly vulnerable. It was costing him to do this. With the secrets he kept from the world... and he was offering to let her into his head.
“No,” she said, slowly, wondering if she was going to regret it, but making the choice anyway. “I believe you.”
“You do?” Naked hope flared in his startling blue eyes.
“Yes.” And she did. It wasn’t in her to hurt him, and that’s what she’d be doing if she read his thoughts. “Now tell me why you’re really here?”
The mask settled back over Cario’s face and he leaned languidly against the fountain. “The council thinks I’m here to report on you and Casovar both. I just wanted a holiday to Alistriem.”
Alyx laughed.
Cario smiled in response, then sobered. “I came here to join you. I’ve made my choice, just like Tarrick. As long as working for the council allows me to remain with you, I’ll continue to pretend.”
She gave him a curious look. “You were a second-year apprentice like me. How have you passed your trials?”
“It’s always been that the masters decide when an apprentice is ready to take the trials. Most of the time it takes about four years to learn and develop enough.” Cario shrugged. “We both know I’ve been ready for some time.”
“Why you and not Galien? They made him take the full four years.”
“Being judged ready for the trials is not just about skill with magic. I suspect the council has been waiting and hoping for Galien to grow out of his psychopathic tendencies,” Cario said dryly.
She nodded, pondering that. “You’ve heard that Casovar won’t allow us to return to DarkSkull?”
“Yes. It factored in my decision to come here.” His mouth quirked in a smile. “I figured Alistriem would be a nice long distance away from my family’s fury.”
“You’re warming my heart with your devotion,” she muttered.
He grinned. “Anyway, I was walking into Town Hall, all ready to tell my father that I was quitting the mage order, and I heard the news that the council had advertised a posting to Alistriem. Everyone was talking about it because the council hasn’t had a formal representative in Alistriem in decades.” He shrugged. “It was fairly easy after that to get my father and grandfather to pull strings and give me the assignment.”
Alyx thought about that, curious as to what the council’s true motives were. Cario’s voice brought her back to the present.
“Anyway, I’m exhausted. Can you recommend a good inn?”
“Stay with me. Tarrick is staying at my house too, but he’s out of town with the twins. It will be good to have the company,” she said. “I’ll have one of the Bluecoats escort you over there and write a note to our steward so he knows you’re invited.”
“Sounds great. Thanks, Alyx.”
“Freshen up and have a nap. We can talk more later.”
Alyx sat back with a sigh, pleasantly full after finishing every bit of the meal Safia had sent over with Cario. So far they’d discussed Cario’s sea journey and the news that Galien and all members of First Patrol had passed their trials. It was a discomfiting thought to think those five now walked the world as fully trained warrior mages, but they weren’t Alyx’s problem to contend with. For now, anyway.
“So what are the council’s views on Casovar?” she asked.
He glanced around. “Can we talk openly?”
“Casovar has a dinner engagement, and the Mage Guard have gone for the day too. It’s just us in here.” She shrugged. “Provided your mental shield is up, we should be fine. None of us have been able to establish yet whether Casovar has telepathic ability, but we’re assuming he does.”
&nbs
p; “As you should,” Cario agreed, then shifted forward. “Grandfather really didn’t talk about Casovar much. His instructions to me didn’t include anything about him, except to say that he was arrogant and unlikely to welcome my presence in Rionn.”
“Why did Casovar quit working for the council?”
“That’s easy. He’s always been ambitious to a fault, yet there was no way he was getting a council seat anytime soon. They preferred to use him in the field because of his
power. When your king offered him the post of lord-mage, I assume he jumped at it.”
“So he grew up poor?”
“More middle-class, but yes. He wants what those above him have.”
“I wonder how the king came across him?” Alyx mused. “Everyone knows he has limited contact with the council, so how did he learn about Casovar, let alone come to offer him the position as lord-mage?”
“Your previous lord-mage?”
“Astor? Yes, I suppose it must have been.”
She wanted to follow that thought further, but a sharp knock on the door startled them both. It swung open to reveal Dashan, whose warm smile at the sight of her faded to rising anger when he saw Cario.
“What is he doing here?”
Alyx winced. “He’s here as a formal representative of the Mage Council. It’s a long story.”
“Good to see you again, Lieutenant Caverlock,” Cario said languidly.
“You want me to believe a mage apprentice is here as a formal representative of the council?”
“I passed my trials, Lieutenant. You’ll notice I’m wearing black now.”
Ignoring Cario, Dashan’s furious gaze swung to Alyx, demanding answers. Cario glanced between them and rose to his feet. “I’ll give you a moment.”
Dashan waited until the door had closed behind him before demanding, “When did he get here?”
“Earlier this afternoon.”
“And why haven’t you sent him packing?”
“Because we had a long talk and he explained what happened.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful. And you didn’t consider that maybe he’s had months to come up with an excellent story?”
“No, because of course I don’t have half a brain in my head.” She rolled her eyes. “I believed him. You need to trust me.”
Dashan’s jaw clenched and he looked away from her for a long moment. “You can trust him if you like, but you can also let him know I’ll be keeping a careful eye on him.”
“I’m not going to tell him any such thing,” she said tartly.
“Why is he here? What does the council want?” Dashan threw his hands in the air. “I’m not sure which of those two I trust less, and I don’t want either of them near you.”
“He was explaining his presence here when you so rudely interrupted. I thought you were on duty tonight?”
“I am. They assigned me to the palace so I wanted to come by and see you before my shift started.”
Alyx sighed. “I don’t find this over-protectiveness charming, you know. You need to get going before you’re late to your shift and Cario starts to wonder what we’re doing in here.”
He grinned, the anger fading from his features as he stepped closer to her. “I know what I’d like to be doing.”
“Ha. If you think I’m going to kiss you after that little tirade, you’re—”
He cut her words off with his mouth and she melted instantly into him, allowing the kiss to last far longer than she should have before pushing him away. “Get out of here.”
“Yes, my lady.” He bowed extravagantly and grinned at her scowl. Opening the door, he gestured for Cario to come in. “Harm a hair on her head and I’ll take you apart piece by piece. Slowly.”
“Terrified, I’m sure,” Cario drawled. “A pleasure as always, Lieutenant Caverlock.”
Dashan slammed the door behind him so hard it rattled on its hinges.
“I am mystified as to why you keep him around,” Cario said as he resumed his seat.
“Maybe one day you’ll tell me your secrets and I’ll tell you mine.” She grinned at him. “Now, is there anything else I should know?”
“One more thing. The council has a spy here working on their behalf. Grandfather wouldn’t tell me more—he said the spy won’t be in contact with me as he has different tasking.” Cario shrugged. “There’s a good chance it’s you the spy is here to watch. You should be careful.”
Something inside Alyx relaxed. Despite the fact she truly believed Cario, Dashan’s doubt had shaken that a little. But that snippet of information had gone a little way to prove his loyalty. Cario had no way of knowing she knew about Brynn already.
Her smile widened, and Cario raised his eyebrow at her. “What?”
“Much like you, Cario, the council spy in Alistriem also works for me.”
The look of stunned surprise on his face kept her amused for hours afterward.
Chapter 16
Alyx balanced on the balls of her feet, loosening her shoulders. Then she focused her mind, taking several deep breaths. In and out. In and out. Her heartbeat steadied and her concentration sharpened. Slowly, she reached for her mage power, allowing it to spread through her.
Then, she opened her eyes and jumped.
Her body leapt into the air, and at the very last moment—when she was about to start falling back to earth—her magic kicked in.
Exhilaration flared when, instead of dropping to the ground, she hovered above it. Letting out a whoop of triumph, she drew upon more power and soared higher into the air.
Her magic reserves instantly began to drain. Reluctantly she let go, dropping back towards the ground and landing with a slight stumble. A wide grin spread over her face. Sweat slicked her skin, and her heart was pounding from exertion, but she’d done it! She had absorbed Mika’s talent.
Still smiling, she rubbed a towel over her face and wandered out of the hot sun to a nearby table where a jug of water stood. Her first instinct was to hurry off and find Finn, tell him she’d absorbed another ability, and thinking of him took some of the shine off her triumph.
They still weren’t back yet.
It had been over a month now, and Casovar refused to provide her with details of what her friends were doing, no matter how politely she asked, and she worried for them. Several attempts to reach Dawn telepathically had failed. Unsurprised—Alyx still had work to do to improve her telepathic skill and range—she was nonetheless disappointed not to have received contact from her friend. Perhaps the distance was even too great for Dawn.
Dropping into a nearby chair, she let out a sigh, resting the cool glass against the hot skin of her forehead. She hated knowing they might be in danger and she was powerless to help. And it didn’t make things any easier that she was essentially cooling her heels in Alistriem. Her father continued to preach patience, promising the time would come when she would be of use, but as more time passed, her frustration grew. She’d promised Tarrick and the twins she’d have a better sense of Casovar by the time they returned, but she didn’t.
She still didn’t know if he could be trusted, not for certain, and Brynn hadn’t brought anything definitive to her yet. He’d been hard to pin down recently, claiming increased tasking from the council. The burning knot of uselessness and frustration in her chest seemed to grow larger every day, and the only way to ease it was these practice sessions she forced herself through as often as she could. In the absence of formal training, she dragged up the memories of every lesson Howell and Rothai had given her. She pushed herself constantly, determined to increase her control and skill.
And not only with magic, either. Dashan had been there earlier, and they’d passed more than an hour in a sparring session before he’d had to report for duty. Her muscles were weary, but in a good way—the languid satisfaction she’d often felt at DarkSkull after a long, tiring day.
That satisfaction eased some of her pent-up emotion. At least by doing this she was preparing herself as best as possible for
whatever was coming... whether it be Shivasa or whoever was behind the missing mages.
The determination surged again, and she put down the glass and rose, swinging her staff to loosen the tight muscles across her shoulders. She had more time for practice before she had to get ready for her evening plans.
After taking a few breaths to regain her focus, she swung her staff in her right hand and aimed the point at a wooden target a hundred paces away. She summoned her power again, and sent a controlled, low-energy concussion blast shooting from the end of her staff.
Far less bright and powerful than the strength of her mage power allowed, the modified concussion burst hit the target with a satisfying thump. It was a little off centre, but it gouged the wood nicely without exploding the thing into thousands of tiny pieces. Moving her aim slightly, she tried again.
It took a lot more effort, both in power and concentration, to control the strength, depth and flight of a concussion ball, than it did simply to let loose with everything she had. This one hit the centre of the target though, and a weary triumph flickered through her.
“Having fun?”
Alyx spun around in astonishment, heart leaping into her throat. Cayr stood by the small table in the shade, looking handsome and dapper despite the heat. It took a moment to process that he was actually standing there—she’d had no warning he would be back, and had assumed it would be a few more weeks. She was utterly unprepared to see him.
“You’re back,” she managed.
“I am.” He smiled. “I’m not interrupting, am I?”
“Not at all.” She walked over to join him by the table, busying herself with pouring another glass of water. “I had no idea you were supposed to be back today.”
“I didn’t want to make a fuss of it. Less chance of people crowding the streets to watch me ride in that way.”
“Fair enough. How was the trip?” She gave him an apologetic look. “I’m sorry we made your father so angry he sent you away.”
Cayr shrugged. “It’s nothing. The trip was being planned anyway, Father just made it happen faster.”
