Voice of Dominion (The Spoken Mage Book 3)

by Melanie Cellier

  “But,” he continued, “only one of us has been the victim of an attempted Kallorwegian abduction before.” He gave me a pointed look.

  I said nothing, unable to dispute his point.

  “But that’s not the only thing I’ve been thinking,” he said, except his words cut off as the mess tent loomed out of the darkness. We slipped inside, and he didn’t finish his thought.

  Had he been intending to point out how perfectly the gully attack had proved his point about my value to the war effort? If so, I was glad our arrival at the mess had cut him off. My stomach had finally settled enough to eat, and thinking about ever repeating my performance would be enough to set it off again.

  And the feeling of nausea was only exacerbated by the memory of Leila’s wound, and her tears for her friend. Was I being inexcusably selfish? Had Lucas been right all along? I thrust the thought away. He had said nothing on the topic, so I didn’t have to think of my answer now.

  My stomach growled audibly, and Lucas chuckled. Lights still burned inside, no doubt for those returning from night duty. Simple, cold food had been left out on a long bench, and I took an apple, closing my eyes as I bit into it. Had apples always been this delicious?

  When I opened them again, Lucas was looking at me with an expression that made my cheeks warm. Amusement, affection, and perhaps something else. Something he had whispered in a library, that I didn’t dare name even in my own head.

  I looked away quickly.

  “You two.” The voice sounded long-suffering and a little weary. “I should have known the two of you wouldn’t be anywhere as sensible as in your beds.”

  I turned to confront the Academy Head.

  “Where have you been all day?”

  I had thought the question, but it wasn’t my mouth which uttered it.

  Lorcan frowned at Lucas. “Bronton, of course. I was with General Griffith when news of the attack came. Naturally I wished to be present at the interrogation of the prisoners.”

  “And?” I asked. “What did you find? Who…what were they after?”

  He ran a tired hand over his face. “We don’t know.”

  I frowned at him. Not that I had ever been at an interrogation before, but in Corrin they had been able to compel the truth from my attackers.

  “They’re dead. Both of them.”

  “What?” Lucas didn’t raise his voice, but he didn’t need to.

  “Dead the moment the truth composition hit them.”

  “How is that possible?” I asked. “We saw them searched and stripped of all compositions.”

  “That is what I have spent my day attempting to determine.”

  “And?” asked Lucas.

  Lorcan spread his hands slightly. “Inconclusive. They were felled by a composition, certainly. Our best guess is that it was placed on them before they left Kallorway. Triggered to spring into action if a truth composition was applied. Who knows if they even knew it was there?”

  Or the deadly composition had been worked by a traitor in our midst.

  “Who was there?” I asked. “Who knew the prisoners were there?”

  Lorcan frowned at me. “Half the town knew they were there, I imagine, since they walked through the streets to the headquarters. As for who actually had access to them…” He paused, his face considering. “They were in my or the general’s sight from when they were brought in until their deaths.”

  I swallowed, the apple suddenly sitting heavy in my stomach. Lorcan or the general. I knew who I’d put my money on as the traitor. The Head of the Armed Forces had access to every report, every plan, every building, every tent. I looked from Lorcan to Lucas. I didn’t need to speak to know how quickly they would both reject the idea.

  “How very convenient,” I said instead. “Dead. Just like my attackers from first year. Both sets. Except for the one who brought down the balcony. We never found him.”

  The general had been there that night too. It was the first time I had met him.

  “What are you doing here now?” asked Lucas.

  “I was getting some food,” said Lorcan. “And then I was coming to find you.”

  Lucas raised a quizzical eyebrow.

  “With such momentous happenings, I have not had a suitable moment to have a word with General Griffith,” said Lorcan. “A word alone. And I suspect I might need back up.” His face twisted a little as if he hated having to admit it. “And since there are no other members of the Mage Council at the front, I will have to make use of the only member of the royal family in reach.”

  “Sending us out on patrol,” said Lucas, catching on more quickly than me.

  At his words I realized why Lorcan might want a private word with Griffith. Discipline heads did not battle it out in public.

  Chapter 15

  Lorcan wanted to send me back to bed, but Lucas insisted I accompany them. And Lorcan had already admitted he wasn’t in much of a position to be issuing orders. Not to the only member of the royal family in reach.

  And so we approached the main headquarters building together, although I had the good sense to stay a step behind the other two. Griffith didn’t have the same vested interest in my presence, so it was best if I didn’t draw too much attention to it.

  We found him in what had once been a ballroom. The room now held far too many desks and one enormous central table. Parchment was scattered everywhere. This wasn’t a room for commonborn soldiers.

  “Ah, Lorcan, back already.” The general’s face tightened as he took in Lorcan’s face and Lucas’s presence.

  “I would like a word with you, General,” Lorcan said. “A private word.”

  Griffith heaved a sigh, like a long-suffering parent forced to take time out of his busy schedule to try to explain something to a small child.

  “Very well, if you insist.”

  He didn’t have to issue any orders. The few remaining officers in the room filed out without question. I recognized both Captain Carson and Captain Matthis, and even one of the lieutenants looked familiar. It had been months since Martin had helped save me in Kingslee, and I almost didn’t recognize him without the darker summer skin tone.

  But he smiled at me in a friendly manner as he left, trailing behind Captain Carson as he had done then. Perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised to find them both here at the front. I should have known the general would assign two of his top men to watch me when he received Lorcan’s request for officers for the role. I just no longer knew what his purpose had been. Lorcan had said it was a test. But whose test? Who exactly was playing who here?

  “What exactly are you playing at?” Lorcan snapped, as if he could read my thoughts. It took me a moment to remember he was speaking of our inclusion in the patrols.

  “I really don’t know what—”

  “Griffith, please,” Lorcan suddenly sounded old and tired, although I wasn’t sure if this was another act. “We’ve known each other for a long time. Can we cut out the protestations? I said my trainees were here only to observe.”

  “And they were. They went out on an observational capacity only. You can hardly blame them for fighting for their lives.” He placed both hands on the table and leaned forward. “This is a war, remember. You might forget it back in your tidy little Academy, but it is harder to escape out here.”

  “I never forget,” said Lorcan, drawing himself up. Something hard entered his eyes, and neither of them spoke for a moment, something passing between them that I couldn’t understand. A sideways glance at Lucas told me he was as clueless as me. Whatever this was about, I was guessing it was something long before Lucas or my time.

  The general drew a long breath and relaxed slightly, and the moment passed.

  “You sent them out on purpose when I was occupied here,” Lorcan said. “Patrols on their first day? Really Griffith, I expected a more subtle hand from you.”

  The general grinned a tight-lipped smile. “Sometimes bold gestures are needed.” He glanced over at Lucas and me. “We wished them
to see the reality of war. They will not find it in camp. The battle is out there.” He pointed in the direction of the distant river.

  “See it, not conduct it,” Lorcan said. “There is an important distinction.”

  “Lorcan,” said Griffith with a sigh. “You are an excellent academic, but you sometimes lack imagination. You were there. You heard the report from Jennica. You know what she’s capable of.”

  His eyes focused on me, and a chill ran through me when I realized the she he referred to wasn’t Jennica.

  “Incredible,” he breathed, still looking at me. “The power. The flexibility.” He shook his head. “Jennica said she used less than a dozen words. On a composition she can never have performed before in her life!” He looked back at Lorcan. “Don’t you see the possibilities?”

  “Yes,” said Lorcan, his voice cold. “I do. You accuse me of lacking imagination, but it is you who does so, Griffith. You see only this war. I see far beyond it.”

  Lucas cleared his throat, and both of them looked at him, a sliver of uncertainty on their faces for the first time. Lucas might be much younger than these men, but the throne he represented was far older.

  How exhausting it must be for them. Each with their own agenda, and no one entirely sure who shared it with them.

  “I believe we were discussing my and the other trainees’ duties during our stay in Bronton,” Lucas said.

  Lorcan nodded. “As you say, Your Highness.” He directed a piercing look at the general. “We might be in the middle of a war, Griffith, but they are still my trainees. All of them. And they will not be accompanying any more patrols.”

  “Very well,” said Griffith, collecting several papers in front of him as if bored of the discussion. “I will inform Jennica that all further orders regarding their movements must be counter-signed by both of us. They can take up training within the camp, at least.” He glanced up. “I assume that meets with your approval.”

  Lorcan hesitated, as if looking for some unseen trap. “Of course,” he said at last. “I would not wish them to fall out of practice.”

  “No indeed.” The general looked at us with raised eyebrows. “Is there anything more?” The long-suffering parent—eager only for his bed but kept up by the pesky questions of his children—had returned.

  Lorcan turned to leave, ushering Lucas and me out of the room ahead of him. As we crossed into the corridor, Lucas muttered, “That was easy.”

  Lorcan froze at his words, still inside the room. For a moment he regarded Lucas’s raised eyebrows, and then he turned slowly back to the general, his manner exaggeratedly casual.

  “You wanted us here to see what she can do, I know that well enough. And for morale, you said.” He paused, but no one said anything. “I’m already hearing the talk around camp. I walked past a fire where someone was assuring his fellow soldiers there were a hundred enemies in that gully.” He paused again. “Big gestures, you said, Griffith. I find myself wondering just how big a gesture you would be willing to make.”

  The following silence was charged in a way the earlier ones hadn’t been. I could feel the shock coursing through my body. Was it possible the whole thing had been a set up by the general? Was it? I thought of all those dead soldiers and nearly threw up again.

  “Don’t be a fool, Lorcan,” the general’s voice sounded low and angry. “Two of my own children were in that patrol. My own children.”

  Lorcan examined him for a moment before dipping his head in a partial bow.

  “I apologize. I overstepped.”

  The general growled something I couldn’t distinguish, and Lorcan took it as a signal to leave. Griffith had sounded sincere, but I had been out in the corridor. I hadn’t seen his eyes.

  Lucas walked me all the way back to our tent, and only when we reached it did either of us speak.

  “I could feel them, Lucas,” I whispered, glad the darkness hid my expression. “I could feel each one of their hearts stop beating.”

  He sucked in an audible breath. For a moment we both stood motionless, and then he stepped closer, gripping both my arms in his hands.

  “I’ve known the general my whole life, Elena. He loves his children. He would never…That was a real attack. Those were our enemies. You saved lives today, perhaps a great many.”

  I drew in a breath. “I suppose Griffith does love them, but there’s one thing I can’t stop thinking of.” I looked up at him, although I could barely make out the gleam of his eyes in the gloom. “It was supposed to be our patrol in that gully, not theirs.”

  Lucas might not be open to the idea that the general could be a traitor, but he seemed more receptive to the suggestion that he might have staged a demonstration of my power. At least that was how I interpreted the discomfort I saw lurking in his eyes whenever they rested on the general.

  Confined within the camp, our lives took on a routine almost like life at the Academy. Except instead of a comfortable suite, we returned each evening to a shared tent. In the mornings we still had combat practice, and in the afternoons we studied compositions with a variety of instructors, although the most common were Beatrice and Reese.

  In the healing tent we had the opportunity to see real healings at work, although I overheard enough conversations between soldiers to know the number of injured was unusually low. Patrols made contact with the enemy, but they were small, isolated battles. The ambush in the gully had been the largest, and the only one involving more than one squad.

  But the relative quiet seemed to do nothing to reassure Lucas that I wasn’t in any imminent danger of Kallorwegian abduction. At least I assumed that accounted for his becoming my shadow. Not that we found ourselves alone again—the camp was too busy for that, and Coralie rarely left my side, plus Lucas himself was always accompanied by two guards. He must have slipped away from them the night after the attack, and they must have increased their vigilance after that since he didn’t do so again.

  But though we found no opportunities to speak, still he was there every time I turned around. As if he feared that if he let me out of his sight, the Kallorwegians would somehow spirit me away. It was actually sweet, if a little misguided.

  The morning training was overseen by Thornton, as it had been at the Academy, and he seemed entirely undismayed by our new surroundings. In fact he greeted us after the attack at the gully in an almost cheery tone. Perhaps because his trainees had seen battle and emerged unscathed. But I got no opportunity to enjoy the improvement in his mood. On our first day training, Captain Matthis approached the practice yard Thornton had chosen before we even had time to begin.

  “Private Elena, you’re to come with me,” he announced.

  Thornton stepped forward, but Matthis stared him down.

  “Orders from the general. She’s to train as one of ours.”

  Thornton looked from him to me to Lucas, indecision reflected in his eyes.

  “Relax,” Matthis said, sounding bored. “We’ll only be two yards down.” He pointed to where a group of nervous, youthful recruits stood, clearly waiting for his return.

  I glanced over at Lucas myself, but he gave me the smallest shrug. I wasn’t leaving camp. I was even training. We had ourselves heard Lorcan give his approval for training, and neither head had specified who was to give it.

  Reluctantly I followed Matthis. If this was a power play, and I was truly to train with fresh recruits, I would lose my conditioning and my edge against my teammates in weeks. But somehow I didn’t think I was going to get off that lightly.

  I was right.

  As soon as we had finished running laps, General Griffith himself appeared.

  “I’ve come to observe my new soldiers,” he said, with a jovial smile that didn’t sit entirely naturally on his face. “Pretend I’m not here.”

  From the terrified looks the newcomers cast him, it was clear they would not be capable of ignoring his presence. I refrained from looking in his direction, but I was just as aware of his observation as they were. An
d all too soon, he called for me.

  A lieutenant, almost as young looking as the commonborn recruits, appeared to take over their instruction, leaving Matthis free to join the general and me.

  “Captain Matthis is going to run some exercises with you, Elena,” Griffith said. “Nothing too onerous, of course, but it is my job to understand the capabilities of all my soldiers.”

  I mistrusted his assurance regarding the ease of the exercises so was surprised when his words proved true. I had no difficulty fending off the stones Matthis threw in my direction. Even when he graduated to using compositions to send heavier stones at a faster pace, I still had no trouble. I had practiced shielding compositions until I could do them in my sleep. Boredom would be my biggest problem if these were the exercises the general had in mind.

  Two hours in, I began to feel differently. At three hours, I dropped to my knees. My shield flickered, only partially slowing the next stone. I dodged it by tipping forward onto the ground and not getting up again.

  Familiar hands helped me up, and I groaned at Coralie and Saffron. “Are you sure none of those boulders hit me? I feel like they might have hit me.”

  My friends tried to smile, but I could see anger beneath their gazes. And when I looked up and met Lucas’s eyes, his held the same anger, although he hid it better.

  “What exactly is the meaning of this, Griffith?” he barked.

  “You seem to have a great deal of interest in her,” said the general, a note in his voice I didn’t like.

  Lucas’s own voice turned cold. “My family has a great deal of interest in the Spoken Mage, General. I thought you were already aware of that. Now, please explain.”

  I knew why he said them, but his words hurt anyway. And I didn’t even get to hear the general’s explanation since my friends were already half-carrying me toward my tent.

  As we passed the trainees’ practice yard, Thornton caught my eye. Our Academy instructor watched our progress, having made no move to approach the yard where I had spent the last few hours training or to intervene with the general. When I met his gaze, his eyes tightened slightly, his face hardening. And as my friends helped me limp past him, he quietly spoke.