Page 50 of Rogue Familiar

“And Wizard Ziv has no oracle head,” Nic put in. “Isn’t that needed?”

“I’m not fully certain,” Asa answered thoughtfully. “I’ll discuss with Ziv. And, as neither Jadren nor Seliah are in residence, it’s something of a moot point at the moment. I’ll mull what we can do about the problem of their citizenship.”

“That won’t stop us from responding to House El-Adrel, however,” Wolfgang said, with a canny smile. “Katica El-Adrel might be more amenable to dropping charges on both sides if she’s invested in keeping Jadren off the record.”

Nic said nothing and neither did Gabriel. The problem of Jadren and whether to protect him from the house of his birth could wait.

“And the other complication, Lord Phel?” Asa inquired.

Gabriel gave Nic a questioning look. She nodded, encouraging him to share. If not now, when? “We have reason to believe that El-Adrel, Sammael, and Elal are conspiring together against Phel,” he said.

Quinn sighed philosophically. Wolfgang and Asa exchanged considering looks. Wolfgang kicked back in his chair, extending long legs and folding elegant hands over his lean belly. “I did wonder. It explains a great deal.”

“Besides, this is the Convocation,” Asa agreed wearily. “It would barely count as having a new house rise up if at least some of the other High Houses weren’t conspiring to bring them down.”

“Let alone a ‘new’ house that’s the resurrection of a previous High House brought down under questionable circumstances,” Nic said darkly, drawing everyone’s attention. Gabriel tightened his grip on her waist, but it felt more like a gesture of support than warning.

“Questionable in what way?” Alise asked, frowning. “All I know is that houses lose their Convocation status if the family doesn’t produce at least one wizard in a generation. Now that I think of it, all the High Houses have so many branches of family that it sounds almost impossible for a High House not to produce at least one wizard. How did it happen in the Phel family?” she asked Gabriel.

He shrugged, his magic fogging a bit. “How does the old joke go? Gradually and then all at once.”

Nobody laughed. “The very slowly part,” Quinn said thoughtfully, “has been seen throughout Convocation history. One of my study concentrations at the academy,” she added as an aside.

“True,” Asa said. “But the typical descent of a High House is the mirror of its ascent—a High House is demoted to second tier, then gracefully declines to third, as others rise to take their places. Why have we never questioned why House Phel simply vanished?”

“Because we’re still right here,” Gabriel answered drily.

Asa waved an apologetic hand. “From the Convocation rolls, I mean.”

“And arguably from collective awareness,” Nic put in. “When we received your application for the Betrothal Trials, Maman had to research the house and family. Even the Elal spies didn’t have a lot to go on.”

“Which is saying something,” Asa remarked with a wry wince for Elal’s famed ability to find out anything about anyone they wished to.

“All we knew offhand was that the house had sunk into the swamplands of Meresin,” Nic said very seriously. “I expected to live in a ramshackle houseboat, or a hut on stilts.” Gabriel growled softly, giving her hip a little pinch, and she giggled, pleased to have teased him about it.

“All families tell tales,” Quinn said, looking to Gabriel. “What does yours say about the loss of your high-house status, Lord Phel?”

“Very little, in truth. I grew up believing myself to be a simple farmer. The manse indeed was mostly underwater and we regarded it as an ancient ruin—fascinating, but belonging to another time, place, and people.” He tipped his head back to gaze at the ceiling, with its beautifully finished woodwork.

This hall, this entire wing had been submerged, home to marsh creatures, until only a short time ago. Nic, who was infinitely more familiar than Gabriel with the miracles magic could perform, found the massive transformation startling to contemplate. She could only guess how unsettling it might be for him. She laid a palm over his heart and he dropped his gaze to smile at her, laying a hand over hers.

“The old family never seemed relevant to us,” he continued. “We had little to do with the Convocation or much of the world beyond the borders of Meresin. The old tales of wizards and magic… well, they seemed like a colorful mythology that had nothing to do with planting crops and tending orchards. In truth, I think most of us didn’t really believe in magic at all until…”

“Until you manifested as a powerful wizard, stunning everyone,” Nic finished for him, full of pride and affection. She turned to the others. “I’ve talked to various people—including Gabriel’s parents—asking what their grandparents said of the time before. They consider those stories to be tall tales, full of fancy and nonsense, but the elements point to the involvement and collusion of several High Houses in a concerted attack, namely Sammael, El-Adrel, and Elal.”

Everyone looked grave, Wolfgang whistling low under his breath. “Not for the first time, I’m glad to have been born to a second-tier house.”

“Agreed,” Quinn said fervently.

Alise gave Nic a rueful look. “I suppose it was too much to hope that Elal’s involvement in House Phel’s misfortunes was a recent development.”

She didn’t know the half of it.

“I suggest you consider a fourth house for your list of colluding traitors,” Asa said. “It hasn’t been that many generations since the fall of House Phel. Not nearly enough time has passed for a Convocation-shattering event like the utter collapse of a High House to have disappeared from memory.”

“And the textbooks,” Quinn put in. “I should have read about it and I never did, I’m sure of that.”

“There have to be records, at least of the official version of events,” Wolfgang said, “even if they’re sealed. The Convocation never gets rid of anything.”

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