Page 79 of A Curse of Breath and Blood

“What is it?” I said, my blood running hot.

“If Baylis has the power of sight, could she see us coming?”

“That’s not how sight works,” I said, tightening my braid. “It takes a great deal of magic to conjure a vision, and she needs to be looking into the future for something specific. Gideon knows we’re here. He won’t waste her powers on us. He’ll want her to be able to perform in front of the Alder King.”

Lucius and Roderick spread out a large map depicting a cross-section of the Alder Palace.

“All the courts and kingdoms who attend the revelry will present to the Alder King.” Lucius pointed to the throne room on the map. “This is where Baylis will be presented. We will grab her here as she walks off.”

I gave Lucius a puzzled look.

“It is the one time she will not be heavily guarded.”

“And you’re okay with this?” I shot Caiden a look. They risked damaging their fragile relationship with the Alder King.

Caiden shrugged. “What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

Lucius cleared his throat. “May I continue?”

I waved him on.

“Amolie will brew smoke bombs for us. We will position them around the throne room.” He pointed to four areas—two at the throne’s base and two on a balcony above. “When Baylis comes forward, Amolie will unleash the smoke. Roderick willgrab Baylis and make a run for it. There’s a side exit here. Where one of my men will wait with a horse.”

“Everyone knows their duties. I think we should all get some rest before the ball. We’re presenting to the Alder King.” Caiden ushered everyone out of the tent.

Amolie lingered, biting her lip.

“What is it?” I asked.

“I think we should talk in private.” She motioned for me to follow her.

We walked through the snowy forest to her tent. Once inside, Amolie handed me a hot mug of licorice root tea.

“What did you want to tell me?” I asked, blowing on the hot mug.

Amolie paced back and forth in front of the small stove. “I examined the scepter. The speech is ancient, but I could decipher some of it.”

“And?”

“If you bind yourself to the scepter, it will eventually kill you.”

I arched my brow as I sipped. Magic demanded a price.

Amolie shook her head. “From what I can tell, it uses your life force to control the dead. Eventually, there will be no more life to take.”

“Nysemia had the scepter for hundreds, maybe thousands of years. She looked healthy before her death.”

“Nysemia never used the army. It has to be called upon to drain the user.”

“So, I’ll have an entire army at my disposal but won’t be able to use it?”

Amolie shrugged. “If you want to continue living.” She twisted her curls around her index finger. “I could do some research on how to break the curse. I once read of magical springs the Trinity placed around Moriana. The text said theywere pools of pure magic the Trinity hid away to keep them from falling into the wrong hands. They are said to be able to reverse any curse.”

I set down my drink. “Let’s focus on tomorrow, and then we can decide if I should bind myself to a talking bone.”

Amolie nodded, her hands on her hips.

“Do you think Baylis is under a spell?” I asked.

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