Page 97 of The Rebel's Prize

Beside her, Imogene stiffened, but Chloe didn't see any point in beating around the bush. If Elarus was going to refuse to talk, better to know sooner rather than later.

Sophie frowned at her. “False memories? How is that possible? When I received my reveilé from Martius, I distinctly remember your father telling me that a sanctii couldn't implant new information in my mind, that Martius was merely going to make it easier for me to use the Illvyan I had learned."

Chloe fought to keep the surprise off her face. Henri had lied?

As the initial shock faded, she realized she understood why. It wasn't as though Sophie had been queen at that point, merely an Anglion refugee, albeit one with both magical powers and potential political power. "I think my father was being...judicious with his words, perhaps not wanting to scare you," she said in her best soothing diplomatic tone. "That was when you were still newly arrived, was it not? If you already knew Illvyan, then what he said was true, as I understand it. The reveilé, in those circumstances, merely makes what we know more accessible. But it's also possible for a sanctii to teach a language that a mage has very little or even no knowledge of. It hurts more, and you still have to work to gain the fluency, but the Imperial army uses the technique regularly."

Sophie looked briefly disgruntled at this explanation before she waved a hand as though dismissing the issue. "I see" was all she said.

"There are very strict rules about the reveilé," Imogene added in a conciliatory tone. "Languages are one of the few things it's used for. Most of the time, it's considered better to learn things the normal way. Some knowledge, gained too quickly without experience and time to assimilate, is just too dangerous." She tipped her head at Sophie. "You were lucky when Elarus taught you water magic."

Sophie looked briefly guilty. "It certainly wasn't pleasant," she agreed. "Though at least it also taught me sanctii. But Elarus is unusual, and I agree it would be best to discourage such experiments."

"Yes," Imogene said. "We're told that people made mistakes in the past."

"But not what those mistakes are, exactly," Chloe said slowly, shifting in her seat. "At least, I don't remember our lessons covering much detail."

"I learned a little more when the army trained me to bond Ikarus," Imogene said. "But those were mostly tales of people trying to get a sanctii to teach them the bonding rituals and them failing their attempts. A cautionary tale. But we had long lists of regulations regarding the kinds of things that we do not ask sanctii to do hammered into our heads. But they never really explained why. Other than it was forbidden."

Octarus opened his mouth as though he was going to add something, but Elarus rumbled at him, and he closed it again.

"So, a sanctii can put information in someone's mind. And clearly a sanctii can take information in the first place. That's how they learn languages from a human, isn't it? Which means they must be able to find the memory of that language that we hold," Cameron added.

"Yes. But they don't remove the knowledge of the language from the person they learn from," Imogene said.

"Just because they don't doesn't mean they can't," Cameron said. "Are you sure it's never happened?"

Chloe shrugged. "We can't answer that. But I suspect Elarus can."

All four of them stared at Elarus.

"Forbidden," she said.

"Forbidden to talk about or forbidden to do?" Sophie asked. She touched the sanctii's arm gently, and Elarus blinked at her.

"Both," Elarus said. "To change...someone...this way is not our way. We should not. Even if can. Even if asked. It is wrong. It isforbidden." Her voice rasped the last word, and it seemed to echo around the room.

"Even if a mage asked? If a sanctii was bonded?" Chloe asked.

"Mage force, bad for mage," Elarus growled. "Sanctii would tell...others."

Others? More powerful sanctii? Or free sanctii? Free sanctii who, like Elarus, could get to the human realm without a bond. Chloe hadn't known that was possible until she'd heard about Elarus. Perhaps no one had. Did that explain the bonded mages who had disappeared over the years? It had always been assumed that their sanctii had somehow broken the bond and killed them after being pushed to a limit. But was it instead other sanctii meting out justice on their behalf? She chewed her lip, not wanting to ask.

"And no sanctii would break this rule?" Imogene asked tentatively. "Ever?"

There was a long moment of silence, and Chloe held her breath.

"Sometimes sanctii are foolish," Elarus said with a gravelly sigh.

"There was a sanctii who attacked Cameron," Chloe said. "You intervened that night. What happened to them?"

Elarus's black gaze caught hers. "Realm," she said firmly. "He will not leave again."

That could mean banished or dead. Chloe wasn't going to ask. Better to keep her focus on convincing Elarus to help. "It is likely that the plots in Anglion, the ones that killed Queen Eloisa and her father, the people who tried to kill Sophie, might use this same magic. That it's all part of one big plan," Chloe said. "He might know something." She hesitated. "Or have taught a mage to do this magic. Is it possible? Deandra used it on me, but she had to learn it somewhere. Can you tell if it's human magic or sanctii magic?"

Elarus didn't respond immediately, and Chloe rushed on. "There are others who have been affected. The people who were working in the same place as Deandra. We think she may have altered their memories somehow. Could you tell if you looked at their memories as you did mine?"

"Maybe," Elarus said. But then she twisted her hand in Chloe's direction. "Yours is...confused by that."

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