Page 147 of A Baron of Bonds
Lia handed each of us a plate, pouring tea into our cups and taking her own bits of food, chewing on a strip of bacon and sitting back in her chair, staring out the window.
Once she had finished, she look a long sip of tea and a deep breath. Neither Karus nor I touched any of the food or tea, both waiting to hear her story.
“Visalia was born five years before me. By then, our parents were touting her around our village in the forest as a show, having her perform bits of magic here and there, using her to make money curing ailments and growing crops. Before I came along, she had no one to love, and I think that’s why she took such a protective role in my life. She hoped I’d grow to love her, and I did.”
She took another sip of tea, and I glanced to Karus, watching her struggle not to speak—to ask the many questions I myself wanted to say.
“We were inseparable, Visalia, Adaynth, and I. We did everything together in the spare time our mother and father gave her. She’d show off for us, too, of course, and we loved it. We’d spend time in the forest running among the trees, swimming in the stream. She told us one day she would give some of her power to the forest so that it could live with us, it could play as we did. And one day, she did it.
“She came home that morning exhausted, covered in dirt, waking me in my bed to tell me what she’d done. And so, Felgren lived. The first true channeler was born not long after that.”
“So people were able to pull from the magic of the forest?” Karus asked, adding sugar to her cup.
“From what I know of it, I believe Visalia woke the forest. It became its own living thing, had its own soul. At that point, she did not control any of it and my guess is that the forest chooses those it gives power to.” She shrugged again, as if this was all something simple to discuss over early morning tea.
Karus continued, sipping her own, “What about you? What about Adaynth?”
“Adaynth I know less about. I was not there when he convinced her to share some of her power with him. And I did not ask her to share it with me, if that’s your next question.” Lia took a bite of cheese and chewed. “Visalia was afraid of being alone. She told me she was going to live forever and that I had to, too. She couldn’t imagine living without me. So, one night when I was twelve and she was seventeen, she gave me some of her power. It formed as lapis magic, and I’ve wielded it ever since.”
“But how, Lia?” Karus asked, pleading in her voice. “Howdid she give it to you? She says mine also comes from her, but how?”
Karus’s knee jostled under the table, rocking it slightly. I reached out and opened my hand for her to take. She did, stopping her rocking and inhaling through her nose with me, exhaling out of her mouth.
Lia’s eyes darted back and forth between us, and she hid a smile under her cup. “To be honest, I don’t know how she did it. I don’t know how she does anything with her magic, really. It’s not like mine. It wasn’t like Adaynth’s. Though…” she trailed off, watching me for realization.
I gritted my teeth and squeezed Karus’s hand. “She gave Adaynth the power of Baron.”
“She did. And it has passed down from one Baron to the next over centuries, settling from one man to the other.”
I watched Karus. She didn’t know I was working on the Baron trial, and I wondered if I should just tell her. Perhaps it was just a stupid tradition that the next Baron could not know they were being considered for the Baronship.
I kept quiet instead. I wasn’t willing to risk it. I wanted her to be given the choice—one of the only things I felt I really could give her, was this. I could give her love and a happy life, but I also wanted to give her the choice of wielding the Baronship with me.
“She said Baron Adaynth betrayed her and killed their child. Is that story true?” Karus interrupted my thoughts, and I looked back to Lia.
“That story is…complicated. I do not wish to tell it.”
“Did you and Adaynth…” Karus trailed off, her implication clear.
“No, nothing like that. I just don’t care to relive the memory this morning, and I don’t think it’s relevant to what you need to know.”
Karus continued her barrage, “What about the heart? Do you know about the enormous heart she keeps in a cave in the north? Do you know how she has been capturing the Queen’s channelers and taking their magic, returning it to her?”
Lia shook her head. “I don’t know about any of those things.”
“Oh! Good morning Baron Revich, Karus,” Jesslyn said as she entered the kitchens. “You’re up early.”
“Start on the cinnamon buns, please,” Lia replied, rising from her seat. “I can answer more of your questions later. For now, I have people to feed.”
Jesslyn got to work as I rubbed my face with my free hand, then snagged a piece of bacon.
Pompeii entered the kitchens, and to my surprise, Mychael followed. Not even attempting to suppress a grin, I sat back in my chair and chewed, watching Mychael kiss his cheek and leave, avoiding both of our gazes.
Karus caught my eye, biting her lips as Pompeii joined us at the table. His black hair, littered with gray, was pulled neatly into a bun at the back of his head. His golden eyes were lined in kohl as usual, which complimented his olive skin. “What is on the agenda today, Baron Revich? More trial preparation?”
I leaned in, just enough so Karus could still hear. “Are we not talking aboutthat, Pompeii?” I nodded toward the door Mychael had just left.
His lips twitched and tilted upward. “I like him. He makes me smile. And he makes good soup.”
