Page 101 of Oath of Betrayal
‘Little Flame, it is done. Any more and the building will collapse.’Vahin sent the message with an image of the town from above, and I worked on releasing the raging aether.
That was the most challenging part of being a conduit—it was easy enough to call on a power so vast it felt infinite, and only a little more difficult to shape it into a spell you wanted to use. Closing yourself off from the onslaught, however, was next to impossible without an Anchor.
It felt like I was trying to stop a raging river with a pair of curtains, and I called out to my Anchors, begging them to join me and offer their strength.
I heard the roar of a dragon at the same time that a heavy hand dropped onto my shoulder and let my gratitude flow through our bonds. Laughter burst forth as I felt their spirits meld with my own, our bodies glowing with power as I closed myself off from the vast energy of the aether, dispersing the residual power into them.
‘That is an interesting sensation, Little Flame. It feels so primal, like the day I was born from the mists,’Vahin rumbled, gracefully landing next to me. The halo of my power subsided, but his scales were glowing blue and lightning crackled over their surface.
‘You don’t say,’ I said, nodding my thanks to Orm as he rushed back to his men. My head was still spinning from the euphoria of channelling so much power, but the fire was out, and that was all that mattered. ‘I’ve never channelled so much and with such ease. Thank you for helping me with the clouds.’
‘I am always at your service, Little Flame. Now, go help our dark fae. He doesn’t look well.’
I looked to where Vahin gestured, seeing a coughing Ari stumbling from the boarding house. He was arm in arm with two women from Zalesie, and it was impossible to tell who was holding up whom.
‘Ani, are you all right?’ Alaric gasped as he approached while two healers led the sobbing women away. ‘Yes, I’m fine, just tired. Some bastard started the fire. I think we both know who, but you … what happened?’
‘I’m depleted and …’ Alaric hesitated, and I pursed my lips when he continued. ‘I created a shield using a basic glyph, but keeping it up around three people was tasking.’
He swayed and I had to grab his arm to keep him upright. He was swaying so much, in fact, that I instantly knew he’d used all his magical reserves and more, taking from his own life force to sustain the spell when his aether ran out. That’s why he had looked like he’d gone through a month of starvation and aged overnight.
‘Orm!’ I shouted, but he was standing in a circle of his officers, commanding the scene and the townsfolk, and my voice wasn’t loud enough to reach him. I turned. ‘Vahin, please tell Orm I’m taking Alaric back to the castle. He’s of no use here, but I’ll come back to help as soon as I’m able.’
The massive dragon placed his snout over my shoulder. ‘Go, and don’t worry, Orm can handle this. Look after our fae, Little Flame.’
I wrapped my arm around Alaric’s waist and lurched unsteadily towards the castle.
I knew we’d have to confront Ihrain, but Alaric was my priority at the moment. I was going to rip the royal mage’s apprentice to pieces for what he’d done; I’d even let my men lose on him.We’d see how much that bastard enjoyed Orm’s fury and the art of pain the dark fae were so famous for once we’d found him.
When we finally arrived at Alaric’s room, I was covered in sweat. He was dragging his feet, half asleep as we weaved back and forth, and I had to use all of my strength to keep him upright. I placed him on the bed and covered him with a warm blanket. I knew he needed to eat, but there was nothing in the room I could serve him. Every servant would be in town helping with the aftermath of the fire, so it was up to me to provide water and some sustenance for when he awoke.
I sighed heavily, my back protesting, and left the room, heading for the kitchens. It was still the middle of the night, but I was hoping to find some fruit, bread, and—if I was lucky—possibly even mead for myself.
I felt weak and dizzy and had to resist the urge to open myself to the aether, its energy still pressing at my senses. I wasn’t sure if I could risk creating even a small light without my magic getting out of control. Instead, I strolled along, keeping one hand on the wall as I tried to recognise shapes in the surrounding shadows.
Maybe it was the lack of light, or maybe how tired I was, or even the safety I’d come to feel in the fortress, but I didn’t sense the danger until it was too late.
At first, I only felt a quick, sharp pain in my neck, and when I reached up to probe the area, I pulled a tiny dart from my skin. Whatever poison it contained, it had already entered my body. I stumbled, my knees buckling despite my mind screaming at them to work, and slammed into the wall shoulder first.
In my panic, I called for my Anchors, only to find them gone, missing from my mind. I attempted to stay upright, using the wavering structure to support me, when I caught the sound of footsteps echoing behind me.
Ihrain, that bloody fool, was walking towards me with a slimy, triumphant smile on his face. I tried to reach for the aether, but much to my surprise, I was cut off from that, too.
‘Don’t bother, Annika. The poison was concocted especially for mages, its purpose specifically to subdue someone with unstable talent or those too volatile to control. The effects are temporary, but they will last long enough for our journey to court.’
I could barely stand now. I still swung my fist in a weak attempt to defend myself, but Ihrain easily caught it and smirked. ‘Feisty as always, but don’t worry, you won’t be feisty for long. I knew my little fire would distract you and leave you vulnerable. You are so predictable—always there to help the needy, even if it means getting hurt. Well, you had your fun playing peasant queen, but as soon as the king speaks the words of your geas, you will do what you are told, just like every other conduit in the country.’
I looked my enemy in the eye and was tempted to tell him that the king didn’t even have my geas. That the royal mage had given it to Orm, making him the only person who could bring me to my knees, but the sudden thought that they could have made a copy made me gasp, and the quiet sound made Ihrain smile even wider.
He must have taken it as the sound of my fear, and he revelled in it. I didn’t correct him and didn’t bother resisting when his servants carried me down the stairs to the small carriage waiting in the courtyard. I had to conserve my strength, so I curled into a ball when they threw me inside. I landed like a sack of turnips right under the chancellor’s feet.
‘Lady Annika, how nice to see you again, and so soon,’ the chancellor said politely, his eyes betraying a coldness as they studied me with indifference. ‘Ihrain, I told you she must be unharmed. Our lord wants her intact in body and mind. Did you at least confirm she didn’t lie about being Anchored?’
‘Yes, the only way she could call rain from the peaks was through her conduit abilities, and both Ormond and the dragon felt the brunt of it when she closed the circuit.’
My eyes narrowed in anger. I studied them both as they casually discussed the fire that had almost destroyed the town while the carriage drove down the road towards the fortress gates.
‘What about the necromancer? You assured me he was Anchored to her.’ The chancellor kept asking questions, and I started to suspect they weren’t taking me to the king, that there was more going on than just a frightened old man retrieving his conduit mage.
