Page 24 of Poisoned Kingdom
I opened my mouth to tell him he wasn’t the first mage to try it, and that I’d paid a pretty penny to the dark fae to learn to shield my thoughts, but he didn’t give me a chance.
‘Never mind, you can tell the council when they ask. They’ll see you now. What’s your name, mage?’
My fists tightened. I’d been made to sit here, flattening my arse against an unforgiving stone because they were too busy to listen to a commoner. But now that they thought I was a mage . . .
‘You’re mistaken. I’m no mage,’ I said, brushing my hair back to uncover the small Brotherhood rune.
The man’s brows shot up. ‘What kind of fool do you take me for? Come with me,’ he said before muttering under his breath, ‘An unclassified mage at your age. Gods, this won’t end well.’ He stopped mid-sentence and grabbed my elbow, turning me to look at him. ‘You know about the agreement? The one that states the Brotherhood must surrender any and every mage it finds to the Court of Aether?’
I blinked, surprised by the revelation. That was news to me. I thought Boyan forbade contracting anyone before puberty because he had a conscience, not because he had to wait to see if they manifested gifts. It made perfect sense. Why train a child and introduce it to the Brotherhood’s secrets if you had to surrender them to the mages at the first flicker of power?
Again, the mage didn’t give me time to answer, hustling me along, and his dismissiveness rubbed me the wrong way.If Ididn’t need your help to get in, I’d teach you some manners,I thought. Still, instead of bristling and posturing, my lips curled into my most enticing smile as I meekly followed him.
‘Oh, you think that’s interesting?’ I asked. ‘I have more secrets to spill, and I bet your friends will be delighted.’
‘They aren’t my friends, or yours, so behave. Consider this a warning. Most council members won’t be happy over this revelation, especially when given in such a boastful tone.’ He motioned to the guard and whispered in his ear. The man saluted, rushing away, and my new companion gestured me onwards.
‘Of course, my lord. I would ask for your name, as I’m sure you already know mine after your . . .inspection.’
‘Bogdan Rescorla,’ he answered shortly, leading me into a meeting room where two men and a woman were packing their quills and parchment with utterly bored expressions. After a moment of confusion, the man sitting at the head of the table frowned, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the polished surface.
‘I told you we’re done for today. You were supposed to send the applicants away, not bring one here,’ he said briskly.
‘This isn’t just an applicant, Lord Otokar. She’s a mage . . . from the Dark Brotherhood,’ my guide answered, nodding his head in a slight bow.
‘Thank you for seeing me,’ I said. ‘My name—’
Otokar interrupted me with a raised hand, addressing Bogdan. ‘I’m sorry, from the Brotherhood? What nonsense is this? Does this woman claim to be a mage?’ His angry glare promised me retribution for the reckless claim.
‘No, my lord. But I scanned her thoughts before she shielded herself. She is a mage.’
Bogdan’s words made Otokar gasp, and he immediately turned to his compatriots to start a whispered conversation.
I clapped my hands to quickly regain their attention. ‘Excuse me! I’m no mage. I can see aether, yes, but that’s not the reason I’m here. Now, will you hear me out?’
They paused, looking at me with such bewilderment that I wondered if they heard a word I’d said.Gods, why do mages have to be such arseholes?
I forced a smile. ‘I don’t work for the Brotherhood anymore. For the last five years, I’ve been working as a healer in Wiosna. I came to petition for their h—’
The man at the head of the table raised his hand, silencing me . . . again. My jaw was painfully tight as I tried to contain my anger, mentally calling them every nasty name under the sun, this time allowing Bogdan to listen.
‘The dwarven kingdom isn’t under our jurisdiction. Whatever’s happening there, we have no hand nor interest in it. How long have you been a mage?’ Otokar said as the other two nodded in agreement.
‘You’ll soon have an interest in it when you find yourself bound in augurec manacles. Mlot is mining srebrec, forging it into weapons to use against mages and selling it to anyone who wants it,’ I said, pausing to let my words to sink in. They all looked at me like I was an annoying bug. ‘For the gods’ sakes, I came here to inform you that you’reindanger, not discuss my abilities.’
‘Mind your words . . . and your thoughts. I warned you,’ Bogdan hissed from beside me.
I spun towards him. ‘Go f . . . find somewhere your opinion is wanted,’ I snapped, turning back to the council.
‘Listen, it isn’t some small amount. He’s been mining it for months. In fact, he’s dug out so much of it, the aether flux is killing his people,’ I said. ‘It’s a nasty death. My infirmary was full of them—and not just miners, but ordinary people, too. Somany have died because of his greed. You have to cut off this trade before any more perish—’
‘It is not for us to intervene,’ Otokar answered nonchalantly. ‘As for the ore, it’s probably of inferior quality, anyway.’
I saw red. ‘Do you haveanyself-preservation instincts? What inferior quality? Its aether shines so brightly that it puts the beacon fires on Kupala’s Night1 to shame. He’s selling the purest srebrec, and has mined so much of it that it’ll turn all the mages in Truso into mumbling idiots drawing symbols in the air! Don’t you care?’
All three mages suddenly turned in my direction.
‘Srebrec doesn’t have its own aether,’ Otokar said. ‘It absorbs it from mages. The stronger the mage, the stronger the aura . . . and the stronger the srebrec glows. Tell me, have you felt weaker when you were near it?’ he asked. When I gaped at him, stunned by what he’d just said, he snapped his fingers. ‘Bogdan, check her mind.’
