Page 110 of Take No Prisoners
"You were so focused on your death magic, you never tried to learn to heal. I thought I'd give you something to heal from."
Vadim shook his head. "I showed mercy for you because you were my teacher." Vadim left most of the story unspoken, but Efren remembered his drunken tale. Once given to Martiz, Vadim couldn't retract his consent. He'd agreed to far more than he'd first thought. He had only been able to drain Martiz to unconsciousness once it was done. "I was wrong to trust you."
"What's that supposed to mean, you ungrateful brat?"
"You made Coryn what she is." Vadim sat straighter in his chair. "You claim you never hurt her against her will, but that's a lie. You did to her what you've done to anyone who's had the misfortune of training under you for more than two days." Vadim glanced at Niall. "Except Coryn was mundane."
"If you're going to accuse me of something, say it. Don't walk around it." Efren had never heard Martiz's voice so devoid of emotion.
"You hurt her, and then you healed her. That's called torture in some parts of the world. What I want to know is how many times it takes before a mundane woman becomes a siphon. Or was she still a child?"
The hiss of audible gasps filled the room. "Martiz would never," someone whispered behind them.
"He did it to me." Gulde stepped forward and pushed between Beatrice and Efren to stand beside Vadim. "After Beatrice took my fire power from me. He said it was an experiment to see if I would become something else. He stopped when all I gave him were more sparks."
"I asked if you'd tried to heal her somehow, and you swore you never touched her." Beatrice was no longer content to stand by Efren's side. She stepped forward, her hands balled into fists at her sides. "You lied to me. Said I must have missed something. The statue demands balance!"
"We needed a seeker," Martiz explained. "She was mundane. I had to know."
Vadim turned in his chair and met Klaus's gaze. "Where was your first healing attempt?"
"My parents were merchants between Glamiere and Landale. We were stranded on Aquarion one spring, and that's when I first got sick."
"Aye," Gulde said. "I remember that hair. I remember you, lad. Martiz claimed he wasn't strong enough to heal you then. He kept trying, though."
"Consent," Vadim said. "Klaus gave it the first few times. He was sick, and he didn't want to die. That's the first rule they taught us at the Imperial Academy of the Elements. Consent matters, Martiz. When you coerce it, you fuck with the balance."
"What balance? What are you talking about?"
"Seekers shouldn't exist. Suppressors shouldn't exist. Enchanters shouldn't exist. Siphons are so rare, Coryn claims she's the only one."
"My Lawrence," Beatrice said. "He was your first experiment. He became a grand suppressor, able to weave suppression into magic. What did you do to him?"
Once the whispers started, it was several minutes before Frost and Allora brought the room to order.
"You're right." Allora's whisper was barely audible from where Efren sat, but then she stood from her seat on the council and appraised Martiz with her stony gaze. "I was born mundane. He was testing me for magic. He slit my wrists and let them bleed out, claiming I would have to explain the scars to my parents if I didn't let him heal me. So I did, of course." She slapped him so hard his head banged against the back of his chair. "I say we turn him over to Coryn."
A chill ran up Efren's spine as the room called for Martiz's swift execution instead.
Vadim rose from his chair, and the room fell silent. "I'm going to propose a trade. Martiz for Hugo."
"She'll never let the emperor go," Klaus argued. Efren was surprised to hear the seeker voice his opposition.
"I know," Vadim said. "I'm counting on it."
Beatrice held up her hands to keep the room to a dull roar again. "Martiz has upset the balance through what he's done. What do you propose we do about that?"
"You can't possibly mean you want to strip me of power and then hand me to Coryn!"
"Why not?" Beatrice asked. "You've endangered every weaver on this island because you don't understand the meaning of consent. Niall, as my replacement, how do you vote?"
Once again, the room was silent.
"In favor of stripping Martiz of his power," Niall said.
"Aye," Allora said.
"Aye," Frost said.
