Page 73 of Suffer No Fools
"Thank you." That went better than he'd expected. Tovey was far more distracted than he let on, if he'd already gotten, and forgotten, Efren and Niall's agreement to help with the wards.
"Did you already discuss what the Glamierians thought they were doing by taking him?" he asked, wondering what else he'd missed.
"They were very tight-lipped about it," Efren said.
"They told Hugo they were headed to Hearthstone," Tovey said. "They want to negotiate a trade agreement with Embertide. They also planned on marrying him to someone."
"We'll know more when we interrogate them," Efren said, "but we will make them wait a full day."
"Are you going to threaten to have Vadim cut them?" Tovey asked.
"No!" Efren lifted himself to his full height and folded his arms over his chest. "Why the fuck would I do that? Yvette would be more of a threat, since she knows what she's doing, but I will never threaten another country's sailors with barbaric torture." He leaned back against the counter and his shoulders sagged. "Allora has a truth charm we can use instead."
Stan couldn't help the laughter bubbling out of his chest. "Martiz's barbaric practice lives on after he's gone."
"Without the torture," Efren insisted. "It doesn't hurt. Yvette even tested it on Nola."
"That couldn't have gone well." Tovey smirked. "She's been saying Nola cheated on her captain's exam with the navy. Did she get the truth out of her?"
"She used her water listening skills when the captain and first mate of her ship discussed the route they would have her take for her last test."
"She admitted as much?" Tovey whistled. "It works, then."
"And no torture." Stan reiterated the most important aspect of the enchantment. "Is there a way for Hugo to question them while Yvette powers the enchantment?" Stan asked. "He'll need to show them he's in control."
"Yes." Efren glanced between them. "Are we going to talk about what's going on between you? Hannah told me what they saw last night."
"What they saw?" For a horrible moment, Stan wondered if everyone on the island had been in their bedroom while they'd been asleep and vulnerable.
"They said Hugo went supernova and blasted out the side of the Glamierian ship. I saw the damage myself. The hole wasn't even scorched. He blasted through it with earth, and then he floated through it on air. I didn't see it, but I believe what Hannah saw. Hugo can draw on your powers. Can you draw on his?"
"You're bonded with Niall," Stan said, working through Efren's question in his head. "Are you saying you can draw on Niall's fire, or earth, or air?"
"I don't think so," Efren said. "I have better control of lightning, but I'm nowhere near balanced. I've also healed faster than usual, but that's a common side effect, since most bonds are forged with healers."
Stan glanced down at his hands. He knew the mechanics of fire magic. He often sensed when Hugo was too full of joy and might not contain his weaves. Gods, after tonight, Stan hoped Hugo could find that joy again.
Hugo was Stan's joy, and so was Tovey. They were connected now. Stan couldn't imagine his life without either of them. He looked up at Tovey, and joy radiated through his body. He held out his hand, and flames erupted from his fingertips.
On the opposite side of the room, Tovey stared at his hands, which were also lit up like candles.
"Fuck." Efren shook his head. "In a perfect world, Hugo should have bonded Niall, so he would have all eight elements."
"I don't want all eight elements." Hugo's voice startled them, especially since Stan hadn't heard any noise from upstairs and hadn't felt him moving through the house on the warded floorboards.
Hugo came around to the side of the table facing Efren and sat in the chair. His new silk robe was wrapped tightly around his chest, and Stan could have sworn it was longer than the original design from Gulde.
"Captain."
"Your Majesty."
"Please leave. We can discuss this tomorrow before we meet with the prisoners."
"Niall—"
"Can reset our wards from outside. They'll be more of a deterrent that way."
"I agree," Stan said. "Did you remove my weaves on the floor?"
