Page 4 of Silver & Smoke
‘Given the threat of war in the midrealms, I think we can table the discussion of the prince for now,’ Lord Lucian offered smoothly. ‘We must address the matter of the usurper. He targets Delmira for its fertile lands, yes?’
‘Not just its lands,’ Wren said slowly. ‘But the silvertide roses upon it. They are the key ingredient to the cure for his dark alchemy – a means to defeat Silas. But... recently, I was fortunate enough to obtain a vial of shadow magic from Warsword Hawthorne. I experimented with that vial and the silvertide, which led me to discover that the roses are double-edged. Broken down and properly distilled, they cure, but utilized whole, they feed dark magic, potentially amplifying his existing power beyond measure.’
‘The difference between poison and cure is simply a matter of dose,’ Master Norlander murmured from where he stood on the outskirts of the room.
Wren nodded. ‘Exactly. Whoever rules Delmira controls the silvertide roses, which are the key to defeating the usurper. The roses have the power to banish his corrupted alchemy from the midrealms... or invite it in. If Silas gets a foothold in my kingdom, he will havethe ability to strip the rulers and Warswords of their magic, and he won’t stop there. He will take the kingdoms one by one.’
‘And how exactly is he going to do that?’ Lucian asked sharply.
To Wren’s surprise, the masters of Drevenor looked to her. Then again, she supposed, between her opus and her time on the battlefield, she had the most experience with the foe they now faced.
She cleared her throat. ‘Silas was –is– a keen alchemist himself. He has been using a dark form of the art since he made himself known to us, but furthermore, he has sought shadow war relics and has been extracting the same magic that was used against us then – gathering the bones of monsters and drawing out any lingering power. Warsword Hawthorne proved that when he brought back a vessel of shadow magic from one of Silas’s laboratories.’ Wren suppressed a shudder.
‘Where is he finding such things?’ Queen Reyna said quietly.
‘Old battlefields, former wraith lairs,’ Wilder chimed in. ‘I’m guessing that’s where he held you captive, Your Majesty. He had such items when the Bear Slayer and I rescued you.’
The moniker was like a blade to Wren’s heart, but she still refused to seek him out. She had to keep her mask in place. It was only when she met the gaze of the High Chancellor across the table that a bolt of realization shot through her.
She addressed him directly. ‘Do we have such artefacts here? Artefacts from the war? You have chroniclers writing up the history...’ Wren recalled the biased questioning of Magnus Crane easily enough.
‘We do,’ the High Chancellor said slowly. ‘Purely for scholarly purposes, of course.’
‘Of course,’ Wren replied evenly. ‘But Drevenor has them in its possession?’
He nodded. ‘Some.’
‘Some? What does that mean?’ Audra asked sharply.
‘Well, a portion of that wing was destroyed in the initial attack during the novice graduation ceremony.’
Wren’s stomach bottomed out, and across the table Audra and Farissa’s expressions mirrored her own.
Thea let out a low whistle. ‘So, you’re saying that during that battle, Silas stole historical artefacts containing old shadow magic and is now using them against us?’
Silence hung across the table like a heavy fog.
Audra pushed her spectacles up the bridge of her nose. ‘High Chancellor, you’ll need to direct my warriors to the remaining artefacts. We’ll need to set up additional guards at once. Or better still, remove them from the academy entirely.’
The academy’s leader dipped his head again, pale-faced.
‘So, what does this mean for our enemy’s power?’ Lord Lucian pressed on.
Wren fought the urge to let her head fall into her hands. Instead, she answered calmly. ‘When applied, shadow magic distorts any natural alchemy at play. For those who fought in the last war, it’s how we suspect the howlers were made.’
‘Howlers?’ Darian prompted, turning to her. ‘Are those monsters?’
‘By the time the shadow magic is done with them, yes,’ Wren told him, ignoring how her fingers were growing clammy beneath his. ‘They were men once, cursed by shadow, whose voices were replaced by blood-curdling howls. They were lost to cravings of violence and destruction.’
Lord Lucian’s eyes narrowed. ‘Have there been any sightings of such things?’
Audra spoke up. ‘Not according to our scouts. But I will send word to Talemir Starling. It’s my understanding that the shadow-touched folk still have a crop of sun orchids, which we used against them last time... The thing about this usurper is that, beyond the fact that he’s digging up old wraith bones and extracting shadow magic, we don’t know how he was able to match the strength of a Warsword.’
‘In the battle at the novice graduation, he drank a potion, didn’t he?’ Thea interjected, her brow furrowed.
‘He did,’ Wren confirmed. ‘But I suspect that’s only one part of this... He has togetthe strength from somewhere first.’
Thea dipped her head in acknowledgement. ‘Do we have information as to his movements?’
