Tears stung Shanon’s eyes. “I know you will. Not without me. But let's get you into the Ring first, then we can start plotting their demise.”
“Wise,” he said as she helped him to his feet. They stumbled toward the wall. “They’ll regret the moment they ever thought to cross us.”
Shanon’s heart burned, hotter than the blazing sun that scorched through her clothes. With Hatan safe, nothing was stopping her from dealing with Vitori now.
Chapter eleven
Potion
“Close your mouth,” Adrina said, tapping Katsi’s chin.
Katsi snapped it shut while the hairdresser continued working on her long black hair, bundling it with a chord of red and gold fabric that made it look like a golden chain. They’d given her a thorough bath, against her better discretion. Apparently it was normal here to have other women help you bathe.
But she’d never felt so clean in her entire life. And the scented oils? Sands. She didn’t dare express how much she absolutely loved it, though she could scarcely imagine a sentiment that would give Adrina greater satisfaction. The woman was bent on making Katsi into some kind of queen. In fact, with the way her hair was styled, laced with the colorful threads, it even reminded her a little of Queen Rikaydian.
The first person Katsi had killed.
Her death toll had only risen from there. How many had she killed now? 15? If she ever had to help Migo with one of his battles, she could see that number exploding. She blinked away the imagination of her lightning tearing through ranks of soldiers, focusing instead on the mirror before her once again. They’d applied some kind of powder to her cheeks and pulled some hairs around her eyebrow, but they hadn’t done much otherwise. The attendant had even complimented Katsi’s skin, but Adrina had to mention that regular baths and good soaps would help her skin even more.
Katsi couldn’t roll her eyes any farther, but as the hairdresser put in the finishing touches, she couldn’t help but feel like royalty.
There was more she still needed to know. A lot more. And it wasn’t as though she could interrogate the emperor right now.
“Adrina,” Katsi said, directing her gaze at Adrina through the reflection in the mirror. She might as well take advantage of Adrina while she could. “When I first met you, you’d alluded to the emperor going by something other than Alyssad. I think I know what you meant now. He let me know that he used to go by Ranaz. I wonder why he changed it.”
The blankness on Adrina’s expression was more telling than she thought. Adrina probably knew all about the emperor’s deception. Her eyes flicked to the attendant. “Ah, he does like to use his aliases at times.”
“How long have you worked with Emperor Malrabia,” Katsi asked, still unsure of how to refer to the emperor, though she still knew him as Alyssad.
“Oh,” she said, blinking up at the ceiling. “Since I was your age probably.”
“And how long ago was that?” Katsi pressed. “Ten years? Twenty? Maybe a hundred?”
Adrina gave her a look of incredulity. “Are you trying to call me old? You know the emperor is only in his twenties, right?”
Katsi tapped her chin. “So is that like four-hundred and twenty, or…”
“Dehlia,” Adrina said abruptly. “I can finish up from here. Why don’t you go and check on Miss Rakayi.”
“Yes, maam,” Dehlia said, dipping her head before scurrying from Katsi’s bedroom.
Katsi tried to hide her satisfaction by poking at her hair to see how sturdy it was.
Adrina waited until the door closed behind Dehlia before she spoke. “The emperor maintains discretion for a reason. There’s a terrible balance of politics he needs to maintain. How much did he tell you?”
“A lot. But… not enough,” Katsi conceded. “I feel as though there are a lot of details he didn’t have time to share. How is he so old?” She was assuming a lot here, hoping that Adrina would slip something more.
Adrina’s eyes narrowed, and Katsi worried that she wasn’t going to reveal more, but she finally said, “It’s a potion. An old one. Probably unknown to your tribe. Its origin goes back thousands of years. It’s one of the oldest.”
“Wow,” Katsi said, filled with genuine awe. “And what kind of shaman is Alyssad? He’s not a stormcaller, is he?”
“He’s an earthmelder, but with power like his?” Adrina shrugged. “I’m not sure it matters what his proficiency is at this point. He could use any magical order to its full advantage, though he does rightfully avoid bleeder magic as much as he can—as we all do here in Mazanib. His earthmelding makes mine look like child’s play. He and I built the castle.”
“Then what makes me so significant? I saw him use lightning more expertly than I could. Why care about my abilities?”
Adrina smiled. “He’s generous to good-hearted shamans, Katsi. And stormcallers are rare. He just wants you to have a good shot at life where you can learn your abilities somewhere safe and not feel like the whole world is out to destroy you. I ended up staying here because it gave me an opportunity to use my earthmelding for something beautiful. I like art. I enjoy creating it. That’s something my own tribe had abandoned years ago. Magic was meant to do more than simply help us survive, it allowed us to enjoy life and make it a place we could thrive.”
Katsi nodded, though she knew there was more to it. “And you like helping me learn as well?”
“Absolutely. I haven’t had a good student in a long time.”
“So there are other shamans here in the castle? More than just the three of us?”
“Yes, we have four others here. I’m sorry I haven’t taken the opportunity to introduce you to them all, but you’ve probably seen some of them around when you roam through the castle. They’re likely the other more frequent visitors to the library.”
“Ah.” Katsi had made a point of avoiding everyone else that entered the library, and she’d intentionally hidden in the more remote parts of it for that very purpose. She vaguely recalled seeing a couple different men who’d entered, one older, one younger. That’s about all she’d bothered noting about them before simply returning to her studies. It was wild. Even a few months ago, she would never have thought she’d find books more interesting than people.
Adrina glanced at the clock on the wall. Katsi hadn’t realized that’s what it was until Adrina had pointed it out. It had an arrow that rotated around ten marks. It only had to be wound back up every once in a while to make sure it was timed properly. “In fact, we have enough time for me to take you to see one of them. I wanted to show you a potion.”
Katsi tilted her head at that. “A potion?”
“Yes, Daraden is an expert mixer.”
“Won’t he be getting ready for the celebration as well?”
Adrina smirked. “He’ll have gotten ready marks ago I’m sure. He hates to be rushed.”
“I wouldn’t want to add to his plate if he gets worried about time.”
