“Is the tension in your brows a noble affectation too?”
My hand went to my eyebrow to see if I was scowling without realizing it. Perhaps I was. “I can’t help but feel tense. I’ve got to kill enchanted snakes before I enter any of the wizards’ rooms. And Warison…”
Alaric’s eyes narrowed. “Tell me more about Warison and you.”
I worried my bottom lip while I considered how much to reveal. “I helped Ronan with his studies. We were friends.” The wordfriendsfelt like a lie. But I couldn’t bring myself to admit how deeply I’d cared for Ronan and how little I’d meant to him in the end.
With halting words, I told Alaric of the day my face was slashed by Wolfson’s beast, how Ronan agreed to burn Colsbury to save my life, and how afterward, he refused to speak to me again.
Alaric muttered something under his breath. Probably a curse. “Sounds like the logic of wizards. And you want to spare Warison—after he burned innocent villagers?”
Ronan had gone to the village with Charles only to save me. I wondered, with growing offense, if Alaric would’ve seen me slain with far fewer qualms.
“The night before I was sent to Haddock Castle, Ronan sneaked into my room and healed my scars. I can’t imagine my life if he hadn’t done that. I owe him something.”
Alaric scoffed. “And what do you owe the villagers who died at his hand?”
My gaze sank to the ground. Those villagers had always weighed on my conscience. None of them deserved that fate, least of all the children.
“If you hadn’t been his friend,” Alaric went on, “you wouldn’t have gotten the scars in the first place.” He took my hands in his, gently holding them. “Wizards are like lions. You can befriend a wandering cub and not get hurt, but eventually, it will grow into a lion. It will kill and destroy anyone who gets in its way, including you. Warison is a lion now who works to keep a bad king in power. We must cut his claws.”
My throat grew tight with emotion. I couldn’t disagree with Alaric. I’d seen the ashes on Ronan’s robes after he’d gone to that village. I swallowed and nodded. Perhaps Alaric saw me as a lion too. Perhaps I was one. My gaze still felt too heavy to lift from the ground.
Alaric gently squeezed my hands. “If Warison isn’t as bad as the others, living without magic will prove a benefit for him. Once he’s a man instead of a lion, he’ll find his soul.”
I nodded again, although I knew Ronan would never see the loss of his magic as a benefit. He would see it as the worst sort of betrayal.
Alaric let go of one of my hands in order to tilt my chin up. His eyes fixed on mine, checking, I supposed, for assurances. “We’re in agreement about what needs to be done?”
“Yes.” The word came out with more steadiness than I felt.
“Good.” He smiled and his eyes lingered on me.
We were standing close, our hands twined together. With a jolt, it occurred to me he might try to kiss me. I stepped back from him so quickly, I nearly stumbled. “I should go. I still have unfinished tasks.”
I extinguished the light. No one ought to catch sight of it as we walked back. Although mostly I snuffed the light because I didn’t want to see Alaric’s expression, to witness his reaction to my quick retreat. Was he hurt? Amused? Resigned? Maybe I’d completely misread his intentions.
“Be careful,” he told me.
He didn’t need to remind me of that. I was always careful. For example, right now I was being quite careful to avoid the wrong sort of attachment to him. “I will be.”
With the utterance of the invisibility enchantment, I turned and nearly fled back toward the castle.
After I left Alaric,I went to the falconry and pilfered a pair of thick leather gloves. To ensure they’d deter a snake bite, I put a strengthening charm on them. I also took a leather strap. I’d seen a heraldry shield hanging above the mantle in one of the sitting rooms on the first floor. It was wooden, a decoration to be sure, but with a strap fastened to its back, it would work well enough to fend off fangs.
I’d have to wait until tomorrow night to steal the shield. A missing pair of gloves wouldn’t raise suspicions but the same wasn’t true for one of the king’s wall hangings.
With my ill-gotten gain secure, I returned to my room and tried to sleep. Mostly I curled in my bed and thought of Ronan.
He was a formidable wizard, and he knew I had magic. That would make my attempts to overpower him all the more difficult and dangerous. But we’d also been friends. He would grant me access to his company in ways the other wizards wouldn’t. Perhaps I didn’t have to fight the serpent at his door. Perhaps all I needed to gain access to his chamber was to knock and murmur my name.
I entertained that scenario. I imagined him looking at me in question and wondering about the purpose of my midnight visit. Perhaps I would kiss him, wrap my arms around his neck, and enjoy the shock in his eyes as I pointed my wand at him and uttered the words of the stunning enchantment.
It was a tempting scenario.
I could assure him if he kept my secret, I would try to return his mark after the new king’s installment. Ronan might agree to such a bargain rather than handing me over to the guards. If people knew how I’d received my magic, he’d be punished. And he’d want his magic restored more than he’d want vengeance against me. But then, a bargain of that sort wouldn’t preclude him from taking revenge later on. Perhaps his first action after I returned his magic would be to destroy me.
That would be a very wizardly act.