“Sir Lyvianne.”
“Portals take power. How powerful was this guard?”
“I don’t know. As father’s second cousin, he might have had something from the family. All I know was that one moment he stood before me, the next he was gone, and the mirror shimmered. The only other door was hidden so well I couldn’t find it.” Saris let out an exasperated snort. “Maybe the ancestors intervened.”
Or a man of modest skills with a very powerful child. Double fuck. Or Chynne could be right.
Someone could have knowingly or unknowingly used the untested magic for the child’s benefit. The power would allow its use as long as the spell helped the child and didn’t hurt.
Wycke pulled in a deep breath. “I have someone you need to meet.”
“Who?”
He dipped into his pocket, removing a silver beetle. The insect dropped to the floor, turning black, blue, and furry.
Saris shrank in on herself. “I… I know this creature, he feels…”
Chynne smiled, inclining his head. “Princess Saris. Or shall I call you Queen Saris?”
“Chynne.” Saris threw out her hands, blasting the cat across the room.
Wycke grabbed her wrists. “What are you doing?”
“Do you know who… what he is? Lady Nyanda’s familiar. With his help, she killed many mages. Kept our father under her thumb.”
Chynne staggered off the floor. “I’m sure I deserved that, Your Majesty. However, I am no longer the sorceress’s familiar, as she is dead.”
Saris narrowed her eyes. “Whom do you serve?”
“Her son, Pieravor Gimitri. The most powerful sorcerer alive. If Nyanda’s followers have become active again, they must know he lives, but are they shifting loyalty to him, or do they plan to use him?”
“How can anyone use him if he’s so powerful?” Saris asked.
Good question.
“He doesn’t know he’s powerful. He’s untrained. Until recently, his powers were dormant. Even I, his servant, couldn’t detect him. Something happened to awaken his magic.” Wycke didn’t know enough about cats to say if they actually had eyebrows. Still, Chynne certainly raised… something… in Wycke’s direction.
Wycke wasnotready to share the story with his sister. “We need to hide him so they can’t find him.”
“If they’re mobilizing,” Chynne said, “they might know where he is already.”
Saris’s brow creased. “Mobilizing?”
Wycke interrupted. “Mr. Familiar here is addicted to American television.”
“American what?”
“America is a region in the other realm. Television is a form of entertainment said to rot the brain.” Wycke hoped porn didn’t count.
Saris rose, wringing her hands, and paced the white marble floors. “We have to do something. We can’t let him fall into their hands or Radre’s. Such a sweet baby. I cannot imagine him being like his mother.”
Chynne inclined his head. “I don’t see that happening. As they say in the other realm, ‘we have an ace up our sleeve.’”
“A what?”
“Something in our favor. No matter where he goes or what he does, we will always know his location.” Chynne sounded so sure of himself. “The three of us each have reasons to look out for him. I’m his familiar. You made a promise to take care of a baby.”
Saris stopped her pacing. “What about Wycke?”