Awaken (The Mortal Mage Book 1) Page 5

  “I went to check his home. There was a note on the door saying he and his wife had gone to see the king.” Eckard got up with his empty plate. Leida and Adriya ignored him as they shared a look of worry.

  “You’re more beautiful every day,” Eckard said as he walked by.

  Adriya grinned. “That’s surprisingly kind of you.”

  Eckard gave her a blank look. “I was talking to Leida.” He walked off without another word.

  Leida could almost hear her friend grinding her teeth while she glared at Eckard’s back as if wanting to tackle and pummel him.

  “He’s just trying to hurt you for ending the relationship,” Leida reminded her. “We have more important things to worry about than him.”

  Adriya took a breath. “You’re right. I want to see that note for myself.”

  It was a short walk to the faculty housing area from the dining hall. Leida separated from Adriya to visit her parents’ house. Leida planned to look for clues, but an older swordsman was standing outside the door when she arrived.

  “I’m looking for my mother and father,” Leida told him. “They live here.”

  He straightened his back. “They aren’t here right now.”

  “Can I look inside?”

  “I can’t allow that.”

  “Why not?”

  “King’s orders. They’re wanted for treason.”

  Dread clamped her heart. She already believed her parents were wanted, but for treason? There was no worse crime in the eyes of the king. Overwhelmed by panic, she could only stare mutely at the swordsman. Would she ever see them again? Would they be killed?

  “Leida.” Adriya ran toward her.

  Leida stumbled toward her friend. They embraced as Leida shed a tear.

  “They’re…” She couldn’t get out the words.

  “It’s going to be all right,” Adriya said. “We’ll figure this out.”

  “What about your parents?”

  “Eckard wasn’t lying. There’s a note with a seal of the king about them leaving for the day to meet with him.”

  Adriya’s expectant expression indicated she wanted to ask about Leida’s parents, especially about why there was a guard standing outside their home, but Leida still couldn’t speak.

  Adriya was smart; she would figure it out.

  “I have to get to the capital,” Leida said, barely able to let go of her friend. “I need to let them question me before I find out more.”

  “I can go with you.”

  “I don’t think you should. We would talk about this the whole way there and figure out more that I’ll have to reveal to the psychic.”

  “What more is there to figure out?”

  “That mage, Desil—I can’t say more. Trust me.”

  “All right, I do. So tell me instead how I can help.”

  “Are you sure? To help might mean going against the king in some way.”

  “I’m sure.”

  “Thank you.” Leida could feel the load on her shoulders becoming lighter. “Meet me in Kayvol at a place called the Magic Tavern. I hope to be there by sundown. It’s one of the first buildings on the road into the town.”

  “What’s there?”

  “We’re meeting Desil there. I have no idea what he knows, and I’d rather not figure it…” Leida stopped herself. It was too late. She let out a long sigh.

  “What is it?” Adriya asked.

  “I just realized something. My father must’ve told Desil where to find me. Beatrix wouldn’t know I was at the Group One training grounds, and Desil wouldn’t know normally.” Leida groaned. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to keep that from the psychic.”

  “Are you sure you should go to the castle now? If they come here to question you instead, my parents can protect you.”

  Yes, Leida supposed they could. The Wind Knights were the only ones who could stop the king from arresting Leida if it came to that. But that was only if she found out where her father was…which she might if she stayed here any longer thinking about it.

  Leida pushed out her hands. “I have to stop talking about this. I’m going there now.”

  “All right, but if I don’t see you at that tavern tonight, I’m getting my parents involved.”

  “Thank you, Adriya, but something tells me they already are.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  It had taken Beatrix and Kirnich longer than anticipated to return to the castle. It was already evening. Beatrix hoped the headmaster’s daughter hadn’t arrived yet. If so, she might’ve been questioned by one of the other psychics involved in this investigation. Beatrix couldn’t have that. She had to be the one to catch the headmaster. She didn’t trust any others to facilitate a peaceful imprisonment, as Basen Hiller most likely would try to run.

  Beatrix had gotten to know him during her time at the Academy. They’d had several meetings, mostly to talk about her father, but she’d always felt through psyche that he genuinely cared about her experience at the school. He was kind and humorous, and she’d enjoyed his weekly announcements at Redfield. He wanted what was best for the school and for Kyrro, but in that order.

  Every time she thought about what he and his wife were doing, Beatrix became more desperate to find them and put a stop to it. She never should’ve let them escape when she could’ve pained them with psyche. If they ended up dead, she’d regret it for the rest of her life.

  “I’m going to speak to my father alone,” she told Kirnich as they entered the castle.

  “I’ll be stuffing my mouth in the kitchen.”

  “It could be a while.”

  “Good, more time to eat.”

  Kirnich was a fine protector, as smart as he was volatile. It was his incessant lusting for her that she couldn’t stand. She tried not to focus on it, but she kept sensing it like a putrid smell invading her nose. It came out of his psyche in bursts, annoyingly so during the hour they’d spent painstakingly searching by the lake for the headmaster’s message to his daughter. Beatrix couldn’t look beneath rocks or in shrubbery without putting herself in compromising positions, and Kirnich wouldn’t stop staring.

  Eventually she warned him she would throw him in the cold water if that’s what it took to stop his drooling over her, but he just flashed a smile and told her there was only one thing that could relieve the ache she caused him.

  She’d thought about bringing another swordsman with her around Kyrro as she questioned people about the headmaster, but along with Kirnich’s feverish desire to bed her came a loyalty like a dog. This situation with the headmaster had to be handled delicately. Kirnich might not be delicate on his own, but he would do whatever she told him.

  Her father was as busy as ever, but he would make time for her now as he always did. She was disappointed, however, to find her older brother standing beside their father when she entered the throne room. Allephon was too handsome for his own good. It wasn’t like he had to rely on looks anyway. As the Prince of Kyrro, every woman was interested in him, but it was the married ones—those he couldn’t have—that he went after the most. Many marriages would’ve been better off if Allephon had been born with a knuckle for a nose.

  He showed Beatrix a fiendish smile when she entered. She hated that wicked grin. They used to play cards when they were younger. So long as the game involved any skill, she always won, but he made her keep playing until he finally eked out a victory. Then he would quit, pretending to be proud of himself, but she could always tell he still burned with anger. The smiles would follow soon after. Whenever harm befell her, he was there to witness it with the same look of satisfaction that he gave her now.

  He blamed her for letting the headmaster and his wife get away, and Beatrix was certain her brother whispered her shortcomings to their father every chance he got.

  She and Allephon might’ve been able to salvage their relationship if she’d never learned to be a psychic, for she was now able to feel his lack of love as easily as one could see a bite missing from a hunk of brea
d. But if she had the chance to go back in time, she’d choose psyche over him again without a second thought. His love was worthless to her now.

  Her father rarely wore his crown, though he liked to have it nearby. She could feel his affection toward the object whenever he glanced its way. It sat on a table beside a few silver rings. Beatrix figured they’d come as a gift and that Allephon had been trying them on to decide if he liked any. She’d seen her brother put on the crown in front of a mirror when he thought no one was looking. It had been embarrassing for both of them when he’d turned and saw her.

  “What happened in Kayvol?” her father asked her.

  He was worried, she could feel, but behind every emotion was a deep love that helped put her at ease.

  “Basen came to the lake last night and happened upon a young man by the name of Desil—the son of Wade Fogg.”

  Fernan grimaced. “Are you sure it was by chance that they met?”

  “Yes, and psyche confirmed what else Desil told us: Basen left a message there for his daughter. Kirnich and I searched but couldn’t find anything. The headmaster might’ve lied to Desil, but I suspect something else. I believe he is trying to reach his daughter but in some other way than leaving a note. Has she been to the castle yet?”

  Fernan glanced at his son. Allephon shifted. “I’ll find out right after this,” the prince said.

  “It’s important to know now,” Beatrix argued.

  “Go,” Fernan agreed.

  Allephon clicked his tongue, then sauntered out. At thirty, he was their father’s youngest councilman and the oldest child in the castle.

  “I should be the one to question Leida when she arrives,” Beatrix informed her father. “And no one else should speak to her afterward.”

  “Why?”

  “I’m the only one who knows about Desil and Basen’s meeting. After I found out, I sent Desil to the Academy to tell the headmaster’s daughter about his message. I will know exactly what to ask her, while other psychics will not.”

  “Beatrix, do you blame yourself for his and his wife’s escape? You shouldn’t.”

  “Thank you, Father, but I do. I believe I can find them and bring them to you peacefully. Others won’t.”

  “I agree, which is why I will support you with this search in any way you need.”

  She thought again about replacing Kirnich but decided against it. There was no one she trusted more, except her father. She smiled to show her thanks.

  “Did you find out if Desil has the same ability as his father?” Fernan asked.

  She hadn’t thought to ask. “I figured Rallo’s report would tell us that,” she lied.

  Fernan sighed in disappointment. “I don’t know if he’s done it since Wade’s mistake. I will speak to him and get that information to you.”

  Rallo was Beatrix’s younger brother by two years. He’d taken on a few sensitive tasks for the family, like checking on Desil every few months. Knowing how lazy her brother was, Beatrix assumed he’d hired someone else to do it years ago.

  “Perhaps I should be the one to ask him so he doesn’t lie,” she suggested.

  “Except he’s not going to be back here until tomorrow afternoon, and you’ll most likely be gone by then.”

  She nodded. She would be at the Academy questioning a few key instructors who might know something. Cleve Polken and his wife, Reela, were known to be close with Basen as well as part of the Wind Knights. They’d already been questioned by other psychics involved in this investigation, but not by Beatrix yet. Not only was this a race against the other psychics, but it was also a race against the headmaster getting his affairs in order to leave Kyrro. There was too much to do in too little time to worry about Rallo.

  “I will return when I can,” Beatrix told her father, “but I don’t expect Rallo’s report to tell me anything about Desil I don’t already know. I should note I don’t think he’s dangerous. The only problem is that Kirnich likes him. If Desil turns out to be involved with the headmaster—”

  “Kirnich will do what’s necessary. He always does.”

  She sensed something hidden behind those words. Had Kirnich killed someone on behalf of her father?

  “Beatrix, you’re squinting your eyes in that look again. You promised you wouldn’t use psyche on me.”

  “I’m not,” she lied. She felt a surge of worry from him just before she stopped reading his energy.

  Allephon returned with the headmaster’s daughter behind him. “She just arrived,” he announced.

  Sweat lined the young woman’s forehead as if she’d rushed all the way here.

  “What can you tell me about my father?” Leida asked. She seemed to be speaking to Beatrix rather than the king.

  “I can have someone bring you something,” Allephon said in a gentle voice as he touched her shoulder. “Some water, or wine perhaps? It’ll help calm your nerves.”

  Beatrix frowned at him, but he didn’t look over.

  “Thank you but no,” Leida replied. “I would just like to find out about my father and finish this.”

  Allephon lost his smile as he dropped his hand from her shoulder.

  “Please have a seat.” Beatrix took a chair out from the table and turned it to face the center of the room, where she stood.

  Leida sat and took a breath. She seemed tense enough to shatter.

  Beatrix felt guilty for forcing her here, especially when Beatrix would be at the Academy to question others tomorrow, but she needed to keep track of Leida as much as possible. There was no one more likely to lead Beatrix to Basen.

  Kirnich would secretly begin following Leida no matter what the young woman said. It was up to Beatrix to help her relax, which would keep Leida from getting suspicious.

  “We met once when you were younger,” Beatrix said. “I came to the headmaster’s house while I was a student at the Academy. You were still living there with your parents. Do you remember?”

  “I do.”

  “I don’t feel any differently now about your father than I did then. I respect him, and I don’t want any harm to come to him or your mother. That’s why I’m trying to find him.”

  “What did he do?”

  She focused on Leida’s energy. The question was asked out of genuine curiosity. “I wish I could tell you, but we can’t have other people finding out.” And this way, Leida would be more inclined to uncover whatever she could on her own, and Beatrix could question her later.

  “I wouldn’t tell anyone.” It was a lie. Leida seemed to realize it right away as she sucked in a breath. “I would tell one person, who absolutely can be trusted.”

  “Desil?”

  “No, I don’t know him very well. I would only tell Adriya Polken.”

  “Yet you don’t know who she would tell, and who they would tell, and so on. Leida, it’s not for discussion. Your mother and father have chosen to go against the kingdom of Kyrro, and we will protect the territory by keeping what they intend to do a secret, as well as find them before they can accomplish it. Do you know where they might be right now?”

  “If they aren’t at the Academy, then I have no idea.”

  It was true, though it came as a surprise that Leida had answered so quickly without wanting to know more.

  Detecting a lie had become easy for Beatrix after years of training. Psyche involved reading emotions from the patterns of a person’s natural bastial energy and changing the pattern to cause emotions. Sincerity could come in the shape of calm or desperate energy, but it always appeared the same few ways when genuine. It was only in cases like this one, with Leida hiding something, that there was a noticeable difference. Her words weren’t completely false, but there was something she wasn’t saying.

  “If you had to make a guess,” Beatrix said, “where do you think they might be?”

  “I don’t know. Perhaps they would’ve left Kyrro by now, gone north.” Leida’s gaze finally left her lap and honed in on Beatrix. “If you told me what this was about, I wou
ld have a better idea.”

  Beatrix inwardly agreed with that. She looked at her father to silently ask for his permission. He was the one who’d decreed that no others could find out. He shook his head.

  “I’m sorry, but I can’t do that,” she said. “Tell me about Desil.”

  Leida’s energy told Beatrix the girl was nervous, though she remained steady as a rock as she continued to stare at Beatrix. There was something here to find; she could feel Leida trying to hide it.

  “I just met Desil today,” Leida said. “I know little about him.”

  “He must’ve told you your father spoke to him last night.”

  “He didn’t.”

  “Yet you already knew that.”

  It came as a relief when Leida’s gaze slid down again. Those green eyes were piercing when aimed into Beatrix’s own.

  “I figured it out,” Leida admitted. “It’s how Desil knew where to find me.”

  Why wouldn’t Desil tell her he’d met with Basen? “Did Desil mention a message from your father?”

  Leida’s eyes widened as a surge of excitement reshaped her energy. Then she assumed the worried look from before and asked, “No, what is it?”

  “He didn’t tell Desil. Basen said he would leave the note for you by the lake. We looked, but we couldn’t find anything. Do you know why that is?”

  “No.”

  Completely a lie. Beatrix walked away from Leida to take a moment to ponder how to proceed. She’d expected the headmaster’s daughter to know something, but Beatrix still couldn’t figure out why Desil had kept Basen’s message from Leida.

  Desil probably was trying to protect her somehow. Therefore he was involved with the headmaster’s plans. Beatrix should’ve questioned Desil more, but she’d been in such a rush to get to that message with the assumption it would solve everything.

  She thought a while longer as Leida fidgeted, then eventually came to a decision.

  “All right Leida. Is there anything else you can tell us that might help us find your father and mother?”

  “I keep thinking they have to come back to the Academy for me, but now I’m not sure they will.”

  It was honest. The poor young woman’s energy showed a feeling of betrayal. Beatrix tried to ignore her guilt for using Leida. It had to be done.