Page 30 of The War and Deceit Series omnibus

“I’m sure you’ve got some questions.” Grayson finally breaks the silence, repeating what he’d said earlier. Flicking my gaze between the two of them, I lean back in my chair as I try to put my thoughts into order.

“Why isn’t Wilson surprised at the change of my hair colour?”

Barely looking up from his meal, Grayson reaches for a glass of what I assume is wine on the table before him. “He knows.” I nearly choke on the water I’m sipping and slam my glass back down on the table.

“Everything?”

“Most of it.” I just stare at him in silence until he sighs and finally looks up at me. “After the ball last night, I realised we needed someone else on our side who knows about you.”

On our side. He’s said something like this before, and I don’t miss the slight emphasis on those words. He only decided to tell Wilson the full story after I’d been dancing with the prince, is that what changed his mind?

“And none of this bothers you?” Incredulous, I gesture to my hair and remove the metal cuff on my left arm so he can see the ugly Xs that mark me. Wilson just shrugs, smiling at me with that carefree attitude I’m learning is normal for him.

“Personally, Clarissa, I prefer your hair like this.” He gestures towards my mane, and I self-consciously reach up and twista strand around my finger. Silence fills the space between us again, but it’s comfortable and companionable rather than awkward. I sip at my broth a bit more and pick at the meat on the plate in front of me.

“I know you have more questions.”

“What happened in there? Wilson said it was…ei-eui-essi—”I struggle over the unfamiliar word, it feels awkward in my mouth.

“Euisa.” The way he says it makes me shiver, the little hairs on my arm standing up at the slight accent that coats the word. Funny, that didn’t happen when Wilson said it earlier. “It’s a state that all magician’s, with training, can reach. It allows us to access our raw power without having to chant or use gestures to cast the spell.” I can’t help but stare at him as he speaks. His voice is different, the gravity of his words starting to sink in. “In that state, we are not ourselves, our personalities are gone. It allows us to focus, to ignore all other distractions.” Nodding, I try to swallow, but my throat is dry, so I reach for my glass, sipping at the cool water. “Somehow, seeing you so panicked made me protective and set offeuisa.” He sounds just as confused as I am, and although I want to shout and demand explanations, I know it won’t help.

“Does that happen often?”

“I’ve never seen it off the battlefield,” Wilson chimes in, still going through his meal like it’s the first food he’s seen in weeks. “It was pretty intense, I thought you were going to blow us up.” He chuckles, but it’s not the carefree laugh I’m used to hearing from him, it’s an awkward, nervous laugh. It’s then I realise how much danger we had been in.

“He truly could have killed us?” My words are quiet, light, but I’m suddenly acutely aware of how close I am to him. Is that anger and power still there? Am I sitting next to a timebomb? Grayson turns to me, an unreadable expression on his face as he thinks over my question.

“Could you sense how much power I was drawing to me?”

Nodding, I shudder as I remember how it felt being so close to that much power, what it felt like when he touched my Goddess mark earlier whilst using his magic. “Yes. I’ve never felt anything like it.”

“If I’d released that amount of magic…” He trails off, and I see the guilt in his eyes as he shakes his head, poking at his half-eaten meal. The magnitude of his words is staggering, and I can tell he is waiting for me to freak out about what almost happened, but I don’t see it that way. If I had looked at every what-if in my life, I never would have survived. Uncertainty is the constant companion of a slave, never sure if you will live to see the next day, so what-ifs are useless to me. Putting down my cutlery, I push my plate away, suddenly losing my appetite.

“It was my fault, wasn’t it?”

“Why would it be your fault?” Glancing up from my plate, I frown at his question. Of course it was my fault.

“You said so yourself—your magic is different around me. Like when you healed me, it’s…more,” I reply, and Wilson actually stops eating and glances between the two of us.

“Wait, back up. I heard you mention the guards hurting you earlier, but they beat you so badly Grayson had to heal you?” Disgust lines his voice and I can see the shared look between the two magicians.

Grayson turns to Wilson, his frown deepening as he consults with him. “Yes, but she was healed in seconds.”

“That’s not possible,” Wilson mutters under his breath as he stares at his plate, contemplating what his mentor just said before glancing back up at the older magician. “I mean, I know your magic is powerful, but I’ve never heard of someone healing that quickly. Not even the healers can manage that.”

As the magicians discuss my recovery, I can’t help but think of the healers who reside in the castle. Some of the magiciansare chosen by the Mother to train to become healers, although it’s rare and most of them are needed on the front lines to help heal our troops against the onslaught of the elves’ attacks. All magicians can heal, but it takes a lot of discipline and hard work, so the healers are coveted.

“Clarissa, can we try something?” Grayson’s voice snaps me out of my thoughts, and I realise he’s waiting for a response. Looking at him wearily, I wait for him to explain before blindly agreeing. He seems to realise this and gestures towards the other magician. “I want to see if you can amplify Wilson’s magic too, or if it’s just me.” Biting my lip, I glance between the two of them. I am learning to trust them, but I need reassurances, and all of this is completely new to me. They want to use me in their experiment, but magic still makes me nervous. What if it goes wrong, or someone gets hurt?

Wilson nods in agreement, his ever-present smile still in place as he looks over at Grayson. “What do you need me to do?”

“Create a globe light,” Grayson instructs, nodding as Wilson cups his hands together and whispers in a different language. I can’t quite hear the words he uses, but I can feel the magic in them rolling along my skin as a small ball of white light hovers above his hands. “Good, now, Clarissa, can you come here?” Pulling my gaze from the ball of light, I slip out of my chair and walk slowly around the table. “Wilson, place your hand on her, directly on her skin.”

I do as he says, offering Wilson my hand and placing it in his as his face twists in concentration, staring at his light. As soon as he touches my skin, I gasp as a tingle of magic rolls through me, the light in front of us glowing so bright it’s almost blinding.

“Whoa,” Wilson murmurs, as he slowly starts to pull his hand away. The light fizzles into a hundred smaller lights before they disappear as soon as he loses contact with my skin.

“You amplify magic.” The hushed, awe-filled words have me turning to Grayson, frowning at the change in him. Although he’s looking at me, he isn’t reallyseeingme. “You don’t just detect, you amplify.”

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