Page 49 of Water Dragon
“I don’t know,” he said. And he truly did not. “If my father has gotten away, there might still be hope, but…”
“But if they’ve taken him…” She couldn’t finish the thought either.
Being kept in the dark was the worst part of it. They had been in the cells for a handful of hours already, constantly watched, but no one had told them what would happen next. Malcolm wished he could take matters into his own hands, reach for the water hiding within every rock and farther below the castle itself, in the fast-running river beneath their feet, and flush out the threat where it stood.
But it was hopeless.
Then a flash of white silk caught his eye, and he grasped the iron bars in wonder at the queen who appeared next to them.
“Maize,” he said.
“I must be quick,” she said. “The binding spell is a very difficult one to undo.” He had sent word that the waterlily was the marker to aid in her efforts, but by the look of her wide eyes, he could tell that it had only helped so far. “I cannot unravel it for you. You will need to confront yourself. There can be no resistance, do you understand. This spell… It isn’t binding anything that you hadn’t already bound yourself before it was introduced.” She was speaking quickly, breathlessly, worried about getting caught.
“What does that mean?” he asked.
“That you must be honest with what you want for yourself. You are only bound, Malcolm. The watermagic hasn’t been expelled. Do you wish to be its Keeper?”
He stared at her.
“Quickly,” she prompted.
“Yes,” he replied.
Of course, he did.
“If that is the truth, Malcolm, then you must hold it tight and believe it with all of your hearts. You must reach for the magic within you.”
“I’ve tried,” he said. “It’s like chains tightening in every vein. I fear what it might mean to break them.”
“Conquer that feeling. Push past it. Don’t fear it. You won’t break,” she said, sounding so certain that it infused him with a new sense of confidence.
“What of the other crowned heads?”
She shook her head. “They’ve been confined to their rooms. I’m going to try and free them, but don’t worry about them now. Worry about yourself.”
“My father?”
“I do not know,” she confessed. “I haven’t seen him.”
“That is bad,” he murmured.
“Malcolm,” she said firmly. “You have to do this without him. Without anyone. Understand? You can do this, I know it. Reach for the watermagic. Your connection with the elements is stronger than your blood ties to your own family. It’s bigger than you. The power isn’t the entirety of who you are. You know this. You know it’s only working through you. You’re itsvessel—trust in that. Trust that it will have your back. Choose it, Malcolm, with your whole hearts. It will hear you. It will come to your aid.”
He felt insecurity like bristles along his ribs. He had always relied on others, had never thought about striking out on his own for any reason, and putting his entire faith in the watermagic had never been necessary before. It had simply been. Now that he didn’t feel that unmistakable connection, finding it again seemed an insurmountable obstacle.
But Maize was right.
And he had meant every word he spoke to Leon.
He was the future Keeper of his House.
There was no amount of magic that could change that or suppress it. It was the ultimate truth. It washistruth.
“I must go,” Maize said. “Know that you have those fighting for you and if we can, we will free you sooner rather than later.”
He nodded, clasping her hand through the bars. The slamming of a door made Maize scurry down the corridor, disappearing from view into a shadowed alcove as steps could be heard down the stairs. The clicking of heels on stone followed, and a few moments later, Lady Shannon came into Malcolm’s line of sight.
“Traitor,” Iona said harshly from her cell.
