Page 49 of Research with Rivals
I rolled my eyes at the Vesten God and cut off his lecture. “Yes, yes, one doesn’t have to be the library’s golden boy to know this story. Even I know it. In addition to making the fae, you also sacrificed one of yourselves to further tip the scales in the continent’s direction. Hence, our confusion at your referencing the Osten God. Wasn’t he the one sacrificed?”
The Vesten God smirked. “Don’t worry so much about the why or how of the message. Just know that the message is factual. Zrak was to sacrifice himself after the creation of the fae, and therefore, he intended for magic to continue to be shared between him and his creation when he was gone.”
I guessed the spirit of the intent was what mattered. Lord Arctos indicated it was sharing. Yet, what he and Gabriel had described in the briefing was something more akin to taking. It wasn’t an enormous leap to realize one of these beings withimmense power must have sought more than Zrak’s original intent. A god or a Compass Point must have wanted more power than they were allotted and so decided to leverage this seemingly benevolent connection to do so. The whole situation left me unsurprised and a little disappointed.
This was why we couldn’t have nice things.
“So…” Ambrose attempted to pick up the thread. “If Zrak’s intent was to share magic, do we know what each of the other gods’ intent was? Presumably, you each gave some of your blood to create your fae courts?”
Ambrose was much kinder than I was. I had already concluded what had gone wrong in the magic—I assumed the worst of the participants. Though I was unfortunately confident in my assumption, as a researcher, I knew Ambrose’s method was the right one. My hypothesis was just that until it was proven or disproven.
Lord Arctos looked unimpressed with the question. “We each followed Zrak’s lead. He told us what to do, how to create the fae.”
“Essentially, any one of you could have realized there was room for interpretation and shoved in your own intent?” I asked.
The tapping of Lord Arctos’s fingers on the tabletop was his only response. Thankfully, our food was delivered, granting the Vesten God a brief moment of excitement at his first spoonful of beef stew before we had to return to the nefarious intent of one or more of his peers at the creation of the fae. “Luna was correct. This is delicious. She really should be the one writing that recommendation column, not Vincent.”
I laughed. That recommendation column was her favorite thing to read. It was what had brought her and Vincent together in the most roundabout way. I was sure she’d love to hear Lord Arctos consider her an expert in recommendations.
Ambrose and I also tucked into the food we’d ordered. As we each took a moment of silence, I considered our options. If we didn’t know the other gods’ intents, could we try to work through the magic? If the hidden intent was … intentionally to take … was there a way to work through such magic at all? Furthermore, if Lord Arctos didn’t think that what Ambrose and I attempted for our own magical connection was working, what chance did it have on the gods and Compass Points?
There was still another option.
“What about an anchor?” I asked. We hadn’t fully explored that possibility. Lord Arctos had been incredibly ambiguous in our questions about the object used in his ceremony with the Vesten Point.
Ambrose’s brows lifted. “We would need more information about the object used in your ceremony. What was it? Where is it now?”
“I want you two to go to Compass Lake,” Lord Arctos said as he took another sip of his drink. “You’ll find all the answers to your inane questions there.”
“Excuse me?” Ambrose asked, pausing the progress of his spoon to his lips. Something twitched within me as I noticed how full they were. Unfortunately, he chose that precise moment to look at me. My gaze darted away, hoping he didn’t notice I’d been staring.
“I want you two to go to Compass Lake. You have all the information you can find on this matter from the library. The Vesten Point can answer these questions for you. Then the only thing left to do is test. If I know anything about this magic, it’s that location matters. A place of importance to the magic itself. That means we need to test at Compass Lake, where the creation of the fae happened.”
“You’re sending both of us?” I asked.
Lord Arctos smirked and seemed to glance at some imaginary thread between us, although it wasn’t so imaginary to him. “I doubt you could separate even if you wanted to.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned back in my chair. “We’ll test on you and the Vesten Point?”
He nodded, taking another bite of his stew. “It will give you both face time with Carter. Then he can decide who he wants as his historian.”
I didn’t appreciate Lord Arctos’s smirk, given as if to remind us that the historian position still hung in the balance between us. He was enjoying this whole thing entirely too much.
“When do we leave?” Ambrose asked.
“Tonight. You should be able to make it to the Crossroads Inn this evening, and then I can meet you at Vesten House tomorrow. I’m assuming the two of you can move faster up and down the mountain leading to Compass Lake in your shifted forms than on horseback.”
Ambrose was looking at me with a hint of concern. I shared his worry, but I didn’t want to discuss it in front of Lord Arctos. My inability to call my veil cat on demand was not something the Vesten God needed to know. Ambrose must have read my determination in the hardening lines of my face. He glanced away, thoughtful.
All I could do was try. Either I would shift, or Ambrose would get to test the Vesten Point and Vesten God without me. I ignored the growing anxiety bubbling in my stomach. With a nod to Lord Arctos, I replied, “That works for me.”
Ambrose rolled his eyes at me before he responded. “That works for me, too.”
20
Ambrose
We parted briefly to pack for the trip. I hated that Lord Arctos was right. The thrum in my chest pulsed as we separated. I thought our conversation had gone well. She had told me her plans to find her fae father and how her mother considered him missing. The resolve in her features as she spoke, the sadness mixed in, it didn’t take her admission to know she didn’t share that with many. How could sharing it have done nothing to change the magic connecting us?
