Page 6 of A Blade of Death and Magic

Since Dmitri neededto learn to defend himself, we practiced knife-work on strawberries. The sliced strawberries became jam, but Dmitri had the makings of a fine grip. He also learned to make a shield, so he didn’t accidentally cut himself, which was far more advanced than Chance or I’d been at that age.

We played Sea outside.

“Bad fiss!” Dmitri pointed at the rocks. He danced around them, stacking them up and knocking them down.

“I don’t think this is a good idea.” Elise sat on a lawn chair right behind me, our lemonades, and Dmitri’s juice on the table beside her. He ran over and had a drink. The early July heat had become oppressive.

“It’s practice,” I said. “So he can learn to only use a little bit of magic, rather than all or nothing.”

“Blowing up rocks?” she asked, skepticism in her tone.

I nodded. “It’s how my uncle taught my cousin, but I could never learn to do it.”

“Why not?”

“I’ve never mastered a working. Any magic I have operates on an instinctive level. What there is of it is mind-magic.” Which reminded me. “Kara has a talent for plant-magic. Did she tell you?”

Elise half-smiled. “I know she encourages plants she likes to grow; she did that as a little girl to all the hibiscus in the garden. And to the fruit trees. But when Robert tried to coax her talent into more usable directions, she stopped. What happened?”

“She saved a tree-bound spirit by fixing its tree. That kept an angry river spirit from killing a half dozen city kids who’d shot the tree.”

Elise sat up straight, eyes wide. “She didn’t say anything!”

“You could tell Robert her talent’s not useless… and their families owe you for it. The shooter, at least, would be dead if she hadn’t been able to do it. One of them was a Vernier.” I smiled. The Verniers were a powerful and important family, and now they owed Kara a favor, which was all to the good.

“Speaking of shooting, if you teach him to do this, won’t he use it when he gets mad?”

I hadn’t thought of that, and chagrin warmed my skin. Elise waited for me to answer, humor curving her mouth, the light breeze ruffling her loose hair.

“Maybe moving the rocks instead?” I conceded.

She laughed. Then she grew serious. “If you could sit here, there’s something I’d like to discuss.”

I settled cross legged on the ground.

Elise gazed down at her hands, choosing her words as if each one was a precious gem. “You know how much I care about Dimitri, how much Robert cares. We're worried too about his future. A possible solution, if you're willing, would be for us to adopt him. If that happened, he would inherit first family status and the protections that that gives.”

For a moment I felt as if I had been punched in the gut. A whole host of emotions rose, anger prominent among them, and then met her gaze. My empathic gift decided to let me know exactly how she was feeling, worry, love, concern. It stuck a pin in the emotional balloon.

I dropped my eyes. “I'm willing to consider it. Let me think about it.”

The emotions changed, not with triumph or anything that I might have expected, but deepened worry. The chance of me permitting it was inversely proportional to the likelihood of the two of us escaping, but it did allow for a backup plan for Dimitri. If I couldn't get him out, this would help ensure his safety.

“Thank you.” Elise’s comm buzzed. “That's Deirdre. She and her daughter are going to be arriving in a few minutes. If you don't mind, I'd like for you to be there. I need to get Deirdre's help pushing political buttons and I don't know that I want Melissa listening in.”

I raised my brows. The President’s wife and one of his heirs were coming here and I was supposed to keep the heir busy? With my extensive diplomatic ability?

Elise shrugged. “It's just something I don’t want Melissa gossiping about. And she's close to your age, though she's been pretty sheltered. I think it would be good for her to talk with somebody who isn't part of the political elite in the Capital.”

A laugh tickled my throat. “Is that permission to be rude I hear?”

“No. But it is permission to be truthful.”

This could be an interesting meeting. Dimitri and I followed her inside. All the running and magic had tired Dimitri out and it was time for his nap anyway. By the time he was settled and I made my way down again, I heard voices in the living area. Taking a moment, I tamped down on the emotion sensing as much as I could. It would be very uncomfortable for me if I could feel everything in the room, even if it was positive emotions much less what it probably was. Then I walked in.

Elise and a woman who resembled her so closely that there was no mistaking that they were sisters were both seated on comfortable chairs. A third younger woman looked out the window. She looked familiar. When she turned, I recognized her as the young woman I'd met in Durgion before I dealt with Administrator Greene. She'd been the leader of the group of bored young rich kids.

Now her blonde hair was slicked back in a chignon and she looked like she was ready to step into a political meeting. Dressed conservatively, much like her mother, but with the added flair of the couple undone buttons and a hem several inches higher than her mother's. To be honest, she looked like she was planning on running for office.

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