AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ben met the king’s disbelieving gaze with a steady one of his own. “I swear it. Call either he or his wife, and they’ll vouch for me.”
The king pursed his lips before he turned his head toward one of the guards. The man nodded and hurried off. I hoped it wasn’t to order our execution for sullying someone’s good name.
“We will see if your words are true,” King Ramaal mused as he returned his attention to us. “Though with such a patron doubt may remain.”
Ben frowned. “The house of Sharif has always been an exemplary cadet branch. What has caused that to change?”
The king lifted his chin and frowned down at us. “Time changes everything, but if Prince Sharif knows you then he may tell you of his troubles. You may await his coming in your cells.”
The guards yanked us down the throne room and through the doors. Ben had a worried look on his face as we were led back to the dingy dungeon of the King of Kalea. We were pushed into our cells and the doors slammed shut behind us. The soldiers marched away and the keeper of the cell block returned to his seat near the entrance.
I plopped myself down on the hard cot on which I’d awoken and leaned my head back. The sandy wall was hard and cold, but there was comfort in knowing that Ben was just on the other side of them. “I’m guessing it’s not the usual custom of the king of Kalea to kidnap his guests and take their magic.”
“Quite the contrary,” Ben told me, and I detected a faint hint of aggravation in his voice. “King Ramaal’s predecessors have always been known for their hospitality to visitors to the island, provided they abide by the local customs.”
“Which don’t include sucking out someone’s magic?”
“This is a new ritual, as far as I’m aware,” he mused as I heard him shift atop his own bed. “I hadn’t heard there were problems in the kingdom of Kalea, but its naturally insular policies means little information leaves the high sand walls.”
“So what was that ‘thack’ thing the king mentioned? The thing he needs to sacrifice magic to.”
“The Thaqiba are the foundations of the magic barrier,” Ben told me.
I stared down at my upturned palms in my hands. “You really think that ball of sand is right? About me having magic without the staff?” There was a long enough pause from my compatriot that I began to worry. “Ben?”
He shifted again. “The aqara have, as far as I’m aware, never failed to find a source of magic.”
“So I’m not just getting lucky with using the staff?” I guessed.
“Apparently not.”
I turned my head to one side to rest my cheek against the wall. “You’re worried about me having magic.”
He sighed. “I wish the discovery had happened at a more opportune time. As it stands, we’re both trapped here.”
I snorted and stared ahead. “We’d both be trapped here, anyway, because I wouldn’t have left you.” I set my hand on my bare arm. “You know, it feels kind of strange not having that canister on my arm. Like I’m missing one of my arms.”
“We’ll be hard-pressed to have the king return it to us since his discovery of its magical properties,” Ben mused.
I wrinkled my brow. “You don’t think he can siphon magic from a piece of wood, do you?”
“Unfortunately, I don’t know. I’m not familiar with this siphoning ritual, and would need to see it performed to understand how it works.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Do you think you could understand it even then?”
A low chuckle escaped him. “While I don’t know nearly as much as Professor Impara, my mother wasn’t remiss in teaching me how to identify the intrinsic workings of magical spells.”
“Meaning?”
“I need only watch the spell performed to understand how it works, and perhaps stop it, if that’s in my power.”
“You mean if you can reach it?”
“In a word, yes, but such details are better left to places that haven’t ears.”
I glanced in the direction where the cell keeper had gone, and though I couldn’t see him I had no doubt his ears were perked up at our conversation. “How much faith do you have that your cousin will come for us?”
“All the faith in the world, though I wonder why the king has such a lowly opinion of him. Though the house of Sharif is a cadet branch, they’ve always been loyal to the family.”
