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“No doubt by killing me.”
A chill ran down my spine as I twisted around and looked him up and down. “Then why don’t you use your wind magic to blow us out of here?”
He shifted and I heard a rattle of chains. “Unfortunately, they have bound my wrists with a chain that neutralizes magic. What of your gift?”
My heart skipped a beat. “What gift?”
“There is no time to waste with secrets, Millie,” Cal insisted as he nodded down at my bare left arm. “I know what you held there was the Prima Staff. The truth was very obvious when you used it to foil the plot to manipulate the thunder races.”
My eyes widened. “So that’s why you gave us that thank you after the race!”
He smiled. “Yes. It was all I could do without drawing more attention to you.”
“But why didn’t you have us arrested?” I questioned him.
Cal lifted his chin slightly and furrowed his brow as he stared hard at the ceiling. “An object as powerful as the Prima Staff has a will of its own. I cannot change that will any more than I can change nature itself. I merely desired to know how it had come to disappear.”
I shrugged. “I wish I had an answer for you, but I just found it lying on the ground.”
Cal turned his head and blinked at me. “Merely that?”
“Not a grand meeting, I know, but I guess the staff has simple tastes.”
A smile slipped onto his lips. “I would never describe anything the staff does as ‘simple,’ but I do see what you mean. I also know that the staff would not pick any person to wield its awesome power. You also must have the gift of magic.”
I squirmed in my bindings and my shoulders drooped when the effort failed to so much as loosen the ropes. “Not enough to get us out of here without the staff.”
Our conversation was interrupted when the flap to the tent was thrown aside and Gasric entered. He was followed by one of his men.
“I see you’re awake,” he mused as he stalked over to stand at our side.
Cal narrowed his eyes at the wolf. “You do yourself a dishonor by interfering in your host’s affairs.”
Gasric grinned. “SoonI’llbe the host and these pathetic wolves will be the guard dogs, if they’re any good at that. And speaking of guard dogs-” He turned his attention to me and stretched out his hand. My heart skipped a beat when I realized he held the reverted flute. “My men found this little trinket on you. It’s pretty easy to tell it has some powerful magic. A gift from your emperor, perhaps?”
I felt Cal’s chuckle vibrate through me. “Unintentionally so, but I could not have entrusted it to anyone more worthy.”
Gasric frowned and turned his head to one side to catch the attention of one of his men. The wolf strode forward and drew out a small familiar orb from his pocket. It was an aqara, a ball of sand that could tell if someone had the gift of magic.
My frantic mind had only one thought as the werewolf passed the orb over me.
Please don’t work.
I waited with bated breath for the familiar glow. The bright light I expected didn’t materialize. There was a faint glow from the orb, but nothing more.
“Should we chain her, Gasric?” the werewolf with the aqara wondered.
Gasric sneered at me. “It would be a waste of the chains to put them someone that weak, especially since we already have to lose one set today. Just tell those cowards they can come in.”
The werewolf nodded and hurried out. Gasric knelt in front of me and looked me over with a lustful glint in his eyes. “Pity you got caught up in this mess. You would have made a good mate.”
I glared at him. “I already have a mate and he’s going to find you and kick your ass.”
A crooked grin curled onto his lips. “You think a pampered pup would be a match for me?”
The flap of the tent opened and an older man with a crone of a woman slipped into the room. I noticed Gasric stepped back and hid the flute behind his back. Apparently, he didn’t believe in sharing the spoils.
The man was about Cal’s age with gray hair swept back in a becoming look had his face not had a permanently displeased look on it. He sported an elegant suit with the latest high cut on the coat and his black boots clopped loudly against the packed earth. A golden watch hung from an equally expensive chain and several rings flashed on his fingers, and I had no doubt the gemstones were real. He also carried with him a black cane with a round silver top. There was something strange about that cane. The surface wasn’t smooth, but seemed to have shingles along its entire length.
