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“How do you know about that?” Clay asked in a hard voice, his eyes boring into Nik.
I expected Nik to make some half-mocking response, but when he remained deadly serious, my stomach sank even further. Was there really a large-scale blight I hadn’t heard about it? And if there was, what could it possibly have to do with Grey?
I sucked in a breath as I realized it had to be related to the meeting that had brought Clay and Serena to Caltor.
Hayes held up a hand to prevent any further words, looking uneasily at Luna and me. I tried to look as harmless as possible, desperate not to be kicked out of the meeting at this juncture.
Amara came to our rescue, however. “I don’t think there’s any point trying to hide things from Delphine and Luna any longer. Given His Highness is in possession of relevant information—and clearly intends to involve Delphine in the matter—our participation is no longer purely advisory. Involving our apprentices is only natural.”
Hayes hesitated a moment longer before nodding and sinking back into his seat.
“I hope you haven’t been speaking of this to others,” Clay said sternly, his focus still on the prince.
Nik actually laughed, his expression wry. “Who would I be telling?” My heart contracted as I thought of his lonely life, but his eyes hardened as he continued. “You don’t need to be afraid. I may be a reneger, but I’m still loyal to this kingdom. I know how to keep state secrets.”
To my surprise, it was Clay who backed down, looking away and nodding. It was a strange thing seeing these older, powerful mages navigate their interaction with a prince who was now an outcast. No one seemed quite sure where Nik should be ranked within the group.
“This blight was what you were meeting with Anka about all day,” I said, no doubt in my mind. “And you had Serena there, so you already knew there was a connection with Grey.”
Amara’s expression tightened slightly. “It would more accurately be called a suspicion than knowledge. We have no proof.” She looked at Nik. “Perhaps that is about to change?”
“How far has the blight spread?” I leaned forward, my past as the daughter of farmers rising to the fore. “How many different crops can it infect? Is it a new one?” I couldn’t quite keep the panic from my voice.
Blight was rarely an issue for farmers—not when the kingdom was full of people with a plants affinity. But every now and then a new blight arose, one resistant to plants power. Guild mages were always called in for such cases, and thankfully they had always been able to get it under control in the past. Once they had properly studied and defeated the new blight, they would train the less powerful members of their affinity in techniques that would keep it away. Acts of service such as these were among the many reasons the Guild was able to adopt such a high and mighty attitude. I might resent them, but I couldn’t deny that the kingdom needed their power.
But Clay, Hayes, and Amara weren’t plants mages. And neither was Master Anka. If they were being called in for consultations with her on the topic, then this wasn’t just a simple blight. How many farmers had already been affected? And what did Grey have to do with it?
If there really was a blight beyond the control of the plants mages, then the whole kingdom could be in dire trouble. An untamed blight could sweep through vast stretches of crops.
I caught Nik watching me, a hint of concern in his eyes. I took a deep breath and forced myself to relax, loosening my shoulders and unclenching my hands. Whatever was going on, there were clearly far more powerful mages than me worrying about it. I had to trust they would find a solution.
“So far it’s contained to the north,” Amara said. “But it isn’t acting like a usual blight. It’s been appearing on unconnected farms, and no one can identify a link. The plants mages can’t see any obvious signs of tampering, but they also haven’t been able to drive it out.”
I put my hand to my mouth, my eyes wide. “What do you mean they haven’t been able to drive it out?”
It was one thing for the Guild to still be working on a method of suppression that could be implemented by someone with a weak ability, but it was another thing not to be able to do it themselves.
“Enough fields have had to be burned that the king and Triumvirate are getting worried,” Hayes said. “We’re too close to harvest for there to be time for replanting, and the kingdom could find itself short on food over winter if we have to burn any more.”
“It’s that bad?” Luna whispered, her face pale.
“Normally the plants affinity would handle blights on its own, and we wouldn’t be involved,” Amara said. “But ever since Grey left Caltor, Anka has been gathering any hint of his movements, however small or unreliable. And one of her law keepers noticed a correlation between sightings of Grey and the locations where the blight has been appearing.”
I gasped. “Grey is somehow causing the blight? But he’s a healer! How is that possible? And shouldn’t the plants mages be able to tell if it’s an unnatural phenomenon?”
“It does seem impossible.” Clay steepled his hands and used them to prop up his chin. “We discussed it in extensive detail yesterday, and Hayes, Anka, and I are all in agreement. A healer couldn’t possibly use their power to spread a blight among crops. They could possibly unleash a disease in an animal population, but even that is by no means certain. And with plants, it’s simply impossible.”
I nodded slowly, processing his words. At least now I knew why Clay of all people had been called in. He might have chosen to set up a pet clinic in a small city, but he was clearly powerful and well-respected in our affinity. And from the way he spoke of Anka, I suspected he knew her well—and might even have trained in law keeping beside her at some point.
“So it’s not Grey,” I said, strangely disappointed. I preferred an enemy we could fight to a natural blight that was beyond our control.
“Not directly, it would seem,” Amara said. “And unfortunately Serena never heard Grey or his people make even the smallest allusion to a blight. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a connection.” Her shrewd eyes dwelt on Nik. “We weren’t willing to discount it earlier today, and now it seems we were right.”
“I believe you are,” Nik said. “On both counts. Grey hasn’t been spreading the blight. He couldn’t possibly be. But I’m convinced he knows something about it.”
“You have a plants seed,” Clay said. “Have you examined the blight for yourself? Did you notice anything odd about it? I know some of the most powerful mages of your affinity have been sent out from the capital, but…”
Nik shook his head. “I haven’t had the chance to see it for myself. I was following Grey, and he always arrived after the fields had been burned and the capital mages had departed.”
