Eva nodded in complete agreement. She remembered Do?a Rosa, who’d taught her the same.
“If what I’m doing makes me a follower of Rahmagut, then so be it. I’ve lived my whole life as an outcast. This isn’t going to make or break me.”
Eva exhaled a huff of delight, her chest light as a feather. All this time she had blindly sought acceptance from people who were nothing like her, believing herself broken, a bringer of discord for her blood and the strange occurrences she attracted, when she should have been looking for someone like Reina.
“That’s exactly how I feel,” Eva said in an airy breath.
“What are you looking for with Javier?”
Inspired by Reina’s honesty, the truth came easily to Eva. “My family’s ignorance was like a prison. Javier got me out of that life, and he’s opening my eyes to a lot of things.”
Reina scoffed.
“But I don’t need him. If I can learn from… you or Celeste,” Eva said quickly.
“I’m still learning myself. But I’m sure one day you’ll meet my grandmother. People call her the most terrifying geomancer in Sadul Fuerte. There’s plenty to learn from her.”
Eva nodded with bright eyes. Reina laughed at her eagerness before turning on her heel and leaving.
As Reina disappeared down the corridor, a smirk tugged the corners of Eva’s mouth. So Javier’s strength wasn’t unique. One needn’t become corrupted or vile to be as strong as him. No—this woman was proof. And the longer Eva lingered around her, the more she would absorb those capabilities.
The mondongo was gone before she realized she was scraping the bottom of the bowl. Javier’s wasn’t steaming anymore, and Eva’s tongue curled with guilt. She glanced at the plethora of books. All titled with words like hermetics and dynamics and phenomenological alchemy. This was where she wanted to be, not bringing lunch to Javier—who didn’t deserve any kindness.
She opened The Power of Suns to a page bookmarked by its folded corner, skimming the flurry of ink until one paragraph in particular caught her eye.
Geomancia has been observed to manifest in different light frequencies according to the caster’s predominant trait. Further experimentation confirmed the appearance of the observable geomancia in hues of red for the dominant conductors, hues of blue for the logical thinkers, hues of violet for the supportive caregivers, and hues of gold for the inspiring promoters.
Eva tugged her pendant. Anytime she cast iridio, it came out gold, but how could she be inspiring? Javier’s geomancia was also gold. And whatever spell weaved in and out of Reina’s chest was blue.
The realization brought a smile to Eva’s lips.
She flipped through the pages and stopped near the end, on a terrible illustration made in fervent inky scribbles. A black goatlike creature with horns and talons and a wicked toothy grin.
A ripple ran through Eva’s back, and she shivered.
It was a crude drawing of a tiniebla pointing at the block of text.
No branch of iridio sorcery is as little understood as void magic. It is believed mortals can attune to el Vacío with the use of iridio. Alas, it comes with a hefty price, with some scholars attesting such spells can cause a fracturing of one’s soul. Those foolhardy enough to try either let the thirst for iridio consume them or successfully manage to take control of those we call tinieblas.
Underneath the paragraph was the scribbled phrase to rule tinieblas: Tiempo que pasa no vuelve.
Eva dared not say it, not while she was alone in this strange room with all the books as witness. So she tucked the spell book under her arm and went to look for Javier. She found him in their bedroom on the third floor, facing a dirty standing mirror. He didn’t move despite her bursting in. He just watched her through the reflection with eyes that were two pools of black spoiled magic, dripping tendrils of it oozing in and out of his cheeks, neck, and torso.
How did he end up like this? The instinct to flee bloomed from her belly, almost making her bolt. She swallowed the sensation and settled for reminding herself that she could wield the power of stars.
“Maior made mondongo. Eat it before it gets cold.” She thrust the bowl at him, the thick stew sloshing on the verge of spilling out, the fat congealing on the top.
“Eva Kesaré,” he said, though his usually handsome voice came out murky.
“You’re soiling my name.” Her lip tingled where he had struck her. “I told you not to use it.”
He turned from the mirror and stepped into the sunset light. Feminine lips and eyes met her, without the rot. “How would you like it if I told you what you could and couldn’t say?” he asked.
“You already do that.”
He ignored her and went on. “Besides, it’s such a pretty name. So, do you prefer fallen star for your magic? Or cosita rica from your adoring husband?”
“I prefer that you stop mocking me.” Eva stepped fully inside the room, though she didn’t dare shut the door. “No one else uses my whole name,” she went on, “so why should you?”
His eyes softened. He took the bowl and slurped a spoonful. He didn’t say anything, but his face brightened at the rich flavor profile. The garlic and onions and broth-absorbing potatoes. The corn that grew on Gegania’s surrounding land.
“What are you plotting?” she said.
Between spoonfuls, he glanced at her with brows furrowed in confusion.
“You’ve found Maior and Celeste, who are reincarnations of Rahmagut’s wives. What are we going to do next?”
He set the empty bowl down on a nearby desk, licked the edges of his lips, and said, “My brother’s witch, Ursulina, will be bringing the other damas to the tomb. We bring Maior and Celeste. When the time comes, I will make sure I’m the one Rahmagut speaks to.”
“How?”
“Big picture? By distracting Do?a Ursulina. But why don’t you let me worry about the details, and you just do your job of blowing things up? I’ll walk you through it when it’s relevant.”
Eva jabbed her index finger at him, stopping short of touching his chest. “We agreed on being equal partners. You said so in Galeno.”
He stepped forward so her finger came into contact with his chest. Eva withdrew to the wall.
“Yes, and as your equal, I don’t owe you anything. As equals, you will have to learn to extract information out of me. As equals, it’s in your best interest to stay on my good side.”
“No.”
“Why not? I am your husband. You signed the papers.” He waved his hand at the small bed and said, “And we are, after all, about to share the same bed tonight.”
She tried shoving him and sidestepping away, but the motion had no effect on him. He simply blocked her escape with his arm.
“Seeing as we haven’t even consummated our marriage yet, you should want me on your side,” he said.
Eva’s heart faltered. It was as weak as her knees. “We married for convenience. Not for—”
“Not for the pleasures of the bed?”
Warmth bloomed in her belly. She inwardly cursed her treacherous body for physically responding to him when hate was all she should be feeling.
“Not for the pleasures of conception? What about the valco bloodline?”