“You knew another way out of that village?” My voice was hoarse.
Lorian gave me an indolent shrug. “You weren’t progressing with your power. I hope you remember how it felt, because we’re going to practice all night until you can be trusted tomorrow.”
One moment, I was standing, staring at him, and the next, I was flying through the air.
He blinked, but my hands were already wrapped around his throat. I’d launched myself at him, and he just sighed, prying my fingers off him.
“Save it for your training with Galon,” he said disinterestedly.
I’d thought I hated the king’s assessors. I hadn’t known what hate was.
Rythos hauled me away. “There now. Probably better not to annoy Lorian when he’s in this mood.” He petted me on the shoulder, and I shrugged him off. Yet another thing these men had lied about. How often did they need to prove they couldn’t be trusted before I finally understood it?
I narrowed my eyes at him. “You knew too, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t know all of his plan until I was caught up in it.”
I just watched him silently until he sighed. “He may have asked me to play up my fear for you.”
“You have magic,” I got out. “You could have befriended those guards, and they would have allowed us out of the town.”
For the first time, fury burned in Rythos’s eyes. “Once, I could have. Once, I could have charmed the entire town into doing my bidding. Now?” He let out a bitter laugh.
Lorian’s warning snarl cut through the air. I wasn’t surprised. He was determined to keep me as ignorant as possible.
“Keep your secrets.” I gave Lorian my best bored look. “Tomorrow, we’ll be done with each other.”
His eyes narrowed on my face. With a stiff nod, he turned and stalked away.
CHAPTER TWELVE
I practiced stopping time for most of the night. Even after the others had gone to bed, I continued to practice, stopping and starting Marth’s snores until my own eyelids grew too heavy to keep open.
I was the first to wake, a chill shuddering through me that had nothing to do with the cold morning. My stomach spiraled, and I sat up, hugging my knees to my chest.
“It’s going to be okay,” a gruff voice said.
Lorian’s eyes met mine. His eyes were still a little hazy with sleep, his jaw dark with stubble. And his hair was ruffled in a way that made me drop my gaze.
“You don’t know that.”
“You get to believe anything you want. Why would you choose to believe you will fail?”
“It seems so simple when you put it that way.”
He stretched, and I got to my knees, pulling Galon’s cloak tighter around me. Soon, we would be separated—likely forever. At some points in our journey, I’d longed for this day more than anything else. Now that it was here, I didn’t know how to feel.
I took a deep breath. “You said once I mastered my power, you’d tell me why I still have it. Why people like me are hunted.”
Lorian cocked his eyebrow in a way that told me in no way had I mastered my power.
I glowered at him. “Please.”
He gave me a slow smile. “Since you asked so nicely. Come closer, and I’ll tell you exactly how your lives have been altered, your destinies stolen.”
Given that I was desperate to hear his explanation, I complied.
“You believe the gods favor the king? Believe he is powerful because he has been blessed?” He shook his head. “Every time a mother hands over her child’s precious gift, Sabium takes most of it for himself. The gods play no part in your people’s suffering. What need do they have for more power?”
It was as if his words had stolen the air from my lungs. My lips were so numb, my mouth so dry, it took several moments before I could form words.
Maybe…maybe it was the king’s only option. He’d needed our power to protect us from the fae…
“He uses that magic to protect our borders,” I said.
Lorian gave me a pitying look. “Yes. But he still gives power to his councillors to keep them loyal. He gives it to the priestesses to ensure they continue the Takings. He gives it to his guards so they can hunt those whom he considers corrupt. And he keeps much of it himself.”
I couldn’t breathe.
“My father…” I licked my lips. I didn’t want to ask. Didn’t want to know. Because I might not be able to handle the answer.
Lorian was watching me with those inscrutable eyes of his. “What is it?”