I forced myself to swallow around the lump in my throat. “My brother is a healer. If he’d kept all of his power, would he have been able to…”
“To save your father?” He gave an elegant shrug. “Perhaps. At least for a time.”
I had no words for this feeling. It was worse than betrayal. Greater than rage. It burned through me with no end.
“How…how do I still have my power, then? How does Asinia?”
Lorian stretched out his legs. “Eons ago, this world was divided into four kingdoms. Two human kingdoms called Eprotha and Gromalia. The fae kingdom in the south. And to the west—across the Sleeping Sea—was a kingdom filled with people who had once been wholly fae but had split from their people during the Long War. They became hybrids, mating with humans and producing offspring with unique powers of their own.”
When I could speak again, I sucked in deep breath. “The hybrid kingdom was on the Barren Continent?” There was a reason no one traveled to the Barren Continent. Nothing grew there. And any ships that attempted the journey never returned.
Lorian smiled. “That continent was never barren. No, the hybrid kingdom was beautiful.” His smile faded. “When the hybrid kingdom was invaded, many of its people traveled north, to the mountains. Some fled across the Sleeping Sea on merchant ships or winged creatures, landing on this continent where they crossed the Asric Pass. Hundreds of thousands died. Those who lived made it to cities and villages on this continent. And they’ve remained hidden ever since.”
All I could hear was a dull ringing in my ears. My instinct was to refute him. To believe he was playing with me. But it made a sick kind of sense.
“How come the…hybrids… How come we’re not discovered during the Taking?”
“Your power does not belong to this kingdom. It’s not Sabium’s to give away to the gods, and it’s certainly not his to keep and share among his court.” Lorian’s eyes had turned icy, and his voice was tight with banked fury. I almost shivered. But he seemed to regain control, his voice evening once more. “The oceartus stones may take all human magic. But that’s not how they work for hybrids.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re more powerful than humans and your magic is very different. At a hybrid Taking ceremony, the magic is taken, the stone glows, and the priestesses warble their prayers, but the seed of hybrid power remains deep within you. And it replenishes and grows as you age.”
I stared at Lorian. Did I trust him? He’d lied to me over and over again. But at least those lies had been for a reason. I had no illusions about my ability to withstand torture. If I found out just what the mercenaries were planning when they murmured to each other out of my earshot, those plans would be at great risk.
And while he’d lied to me…even terrified me so I would use my power, his strategy had worked—regardless of how awful it had been.
He had no true reason to lie to me now. At least, none that I could see.
If he was telling the truth, I wasn’t corrupt at all. My power was different because I was different. Part fae. A hybrid.
I swallowed. “I know you know more. Things you’re not telling me.”
“An understatement. You want to learn more about the history of these lands? About the king? See if you can find a narminoi.”
“What’s a narminoi?”
“Their power is the power of knowledge. Unlike Marth, who can look back a few days, perhaps a few years if he is at full strength, narminoi can look back centuries if they choose. And they are unable to lie. Not about the past. The king has hunted them all these years, until only a few of them remain.”
The more I understood about my power, the history of this kingdom, and the royal family, the greater the chance I could free Asinia and find my brother.
“How will I find a narminoi?”
One dark eyebrow kicked up in that infuriating way that made me want to slap him. “I’m sure you’ll manage.”
Rythos yawned and sat up. “Some of us were trying to sleep.”
Galon was already getting to his feet. “We don’t have time to sleep.” He eyed me. “One last lesson before we leave. The others can ready the horses.”
Lorian pushed his blanket off himself and slowly stood. “Today, you need to wield your magic the way you were born to use it.”
My chest constricted at the thought of what was to come. If I’d been alone, I might’ve leaned over and hyperventilated.
Lorian just gave me that look he gave me when he’d set an impossible task and was expecting me to complete it. “It’s up to you to coax it out. To make it do what you need. Your problem isn’t a lack of power. It’s a lack of control. You’re terrified of your power, and a part of you doesn’t truly believe you have what I’m saying you have.”