confiscated her belongings brought several books of spells to Zerna. The enforcer knew she was interested in ancient magic and hoped to make a few extra coins. Neither of them had any idea how valuable the books were, so he was content with the paltry sum she gave him. It was much later that Zerna found the hidden volume of forbidden rituals concealed within the cover of one of the books.
“This vague theory is why you interrupted my bath?” She arched her brows challengingly.
He stood beside the tub, staring down at her. His expression was inscrutable. “Have you formed the kwaris, or are you still trying to locate just the right participants?”
Concealing her shock was even harder the second time. Of all the possibilities, why had he landed on the kwaris? “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
He laughed, semi-hostile gaze locking with hers. “Isolaund kept detailed notes regarding her study and experimentation, so I probably know more about those rituals than you do. Isolaund disregarded the kwaris for the simple reason of not wanting to share her power with anyone. Her abilities were much stronger than yours to begin with, which gave her more options. Because of your limited skill, you need—”
“To get out of this water if you’re going to bore me with irrelevant history.” His eyes narrowed and she smiled sweetly. “Turn your back, or better yet, leave the room.”
Without a word, he strode from the bathroom but he returned a few moments later with her dressing gown. He held out the silky garment, making it obvious he had no intention of turning around.
If he hoped to intimidate or humiliate her, he was far off course. She had never been bothered by nudity, so she stood and triggered the drain. She took her time drying off then pulled on the dressing gown. “Shall we sit by the fire like civilized people?”
He shook his head and leaned against the vanity. “I scanned the outer room as I entered. You have an audience, maybe more than one.”
She crossed her arms over her breasts and shook her head. “How many of the devices are yours?”
“None, but only because I haven’t gotten around to installing them. You can’t be surprised that no one trusts you. Your behavior has been extremely suspicious these past few weeks.”
“What do you want?” she snapped. “Just spit it out then go away.”
“A kwaris requires two participants from each dimension. I want to be included.”
For a long, tense moment, she stared at him. Her current second had been coerced into participating. She didn’t trust anyone with significant natural abilities, so she found someone with massive stores of energy yet no way to access them. Such individuals were known as feeders. Indrex’s ancient blood gave him nearly infinite potential, yet his skills were rudimentary. Indrex had always been lazy, and developing the sort of control needed to manipulate powerful magic took time and dedication. Would the kwaris give her access to Indrex’s innate power or just the small fraction he had learned to control? It was certainly an interesting possibility.
“Who is your current partner?” he wanted to know.
Partner indicated an equal relationship. Her second was a passive energy source. Could she maintain that dynamic if she utilized Indrex?
They stood there staring each other down for a few moments. Their mutual mistrust could be set aside if the benefits outweighed the risk, but how did she decide without making herself vulnerable?
“Clearly you’re not ready to talk, so let’s see how well I know you.” Indrex strolled around the room as he continued in a lightly mocking tone. “You trust no one, so your partner is someone you can easily control, someone from a low designation most likely.”
The rebels were trying to do away with the designations. According to those ideological fools, everyone should be judged by their accomplishments regardless of the circumstances of their birth. The concept was radical and unnatural. Everyone knew that the lower classes needed to be controlled. They were like children. Rigid structure made them feel secure.
“You want power but not competition,” Indrex went on. “So I can almost guarantee you’re using someone with completely passive abilities like a healer or a seer.”
Or a feeder. His perceptiveness was starting to annoy. “Fascinating.” She rolled her eyes. “You can go now.”
He continued as if she hadn’t spoken, “And most importantly, they must be expendable. Once you’ve accomplished your goals, you will doubtlessly kill them.”
“If that’s what you think of me, why would you want to