The Faceless Mage - Kenley Davidson Page 0,58

murder innocent mages.

But the princess grew tense, and he felt shock resonate through their link.

“Inform the local garrison,” Melger ordered, “and dispatch a battalion in support. I want him dead, Orvell. I won’t allow one of those monsters to terrorize my people.”

Who was the monster this time? A mage? Or some poor creature guilty of nothing more heinous than not being human?

The Raven had no particular love for mages, but they were almost entirely non-violent. They would defend themselves, if necessary, but using magic as a weapon was largely a losing proposition, at least for humans. They simply couldn’t command enough energy to sustain it.

Not to mention they were too few in number. If mages ever turned their power towards cruelty rather than helping their neighbors, they would be overwhelmed in moments. It was why mages chose their apprentices carefully and often lived apart from others.

Which was what made Melger’s vendetta that much more reprehensible.

Very likely, whoever he now hunted had done nothing to justify the attack. The mage’s mere existence was justification enough in Melger’s eyes.

The princess was listening intently, her eyes wide, jaw clenched. She appeared to have forgotten her response to the Raven’s nearness, even to the point that one small hand had grasped his arm where it caged her in. As Melger expressed his wish for his quarry’s death, her grip tightened until her knuckles went white.

But all the Raven’s dazed mind could comprehend was that she was touching him.

No one dared touch him of their own volition. Not in the last ten, interminable years.

And as much as he wished to, he could not focus on the warmth of her fingers, because the men on the balcony seemed to have stopped only a few feet from the archway.

“Take the archers,” Melger said. “It’ll have to be done from a distance. And for the love of Abreia, send someone who can find out how the Empress continues to sneak her agents across our borders. I thought we’d dealt with the last of her mirror mages, but apparently, there’s still at least one plaguing the world. Where there’s one, there may be more, so we must continue to be vigilant. Hunt them wherever they may be found.”

The princess froze. Her breath, even her heartbeat, seemed to pause.

“It won’t take long, Your Majesty,” Orvell said, beginning to sound more sure of himself. “This will soon be behind us.”

Melger snorted. “This one, yes. But how many more are out there? How many times must I remind the others that these boundary mages are too dangerous to be allowed to live freely! And the mirror users are the worst!”

He was building steam now, embarking on a rant the Raven had heard too many times to count.

“Their kind exist only to deal in lies and deception. If they are not already the Empress’s spies, she’ll poison them against us soon enough, and then they’ll bring down death and destruction on us all unless we can stop them. The other kings talk, and they talk, and they pretend to agree, but we must do something. Not just continue to discuss it endlessly.”

The princess still wasn’t moving. She had to need air, but her breath seemed to have caught in her lungs.

Fear suddenly rose from her skin to fill his nostrils, but it was a different sort of fear. It still stank, but it didn’t repel him—it enraged him. It made him want to destroy whatever had made her afraid. And as he confronted the oddity of that reaction, he realized that the princess was far more frightened by what she’d just heard than she’d ever been of him.

Melger and Orvell continued on their way, and the Raven listened as their footsteps retreated into the distance. The princess still seemed to be struggling to breathe, and the Raven had no idea what to do. How to help. He wasn’t even supposed to want to help, but he did.

“I…” she finally whispered. “I need space. I need you to move.”

He didn’t move fast enough. Her hand released his sleeve, bunched into a fist, and hit him in his fully armored chest.

“Back!” she hissed, cradling her hand against the pain as she realized her mistake. “They’re gone. I’m safe, and, and… you’re too close.”

As if her words jolted him out of some strange trance, his arms fell, and he took a step away. But only one.

He couldn’t bring himself to put any more distance than that between them. Not while she was still afraid.

But the princess