Hunted Sorcery (Jon Oklar Book 2), B.T. Narro [digital book reader txt] 📗

when I investigated and found he had put a callring on Eden’s windowsill. I was about to notify a guard, but he must’ve seen me from the sky. He came back and muffled me. He clearly wanted to kill me, but he was worried he would wake up his brother. Eden must’ve put on the callring before he signaled her, because she—oh, oh no.”

“What is it?” Nykal asked.

“Eden floated up onto the roof. I think she picked herself up and that it wasn’t Valinox who lifted her.”

“She’s apparently much stronger than we realized,” the king said.

Remi nodded somberly. “Before she tried to kill me, she made it sound as if she had no choice but to join Valinox because she thought he would be winning this war. But she also apologized, and I wanted to believe her.”

“I doubt it was genuine,” Barrett commented. “If she has enough power to lift herself, she’s been using dteria for quite some time.”

“I still can’t be sure that she actually lifted herself,” Remi said.

Leon asked Jennava, “You spent more time with her than I did. Did you have any idea she was the traitor?”

“None,” Jennava answered with a guilty look. “I’m sorry, your majesty.”

“If anyone should feel bad about this,” Aliana said, “it’s me. I was the closest with her.”

“You?” Michael asked incredulously. “She slept with me, and I still had no idea! I even thought I was falling in love with her! No one should feel worse about this than me.”

“If someone was to blame,” the king said, “it would be me for allowing her in the castle in the first place, but blaming is not going to do us any good. Barrett, find out what you can about Eden Ledell, something we might have overlooked. I want to know how she could’ve come into contact with dteria and why she chose it over us. She’s still alive and now one of our primary enemies.”

“She was planning to kill you, sire,” Remi said.

He didn’t seem too frightened, or surprised, about this. “As powerful as she might be, the contract she agreed to would’ve prevented that.”

“Yes, but she was working on breaking it.”

“She can’t be that strong,” Barrett said. “A deninger has to have far greater power than a harbinger to break their contract. I don’t mean to brag, but there are not many harbingers who are stronger than I am.”

“Yes,” Remi said. “She was planning to kill you first, and then the king. It was what she told Valinox when he asked her why she hadn’t killed the king yet.”

A silence passed.

Charlie asked, “So our contracts do go away completely if you die, councilman?”

“That’s right. The ordia binding you to the contracts would no longer hold.”

“But the oath still exists,” the king said. “All of you agreed to protect me at all costs. Even if something was to happen to Barrett, I expect you all to fulfill that oath.”

Remi started to waver on the bench seat. Kataleya grabbed her.

“I’m fine,” Remi said as we all looked over with worry. “Just a little lightheaded.”

“You must rest,” the king said. “Everything you need will be brought to your room, and Jon will visit frequently to see if his healing might be able to help.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” I added.

“Just one last thing,” Remi said. “It had to have been Eden who put the callring in Kataleya’s room.”

“Oh, of course!” Charlie exclaimed. “She could un-enchant the callring when it’s not in use and re-enchant it later so Barrett wouldn’t be able to sense it. I should’ve thought of that. She probably had that callring for a while.”

“What about the curse—no, curses?” Michael corrected himself. “Eden and Aliana were cursed first when they threw a fit, remember? If Eden’s the traitor, how did she end up cursed then?”

Barrett answered, “She was probably experimenting with curses and accidentally cursed herself in addition to Aliana. It’s common for inexperienced witches, and it would also explain why the curse faded as soon as she fell asleep. Alternatively, she could’ve cursed herself on purpose to take us off her scent.”

“She seems to have some skill in withholding the truth even when cursed,” the king said. “I questioned her like everyone else, and she lied to me. I take that to mean that she had cursed herself many times before.”

“We were lucky,” I said. Many gave me doubtful looks as if they didn’t agree. “It sounds like the traitor was more prepared than any of us realized. If Remi hadn’t encountered Valinox, Eden would still be here. None of us would know it was her, and she might’ve found some way to kill Barrett, and then the king. That’s why we’re lucky Remi was on the roof tonight.”

“Jon’s right,” Michael said as most everyone began to nod.

“All right, Remi,” the king said in a fatherly tone. “I’m officially ordering you to rest now.”

She had finished her breakfast at least. Kataleya and Aliana helped her stand.

It was a sad, destitute feeling to look around as I realized this was everyone in our group now. Of the small number of people who were completely loyal to the king, there were only nine who had any skill with sorcery: Three girls, four boys, and two instructors. I knew we had lost only one member, but it still felt like we were so much smaller than before.

I wasn’t sure any amount of time would be enough to prepare for Rohaer. Something needed to be done rather than face them head on in battle. There had to be some way of increasing our chances of getting through this.

I could almost feel my peers thinking the same thing. There was a void, everyone desperate for something to be said. We needed a small bit of hope, something to cling to.

“Sire, can you bring another sorcerer here to replace Eden?” Kataleya asked.

Remi stopped to listen.

We all stared as we waited for an answer.

“It’s difficult to find a sorcerer who is willing to pledge themselves to fight,”