She already knew he didn’t really care. His jealousy was the shallow, selfish kind—he enjoyed knowing that she found him physically attractive. He liked having her attention focused solely on him. It was different from the kind of jealousy that came from admiring someone.
“I was merely curious what you’d been doing all this time,” he said. “It’s sad to see you wasting away in the middle of nowhere like this. Humans don’t live very long, you know. Perhaps you should think about whether this is how you want to spend your life.”
Something sharp and painful pinched in her throat, choking her. A part of her had hoped that he’d only been pretending to be as callous, cruel, and self-serving as the other Ysurans, and that he would reveal his true, kinder self when he was alone with her.
But she couldn’t reconcile this Neiryn with the one she’d known in Kuda Varai. He was no longer the person she remembered, if he ever had been at all.
“What do you want?” she said. “Why are you here?” She wasn’t certain whether she was asking about his presence at the house, or about his presence in the hallway with her at that moment. She decided on the latter. “You followed me out here. Did you come just to gloat?”
He folded his arms over the sun crest on his chest. “No. I wanted to give you a friendly warning.”
“So give it already and then leave me.”
“If you’re smart, you’ll take this seriously.” He stepped close again, forcing her to incline her head to look up at him. “Don’t make trouble. Do as Rhian bids you and don’t try her patience. Bad things can happen to uppity Ardanians. Don’t give us a reason not to trust you, and no harm will come to you.”
She watched him carefully. “And if I do give you a reason not to trust me? What happens then?”
He came even closer. Kadaki instinctively stepped back, but the edge of the windowsill jutted into her back. He leaned down, so close that she felt his breath brush her ear. “Things could get much worse for you, Kadaki,” he said very quietly. “We have many ways of dealing with people who defy us. You will not like any of them, I promise you.”
He remained close for a moment, sharing breath with her. Something had rendered Kadaki speechless and unable to move. She waited, frozen, her skin prickling, torn between wanting him to lean in closer and press his lips to her skin, and wanting to shove him away. She did not think he would stoop to physically assaulting her the way the Ysuran soldiers in town did to others—but she could not be entirely certain anymore. And even if he believed she still had her magic, she had no real power here.
After an eternity, he leaned away. “Good night, Kadaki,” he said flatly, then left her alone in the dark.
* * *
The digging began onlytwo days after the elves’ arrival.
The area surrounding the house became crowded with Rhian’s soldiers and Roshan’s miners. Neiryn used his seeker to guide them to a spot just outside of the hedge that surrounded the garden. The hedge itself was the first casualty. After glancing at Roshan for approval, a group of miners ruthlessly chopped at it and pulled it from the ground before tossing it aside to make room for their hole. Kadaki wondered how much more of the land would be destroyed as this process went on. Would the entire garden end up pulled up by the roots? Would the house itself still be standing by the end of all this?
She stood to the side as Rhian and Roshan called instructions to everyone. Eliyr wandered off by himself to explore and returned a while later.
“Are you aware there’s an anomaly growing in the northwest corner of your land?” he said briskly. Like most of the Ysurans, he’d painted his face with the pale, translucent clay mixture they used to protect their skin from the midday sun, in triangles beneath his eyes and in radiating lines on his chin and forehead. Kadaki could tell they each applied their clay by themselves, because each applied it in a slightly different manner. Eliyr’s was meticulously painted on, with perfectly straight lines and uniform color, while Neiryn’s was applied with a stylishly loose hand that somehow reminded her of calligraphy. Rhian’s was rather hurriedly smeared on in thick strokes, as if she hadn’t had much time to devote to it.
There must have been something in it to keep it from cracking, because it didn’t flake when he wrinkled his brow after Kadaki chose not to acknowledge his question.
“Further proof that there is something here,” Rhian said to Roshan. “Magical anomalies often occur near an axis.”
“Why is that?” Roshan asked.
“Many things can cause anomalies,” Kadaki said. “A rapid increase or decrease of magic energy in the environment, or a sudden change in the type of magic present, for example. Untamed magic energy can act in unpredictable ways and create strange effects when left to its own devices, the same way that plants in a garden will grow wild without a hand to tend them. On top of that, the ecosystem of magic energy in Heilune is prone to shifts and change. It is an element of nature not unlike the weather, with its own climates.”
Roshan raised his eyebrows. “Is this anomaly dangerous?”
“Not yet,” Eliyr said, slanting his gaze in Kadaki’s direction. “But your wife should have cleaned it up. It’s irresponsible to leave it. Or don’t you know that?”
Kadaki shrugged. “I must not have noticed it. You can take care of it, Sair Eliyr. Unless you need help, that is.”
His lip curled. “Don’t patronize me, human.”
He stomped off toward the anomaly. Kadaki watched him from across the field as he stopped in front of the glittering tangle of magic. He plucked at it for only a few moments before the anomaly dispersed. Kadaki had to suppress the annoyed growl that was creeping up the back of her throat.
“You don’t like my mage, Lady Kadaki?” Rhian said.
Kadaki realized the woman had been watching her with something like amusement. She schooled her face into a neutral expression. “I was just wondering if there will be any more anomalies. Sometimes they are an indication of something inhibiting the flow of magic in the area. It could be a sign that something is wrong with the axis.”
“Very astute. A good thing we’ll have you here to help, if that is the case,” Rhian said, giving Kadaki one of her usual predatory smiles. Kadaki didn’t reply.
“Youwillbe willing to help us fix it, if we encounter a problem?” Rhian asked. “I realize this is an unusual situation. It will take some getting used to, for both of us. But if you have any objection to working alongside Ysurans, I’d prefer to know now rather than later.” Rhian watched her in a way that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up.
