“Wards that are necessary to be kept up for a long time take a tremendous amount of energy, power, and concentration, and for a ward as big as is necessary for the palace, it’s nearly impossible for a single mage, or even a group of mages, to keep it intact. As a result, they rely on magic crystals to keep the wards working.”
She had heard of magic crystals; they appeared like glittering jewels and rocks and were heavy with magic, which made them bright and fluorescent. They were beautiful to look at and powerful to feel, but they were extremely expensive, and as a result only nobles were able to afford them. They were full of magic, and thus mages could draw upon them so as to not deplete their own energy. They could also be engineered with other spells to create a magical artifact, but Biyu was unclear on how those worked. Magic was still a mystery to most of the world and although the empire was putting more attention,importance, and finances into the research of it, it was still a mysterious field.
“There are a few wards on the palace, and one of those wards is kept in place to restrict us from using our magic. Do you remember how the mages, the week after our father was murdered, sliced our hands and took our blood? That’s the basis on which the ward repels us, because it has our blood,” Yat-sen continued. “I am not sure about the complexities of the ward, but the spell is being cast through a magic crystal. There are at least a dozen or so magic crystals being used to keep different wards in place. I’m not sure if each ward is for a specific purpose—like is one used only for us, is another used for protection against magic beasts, etc. Or if each ward is for a specific area; I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case, because a giant ward is harder to keep in place perfectly, and it would make more sense for there to be localized wards.”
She traced the tiny scar on her thumb pad, where one of the mages, faceless in her memory, had cut her delicate skin and collected her blood in a glass vial. She could still remember her stark fear, the rawness of her throat as she’d screamed at the top of her lungs, the way she had thrashed, and her relief when he had only taken her blood, and not her life.
“So what is it that we have to do?” she asked slowly. “Do you suppose we should go to where these crystals are kept and break them? Or …?”
“The crystals are swapped out weekly,” he said. “They deplete rather fast. I’ll spare you the details of the spell, but the wards are written on parchment and the crystals are placed atop them, and then activated. So we have two options. We can either find the specific crystal with the warding spell meant for us and we can destroy it, or swap it with a dud. Or we can destroy the parchment with the spell written on it. Either works for ourneeds, and our option depends completely on what we need at the time…”
Her mind was too full of all this information and she found it hard to keep up with it. How would swapping out the crystal with a fake help them, especially if the crystals were changed weekly? The mages would certainly notice the dud when they collected the used-up crystals, and would be sure to alert His Majesty. And if they didn’t notice, it wouldn’t matter because there would be a new crystal put in its place, and it wasn’t possible for them to continuously swap the crystals every week. The mage towers were heavily guarded by imperial soldiers, palace guards, and mages themselves. In the first place, it would be next to impossible to break in, much less every week.
And if they destroyed the spell written on parchment—either by burning it or tearing it—then the mages woulddefinitelynotice.
“You want to break the wards so that you can … launch an attack? That’s the only way it wouldn’t matter if they noticed or not.” Biyu couldn’t see how that would even work. Even if Yat-sen could suddenly use his magic, he would be no match against Drakkon Muyang, who was extremely skilled at magic, and who had used said magic to incinerate battlefields and left thousands of corpses in his wake. And Yat-sen also wasn’t a match for all the palace guards, the mages, or the Peccata, who would certainly try to stop him.
“There are many phases in my plan,” he said, as if reading the uncertainties playing across her face. “I understand it seems impossible, but if I’m able to use magic, and if I know a few deadly spells, then I’m positive I can at least match His Majesty’s attacks. Iama MuRong after all, and we are blessed with an aptitude for lethal magic.”
“What are the different phases of your plan?”
“I don’t want to get into too many details, but phase one is to gather information. I have a small network of servants and guards who are loyal to me. I’ve been setting this plan in motion for years now, and I’ve been building it up. It’s how I was able to send you a note. They give me information, but it’s limited, because I have so few of them, and most of them are not willing to venture too far outside their comfort zone. They will give snippets of information they might have heard here or there, but they will not spy for me or do anything that will compromise their position. It’s frustrating, but …” He shrugged. “I’ve also been trying to get in contact with the rebel forces, but I can’t trust them. Plus, they seem set on putting Daewon on the throne since he’s younger and more easily manipulated. Anyway … phase one is to gain knowledge and research. I need to find magical scrolls and books and learn how to actually kill the emperor.”
She inadvertently squeezed her eyes shut at those treasonous words.Kill the emperor. As if it would be that easy; there were only two of them versus the entire empire. Besides, finding a spell that could kill him wouldn’t be easy; he likely knew every spell in this palace’s libraries, and he probably knew how to counter them all. She couldn’t imagine being successful at this.
“But Yat-sen …” Biyu hated how small her voice sounded, how unsure she was, and how every word seemed to go quieter. She cleared her throat, finding her strength. “Where do I fit into this? I don’t know why you’re coming to me if you already have allies within … within the servants. Surely there are people in your network who would want to help you?”
“I have people willing to help me, but they’re limited in what they can do, and most of them don’t want to compromise their position. I will be attempting to get into contact with the rebel cause but communication is slow.”
“Okay, but where do I fit into this?”
“I need your help sneaking into the library and stealing books that can help me with my research. I would also like your help when we break into the towers and destroy the wards keeping our magic at bay.”
She was already shaking her head. “How can I sneak out of this room, much less the mage towers or the library? Speaking of … how are you able to use your magic? And how were you able to sneak in? And why can’tyoudo that?”
“Although it’s possible for me to sneak out, I have about nine guards on me at all times. I’m not able to move around easily and even though I would prefer to do it all on my own, it’s too risky. My guards are also wary of me and are extremely strict—I’m not allowed any movement, especially after I used magic all those months ago and got locked away in the towers. Since then, security around me has tightened. You, meanwhile, have one or two guards on you at all times, and your guards don’t take you seriously. And neither does the emperor or any of his men.”
It made sense, but a small, niggling thought in the back of her mind told her that there was one person who seemed to see her as a threat. She could still feel Nikator’s warm breath against her face, his dagger pressing against her throat. Her fingers slid up to the pinprick scab that was already forming where he had poked her.
“You didn’t tell me why you’re able to use magic,” she said slowly.
“This.” He came to his feet, twisting a ring off his finger, and crossed the distance between them. He held it out to her. “This negates the wards and allows me to use magic.”
It was a simple ring with a thick, gold band and a small, perfectly circular stone in the center that glittered a deep blue color. Almost the same color of Nikator’s eyes, but whereas that brute’s eyes were a shade richer, similar to sapphire, this one was a dull blue.
“This is a magic crystal,” he said. “Try it.”
Biyu hesitantly took it from him and held it up in the candlelight. She could feel the soft thrum of magic pulsing from it, but it was faint and not at all powerful like she’d thought it would be. “Why notattackthe emperor with this?” she asked quietly, still not willing to use the wordkill. “If you can use magic?—”
“That ring is almost used up.” He blew out a breath and raked a hand through his loose hair, which fell down to his shoulders neatly. “It can’t handle any complex spells that I would need and I can’t find a replacement magic crystal for it. They’re hard to come by, and my network … well, they don’t really have money for that sort of thing. And even if I did find a replacement crystal, with how small it would need to be, I would likely only be able to use one powerful spell before the magic inside of it is depleted. So we need to destroy the wards.”
“I’m not really sure if this is a good idea,” Biyu found herself saying, despite her racing heart telling her otherwise. “Why not use this ring to escape the palace? You can be free that way.”
Yat-sen’s lips curled back in distaste and he turned his face so he wasn’t looking at her anymore. Maybe he couldn’t bear to see her after such a comment, but it was true. Why not just leave this place? He didn’t seem like the type of person to covet a position of power, so why? Unless hedidthink like that; she had to remind herself that she didn’t actually know her half-brother, and this was the longest conversation they had ever had.
“We could escape, but then what? Be on the run for the rest of our lives? Should we flee to another empire, another kingdom, and leave behind everything we have ever known? I don’t wish that kind of life, Biyu. I wish to be completely free. I wish to be among our people. And … and I can’t flee, because then what will happen to my mother and her whole side of the family? Do you really think the emperor will spare them? Your mother is dead,so you may not understand, but everyone connected to me will be murdered if I decide to run.”
She had almost forgotten that his mother was still alive; she was the only woman among the emperor’s concubines, consorts, and the empress, who hadn’t been murdered the night the throne was usurped.
