The Bound (Ascension #2)(67)

Ahlvie snorted, and Maelia hid a smile. Cyrene just glared at both of them. Through the bond, she could sense Avoca had her own concerns about it, but her face was a mask.

“Do you have something to add?”

Avoca frowned. “You can’t go to the palace alone.”

“I planned to bring Maelia.”

Maelia nodded in agreement.

Avoca opened her mouth to protest, but Cyrene cut her off, “It will look more normal if two Affiliates are coming into the palace as a delegation with the Prince than with a whole group. I don’t want to draw attention to us.”

“But the three of us won’t be suspicious,” Avoca argued.

“You’re suspicious, Avoca.” Cyrene hated admitting it, but it was true.

If someone looked too closely at her, they might realize that there was something different about her. She knew most people didn’t believe in Leifs, but Dean had said magic was more commonplace. It could be dangerous to bring her into the palace.

“Avoca can go with me,” Ahlvie said quickly.

Ceis’f laughed. “Over my dead body.”

“That can be arranged.”

“Enough!” Cyrene cried. “Enough.”

“I’m just saying, if Avoca is suspicious, they’ll be doubly suspicious together,” Ahlvie argued.

“If she isn’t with me, then I’ll abandon the mission to be with her,” Ceis’f said.

That struck the nail in the coffin.

Cyrene sighed heavily. “Avoca and Ceis’f. Ahlvie and Orden. Maelia, you’re with me. End of discussion. We’ll split up the city sectors. Anyone familiar with the city layout?” she asked.

Orden sighed. “I’ve been there. It’s all laid out around the harbors. There are five main harbors and seven sectors divided by the river systems on the island—eight, if you include the palace at the center. But it’s a big island. This could take a while.”

Cyrene nodded. She was prepared for that. They would do what they could. “Draw up what you remember, and we’ll separate the sectors for each group.”

“Are we just going to not talk about it?” Maelia asked quietly as Orden worked on the map.

Everyone stilled and looked at Maelia. Right away, Cyrene knew what she meant but was afraid to acknowledge it.

“Talk about what?”

Maelia looked up into Cyrene’s eyes. “What happened back there? Everything that happened since we were imprisoned. I mean…Avoca healed Ahlvie. He had huge gashes across his chest, and a minute later, they were gone. Nothing but a fine line.”

“Gashes?” Cyrene asked, her eyes searching out Ahlvie.

He shrugged, and his eyes flashed that yellow color again. “A story for another time. It’s not a particularly bawdy one.”

“That’s the part you’re interested in?” Maelia asked, nearly hysterical. “She healed him. I study medicine, but this was something else. Just like with Prince Dean. He took a sword to the shoulder, and now, he’s fine. Then…the buildings and the earthquake.” Maelia shuddered. “Why have we not talked about this?”

Cyrene looked around the room and then sighed. “We have. Kind of. Back in Albion, before we left, I told you that I had abilities, and that’s why we were going to Eleysia.” She shrugged. “At the time, using the word scared me. Magic. I have magic. So does Avoca and Ceis’f. That’s how they were able to heal Ahlvie and Dean. That was how I was able to level those buildings. I’m here in Eleysia, trying to find people to help me control it.”

“Matilde and Vera,” Orden said knowingly.

“Yes.”

“If we’re really at full disclosure,” Avoca said, “Ceis’f and I are actually Leifs.”

Maelia’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor at that announcement.

“And I’m…I’m Doma,” Cyrene said with her chin tilted up. “The first Doma in two thousand years.”

“A…Doma?” Maelia asked in surprise. “Like the ancient rulers who subjugated our people?”

“The stories are a lie. Doma had magic, and the Dremylons killed them for it,” Cyrene said.

“Wiped out the entire race of Doma,” Avoca continued. “Made it so that magic was just a myth in as much of the world as they could touch. We thought all Doma were extinct until Cyrene showed up in our woods.”

“And you’re actually Leifs?” Ahlvie asked. “Like the creatures who steal children in the night?”

“Myth,” Avoca said with a grin. “We used that as our own protection.”

Maelia shook her head. “This is a lot to take in.”

Cyrene nodded. “I know. I’m sorry to lay this at all of your feet. I’ve been dealing with it for a while, and I just wasn’t ready to share the information. I was too afraid of what I was, and I couldn’t accept the fact that this was reality. But…now, I know it to be true, and there’s no going back. I am Doma, and I need to learn to control my powers so that what you saw in Aurum doesn’t happen again.”

Cyrene stood and stretched her legs while Maelia mulled over everything that had just been revealed. She knew Maelia would need time to process the truth. Cyrene certainly had. Orden was the only other person who didn’t know, but he acted as if he’d always known. It made her wonder about him more and more.