Wrath of the Storm (Mark of the Thief 3)

"Is Aurelia here?" I asked.

Mother licked her lips. "She and Crispus checked on you this morning, then went to the forums for some business."

I didn't ask what sort of business the two of them might have in the forums, together. I didn't want to know.

I stood and immediately regretted moving so quickly. My head swarmed with dizziness, and I fell back onto the bed.

Mother was immediately at my side, offering me more water from the cup. I emptied the cup and asked for more. While she refilled it from a pitcher on a nearby table, Livia returned with a tray of grapes and a loaf of bread.

"It's yesterday's bread, but I don't think you'll care about that," she said, placing the tray on my lap.

"I've got to make up for ten days of not eating," I said with my mouth already full. "I'd eat ten-year-old bread, if necessary."

Her smile came from relief more than happiness, and when she sat in the chair where our mother had just been, they both watched me eat as quickly as I could. Once the worst pangs of hunger subsided, I slowed down and stared back at them.

"I am going to rescue Radulf," I said. "And I know you don't like that, Mother. I know you don't like him, but I understand him differently than you do. I have to help him."

Tears filled her eyes. "Please don't. If you fail, the Mistress will have you."

"I won't fail." My hand drifted from the bulla to the Malice, assuring myself it was still there.

But that wasn't enough for my mother, who said, "Even if you succeed, then what? Radulf will force you to make a Jupiter Stone for him. That will kill you."

I wanted to argue, but I couldn't. For all its power, the Malice could not save me from the consequences of making a Jupiter Stone. Much as I feared that, it was worse to stand aside and abandon the man who had traded everything to save my life.

So I only nodded toward Livia. "Tell Mother that you agree with my decision. Do you want me to try to save Pater?" It was the first time I'd ever used that term for Radulf, and though I wasn't entirely comfortable with it, I also liked the idea of having someone in my life who might deserve it.

Livia stared at me, then at our mother, torn between us. Finally, she looked back at me and nodded. "I would come with you and help," she said, "if I thought I wouldn't get in the way."

"I'll fight better knowing you're safe back here." I turned to our mother. "And if I have your blessing to go."

"On the night he tried to create a Jupiter Stone, your father and I had a similar disagreement." Mother's eyes suddenly seemed distant, as if she were remembering him, the good memories and the bad. "He knew the risk to himself, knew it wasn't enough simply to have the Divine Star's magic. Yet he challenged the lightning because he felt it was his only chance to save us. You know what happened to him."

"I'm not challenging the lightning," I whispered. Not yet. Not ever, if I had the choice.

"You've seen what the Mistress really is. Do you think it's any safer to fight her?"

I finished the last of the food on the tray, then stood and tested my balance. I wasn't as strong as I wanted, but I felt the bulla's growing strength within me and I had the Malice. It was enough.

I wrapped the Malice around my wrist and immediately felt the increase of magic. It filled me with more power than I could hold, like an entire sea trying to fit into a cup. I gasped from the new weight of magic within me and was surprised to find myself strong enough to bear it up.

Livia stood and finished lacing the Malice for me. "Are you all right?"

I grinned. "Absolutely!" Then I leaned down and kissed my mother on the cheek. "I will return, I promise. But a dragon is calling for me."

Before I could leave, she took my hand in hers and gave it a squeeze. "It was never my desire to leave you and Livia in that mining camp. And I always hoped to hide from you the true reason for our family's draw to magic. I didn't want this life for you, Nicolas. Please come back."

"I have no intention of dying today." I smiled down at her. "Keep my supper warm. I'll be hungry when we return."

"We'll set out a plate for you and for Pater!" Livia called after me.

If he is still alive, I thought. Please, let him still be alive.

I went from my room toward the back of Radulf's home, where he had a small stable that I hoped would contain a unicorn named Callistus. Callistus had brought my mother here while I fought the Mistress at her temple. He should be here now.

Fortunately, he was, watching the door as I came through it, as if he'd anticipated my arrival. Callistus was an uncommonly beautiful animal, strong and lean, with deep blue eyes, a golden horn, and a coat of the purest white. Nothing created by the gods could ever be so perfect as him.

When I walked up to Callistus, he nuzzled his head into me as I leaned against his neck, wrapping one hand over his shoulder and the other to brush across his chest. The magic from the Malice lit within me when I did. Perhaps the power of this amulet was similar to the magic already within a unicorn.