Illusions of Fate

Finn looks exhausted. “It means we know who is commissioning those news articles from your father trying to sway public opinion and make them view expansion in a positive light.” He puts the gun back in the drawer and closes it.

I feel it settle into place in my head. The attempts to win public opinion via positive examples. The criticism of other countries. The delicate balance that exists between Albion and the Iverian continental countries to prevent any one country from becoming more powerful than the rest.

The balance that hinges on both sides having their own magic.

“He wants to invade,” I say.

“And all he needs to ensure victory is access to Hallin magic.”

Thirty

I WATCH THE DOOR IN FEAR. “WE NEED TO LEAVE.”

“I want to speak with Professor Miller,” Finn says. He’s still searching through the letters.

“He’s expecting a lord. Lord Downpike. Do you want to face him here?” I hate that I’m scared, but I am. It’s one thing for Finn to face Downpike on equal ground, but if I’m here, I give Downpike an automatic advantage. Finn will try to protect me over anything else.

Finn tucks the letters into the jacket of his three-piece suit, and we hurry into the hall.

“Hey!” Professor Miller shouts from where he’s turned the corner in a shuffling, unsure run toward us. “Stop! The guards are coming! Stay where you are.”

“Never mind that.” I tug Finn’s arm. We turn back around but then stop dead. Lord Downpike stands in the center of the hall. He looks from us to my father, a smile creeping across his features.

Finn raises his cane defensively.

“By all means, don’t let me hinder your flight.” Lord Downpike bows and sweeps an arm out to let us by.

I look at Finn, confused. His eyes are narrow, posture wary, but he walks ahead, keeping himself as a shield to me the whole time. When we come to the doors, I burst through and we hit the sidewalk at a run, passing through the gawking crowds, my breath catching painfully in my chest by the time we reach the portal back to Finn’s house.

“What happened?” I gasp, leaning against the wall in Finn’s dim hallway. “Why did he let us go like that?”

“I don’t know.”

I sit down on the floor, my skirts pooled beneath me. “Lord Downpike can’t really think a few newspaper articles will help his cause. No one would agree to trying to colonize the entire Iverian continent. Or even a single country like Gallen or Saxxone. It would mean war for certain.”

“He has been trying to sway public opinion in that direction for some time now. And it is not such a stretch to think they would approve. Not if Lord Downpike holds all the power and can guarantee an easy victory.” Finn slides down the wall to sit next to me, his shoulder against mine. “We have to stop him.” He takes my hand, staring at the way our fingers connect.

I lift our hands and brush my lips across his knuckles. “He depends on accessing Hallin magic to overthrow the balance of power, yes?”

“Yes.”

“And he hasn’t been able to get it from any of the Hallin lines.”

“They’re too smart, too careful. Cromberg knowledge is dispersed and diluted—even if they took dozens of our nobles, it wouldn’t matter. We rely on strength of number. But Hallin magical knowledge is concentrated, a vast and depthless pool that only a few can draw from. He’ll never get it from them.”

“Which is why he has been so focused on you.” I don’t want to ask, but I must. “Do you have it? The information he needs?”

“There are no books of Hallin magic in this country.”

I narrow my eyes. That wasn’t a direct answer to my question. I wonder if he’s seen the magic Lord Downpike wants, or if he knows how to get it. “You’re not telling me everything.”

“No, I’m not. I’m sorry. I think my parents died because of this, and I won’t put you in any more danger than I already have. Bringing you into all this is the greatest guilt in my life. And still, selfishly, I’m glad for it.”

I put my hand on his cheek and turn his face to look me in the eyes. “I did not choose to start on this path, but I chose to stay.”

“I don’t suppose, then, that you will accept my offer to send you somewhere safer than here.”

I laugh. “As always, no. I am precisely where I want to be.”