Destroyer of Magic

Chapter One

Love is weakness. True strength lies in power.

—­Cillian of Braeg

No. We’re not doing this. Not Cillian quotes. I refuse. I’ll find someone else, another journal, whatever it takes. NO.

—­Ciara of Skael

The moment the Emperor’s magic deposited them in his palace, Ciara knew she was in trouble.

Okay, yes, she’d known that before. It wasn’t like she could have out-­magicked Aiden, let alone his father. But when the Emperor had cast his spell back in Skael, he’d been riding on Scorch’s back, having used mind control magic on the dragon.

But when they arrived, Scorch was gone, sent to some other part of the palace . . . or worse, somewhere else completely.

Ciara tightened her grip on Aiden’s hand nervously, just thankful she was still invisible. But she didn’t have the energy to keep the spell going forever, and she could already feel the exhaustion coming on.

“Home sweet home,” the Emperor said, glancing around as he flicked a smudge of dirt off his dragon-­inspired armor. “Skael just has a stink to it that stays with you for days, doesn’t it, Aiden?”

The prince nodded. “You’re right, Your Majesty. The farms especially had quite an odor.”

Ciara’s grip on his hand tightened out of irritation now, though she knew he was just saying what his father wanted to hear. Aiden had almost turned on the Emperor back in Skael, and only stopped when he’d realized Ciara hadn’t actually been burned by dragonfire.

“I should clean up, then, if it pleases you . . . Father,” the prince said, pausing before the last word. Ciara realized this was his way of asking to be alone, which she appreciated, since she couldn’t keep up the invisibility spell forever. She squeezed his hand in thanks.

“Yes, please do,” the Emperor said, wrinkling his nose with disgust as he turned to look at his son. A chill went down Ciara’s spine as his gaze passed right through her; he didn’t seem to have noticed anything wrong. “But not by magic,” the Emperor continued. “Not anymore.”

The prince stiffened. “What do you mean, Your Majesty? I don’t understand.”

The Emperor dug the armored tips of his gloves into Aiden’s shoulders, and the prince winced in pain. “The Revenants can be tricky, my son. What if they wormed their way into your mind so deeply that I can’t sense them? For the good of the Empire, I cannot allow you to use any magic whatsoever until such time as I’m satisfied you haven’t been turned against me—­against our people, I meant.”

“. . . A wise decision, Father,” Aiden said, nodding respectfully, though now it was his turn to tighten his grip on Ciara’s hand. “I’ll just take a bath, then. It’s been a while, but I’m sure I can get it going. If you’ll excuse me—­”

A smile slowly crept across the Emperor’s horrible face. “We aren’t done.” He removed his hands from the prince’s shoulders—­Aiden shuddered in relief—­and quickly drew a Draconic word that Ciara didn’t recognize. A chain with a crystal on it appeared in his previously empty hand, and the Emperor held it out to his son. “Put this on in place of your Seeing Stone. I won’t be able to see through it, but it will alert me if you use any magic, no matter how small. Oh, and it will also warn me if you attempt to remove it or go anywhere other than your quarters here without my approval. If any of those things happen, then I will know the Revenants have you, and therefore deal with you accordingly. Do you understand, my son?”

After a short pause, Aiden nodded, then released Ciara’s hand to reach up and pull off the chain he’d been wearing, which he handed to his father in return for the new crystal. With a deep breath, the prince then placed the new chain around his neck.

“Good boy,” the Emperor said, rubbing his son’s head roughly.

“Father,” Aiden said. “What will become of the dragon?”

Ciara could have hugged the prince for that, which, considering how she’d felt about him earlier that day, really said something. If she was to have any chance of rescuing Scorch, she needed to know where he was in the palace.

“That’s none of your concern,” the Emperor said, giving Aiden a suspicious look. “I will attend to the dragon. In the meantime, you’ll act in my stead for all official business. The Wyverns will be here shortly to escort you to the throne room, so clean yourself up, and try not to disappoint me as much as you did in Skael.”

And with that, the Emperor traced his spell and disappeared, taking with him any clue as to where Ciara’s dragon might be.

For a moment, she felt like she was drowning, couldn’t breathe from the panic. She knew she had to calm down or she’d be of no help to anyone, but how exactly was she supposed to do that? She had no idea where Scorch was or what the Emperor might have planned for him. Her own magic was nothing compared to the Emperor’s, and Aiden couldn’t use his without his father immediately knowing. This rescue attempt was doomed. She should have stayed in Skael with her mother and Meg to help them fight the Wyrms!

Except no, she could never have abandoned her teacher, no matter how scared she was. Scorch needed her, and she couldn’t let him down, especially not with him thinking he’d burned her and Meg to ashes. The one tear rolling down his face still haunted her.

Plus, Meg had Bianca, Scorch’s first apprentice, to teach her magic. And given how amazing Meg had been with the paralysis spell, Ciara figured they’d have Skael freed within an hour or two. They were fine on their own, but Scorch . . .

Not to mention that given how panicked the prince looked, Aiden probably needed her too, if he was going to be any help in rescuing Scorch. Ugh. Just that morning, she’d thought he was as evil as his father, and now he was the only ally she had.

Weirdly, having the prince to concentrate on did help her panic recede, so Ciara was able to force a smile before dropping her invisibility spell. Aiden immediately jumped nervously at the sight of her, which wasn’t a great sign.

“So,” she said, clapping him on the shoulder. “That could have gone better, huh?”

The prince winced, and she remembered that his father had just hurt him in the same spot. She quickly removed her hand. “Could have gone better . . . ?” Aiden repeated, his eyes wide with the same panic she’d just felt. “Really? Because I’m pretty sure we’re both going to be fed to the Revenants!”

Ciara snorted. “I just proved to you that there’s no such thing as—­”

“NO!” Aiden shouted, backing away. “You don’t get to say that. Not anymore! All of this is your fault! I never had to know . . . Everything would have been fine . . . Why did you make me—­”

Ciara sighed, then pulled back her arm and drove her fist into the prince’s stomach.

Aiden immediately doubled over with a groan, then toppled to the floor, where he lay in silence for a moment as he struggled to breathe. “What was . . . that for?” he asked finally, sounding more indignant than panicked now, which was a good start.

“I assumed your protection spell was still up,” Ciara lied, reaching down to take his hand and help him back to his feet. Thankfully she’d dropped the honesty spell back in Skael to save energy for invisibility. “I figured my hand would slide off or something.”

“You were there . . . when my father . . . removed it,” Aiden said, slowly standing. “Don’t you remember? He even said he did.”

“Oh, did he? I must have forgotten,” Ciara said with a shrug. She did remember, actually, but after all the times she’d tried to punch the prince and failed due to that protection magic, he owed her one. “I was just trying to calm you down.”

“Maybe use words next time,” the prince said, still holding his stomach tenderly. Someone clearly hadn’t been in many fights growing up. “And I was panicking for a good reason. My father knows, Ciara. Whatever this act is, he knows that I know about the Revenants.”

“The fake Revenants?” Ciara clarified. “The ones your dad pretended took over my dragon, when it was him all along? Those Revenants?”

Aiden waved her objections away, annoying her more. “That’s not important now. You—­”

“Not important? This entire Empire is based on a lie, and you’re telling me it’s not important?” She yanked back her arm, ready to punch him again. “Sounds like you’re panicking again, Your Highness.”