Page 86 of The Fifth Life of Alicia
“Lady Aerwyna,” I acknowledged. “Did you bring the stones?”
“I made them myself.” She removed a small pouch from her cloak and held them out. “Are they for Lady Alicia?”
“They are.” I quickly checked the rich green stones with my mana before handing Ark the pouch. “As we discussed.”
“Yes, Your Highness. Should I send for tea?” he asked.
Aerwyna held up a hand. “I’m quite all right.”
“As she said.” I waited for Ark to leave the room then turned to Aerwyna. “I appreciate your prompt visit, especially given my request.”
“No. I must thank Your Highness for your dedication to our research. Providing you with the magic stones you need is as small price to pay.” Her blue and silver hair hid her face as she bowed again. “I hope you don’t find my meeting too impudent.”
“Aerwyna, speak freely.”
She huffed. “Thank you. Are you aware of the lady’s heritage?”
“I am. She’s a direct descendant of House Vermillion and House Lovett. Why do you ask?” I sat down behind my desk and motioned for her to take a seat.
“I noticed something strange when I met her at the magic circle site. Did you read my report?” She lowered herself into one of the chairs.
“Of course. She was interested in the circles.”
“Yes. Honestly, it was nothing I haven’t dealt with before, but I felt something very strange when I shook her hand.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Strange, how?”
“I detected power from her.”
“That’s not unusual considering her bloodline.”
“I will rephrase. I detected greatsuppressedpower from her.”
I clenched my jaw. “Explain.”
“Lady Alicia has both mana and divine power within her—strong enough that she’d be able to use both should it awaken.”
“How is that possible?”
Aerwyna shook her head. “I don’t know. Historically speaking, the power of the Lovetts died out well before her mother was born, and women of the Vermillion line are little more than a carrier for their sword aura mana as it only awakens within males.”
I knew that. The Lovetts had sent each generation’s most powerful wielder of divine power to the temple since before the official formation of the empire, resulting in their power inevitably weakening in their bloodline until nobody had been able to use it at all.
It made no sense for Alicia to possess enough divine power that she could utilise it.
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“If I had one, I’d give it to you.” She met my gaze. “Mana and divine power are opposing forces—historically, those born of similar bloodlines have only been able to use one or the other. It’s incomprehensible that she could wield both without disaster.”
“What do you mean, disaster?” I slammed my hands on the desk and glared down at her. “Aerwyna…”
“I’ve told you everything I know about it. I’ve already checked, and we don’t have records of such a thing in Stein. We would need the cooperation of the Sada Magic Tower—their records are far older than ours, and they will have encountered this before.” She brushed her hair from her face.
“You know as well as I do that’s impossible. Their mages are against the funding you receive, and I can’t ask Duke Trelawney to override them because of the neutrality of the tower, no matter how he supports me.” I sat back down and sank my fingers into my hair. “I could ask the Emperor…”
“No, no!” Aerwyna reached across the desk, clasping her hand to a fist in thin air. “The less people who know about this, the better. Forgive me for saying so, but the Empress mustnotfind out about this. There must be a way to gain the information the tower possesses without incriminating Lady Alicia.”
“Is it really so dangerous?”
