“I told him I tried.” Aldrik shrugged. “I have been providing him carefully doctored notes based on my own to paint the picture I want him to know.”
“Clever,” Lord Ophain praised.
Vhalla ignored the guilt she felt for ever suspecting that Aldrik would share the intimacies of their Bond without care. “But, I can handle them ...” Vhalla thought back to the stones Minister Victor used on her after she was first Awoken. They had worked so effortlessly with her magic it was as though they’d been made especially for her.
Lord Ophain grinned broadly at Aldrik, clearly excited by her admission. The prince pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Vhalla, don’t repeat that out of this room.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Do you know how the War of the Crystal Caverns was started?” Lord Ophain asked her.
“Well, my father was a soldier during the war ...” Vhalla thought back to what he and her mother had told her. Aldrik was suddenly fascinated with a corner of the room, avoiding the conversation as though it weren’t happening. “He said that it was because of the chaos locked in the crystals escaping and disrupting the Mother’s day and order. That we were fighting the darkness. I read that it also had something to do with sorcerers meddling with forces they shouldn’t.”
“But why were they meddling with those forces? What prompted them to be there?”
Vhalla didn’t have an answer for the lord’s question.
“Uncle, enough of this!” Aldrik was on his feet, his hands clenched into fists. Vhalla could feel the power radiating off him.
“Aldrik, relax. I know when a story is not mine to tell.” The man’s voice was stern, yet it had a gentle touch to it. Aldrik stood rigidly for another moment before his hands fell limply to his sides. His eyes were tired and distant as he huffed over to the bar.
“The Crystal Caverns have long been a mysterious enigma,” Lord Ophain continued, ignoring his temperamental nephew. “Some claim it to be the gate to the dark realm that the Father built to keep our world separate. Others theorize it’s solidification of raw magic from when the Gods created life. No matter what you choose to believe, there is something about the properties of the stones that can be found there which can alter a sorcerer’s natural abilities.” The lord took a sip from his drink. “The war was started because people had returned to the Caverns in another failed attempt to claim its powers for their own selfish greed—powers that have the potential to warp even the strongest of sorcerers, faster even than a Commons because of a sorcerer’s magic Channels.”
“What does this have to do with me?” It was interesting history, but she didn’t know why it was relevant.
“Why did the West want Windwalkers?” Lord Ophain returned her question with a question. She was beginning to see where Aldrik got his teaching style from.
“For their magic,” Vhalla said uncertainly. She’d only read one book.
“To access the caverns.” The lord leaned forward with grave seriousness.
Aldrik nursed a drink from behind the bar, still ignoring them.
“Why ...” Her voice had dropped to a whisper.
“Because Windwalkers are the only ones, of all sorcerers or Commons, who cannot be tainted by the crystals.” Lord Ophain finally gave her the answer that she hadn’t wanted to see on her own.
“So then—” Vhalla looked to Aldrik and stole his attention. “You don’t want your father to know because you don’t want him to have this power.”
“If he can have it or not is irrelevant.” Aldrik topped off his glass before returning to his seat. “I don’t want you used by anyone.”
Vhalla’s heart couldn’t even skip beats at his words, her mind was too heavy. She had a power that could give access to an even greater, ancient magic that had the ability to warp the hearts, minds, and bodies of men. Vhalla gripped her hands tightly. Minister Victor had asked her to bring him a crystal weapon. She now knew why, and why it had to be her.
“But enough on history and dark ‘what ifs.’” Lord Ophain attempted to disperse the cloud that now hung over the room. “May I have a demonstration of your abilities, specifically this Projection I have heard of, in advance of tomorrow?”
Vhalla obliged him and was better for it. The wonder and excitement Lord Ophain had toward her magic helped Vhalla overcome the worries and fears of the Crystal Caverns. The war was over and people had learned their lessons when it came to crystals. While Vhalla agreed with Aldrik’s decision to keep secret the fact that they did not affect her negatively, she also decided not to worry about it.
They talked over dinner and into the evening. Vhalla began to contribute more yawns than words to the conversation, and Aldrik finally noticed their dozing companion. “You should rest.”
“Oh, no, I’m fine.” It would have been more convincing if she hadn’t punctuated the statement with a yawn.