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  “What if they weren’t after something in the hall?” Carth asked.

  “Many seek power, Ms. Rel. These attackers sought to claim the knowledge the A’ras have gained over the centuries, though such knowledge would not help them reach it themselves. It is as much about the technique as it is the practitioner. If they don’t select the right person, they cannot use the power in the same way.”

  Carth wondered if the Hjan had any interest in using the power the same way the A’ras did, or if they thought to use it for a different purpose. But she also wondered if perhaps chasing power was not the reason for the attack. When the Hjan had attacked before—when they had come for her mother and then tried to collect the children—had that been about power, or was there some other reason? Carth hadn’t known, and Jhon hadn’t known, and now Felyn was dead, killed by her hand and with magic she still didn’t know how to control.

  “Was it the Hjan again?” she asked.

  Invar didn’t answer.

  “It felt the same as the last one, but Avera was concerned about the Reshian. Why?”

  “As one of the ashai, that is none of your concern, Ms. Rel,” Invar said.

  What could she say? She wanted to know what had happened, if only because she’d been involved in it. “I…”

  “Master Invar.”

  Carth looked over to see a pair of maroon-sashed A’ras approach Invar. Both wore scarves around their necks, and one of the men had a long curved sword with a black blade hanging from his belt. The other wore a row of knives. Carth hadn’t seen either of them before, but Invar seemed to recognize them.

  “What is it, Jonah?”

  The man with the curved sword took a deep breath as he straightened his back. “Master Harrison asked that you come evaluate the integrity of the wall. We have repaired the breach, but he requests that someone with your ability ensure that it is secure.” There was a hint of an edge to Jonah’s tone that made Carth wonder if he believed Invar would offer anything that he didn’t.

  “You may tell Master Harrison that I will visit the breach soon. Keep your men stationed there until I arrive.”

  “Is that necessary? The breach has been repaired, and there isn’t—”

  “Repaired, but is it secured?” Invar asked. “The entire wall needs to be evaluated. Such breaches should not have been possible, or do you not remember the lessons I taught you when you were still one of the ashai?”

  Jonah nodded curtly and quickly. “I remember them well, Master Invar, which is why I think that you can trust the work I placed.”

  Invar cocked his head to the side. “I suspect that you do. That doesn’t change the fact that I will check them as Master Harrison has requested.”

  Jonah glanced at Carth. His eyes narrowed and then he hurried away along with the other A’ras. “Now, Ms. Rel,” Invar began when they had departed, “I remain curious what you think of the attack.”

  Carth looked over at the palace, wishing she had something profound to say and feeling completely at a loss. How had the attack even happened in the first place?

  “How did they manage to get past the walls and the protections you placed there?” she asked.

  “They were placed there by other masters besides only myself, but yes, the protections should have kept them out. The Hjan are one of the reasons such protections exist in the first place.” Invar guided them away from the palace, all the while keeping his attention on the building.

  Carth could make out the focus in his eyes, and the concern that covered his face. He held on to power the entire time, and it burned within her blood, calling to her. Without meaning to, she allowed some of her magic to seep forward.

  “How?” Carth asked.

  Invar shook his head. “If this is the Hjan, it would be because they continue to learn new tricks, Ms. Rel, much as we must continue to develop skills. If this is something else…” His frown deepened. “Return to the cosak,” he said, as if deciding. “This is not a place for the ashai.”

  He strode away from them, leaving Carth staring after him. Alison, for one of the rare times, remained silent. After Invar disappeared, she turned to Carth.

  “Do you think we’re safe here?” she asked.

  Carth stared at the missing section of the palace wall. If it was anything like what had happened with the part around the yard, the masters would see it repaired quickly, whether using their magic or employing a fleet of masons.

  The question troubled her. As much as it irritated her to remain on the palace grounds, they had always been a place of safety while the ashai studied. Now that safety was gone, torn from them.

  “Will they attack again?” Alison asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Can you tell when they might? You knew when it happened this time, didn’t you?”

  Carth nodded. “I feel it. That’s why I got sick, I think.”

  “You’ll let me know if you feel sick again?”

  Carth tried to smile at her reassuringly, but what good would telling Alison do? They weren’t talented enough to stop an attack on the grounds. All Carth could do was hide. And if the A’ras magic held, she wouldn’t even be able to use the shadows to do it.

  “Will you?” Alison pressed.

  Carth could only nod.

  7

  Most remained on edge over the next few days. Few spoke about the attack, though those who did looked at Carth a little differently than before. No longer did she hear murmurs about letting the masters take care of an attacker, or boasts that others would have managed to fight off such an attack. Now she heard murmurs of “lucky” and “blessed.” The last reminded her too much of what Jhon had claimed of her, and Carth no longer felt that she was shadow blessed.

  Invar found her early in the morning on her way to the lecture hall. He wore a sash of maroon around his waist, almost a belt, pulling in his long, flowing shirt. Wrinkles lined the corners of his eyes and his face looked hollowed, as if he hadn’t slept much over the last few days.

  “We need to talk, Ms. Rel.”

  Carth looked around, but none of the other students were around. Even Alison hadn’t come to her room this morning, something she usually did when the sun first started creeping through the windows.

  “What do you want to talk to me about?”

  Invar motioned for her to follow. As she glanced once more toward the lecture hall, she saw Alison. Her friend offered her a reassuring smile, but it did nothing to shake the jittery sense she had, the nerves that left her stomach fluttering, at least in a way that was different from what she’d felt when the Hjan had attacked.

  “It is time that we speak about the last attack,” Invar said as they moved away from the lecture hall. Carth caught a glimpse of Samis and saw him frown as he realized that she walked with Invar. Likely he thought Invar was offering to teach her, which was nearly as bad as some of the other rumors that had been spreading about her.

  “The one on the palace?”

  Invar glanced over. “The palace. You knew we were attacked.”

  Carth swallowed. Did Invar think she somehow had something to do with the attack? “I… I sensed something around the same time as the attack,” she said carefully.

  Invar paused. “What did you sense, Ms. Rel? Is it the same as what you sense with the A’ras?”

  Carth wished she had never said anything about what she detected with the A’ras. It did nothing other than draw attention to her, and she wanted nothing more than to hide from attention like that. Especially when it came from the masters.

  “It wasn’t the same.”

  “Describe it, please.”

  It wasn’t so much a request as it was a command. “With the A’ras, I feel a… a burning inside when power is used.”

  He tipped his head toward her. “Do you feel this now?”

  Carth shook her head.

  “And now?”

  The steady sense of A’ras magic used started to build, and she could feel it as it radiated from
Invar. He pulled on significant power, leaving Carth’s mouth dry, knowing there was nothing she could do to oppose that kind of strength. It was a wonder the Hjan had fared as well as he had against Invar.

  She nodded.

  “Interesting.” The power dissipated. “What do you detect with the Hjan?”

  She swallowed again. “With the Hjan, I think it’s tied to the flickering. At the wall, when he flickered, I felt it as a rolling nausea. When they attacked the palace, I felt it the same, only much worse.”

  “There were more attackers,” Invar admitted. “And three Hjan, if what I can trace is correct.”

  By stating it that way, did he imply there were other attackers? “How were they repelled?”

  Invar pressed his lips together in a deepening frown. “I am not without capabilities, Ms. Rel.”

  “I didn’t mean—”

  He laughed then, disarming her. “I know you didn’t mean anything by it. I find it intriguing that you can detect A’ras magic, Ms. Rel.”

  “But the masters—”

  “Most have other ways of detecting magic, but few possess what you describe. You have a unique gift, it would seem.”

  He motioned her to follow, and she realized that he led her toward the palace. Carth glanced toward the distant sight of the lecture hall, for the first time longing to join the other ashai, knowing that rumors of Invar calling her away were already spreading. There was nothing for her to do but follow.

  Invar stopped outside the palace. The light of the early-morning sun shone over the top of the wall, sending streaks of orange and red along the walls. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, staring at the damaged section of the palace. Stonework had already begun, but it was slow. In spite of that, Carth felt the power emanating from the palace, a surge of power that told her the A’ras masters had placed protections upon the walls.

  “What do you sense here, Ms. Rel?”

  “You’ve placed protections on the palace,” she answered. She didn’t even bother trying to obscure what she could sense. What good would that do her with one of the masters? He’d already discovered enough about what she could do to make it uncomfortable for her.

  “Did you notice them before?”

  Carth tried to remember what the palace had felt like in the past. What had she noticed? Was there power mixed into the palace itself, or had it only been in the wall surrounding the grounds? “I don’t think so,” she said.

  He started forward, motioning for her to follow. Invar weaved through fallen debris, the scattered and broken fragments of the shattered wall, but there was nothing else here. Only the damage to the structure. Carth hadn’t come this close since the attack, not wanting to risk the ire of the masters, but now that she was here, she would have expected to see more than only stone.

  “They didn’t damage anything other than the structure,” she said softly.

  Invar studied her. “And why do you think that is?”

  Carth touched a section of the stone, letting her fingers run across it. As she did, she recognized the strength and the power that flowed through it, practically humming within. “There was another barrier here,” she said. “They peeled away the stone, but that was all they could reach.”

  “Very good, Ms. Rel. I am impressed that you can pick up so much as only ashai.”

  Carth didn’t know whether she should take the comment as a compliment or whether she should fear that Invar suspected she had another motive. “That’s what I detect now, isn’t it?”

  Invar nodded. “The protection you detect isn’t new, but it was hidden. The stone had protections of its own, but those were destroyed, much like the protections within the wall were circumvented. They knew about those protections. They didn’t know about the additional barrier when they attacked the last time. They will when they come again.”

  “You expect the Hjan to come again?”

  “Them or others. I expect them to continue their attacks until they’re successful. Either that or we defeat them.”

  Carth thought about the way she’d seen the man move, the flickering way he’d appeared and disappeared. If the Hjan could move in such a way, how would the A’ras expect to keep them from the palace? If the magic in the walls and the magic the A’ras had placed inside the palace couldn’t do it, what hope did they have?

  Invar picked his way through the pile of rock and reached the open section of the wall. Carth followed and stood at his side, peering over the rebuilt section, where she could see into the palace. Masons worked along the wall, hurrying out of the way to give the master space when Invar approached.

  “What do you see here?” he asked.

  “The palace,” she answered quickly.

  Invar looked at her, disappointment painting his face. “Yes. The palace. Do you think you can be more specific, Ms. Rel?”

  Carth stared into the opening, wondering what Invar wanted her to see. The other side led into a long hallway. Lanterns hung on walls adorned with paintings. Carth had never seen the hall before, but then she had only been in the palace one other time, and that had been to reach the Master Hall. “I don’t know. It’s different than where you brought me,” she said.

  “It is. What makes it different?”

  She knew he tested her, but didn’t know why. What did it matter what she saw on this side of the wall? The damage had been done to the palace, and from what Invar said, the masters had managed to protect it.

  “You said there were three masters here, and that was how you managed to protect the palace,” she said carefully. “Avera, Lyanna, and yourself. But I would have thought you would have been in the Master Hall.”

  “Why is that important?” he asked.

  It wasn’t, she didn’t think. “This doesn’t look like Master Hall is all. The decorations are finer, as is the gilding along the doors, and the gold to the lanterns…” Carth gasped, realizing what she thought Invar intended for her to see. “This is the royal family’s quarters, isn’t it?”

  Invar’s face darkened. “You’re every bit as observant as I’ve been led to believe,” he said softly. “Yes. This would be the quarters for the Alisant family, the founders of Nyaesh. Had we not placed a separate protective layer, the Hjan would have broken into the palace and would have managed to run free.”

  “I thought you said they wanted to take something.”

  “Oh, I think they did want that. We managed to suppress it.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  Invar motioned for her to follow as he weaved away from the rocks. “It all revolves around the purpose of the Hjan.”

  “They collect power. Magic.”

  “That is only a part of what they do, and not all of the Hjan seek that power. Others have a different role.”

  “Such as?”

  Invar turned to her. “They are assassins.”

  Carth gasped again. “You think the Hjan attacked to kill members of the royal family?”

  “I don’t know why they broke in, but they subjected themselves to a significant risk coming here. They would have needed to find a way to break through our protections, so coming here risked exposing what they had learned.”

  “Now that you’ve stopped them?”

  “I don’t know that we stopped them at all,” Invar said.

  “But they didn’t get past the barrier!” This close to it, Carth was much more aware of it than she had been when standing even a few feet farther back. With each step away from the palace, the sense of the invisible barrier began to fade, eventually leaving her with little more than a steady tingling beneath her skin.

  “They did not, but I question whether they expected to. One attacker came the first time, and we managed to fend him off. He seemed to have little challenge escaping us, almost as if he expected that he wouldn’t make it very far onto the palace grounds before he was caught. Then three more attacked. This time, they managed to get quite a bit farther onto the grounds, even penetrating the palace, and esca
ped before we were able to reach them. If that was their attack, wouldn’t they have pressed harder? Would they not have attempted to fight? Yet they did not. They turned as soon as the hidden barrier we’d placed within the palace was exposed.”

  Carth couldn’t take her eyes off the palace as she thought through what Invar had told her. Could the Hjan really be only beginning their attack? “There will be another?”

  Invar took a long, slow breath and exhaled in a sigh. “I fear that there will, and that the next time, we won’t be prepared for the destruction brought to Nyaesh.”

  “What about the Reshian?”

  Invar waved his hand. “I don’t believe the Reshian have as much to do with this as Harrison thinks. They wouldn’t side with the Hjan, which is the only explanation that would tie them together.”

  “Why?”

  “That… that is a longer story than I can tell you. Once you climb higher within the A’ras, perhaps then I can share.”

  “Why are you telling me this?”

  Carth could feel the weight of Invar’s attention as he studied her, like it was a physical entity that crawled over her, weighing her for a moment and appraising her. She wondered if she passed his inspection.

  “I do not think that I would have, but circumstances make me question. You faced the Hjan before joining the ranks of the ashai.”

  Carth nodded. “A man named Felyn.”

  “You claim he killed your parents.”

  “If he didn’t, then the A’ras did.”

  Invar’s eyes widened slightly at the comment. “Is that what you think?”

  “I know what I saw when my mother died. I spent months believing that the A’ras had killed her, only learning later that it had been Felyn.”

  “How did you discover that it was Felyn?”

  Did she share with him the truth? Avera had likely told the other masters that Jhon had offered her training, and might even have shared with him that she was shadow blessed, but she hadn’t discovered how much even Avera knew of how she was shadow born.