Page 80 of Awakened Ash and Alchemy

But now that the magick testing showed nothing, it wouldn’t be long and they’d be showing her the door, and whoever had proclaimed her as the new power would probably get demoted.

But right now, none of that mattered. She unwrapped Condorr’s candy bar and took a bite, forgetting all her dramas as the sweet flavors made her sigh.

It was really good chocolate.

TWENTY-NINE

Inside the Oaths Chamber, the Sworn Exarchs had gathered at the table with too many empty seats. Commander Gellar turned his attention to Zarek. “So, how is Angela Duboise and her progress?”

Zarek leaned back in his chair, hands clasped loosely behind his head. As far as he was concerned, her progress was extraordinary. Magnificent. Beautiful. And her depth of strength was both charming and inspiring.

She was the unknown variable of magic he didn’t think existed. Not for souls like his, where her presence felt so familiar. When his life had once been a long and lonely canvas hidden in the shade, and she was the shiny rainbow spilling color and light into his existence. He had yet to understand her humor, or her otherworld terms, but underneath he was getting to understand the woman. But he wasn’t sharing that with his peers.

“The Seers and readers have gone to her these past five days.” He kept his expression neutral. Which is how he normally was: stern and unfeeling. Until her.

“And?” Gellar prompted.

“They found nothing.” Zarek thumbed the corner of his lips to stop the irritating need to smile whenever he thought of her. “None of the wizards and mages could read her. Most of them confirmed that she is… human.”

“That’s it?” The Commander arched an eyebrow at him.

Zarek’s mouth fleetingly curved. “Not entirely.” No, Angela Duboise was far more than she was letting on.

“Go on?”

“Well, I’ve seen and felt her salt magick. But there is a passive magick I don’t think she’s aware of.” He’d only noticed while observing her and keeping up his side of their treaty of not letting anyone touch her, especially the ancient wizards during their testing.

“What does she do?” Gellar’s hand paused mid-stroke over his black beard, as the rest of the brothers listened.

“She had the wizards and some of the mages speaking at length about themselves. Answering her questions, like a lawyer would. They revealed more than they intended. Most of them did not realize until after they had left her presence that she’d made them talk. And those with weaker minds forgot portions of the exchange entirely.”

A murmur moved through the chamber.

“So she compels people to draw out their truths?” Bellus asked carefully.

“Somehow, Angela can influence a conversation,” Zarek corrected. “Nothing harmful or forced like her salt magick. In fact, this compulsion of hers is done so smoothly no one notices they’re spilling all their secrets. Willingly. Some I know didn’t want to share, and they left embarrassed.” Where he had chuckled from the chair he’d propped up in the corner, and Angela had just shrugged, fiddling with the medallion at her neck, asking, What did I do?

And that sobered him up. “The thing is, no one has worked out what her magick is.”

“How many forms of testing have you tried?” Gellar asked.

“The witches attempted minor magicks. Containment veils. The wizards, mages, and the Seers have all tried. But nothing worked. The magic simply… dissipated.”

“All magics?” Bellus pressed.

“Everything tried so far.” But he was not letting her near the council, that was for sure.

“Zarek?” Martar shifted in his seat. “Is that because you’ve only permitted females and elderly scholars near her, those of lesser power?” Martar exhaled slowly. “You know why I’m asking.”

Zarek’s jaw tightened. “Say it.”

“We know she can withstand you and your magick,” Martar said carefully. “What if the rest of us tested our abilities against her?”

Zarek felt the Claiming rise like a heated dragon stirring beneath his ribs. The thought of another man standing too close to her. Watching her. Measuring her. It was enough that the staves on his suit glowed—and they had only started doing that because of the Claiming. Before this, the only time the staves on his suit glowed was in battle as a warning to his brothers to move before he went nuclear to clear a battlefield.

“Why?” he asked.

“Because you know we are the most powerful in the realm.” Gellar’s tone was matter-of-fact. “If Angela Duboise’s resistance is reactive, it may only reveal itself under greater pressure.”