The power of a Liege, feeding Saxony’s magic with her own and imbuing the spell with the sacred power it needed.
Any person could use a delg bat, any Crafter could contact a blood relative with the help of a crystal ball, but only a Liege, someone trusted to lead the ancient power of their Kin, could call another Liege.
And Asees was calling them all.
Help us fight for peace.
The Kins scattered across the realm of Uskhanya that Saxony called home.
The Kins revered in Asees’s home realm of Wrenyal.
Those hiding in Volo, or blending in on the streets of Naustrio.
Every Liege in the four realms, however many or few there were, would hear this call.
Help us destroy the man who would destroy us.
The air hummed and crackled and burned.
Saxony pushed harder.
She felt Asees push harder.
And then, like a wave bursting from the ocean, Saxony heard the voices of her people echoing back to her.
Crafters, across the realms.
Lieges.
Saxony squeezed her eyes shut tighter and their shouts grew louder and louder until finally, after her head began to pound with them, they escaped her mind and traveled into the air. When Saxony opened her eyes, ghostly figments of the Crafter Lieges from the four realms stood in front of her.
They were seventeen altogether.
Saxony swallowed.
Nearly all of them had answered.
This was it.
The time for waiting was over. They wouldn’t stand around in fear that the Kingpin might attack and disrupt their sanctuary. They would strike him first. They would be the ones to wage war and Dante Ashwood would cower before them.
Asees smiled and let go of Saxony’s hand, nodding in a bow to their new guests. Her dark hair swayed against her stave-covered arms. They were not silver, like Saxony’s and her Kin’s, but a deep gold that made Asees look almost royal. She felt royal. She was a Liege, as Zekia was once destined to be, as Amja was now acting, as the summoned Crafters in front of her were.
As Saxony could only ever hope to be.
“Thank you for answering our call,” Asees said. “Are we all happy to speak in the Uskhanyan tongue?”
“We all have translation charms, Asees,” a man, whose accent she thought might be Volen, said. “Continue as you plan. Like everyone, I am eager to hear what is to be said.”
“There is much to discuss, Lionus,” Asees replied. “But though I had the power to bring you here, the idea was not mine. You should speak to the woman whose plan I believe we should follow. Her wisdom has taught me many things.”
Asees turned to Saxony, and for a moment Saxony almost froze under the pressure.
Asees nudged her firmly forward.
“Hello, my name is Saxony Akintola of the Rishiyat Kin.”
Her voice was too small. Too fumbling. She cleared her throat and tried again.
“We called you here to talk about Dante Ashwood, the Kingpin of Uskhanya,” Saxony said.
Louder, firmer, like a leader would.
There was a murmur among the Lieges. They had all heard his name, whether they were from this realm or not. Ashwood had been a driving force in the War of Ages and so there was not a Crafter alive today who didn’t know the shadow man.
“He has a new magic,” Saxony said. “He calls it the Loj elixir. It’s something he has been trying to perfect for many years, which caused the magic sickness across our realm. Now it’s finally perfected and he’s using it to build an army.”
“We’ve heard whispers,” a Liege said—a woman, whose accent was familiar. “I am Theodora of the Kythnu Kin. My people have heard of Creije’s battle and since their Liege hasn’t joined us today, I’m assuming that means their Kin has fallen? Do you have word of this?”
“Fallen?” the Volen man—Lionus—asked. “I cannot believe that’s true. What is this magic that could take a whole Kin? How did Dante Ashwood create it?”
Saxony wondered if she should lie to them about Zekia, because telling a room full of powerful Crafters that her sister had helped to invent a magic that had started a new war wouldn’t make the best impression.
Even so, she didn’t want to begin this alliance with lies.
She didn’t want to hide things from them, when now more than ever they needed to come together as a team.
They had to trust her.
“It’s mind control,” Saxony said. “And my sister, who was taken by Ashwood, helped him to create it.”
She saw the twitch in their eyes.
How Lionus in particular had to bite down on his lip to keep it from curling into a snarl.
These Lieges weren’t going to be sympathetic to a girl who’d lost her sister. They were angry with a Crafter who had betrayed her kind.As though Zekia’s actions made Saxony an enemy too.
“I don’t know the Creijen Liege,” Saxony said quickly, before they had time to voice their doubts on her intentions. “I never met anyone from their Kin while I lived in the city and I’ve heard no word from them since Ashwood started attacking districts.”
“They were small,” Theodora said. “Only six of them. Their old Liege and his entire family were killed by buskers in their home twelve years ago. Creije’s magic trade makes it unsafe for many Crafters to gather there.”
The trade that Tavia and Wesley had been a part of and that, even by extension, Saxony and Karam had joined. They had buskers in their army, and Theodora’s revelation meant that didn’t bode well for an alliance.
“Your sister,” Lionus asked. “She has joined Ashwood?”
“Zekia was supposed to be our Liege,” Saxony said. “Until he stole her and used her powers for his evil. Now the Loj elixir is creating soldiers out of civilians. It’s infecting Crafters and non–magic users alike.”
“What does Ashwood want?” Lionus asked.
“To kill us all,” Theodora said.
“Actually, it’s worse,” Saxony said. “He wants to create a world where everyone without magic is a slave and he becomes king of everything. A world where even Crafters will be subject to his brutality.”
It was the seven Uskhanyan Lieges, those of Saxony’s own realm, who looked most troubled by this. It was their home, after all, that was in the most immediate danger.
“I think we can all agree that would be bad,” Saxony said. “He’s attacking the capital city of Uskhanya as we speak and it’s only a matter of time before Creije is under his command.”
“What is it that you want from us?” Lionus asked.
“Help,” Saxony said. “I want you to send members of your Kins to help us fight Ashwood’s army.”
“You want us to turn against our own kind?” he asked, clearly conflicted at the thought of Crafters fighting Crafters.
She hadn’t seen what Saxony had seen. Lionus didn’t know how the Loj could change a person.
“The Crafters with the Kingpin must be saved,” Saxony said. “Either from the Loj, or themselves. I don’t want to hurt them.”
“Then how will you save them?” Lionus asked.
“I’m still working on that,” she said honestly. “But I can’t do it without your help.”
“I am the Liege of the only city in Naustrio with a Kin,” one of the women said. “Our realm is not a magic one and I decline to join a war that could destroy the few Crafters we have left. May the Scholarly Goddess be with you in battle.”