Sophie wasn’t sure either.
She’d thought only specially trained Telepaths knew how to reach that particular mental nook and preserve something inside.
Obviously not.
The images looked dim and blurry—but some of that might’ve been because Lord Cassius didn’t have a photographic memory. And the soundtrack was a little faded and scratchy in places. Still Sophie could easily tell that she was watching Lord Cassius and Lady Gisela in some sort of glittering office with curved walls and a large, dark desk. And she could make out every word when he said, “Why are you asking so many questions about Keefe’s empathy?”
“Why are you surprised?” Lady Gisela countered. “Our son is a reflection of us. I want to make sure he’s impressive. Don’t you?”
“Of course.” Lord Cassius stepped closer, reaching for her hand. The gesture looked reassuring and tender—until their skin made contact. Then his eyes narrowed. “There’s something you’re not telling me. I feel a strange tension radiating from you. Some sort of… expectation.”
“Yes, I expect our son to be a powerful Empath, like his father.”
“Then why did I feel the same tension when you had him tested to see if he would be a Conjurer? We don’t have any Conjurers in our genetic line—unless there’s something you haven’t told me.”
Lady Gisela tossed her head back and laughed. “Oh please, you’re not still wondering if I have a second ability, are you? I thought we’d settled that.”
“Did we?” He tightened his grip on her hand. “It doesn’t feel like we have.”
Lady Gisela sighed. “You know as well as I do that not all Polyglots manifest an additional talent—and thank you so much for making me feel inadequate.”
“That’s not actually an answer,” Lord Cassius noted.
“Because it’s an absurd question!”
“Then why do you feel so tense?”
IS she a Conjurer? Sophie asked, remembering a hastily scratched note that Keefe had stuck to the wall of his room in Alluveterre, back when he was trying to search his mind for any clues his mother might’ve accidentally given away.
WHY DID SHE MAKE THEM TEST ME TWICE TO SEE IF I’D MANIFESTED AS A CONJURER?
Keep watching, Lord Cassius told Sophie.
In the memory, he reached for his wife’s other hand. “I can tell you’re hiding something, Gisela. You can’t lie to an Empath.”
Her laugh turned colder. “Believe me, Cassius. I can. But I didn’t realize you were paying such close attention. I’ll have to be more careful.”
“What does that mean?”
“Nothing to concern yourself with.” A quick twist of her wrists had her slipping free from his grasp, and she turned to pace. “I suppose… since this conversation is clearly a wash already, I might as well make the most of it. So how about this? You answer a few more of my questions—and I’ll answer all of yours.”
“All of them?” Lord Cassius verified.
She nodded. “Do we have a deal?”
He tilted his head to study her. “We do.”
“Excellent. Then let’s get back to our son. Is there anything about Keefe’s empathy that feels different from yours?”
“Yes. It’s far less disciplined—and I fear with his attitude, it always will be.”
“No, I meant… the intensity of it.”
Lord Cassius frowned. “He’s powerful, if that’s what you’re wondering.”
“More powerful than you?”
“That’ll depend on how much he practices.”
“Then we’ll have to make sure he practices.” She paced the room twice before she said, “I guess what I’m really trying to figure out is… can he do anything new? Anything… special?”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know.” She paused in front of her desk, tracing her finger along the edge. “Do you think he’ll be able to influence someone’s emotions?”
Lord Cassius stalked closer. “No Empath can do that.”
“They can’t yet,” she corrected. “That doesn’t mean our son won’t be the first.”
“Actually, it does. Abilities have limits—and those limits don’t change.”
“Under normal circumstances, yes. But Keefe is different.”
“How?”
She shook her head. “We agreed you’d answer my questions first, remember?”
“But your questions are ridiculous!”
“Oh, you’ll see their value someday. Assuming my research is correct.”
“What research?”
She tsked her tongue and sidestepped around him to resume her pacing. “It’s still my turn. Though… I suppose a bit more information might help us determine if Keefe’s progressing properly. So let’s just say that I’ve been studying our world’s natural forces. Star and planetary alignments. Moon cycles. The Prime Sources. Shadowflux and quintessence. They all have so much more power than anyone truly understands. And I’m working to harness all of it.”
Lord Cassius stared at his wife like she’d grown a second head. “To what end?”
“Many, many things. But… a large part is making sure our son reaches his full potential—in a way that you and I will never be able to. I’ve developed a very specific process. I just need to know if it’s having any effect. The first step already happened—though you don’t remember that part. The second will take me a few more years to arrange. And the third… well… there’s one piece that’s still a bit vague at the moment—but I’m working on it.”
There’s a THIRD step to stellarlune? Sophie asked, wanting to scream into one of the cushions and then rip it to shreds.
So it would seem. I’m assuming the first step involved those miserable elixirs she made me drink. The second must be what she did to Keefe in Loamnore. And the third is anyone’s guess.
Distantly Sophie could feel Ro shaking her shoulders. “Still good, Blondie? You’re looking pretty pale.”
Of course she was pale!
The second step had nearly killed Keefe—and there was still one more to go?
Are you honestly surprised? Lord Cassius asked. Given everything you’ve seen. Everything you know my wife is capable of. Is this really so shocking?
Sadly, it wasn’t.
But that didn’t stop the terrifying theories from forming.
You can sit there picturing my son enduring all manner of horror, Lord Cassius told her. Or you can focus on the rest of the memory. There’s still more to learn.
Like what?
He didn’t answer. But in the memory, he told Gisela, “You’re not making any sense.”
“I don’t need to.” She tucked a loose tendril of her blond hair back into her intricate bun. “At least not to you. Your role is already done.”
“And what role was that?”
“Providing your DNA. I needed a powerful Empath to merge with my abilities.”
“Merge?” he repeated.
“That’s how I like to think of it—though I’ll admit, I don’t fully know how the merged abilities will function. My research has proven that special abilities aren’t nearly as finite as we believe them to be. Given the right conditions, they can shift and recombine—and I’m hoping I can create something new. Something better.”