The Serpent's Chains

Chapter 19: Getting Old

Cole

When I heard the door to Sabine's quarters open, I rang the bell to summon her.

She appeared in my parlor, blood spatters across her face, her dress torn and filthy. She looked almost like she did when I pulled her from the auction.

"Have a seat." I nodded to a nearby chair.

There was a momentary pause before she complied. Despite her appearance, she sat with her spine straight, perched on the edge of the chair, her ankles daintily crossed, hands in her lap. There wasn't the slightest hint of a slouch in her shoulders.

How proper of her.

I went to the bookshelf and moved a few old volumes aside. A decanter and two tumblers were hidden in the musty depths of the shelf. I poured two glasses of amber liquid and handed one to her.

"Tell me about the attack."

She shot me a sharp look but quickly composed herself, cupping the tumbler in both hands. "You want to talk about this now, Sire?"

"The palace gardens have eyes and ears." I chuckled humorlessly.

She nodded. "I was working in the gardens when they attacked. They used magic to overwhelm me."

"Who were they?"

A light crease formed in Sabine's brow and her eyes remained fixed on the tumbler.

Sighing, I took a large swig off mine. The thick, amber liquid burned my tongue pleasantly and sent a warm tingle down my throat.

"I don't know who they were, Your Majesty." Her voice was hardly above a whisper.

Just like when she was locked in her room and nearly starved to death. I downed the rest of my drink and poured another.

"If you insist on remaining silent, the only people you protect are your attackers. Who were they? Why were they after you!?" I took a step toward her until I loomed over her.

She gasped but kept her eyes down.

This was getting old. What kind of a slave resisted a master's direct order over and over again? For that matter, who resisted their prince?

"I don't know who those men were or why they were after me, Your Highness. Their magic was... different."

I clicked my tongue. "Different how?"

She lifted the glass to her lips. The liquid sloshed against the sides. For as composed as she was, I could see she was shaken by the experience.

"I have studied the spells of many Telasian mages. Telasian magic is elemental. It relies on natural energies, the same that the dragons use." She paused and I heard her swallow.

Talon? I'd never heard my father's mages discussing the source of magical energy before. I knew I could harness the elements because of my bond with Talon and he could do the same, as any dragon.

She's right. All magic in Telasia comes from the natural elements.

"What was this magic, then?" I prompted when Sabine didn't continue right away.

Her tongue darted across her lips and she set her barely-touched beverage aside. She rubbed her hands on her filthy dress.

"It's fueled by spirit energy." She pressed her hands to her chest. "It feeds off the lifeforce of the wielder, an internal source rather than external."

I tapped the side of my tumbler with my finger. I was no mage, but even I thought that sounded far-fetched. Learning to use elemental magic through Talon had taught me that spells were only as powerful as the source they were fed from.