Maria Snyder - Sea Glass

“…you need to decide if you’re going to tell the Council. They will be upset and wary over the news, but your recent good deeds should go in your favor. As long as you don’t go rogue and turn into an assassin like Valek, the Council will have need of your immunity. Eventually, Kade and your magician friends will figure it out. Magic will no longer harm you, but it will no longer heal you, either.”

“What should I do?” I asked.

She looked up in surprise. “You want my advice?”

“Of course.”

“Don’t listen to me, Opal. I’ve messed up and ruined your life. I couldn’t even rescue you. You saved yourself.” She retuned her gaze to her lap. “Some Master Magician, I fell for Tama’s…Akako’s lies.”

“You weren’t the only one.”

She played with the fabric of her sleeve, bunching it and smoothing it over and over. Finally she looked at me. “I resigned my position.”

I sat up. “Why? Everyone was fooled—even Yelena.”

“You weren’t.”

I waved it off. “I had the unfortunate benefit of knowing Devlen before. If he hadn’t used those pressure points when disguised as Ulrick, I would have agreed.”

“Doesn’t matter. You were my student. I let my anger overrule logic by not talking to you.”

“I knew you were angry!”

A wry smile touched her lips. “You were right. Learning about your siphoning powers through Tama…Akako Moon upset me. Plus, your accusations against Ulrick sounded crazy. The Council turned to me to sort it out. So when Akako informed me of a secret mission, I knew I had lost control of the situation. To cover, I supported her claims. Her explanation made perfect sense.” She slumped in the chair.

“I was more than relieved when Yelena confirmed the impossibility of switching souls by blood magic. Then you visited…” She threw her hands up as if surrendering. “Look what happened to you.” Her arms dropped into her lap. “Everything I did was wrong. If I had listened to my heart, you would still have your glass magic. My actions harmed Sitia, not helped.”

“No. You can’t take all the blame.”

“Too late. I assumed the responsibility and resigned.” She pushed her chin out in stubborn determination.

“You’re taking the easy way out by running away.”

“I am not.”

“Lying to yourself is easy, too. I know. It’s much harder to stay and deal with consequences. The Council and other Masters will make it difficult to regain their trust.”

“The hardest part was confessing my lack of judgment. And admitting I have a blind spot. I can’t sense a null shield. I tried to hide it, but I started second-guessing myself, making matters worse.”

Did she know I had also kept information hidden?

“If you still want my advice on what you should do about your immunity, my suggestion would be to tell the Council. Thank fate, I won’t have to deal with the debate your news will trigger!” She smiled.

“What are you going to do then?” I asked.

“Oh.” She blinked as if I threw her off. She probably expected another round of arguments. “I’m going to search for my sister. Spending time with your family has made me determined to find her. Without any obligations, I can put forth my full effort.”

Zitora’s sister had taken her to the Keep over eleven years ago and then disappeared.

“Good luck,” I said.

As Kade nursed me back to health, I requested more visitors. My family filled the room with happy noises, stern lectures, embarrassing stories and lots of laughs. Mara glowed next to Leif and they announced their intentions to wed. I mouthed a silent thank-you to Mara as my mother’s intense focus turned to her.

Yelena stopped in before she left on another mission. “So nice to see color in your face again,” she said, grinning.

“I’d rather thank you than Leif. He’s going to gloat for…ever, and I’ll never be able to refuse one of his wretched potions.”

Her smile faded. “You’re going to need Leif’s expertise. I’d suggest you be extra careful from now on.”

The reality of my new situation hadn’t sunk in yet, and I was sure a whole set of interesting consequences would reveal themselves eventually. “Good thing Leif will be a member of my family.”

“Opal, he was always a member of your family. So am I and Zitora. I know we let you down with Devlen…” She shuddered. “But that’s what families do.”

“What happened with Devlen?” I asked.

“He helped me with Tama and Akako. A complete blood transfusion, using magic to keep the body alive. Nasty and painful and unnatural. I had to see it to really believe it. The second set was as bad as the first. But they’re all healthy and back to normal.”

“Swell.”

Yelena cocked an eyebrow at my sarcasm.

“What’s going to happen to them?” I asked.

“The Council needs to decide their punishments. Akako’s list of crimes spans pages. Ulrick and Devlen will go to prison.”

“Prison won’t stop them from teaching blood magic to others.” At least they couldn’t regain their magic. Unless they used my blood.

“You think they should be executed?”

“Yes and no. I don’t want them to die, but I don’t want anyone else doing blood magic, either.”

“The knowledge is out there. It can’t be stopped now. It’s just like null shields, Curare and Voids. All things to be used and abused by others. Everything has two sides. A good and a bad.”

“Including people,” I said, thinking of Ulrick and Devlen and how they had switched more than their souls. “No one is truly trustworthy.”

“I don’t agree with you. There are certain people I trust no matter what. Even when it seems like they’ve turned into monsters, you need to stay true to them. Because, in the end, they’ll be the ones backing you up.”

“Even when they believe in something impossible?”

“ Especially when they believe in the impossible. A mistake I hope I won’t make again. I’m still learning that it’s all part of the relationship. Those you trust will make bad decisions and cause trouble and heartache.” She quirked a smile. “Bad decisions like not telling the Ixian authorities Tricky still had magical abilities that helped him to escape, and failing to tell the Council why he kept them when everyone else was drained of magic.”

I swallowed my weak excuse. She was right—poor judgment on my part.

“But as long as you know their intentions are trustworthy, that should be enough to support them.”

“How do you decide who you’ll give this loyalty to?” My biggest problem, knowing who to trust. “I’m sure you don’t bestow it on just anyone you meet.”

“Of course not. There are only a few who’ve proven to me that I can count on them,” Yelena said. “It’s a matter of time and experience.”

Great. My experiences have been horrible. “Who are the people you rely on?”

Her gaze grew distant. “Valek, Kiki, Leif, Ari, Janco, Irys, Moon Man, my parents and you.”

“Me?”

Yelena gave me that flat don’t-be-so-stupid look.

“Okay. Okay.” I reviewed her list of names in my mind. It was longer than mine. “I guess in time I’ll add a few more to my list.”

“Who are on your list?” she asked.

“Kade, Janco, Leif, my family and you.”

“You’re missing a few names.”

“Who?”

“Think about it.” She gestured to the bed. “You’ll have plenty of time.” She laughed. “I’d better go before Kade kicks me out for tiring you.” She waved and slipped out the door.

With nothing else to distract me, I replayed our conversation. My list had improved from before the events in Hubal. I would have to trust Yelena’s assertion of time and experience and expect to add more names as I dealt with the next round of trouble.