“House Phel?” she echoed, hoping she wasn’t laying on the stupid-familiar routine too thick. “There’s nothing much to know.”

Her father shrugged a little, beaming, lapping it up. “I’m sure there isn’t, but information is always useful. Maybe you know something worth all this trouble, something to redeem yourself in my eyes.” He pretended to think. “I know—to begin with, you can tell me where the House Phel arcanium is.”

Nic fought to keep her expression quizzical, not to allow the gleam of triumph to enter her gaze. This was it. Lord Elal was eager to know this specific thing. The pieces of the puzzle fell into place with startling clarity. Her father had engineered all of this, perhaps from the very beginning. She’d suspected before that he’d somehow induced the Fascination that made her want Gabriel, as she’d wanted no one else before him. And that he’d induced Maman to submit to his bonding her via the same method. The big question had been why. The alliance with Gabriel and House Phel had not been a jewel in House Elal’s crown.

Now she knew the answer: her father wanted the House Phel arcanium.

However the plot had played out generations ago, the conspirators had succeeded in destroying the family and the house, but the arcanium had gone undetected, quietly submerged beneath the lake.

Her father must have seen the reappearance of magic in the form of Gabriel as an opportunity, a chance to obtain whatever he—or more likely, their Elal ancestors—believed the arcanium contained. Nic had certainly noted to Gabriel how the arcanium stored magic at an extraordinary level, far beyond what she knew of other arcaniums. Not all houses had them, of course, and many wizards created their own, making them look impressive from the outside. The joke in the Convocation went that the bigger the arcanium, the more substandard the wizard.

Apparently the House Phel arcanium, discreetly hidden away, was as special as she’d speculated.

Nic barely managed to conceal her excitement at this insight into her father’s plans. Her best chance lay in making him believe her ignorance, in having him continue to underestimate her. Shaking her head, hoping to look a little daft, she tested the extent of his knowledge. “But there is no arcanium.”

“Of course there is,” her father returned impatiently, and her spirits sank. “I’ve read… information about it. And Jan indicated that Phel was waiting to bond you until he got you back to Meresin. We all know the only reason for him to delay was so he could access the power of his house arcanium. Clearly he needed the assist, as everyone has witnessed how he botched the eventual bonding anyway.” Her father peered at her, wizard-black gaze penetrating, and she wondered what his wizard senses told him about their reciprocal bond. Whatever it was, it caused him to shake his head in apparent disgust. “One can’t expect more from an uneducated rogue wizard.”

Sergio snickered at that and Lord Elal cast him an irritated glance, then focused on Nic again. “Tell us where it is, and perhaps I can arrange for a treat. Something pretty to wear, perhaps.”