It was a subtle dig. I didn’t actually blame him for leaving but knew it troubled him. If he was confused enough, I hoped he would come back with us and listen to reason.

“I can’t trust you,” Pagiel said. “I can’t trust anyone. Even those who claim to support me ... they ask so much, more than I’m ready for.”

“Pagiel,” said Dorian gently. “Have I ever given you reason to doubt me? Haven’t I always been there for your family?”

Pagiel wouldn’t meet his eyes. “Yes, sire. Once I would have trusted you implicitly, but now ... now I know your loyalties are with her. I don’t question your choice. It’s your right. But it also means I can’t believe you’ll always act in my interest.” He sighed and then looked up with a grim and unhappy resolve on his face. “Forgive me,” he said.

That was my only warning. He wove his spell too quickly, more so than I would have imagined possible. A forest hardly provides the right conditions for a haboob, but he created a complex wind pattern that was nearly the same. And it was strong. Dirt flew up from the ground. Trees were ripped up. We were affected as well, blown backward and forced to scramble for our footing. I caught hold of a tree whose roots were still holding it strong and managed to keep myself upright.

Pagiel used the diversion to flee. I couldn’t address him right away because I devoted all my energy to stopping the maelstrom he’d created. My magical senses burned, and I could detect every thread of magic, every molecule in the air around us. The magic was a mirror of my own, courtesy of our shared genes. I matched it, answering each glimmer of the magic with a nullifying force. It was a complex process, like trying to unravel a tapestry. I hated the delay but needed to undo this magic before it killed me, Jasmine, and Dorian. When I finished and the world stilled, I glanced around, expecting to find Pagiel gone.

Instead, I found him encased in a prison of earth and stone that had risen up from the ground, cocooning him up to his neck. I sensed him pulling his magic to him, probably in an effort to blast Dorian’s handiwork away. I quickly slammed up walls of air, turning the air pressure up to crazy heights that were uncomfortable for the rest of us but ensured Pagiel wouldn’t bust out anytime soon.

Pagiel fixed his eyes on Dorian. “Your Majesty. Please let me go. You said you would help me!”

“I am,” said Dorian, a hard expression on his face. “I could easily keep building this structure until you suffocated. I don’t want that. I want you alive.”