Kalen stood behind the man, his hands copying my movements, adding to my strength. After five rune tiers, our prisoner began to fidget. At the eighth, he was trembling, beads of perspiration dripping down his forehead and onto his beard. By the fourteenth, he was shaking uncontrollably until, in the middle of my question, he finally blurted out a frantic, explosive, “Yes!”

“How did you do it?” Lord Besserly asked, astounded. “You never even touched him.”

“The wards were customized to prevent destructive spells, milord. But there are passive runes that pose no direct danger to anyone and are easily overlooked because of it. These runes simply increased his desire to talk.” I was right to be cautious. It had taken both Kalen and I together to overcome the man’s resistance, and Eagerness was a minor spell, easy enough to impose. “What is your name?”

“Jareek of the Golden Rod, Third of the Light.”

Lord Stefan sucked in a noisy breath, and Lord Besserly swore again.

“Does his name hold some significance?” Kalen asked.

“Very much so. This man is a ranked soldier and a member of King Aadil’s private bodyguards. How did he come to channel Dark runes? Seems Aadil has been keeping secrets from us. Why have you come to Yadosha, cretin? To attack Lady Tea?”

“My king saw the dreaded three-headed beast flying above us into Yadosha, and so learned of the witch’s presence in the north,” Jareek said. “He sent me, in his infinite wisdom, to sow discord, and prevent you from assisting Odalia.”

“Assisting Odalia?” I demanded.

“We seek the same thing you do, witch. When the mountains fall and we reclaim the forbidden fruit, his Highness, King Aadil—may the heavens forever bless his name—shall hold the key to immortality and rule the eons. Kance, that fool prince of an insipid king, seeks to deny us. We will prevail and crush his army. Already you are too late. We have taken the mountains. Soon, we will take the harvest.”

“And what does Druj have to do with all this?”

“Druj is with us. Druj counsels the king. Druj learned of my skill in the Dark and brought the runes out of me.” The man bared his teeth. “You will not stop us. My life is but a small grain in the sands of a fate you cannot hope to overturn. Drycht will rise as it once had, and there is no stopping the tide.”

The next blow that came was not from Lord Stefan’s hand, but from mine. My fist slammed into the side of his head; the chair he was strapped to wobbled, then overturned. I held his head against the ground with as much force as I could manage.