The Elf Witch |Book 1|

Chapter 20

It was all Imani could do to mask her sheer terror and shock at his words.

"How could you possibly know that?" Her voice was barely a whisper. It felt like a storm of butterflies exploded in her stomach.

He knelt again and handed her back Ara's wand, watching. "I'm searching for it, too."

She met and held his gaze, grasping the Draswood tightly. "Why would a prince—the Heir Apparent—waste his time?"

"Besides the obvious fact that it would be the most powerful wand in the world?"

"Besides that."

He sighed. "My mother. You already know her views on magic are growing more radical, all while the magic disappears as the Fabric grows more unstable. Instead of protecting and increasing our magic, she wants to kill two birds with one stone by pooling all magical power with a select few."

"This is why she continues eroding the Order's power."

"Yes. Less magic wielders, less instability is my mother's public reasoning. But it also means she can severely limit competition for the next monarch."

"How convenient that it also happens to give her vast powers over everyone then," Imani sneered. "Where do you stand regarding your mother's plan?"

"Controlling and restricting magic the way she wants will be disastrous for the kingdom." He tightened his hand over hers. "I want to save it and build up our magical forces, not reduce them."

Imani turned over this information and the deal he offered her. It seemed that for all his passionate idealism, Tanyl knew what he was doing. Because whoever controlled magic and the Drasil? They held the doorways, and whoever controlled those ruled the world.

He searched her face while she sat thinking. "Why would a little elf be searching for it?"

Imani let out a calming breath, stalling to think of a lie. He knew her grandmother had been executed, and Imani needed to distance herself from Aralana in Stralas.

"I came across it in my research on slips and doorways. My parents died in a Fabric event, and I've been researching it for years." She shrugged. "And you said it before. It would be the most powerful wand in the world. I want the power."

"To be clear, you would give up the power to me. But, from what I've read, only a monarch will be powerful enough to wield the Drasil anyways. What have you learned about where one might be located?"

Wands didn't work like that, so he was testing her. Or he didn't know much about it. So, she kept her mouth shut.

"I don't have a location yet," she lied. "My strategy is focused on learning about its uses and history in hopes that the information reveals some hint about who might still possess one or where one disappeared."

"I agree, that's smart." His eyes sparkled with a secret.

"Stop being coy. What do you know about a potential location? If you don't tell me, then there's no agreement. Put me in jail or execute me. Then, you can search on your own."

"Calm down, little elf." He stood up and smirked. "I've read the book a dozen times, and the only mention of the Drasil is during the Norn chapters."

Imani didn't quite believe that's all the book had to offer. Malis had been quite adamant he wanted it for the information on slips and doorways. But she kept her mouth shut.

Tanyl continued. "One part detailed how the Norn treated a disease that started killing Draswood trees with different wands. Being elves, they tried hundreds, each with varying degrees of success, so there was an excessive amount of details to review. As a result, I didn't think much of the excerpt."