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hard, his eyes betrayed his unease. He unwrapped the parchment and skimmed it before he read, “‘I, Valor of Crape, the Supreme ruler of Newlan, do hereby order my children back to Crape. For their own protection they should be restrained at all times. Let no man speak of this for my children’s reputation. Let no man interfere with these orders lest his life become forfeit.’”
    Evann’s eyes strayed to Manda. “I don’t understand,” he said. Manda tried to speak but only a muffled moan came out.
    Yov shifted in his saddle. “They were found in Ren’s chambers at the time of his arrest. Valor fears his children could be implicated in the murder of the former king of Newlan. Valor ordered his children home for their own safety.”
    Evann lifted an eyebrow. “Bound and gagged?”
    “Manda loves Ren,” Vos said. “She’s already implicated herself to save him. And Chris would do anything for his sister.”
    Manda turned away as Evann searched her face. She had never been good at masking the truth, and she wouldn’t try to do so now.
    The Fest guard stepped next to Manda. Vos’s pallid gaze followed his movement, but the man didn’t seem to notice. He looked up at her, midnight eyes hardening in accusation.
    “She should be tried for the crime if she confessed.”
    “Indeed she will be, Korin, but not here.” The twins watched the Fest soldier with obvious distaste. They clearly knew each other. Manda studied Korin again. There was something about him she immediately trusted despite his incriminating stare. A sudden jerk of his hand caught her attention. Tucked behind his back, hidden from the twins’ sight, his hand motioned her down. At first Manda didn’t catch his meaning. Then she realized he wanted her to fall off her mount.
    “She looks like a feisty one,” Korin said. “Watch yourself.”
    Manda screamed through her gag and twisted her body, feigning an attack. Her feet, tied to the stirrups, acted as a counterweight as she flung her body toward the soldier. She felt the saddle spin out of control as she fell, unprotected, to the ground. Korin caught her. She immediately felt the ropes binding her hands behind her loosen.
    “Fight,” Korin whispered in her ear.
    Manda wrenched back and forth as her mount bucked. Vos leapt out of the saddle, shouting for Evann’s help. Manda felt another rope loosen as Korin worked at her restraints and slipped something between her palms.
    “I’m sorry,” Korin whispered. “This is all I can do.”
    Then her world went black.
    - - -
    Aidan sat beside Ren, careful not to touch her tender back to the cold stone. The torchlight framed her face in a slight glow. Whenever she looked at him, his heart gave a slight jump.
    “Aidan, why haven’t the Maritium come out of hiding before this?” Ren finally asked. “Magic has been dead for almost four centuries. The people would have accepted you back long ago.”
    Aidan grinned. “We never went into hiding. Everyone knew we lived on the coast of the Black Ocean.” Aidan’s eyes sparkled with mystery and her grin widened at his confusion. “My prince, the wizards told us to live alone before they destroyed magic. Although magic is dead, everything with magic did not die.
    “Only living things, wizards, Barracus’ creatures, magical creatures, all of whom had the thread of the power, died when magic died.”
    Ren frowned. The thread of the power connected someone’s mind and soul to the Quy. If you had the thread, you could use magic. If you didn’t, magic was forever lost to you. “Grauss the Sage has written about the thread. He claims that when the wizards destroyed magic they merely destroyed the thread, not magic itself.”
    “Grauss is right,” Aidan said. “If everything magical died, my ancestors would have died because of the magical gift given to us. Although the wizards created the link with magic, the link itself isn’t magical. It’s much like the Druid ability to enter minds. It’s