Page 9 of Jeweler to the Blessed (Champions of Chaos #1)

“You must be as confused as we are.” The prince’s voice was soothing, like a groomsman coaxing a spooked horse. “We think Alaric is missing, and we’re looking for any information about his whereabouts. Do you know where he is?”

This must be why the city loved him. He had more power than Vaddon, but he didn’t wield it as such. He used honeyed words to pull answers from my lips.

I shook my head, still not having the ones he sought. “He wasn’t at the workshop when I arrived.”

“When did you last see him?”

I hesitated, but I’d already admitted to being there regularly. “Yesterday morning.”

Prince Elias nodded as he shared a look with Vaddon. The prince pushed himself off the edge he’d leaned against and walked back around the desk. He spoke as he opened and closed a drawer just out of view.

“With the Selection starting this evening, we’ll need to plan in case he doesn’t turn up.” He said it so casually. I’d assumed as much on the walk up the steps, but his words ruffled me. They effectively wrote off Alaric and moved on with running the city.

Was this what it was to rule under Order? It was almost cruel in its efficiency.

“Maybe he’s in his room,” I said.

“He’s not,” Vaddon replied, as if my idea were something he’d stepped in on the street .

“Vaddon checked there before going to Alaric’s workshop,” Elias said more gently.

I’d clung to hope that Alaric was simply somewhere I couldn’t go.

He wasn’t in his shop or his rooms in the castle.

The fact that Vaddon had already searched them indicated Alaric had missed a meeting a while ago.

It was still early. This couldn’t all have been accomplished this morning.

Where else had they searched? The Oldwood?

The mine? Forest’s Edge? Given what I’d overheard with Alaric’s visitor yesterday, I couldn’t ask about those places.

If Alaric was visiting the mines without the king’s permission, now would not be the time to bring it up.

I’d need a way to search myself. A nervous energy overtook me as I cataloged Alaric’s potential whereabouts and what I’d need to do to find him.

Meanwhile, I stood in the prince’s office, unsure what he and Vaddon would do. They needed a jeweler. A green glow crept over the large stone on the prince’s pendant before I could consider what they’d ask.

I exhaled as the skin at the back of my neck prickled, but magic never overtook my mind. The prince wasn’t as nonplussed as he acted. He wielded persuasion, and I’d need to act affected.

The prince had said something to me. I knew from the green on his necklace that I should agree even though the words hadn’t registered. Being pliable was my only defense if he was trying to persuade me of something.

“Are you—” he started, and I was sure he would ask if I had Alaric’s talent sourcing adamas.

“Pardon me, but when did you last see Alaric, Your Highness?”

It was clear the prince needed me. At a minimum, he needed a jeweler. He’d be even happier if he realized I could directly replace Alaric. I felt reasonably confident I could afford a few questions without earning his wrath.

Vaddon’s glare from across the room said he thought I was deserving of no such thing.

“I can’t say for sure. He missed a meeting last night with my father. We have guards searching the city—and the mines,” the prince said.

I schooled my features even as my heart beat faster at his words. They checked the mines. Had Alaric planned to go yesterday? Did they know of the unauthorized trip his visitor accused him of?

The prince continued. “Alaric …” He held my gaze. “Well, Alaric knew the risks.”

I couldn’t tell if the prince actually cared or if he was the city’s greatest actor.

“I’ve been requesting Alaric allow a personal guard for years, but he refused. I’ve honored his decision as he’d proved he could defend himself. But that didn’t erase the risk.”

Proved he could defend himself. An image flashed in my mind.

Alaric, wearing adamas glowing red as he overpowered the Blessed who’d touched me—the one who’d taken from Mother.

He had smothered her face with a pillow—suffocating her.

Alaric proved the lengths he’d go to protect my secret from exposure.

That day, He’d also proved that magic wasn’t only for the Blessed.

It was for those with adamas—no matter how it was acquired.

A fact very few in the city seemed to realize.

I shook myself free of the scene I worked hard to repress. “Alaric was in danger?”

I feared the prince saw too much. He spoke gently again, as if consoling me. “Some in the city don’t appreciate his service to the royal family.”

The pieces the prince’s words danced around fell into place.

Alaric was the only one capable of sourcing adamas.

A Blessed without adamas couldn’t wield magic.

I guessed it was a simple enough calculation to decide if you removed the source of the gem, then you removed the Blessed’s ability to make new wielders.

The Feared—a rebel group who believed such things—were whispered about in Woodside. I didn’t realize the prince knew of their existence.

Their plan seemed shortsighted since it did nothing about the city’s current wielders. But with the Selection Festival about to start, attacking the Jeweler to the Blessed would send a powerful message.

Unbidden, a voice I couldn’t entirely forget slid into my mind. “Are you in trouble? I’ve made it clear that an attack on your person is an attack on me.” Something rancid coated my throat. Was Alaric’s visitor yesterday one of the Feared?

I swallowed thickly. “You think the Feared … what? Killed him?”

Even breathing the idea felt like a betrayal. Alaric was fine. He had to be. He was just … somewhere, not here.

But Alaric would never willingly put me in this position.

Being in the prince’s study, in the castle, wondering if the prince and king’s advisor knew I had a talent for sourcing adamas was a situation Alaric had done everything to prevent.

If I was here … he might well be dead.

Prince Elias slid his hands into his pockets and returned to the front of his desk.

“We don’t know, Emberline. Of course, we’ll continue searching for him.

But you also must see our predicament. The city would revolt if the Selection didn’t proceed as planned.

We can still announce the Selected, but the Presentation requires a jeweler, and they need time to prepare.

Vaddon’s next stop is… your family home to collect your father. ”

My heart stopped.

First, Father couldn’t source the adamas.

Second, I couldn’t imagine the trouble he’d get into with the royal family.

He was beyond forgetful when his mind was on Mother.

The prince may seem kind, but I had no illusion that any disappointment would be met with the same soft words he currently used on me.

“If you take his place, we’ll take care of you. You’ll receive Alaric’s salary until he’s found. And you’ll have full access to the continued search for him.”

The prince took a step forward as if to reach for my hand. Though they were gloved, my flinch was automatic. The prince smiled as he must have realized he found another lever. “No Blessed will touch you, if you’re my jeweler.”

No wonder the city loved him. He had power and knew how to use it to get what he wanted.

Distracted by the veiled threat to Father and the boons he’d just granted, Prince Elias pulled a gem out of his pocket and tossed it to me.

This must have been what he pulled from his desk drawer.

Every instinct told me Elias knew the answer to what type of gem this was.

It must be a raw scrap Alaric had already sorted.

I caught the stone without hesitation, the warmth in my palm, even through my glove, brought an automatic smile to my face.

“Quartz or adamas?” Elias asked.

It was such a familiar game but with wholly different stakes.

I could lie. I could answer incorrectly and say it was quartz, but the prince had to know what this gem was if he pulled it from his desk. Alaric had to have identified it for him at some point.

The prince was staring at me like I was a pool of water, and he’d been stranded in the desert for weeks. I didn’t think he’d believe me if I lied. He looked at me like he knew my secret.

But he couldn’t.

Before responding, I allowed my mind to run through everything he’d told me. I made a show of pulling off my glove, rolling the gem between my fingers, and pretending to evaluate it as I did when playing a simpler version of the game with my uncle.

Alaric was missing—presumed dead by the prince. The Blessed needed someone to source their adamas.

Answering incorrectly was a risk. My gut told me the prince would know the lie.

Answering correctly was also the only way I would have information on the royal family’s efforts to find Uncle. I didn’t need more reasons, but Alaric’s salary paid for Mother’s medicine. Now that I knew the herb was contraband, I couldn’t imagine how much he paid for it.

All of this meant my own plans were shot.

I couldn’t leave Kavios without truly knowing Alaric’s fate.

Not even the prince’s stark words could convince me to give up on him so easily.

Plus, I only felt confident leaving Mother because I knew Alaric would care for her.

I’d need more time to establish other means for her tonic.

I took a deep breath and eyed the gem. Its gentle warmth was my only comfort as I made a decision that could cost me everything.

In the end, my choice was no choice at all. The word slipped from my lips. “Adamas.”