words barely broke a whisper. “I can’t.”
“Like hell you can’t. The stuff makes people stop caring. Idiots destroy their lives because nothing concerns them.” She ignored his flinch. “And they destroy other people’s lives in the process.”
He lifted his gaze to meet hers. “You see me stop caring about anything or destroying my life?”
Renee paused. He didn’t show the lethargy and nonchalance of a veesi user. “I see you destroying your career this minute. Correction, I see
it
destroying your career.”
Several moments passed before Alec spoke again. “It has no agenda. You make veesi sound evil.”
“It is.”
“It’s not,” said Sasha, drawing startled looks from both of them.
Renee glared at her roommate. “Taking his side?”
“Taking the facts’ side. Veesi masks pain,” she said simply. “That makes it dangerous, not evil.”
Renee rolled her eyes. Sasha would assign degrees to evilness next, and write an opinion essay on it. “I’m not talking Healers’ salve. Dolts chew the leaves, get high, and dance off to do stupid feats while the Family or Viper coffers gain. It—”
“Veesi doesn’t give you a high,” Alec cut in, the voice of experience. “It relieves emotional pain the same way its salve takes pain from a cut.”
“And your life is oh so painful, right?”
“I heard the guard talkin’ about using it,” said Diam.
Sasha nodded. “The guard uses it to control mages in custody. It inhibits their ability to Control.”
“Does it make them happy?”
“No, it makes them nauseous,” said Alec. “Like chewing something that makes you blind, only worse.”
Diam crinkled his nose. “Mean.”
“How about a guardsman binding a prisoner’s hands?” Sasha said without missing a beat. “You can’t use rawhide strips to bind a mage’s Control, only veesi. It works as punishment too.”
Renee frowned, caught off guard by the turn in the discussion. The last bit of information surprised her. “That’s not right,” she said after mulling it over. “Forcing someone to chew veesi isn’t right.”
Alec ran a hand through his hair and shrugged.
Sasha smiled. “Was it right for Savoy to hit you? That arm looked awful.”
“That’s different!” Renee rubbed her forearm, which tingled on contact. “He was demonstrating a point.”
“Your career relies on your arm. A mage’s career relies on his Control. Doesn’t sound too different to me.”
Renee found no reply.
CHAPTER 8
S avoy sat on a practice court fence and, seeing Lord Palan waddle toward him, braced himself for a headache. The sight of Diam trotting along the fat man’s side turned annoyance to caution. The lord often appeared like this during Savoy’s own time as a cadet and, despite Palan’s unfailingly courteous manner, the encounters had always left Savoy feeling unsettled, as if he were a pawn in an unknown game.
“Korish!” Diam sprinted forward. “Look what Lord Palan gave me!” Bouncing on his toes, the boy produced a spyglass from his pocket and presented the treasure to Savoy. Sparks of excitement in Diam’s large green eyes threatened to set the wooden fence aflame.
Savoy’s stomach churned. Shooting Lord Palan an angry glare, he squatted to his brother’s eye level. Diam stopped bouncing and tensed.
“You must give it back.”
“No! Why?” The boy’s face grew dark. “It’s a present, isn’t it, Uncle Palan?”
The old sense of a game returned. Savoy’s jaw tightened. “
Lord
Palan, that’s first. Second, Servants don’t take gifts from nobles. Otherwise, we’d be Lord Palan’s Servants and not the Crown’s.” He reached toward his brother, but the boy pulled back. Refusing to look away, Savoy turned up his palm, demanding the sacred object. He received it via projectile. Diam shot him a hate-filled look and stalked off.
Watching the boy’s receding back, Savoy took several breaths before standing up and glowering at Lord Palan.
The older man
“Like hell you can’t. The stuff makes people stop caring. Idiots destroy their lives because nothing concerns them.” She ignored his flinch. “And they destroy other people’s lives in the process.”
He lifted his gaze to meet hers. “You see me stop caring about anything or destroying my life?”
Renee paused. He didn’t show the lethargy and nonchalance of a veesi user. “I see you destroying your career this minute. Correction, I see
it
destroying your career.”
Several moments passed before Alec spoke again. “It has no agenda. You make veesi sound evil.”
“It is.”
“It’s not,” said Sasha, drawing startled looks from both of them.
Renee glared at her roommate. “Taking his side?”
“Taking the facts’ side. Veesi masks pain,” she said simply. “That makes it dangerous, not evil.”
Renee rolled her eyes. Sasha would assign degrees to evilness next, and write an opinion essay on it. “I’m not talking Healers’ salve. Dolts chew the leaves, get high, and dance off to do stupid feats while the Family or Viper coffers gain. It—”
“Veesi doesn’t give you a high,” Alec cut in, the voice of experience. “It relieves emotional pain the same way its salve takes pain from a cut.”
“And your life is oh so painful, right?”
“I heard the guard talkin’ about using it,” said Diam.
Sasha nodded. “The guard uses it to control mages in custody. It inhibits their ability to Control.”
“Does it make them happy?”
“No, it makes them nauseous,” said Alec. “Like chewing something that makes you blind, only worse.”
Diam crinkled his nose. “Mean.”
“How about a guardsman binding a prisoner’s hands?” Sasha said without missing a beat. “You can’t use rawhide strips to bind a mage’s Control, only veesi. It works as punishment too.”
Renee frowned, caught off guard by the turn in the discussion. The last bit of information surprised her. “That’s not right,” she said after mulling it over. “Forcing someone to chew veesi isn’t right.”
Alec ran a hand through his hair and shrugged.
Sasha smiled. “Was it right for Savoy to hit you? That arm looked awful.”
“That’s different!” Renee rubbed her forearm, which tingled on contact. “He was demonstrating a point.”
“Your career relies on your arm. A mage’s career relies on his Control. Doesn’t sound too different to me.”
Renee found no reply.
CHAPTER 8
S avoy sat on a practice court fence and, seeing Lord Palan waddle toward him, braced himself for a headache. The sight of Diam trotting along the fat man’s side turned annoyance to caution. The lord often appeared like this during Savoy’s own time as a cadet and, despite Palan’s unfailingly courteous manner, the encounters had always left Savoy feeling unsettled, as if he were a pawn in an unknown game.
“Korish!” Diam sprinted forward. “Look what Lord Palan gave me!” Bouncing on his toes, the boy produced a spyglass from his pocket and presented the treasure to Savoy. Sparks of excitement in Diam’s large green eyes threatened to set the wooden fence aflame.
Savoy’s stomach churned. Shooting Lord Palan an angry glare, he squatted to his brother’s eye level. Diam stopped bouncing and tensed.
“You must give it back.”
“No! Why?” The boy’s face grew dark. “It’s a present, isn’t it, Uncle Palan?”
The old sense of a game returned. Savoy’s jaw tightened. “
Lord
Palan, that’s first. Second, Servants don’t take gifts from nobles. Otherwise, we’d be Lord Palan’s Servants and not the Crown’s.” He reached toward his brother, but the boy pulled back. Refusing to look away, Savoy turned up his palm, demanding the sacred object. He received it via projectile. Diam shot him a hate-filled look and stalked off.
Watching the boy’s receding back, Savoy took several breaths before standing up and glowering at Lord Palan.
The older man
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