The Dragon Scales, #2
Emberclaw
by L. R. Lam
Contents
27. Sorin: Past Midnight
Overview
Summoned past midnight, Sorin confronts her dwindling Elixir, Magnes’s mounting control, and his invasive mind-reading. She hides knowledge of Arcady’s Night Market meeting yet Magnes confirms suspicions about Arcady’s unusual magic and orders Sorin to keep dosing. Shaken, Sorin resolves to learn mind-shielding from the one Magnes cannot read.
Summary
Awakened by a red-flaring candle, Sorin answers Magnes’s summons while wrestling with fear and craving; her Elixir is nearly gone and she has hidden from Magnes that she followed Arcady to the Night Market and learned Larkin Nash is blackmailing Arcady to spy on Hayden’s research.
In Magnes’s hidden laboratory, Sorin notes the dragon remains have been removed and is distracted by fresh vials of Elixir. Magnes, strained by ruling Loc after Yrsa’s death, muses on political successors and past dangers. He warns Sorin to use the Elixir slowly and insists on secrecy.
Removing his glove, Magnes performs forbidden mind magic. Sorin, who has been practicing mental compartmentalization while training wards with Arcady, struggles to bury her most dangerous memories. Magnes sifts through scenes of classes and ward practice, pausing at Arcady’s glowing seal with hints of unexpected colors, then withdraws, satisfied—“as I thought.”
Drained but protected from magic’s hunger by the Elixir, Sorin hears Magnes order her to keep taking her “medicine,” especially around “the interloper.” Dismissed, she returns to her room with three vials, shaken by her dependence and by Magnes’s scrutiny. She resolves to seek guidance from the one person whose mind Magnes could not read, hoping to shield her own.
Who Appears
- SorinStudent rider-candidate reliant on Elixir; hides Arcady’s secret meet; endures Magnes’s mind-reading and seeks mind-shielding.
- MagnesRuler in practice; brews Elixir, invades Sorin’s mind, suspects Arcady’s unusual magic, orders Sorin to keep dosing.
- ArcadyStudent practicing wards with Sorin; secretly met a Struck contact; bears a seal that draws Magnes’s attention.
- Larkin NashBlackmails Arcady to spy on Hayden’s research; catalyst for Sorin’s concealed discovery.
- Professor HaydenSubject of Larkin’s espionage demand; his early research is the target.
- Chancellor YrsaDeceased power whose absence burdens Magnes; invoked in political reflections.
- Professor UltredIntroduced the second task; part of Sorin’s recent training context.
- Armskeeper HulmHelped announce the second task; tied to Sorin’s preparation.