Keep to the capital, but Tiberius didn’t want to put too much trust in that plan. Olyva’s father might just as easily throw them in irons as help them on their quest.
“It’s hard to imagine such a large place being abandoned,” Lexi said.
“I know,” Tiberius agreed. “What must the cataclysm have been like, and what caused it?”
“Wizards caused it,” Lexi said.
“I know that’s what we’ve been told all our lives, but we were also told all wizards were evil and that nothing good could ever come from magic. That isn’t true. I’m not evil, am I?”
“Not most of the time,” she teased.
“And I’ve used magic to heal the sick and injured. So some good things can come from magic.”
“But how do you explain Princess Ariel breaking your leg?”
“I can’t,” Tiberius said. “She’s a cruel person, but so is Leonosis. Perhaps it’s more about living a life of privilege than magic.”
“You lived the same life as Leonosis and you’re nothing like him,” Lexi said.
“Well, my life wasn’t exactly the same. I had everything I needed and never worried about going without, but I knew I wasn’t favored. Leonosis on the other hand could do no wrong. My father spoiled him, and my mother loved him more than the rest of us. Even the servants and city officials treated Leonosis with deference. I was seen as little more than a nuisance.”
“I find that hard to believe,” Lexi said. “At least you had parents.”
“I didn’t mean to pretend my life was difficult,” Tiberius said, feeling a stab of guilt over his callous comments. “I just meant that I never expected to have the things that Leonosis took for granted.”
“And you think that Princess Ariel isn’t affected by the magic she wields?”
Tiberius thought about the question before answering. The magic he used was powerful, and controlling it was sometimes incredibly difficult, but he had never felt that the magic was trying to control him. In fact, even when the magic flowed through him, he had never felt anything but powerful. Magic bent to his will, not the other way around.
“I really don’t think so,” Tiberius said after a moment’s consideration. “At least in my experience, magic doesn’t affect the user.”
“I know less about magic than you do,” Lexi said, “and maybe I’m just frightened by it all, but I feel like there are forces much darker than what you understand.”
“Perhaps,” Tiberius said.
“This city is a perfect example,” she continued. “Something bad happened that destroyed this place.”
“I agree,” Tiberius said. “I’m just saying that we can’t say for sure it had anything to do with magic.”
“But don’t you feel like it had to be magic?” Lexi asked.
“I think it’s easy to attribute anything bad or scary to magic because of the way we were taught to believe that magic was evil. Everything bad about the world before the cataclysm was blamed on magic, but from my studies, magic was widely used — and for good, not evil.”
“Maybe you’re right, but I’m still very uncomfortable here,” Lexi said. “A little bit of caution, especially in a strange place, is simply prudent.”
“I didn’t think you were one for prudence,” Tiberius teased.
“On the street, you learn quickly not to go looking for trouble.”
“I’m not looking for trouble,” Tiberius said. “But I wouldn’t mind exploring this city a little. There’s no telling what we might find.”
“Or what might find us,” Lexi said.
As if to prove her point, Dancer suddenly started hopping up and down on Lexi’s shoulder and chattering noisily.
“What’s wrong with Dancer?” Tiberius asked.
“I don’t know,” Lexi admitted. “I think she smells something?”
Tiberius turned and looked around them, but the ruins were completely dark. The light from their makeshift torch wasn’t bright enough to cast light into the alleys or inside the crumbling buildings.
“We better hurry
“It’s hard to imagine such a large place being abandoned,” Lexi said.
“I know,” Tiberius agreed. “What must the cataclysm have been like, and what caused it?”
“Wizards caused it,” Lexi said.
“I know that’s what we’ve been told all our lives, but we were also told all wizards were evil and that nothing good could ever come from magic. That isn’t true. I’m not evil, am I?”
“Not most of the time,” she teased.
“And I’ve used magic to heal the sick and injured. So some good things can come from magic.”
“But how do you explain Princess Ariel breaking your leg?”
“I can’t,” Tiberius said. “She’s a cruel person, but so is Leonosis. Perhaps it’s more about living a life of privilege than magic.”
“You lived the same life as Leonosis and you’re nothing like him,” Lexi said.
“Well, my life wasn’t exactly the same. I had everything I needed and never worried about going without, but I knew I wasn’t favored. Leonosis on the other hand could do no wrong. My father spoiled him, and my mother loved him more than the rest of us. Even the servants and city officials treated Leonosis with deference. I was seen as little more than a nuisance.”
“I find that hard to believe,” Lexi said. “At least you had parents.”
“I didn’t mean to pretend my life was difficult,” Tiberius said, feeling a stab of guilt over his callous comments. “I just meant that I never expected to have the things that Leonosis took for granted.”
“And you think that Princess Ariel isn’t affected by the magic she wields?”
Tiberius thought about the question before answering. The magic he used was powerful, and controlling it was sometimes incredibly difficult, but he had never felt that the magic was trying to control him. In fact, even when the magic flowed through him, he had never felt anything but powerful. Magic bent to his will, not the other way around.
“I really don’t think so,” Tiberius said after a moment’s consideration. “At least in my experience, magic doesn’t affect the user.”
“I know less about magic than you do,” Lexi said, “and maybe I’m just frightened by it all, but I feel like there are forces much darker than what you understand.”
“Perhaps,” Tiberius said.
“This city is a perfect example,” she continued. “Something bad happened that destroyed this place.”
“I agree,” Tiberius said. “I’m just saying that we can’t say for sure it had anything to do with magic.”
“But don’t you feel like it had to be magic?” Lexi asked.
“I think it’s easy to attribute anything bad or scary to magic because of the way we were taught to believe that magic was evil. Everything bad about the world before the cataclysm was blamed on magic, but from my studies, magic was widely used — and for good, not evil.”
“Maybe you’re right, but I’m still very uncomfortable here,” Lexi said. “A little bit of caution, especially in a strange place, is simply prudent.”
“I didn’t think you were one for prudence,” Tiberius teased.
“On the street, you learn quickly not to go looking for trouble.”
“I’m not looking for trouble,” Tiberius said. “But I wouldn’t mind exploring this city a little. There’s no telling what we might find.”
“Or what might find us,” Lexi said.
As if to prove her point, Dancer suddenly started hopping up and down on Lexi’s shoulder and chattering noisily.
“What’s wrong with Dancer?” Tiberius asked.
“I don’t know,” Lexi admitted. “I think she smells something?”
Tiberius turned and looked around them, but the ruins were completely dark. The light from their makeshift torch wasn’t bright enough to cast light into the alleys or inside the crumbling buildings.
“We better hurry
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