“Hope?” Not the answer I wanted to hear.

“It’s a unique situation, Opal, and there aren’t any other Soulfinders around that I can ask.”

True. “But you can vouch for me, testify that switching souls is possible?” The pained grimace answered my question.

“I can assure the Council of your integrity. Without Devlen or Ulrick here, I can’t swear they switched. I know you’re telling the truth, but the Council can argue that the men are very good actors and have tricked you.” Yelena flicked her long black braid over her shoulder.

“Couldn’t you read Zitora’s mind and tell the Council she’s lying?”

Leif made a strangled sound. “Accuse a Master Magician? Ho boy, you really need some fresh air.”

Yelena frowned at him. “I can’t read her mind. Her mental defenses are too strong for me. And if I rifled through Councilor Moon’s memories, it would be a major breach of the Ethical Code and I would be arrested.”

“What about reading their souls?” I asked.

An odd expression gripped Yelena’s face before she covered it. “Zitora felt she did the right thing. As for Tama, ever since her sister tried to overthrow her, she has hired a magician to cast a protective null shield around her when she’s in public.” She fidgeted with her sleeve. “The other Councilors believe it’s a wonderful idea and are in the process of doing the same. I have…mixed feelings about it.”

“A null shield is becoming a weapon like Curare,” Leif said. “Before the Warper battle, only the Sandseed Story Weavers knew how to create one. Now the knowledge is spreading.” He shrugged. “It’s smart to protect the Councilors from a magical attack, but, on the other hand, it can mask deceptions and be used against us.”

I agreed with Leif. In order for Sir to capture Kade, the strongest Stormdancer in Sitia, a null shield had been intertwined with a net. Yelena knew all the details, but she decided the Council should only be told Kade had been neutralized by a null shield. No sense giving anyone ideas.

“However…” Gazing down at her hands, Yelena laced them together.

Not a good sign. I braced for the bad news.

“However, the diamonds found in your saddlebags are the real problem.” She raised her head and leaned toward me. “You scare them more than I do.”

I laughed. At this point, what else could I do? If I looked on the bright side, I finally had done something better than Yelena. The fact it would keep me locked up didn’t stifle my manic mirth.

“Opal,” Yelena warned. “This is serious. They’re not picking on you. They have an excellent reason to be scared. Think about it from the Council’s point of view. Your ability to transform magic into glass is concerning, but Master Magician Zitora vouches for you. Then you disappear and claim you were tricked by blood magic and kidnapped to Ixia. The Council is distressed, and orders you to return so they can hear the whole story, but you run off to Fulgor.

“Now they’re alarmed. When Councilor Moon reports you have escaped and tells them about your new powers, they become frightened. Plus the fact you used the power without consulting them or without any due process. In their eyes, you have become unpredictable and unreliable. A rogue. Zitora can no longer vouch for you because if she didn’t know about your siphoning power, what else doesn’t she know. Why didn’t you tell her?”

No longer able to keep still, I paced. “I thought it would be better in person. I wanted to discuss it with her first. But now she’s avoiding me.”

“She’s keeping her distance in an effort to remain impartial.”

“Swell.”

“Opal, sarcasm will not help you,” Leif said. “I know.”

“Nothing will help me.”

Yelena moved closer to the bars. “Tomorrow you will be honest, you will be remorseful, you will be respectful, and you will abide by the Council’s decision no matter what. They need to see you are not a threat. They need to feel they can trust you.”

“Would you do all that?”

“I already have. If I can earn their trust, so can you.”

I slumped against the wall. My shoulder burned as fatigue settled over me. The task of gaining the Council’s trust felt equal to being ordered to climb over the Emerald Mountains. Impossible.

“It’s not impossible,” Yelena said.

“Reading my mind?”

“No. Your posture.”

“Now what?” I sank down to the floor. At least I had a clean cell. Amazing how the small things become important.

“We wait,” Yelena said. “It’s a trick I learned from Valek. Let them think we believe their story about Ulrick. Let them get comfortable and relax their defenses. All the while I’ll keep an eye on them and, hopefully, discover what they’re up to.”

“What about me?” I gestured to the bars between us.

“I think the Councilors are leaning toward letting you continue your work for the magicians. If that’s the case, you need to be on your best behavior, and you’ll need to pretend Ulrick fooled you. You’re not to tell anyone a different story, as they will have someone watching you.”

“How long do I have to pretend?” I asked.

“It may be seasons. I need to return to Ixia to help Kade convince the Commander to allow him to tame the blizzards. Don’t worry.” She held her hand up. “I’ll assign…someone to keep an eye on Councilor Moon and Devlen.” She studied my face. “You’ve been through worse. Just hold on and we’ll figure this one out.”