The nebulous substance cast a gentle light, more subdued than the life energy that was its purest form. The colors softly shifted from blue to pink to gold, swelling and retracting as if moved by an invisible breeze. He could almost feel it against his skin. It was mesmerizing, beautiful.

He’d never seen so much aether in one place. In Ghadria, not so much as a glimmer of the stuff was wasted. Mages collected it as soon as it was shed, bound it to receptacles and used it to power their spells. He wondered if the mages at the Keep had yet realized what a gold mine they’d found.

Lorel’s words from the night before returned to him. She sincerely believed that sorcery rotted the mind. He breathed a soft laugh. He’d wondered if the rumors about him had reached Erys. He’d wondered if Lorel had heard them and whether she was one of those women who became aroused at the idea of his forbidden powers. But, no, not Lorel. She believed that sorcerers were twisted old men with fangs and blood-tipped claws, and therefore he couldn’t possibly be one of them.

The truth was not so dramatic. Mages were easy to spot by the spells that they inked onto their skin and the charms that they wore. Sorcerers had no need of such devices. More powerful than mages, sorcerers were able to harness the dangerous and potent energies produced by death when a spirit became unmoored from the flesh and passed through the nexus from this world to the next. A mage was only capable of harnessing the weak, cast-off energy produced by still living beings—aether.

Because of that weakness, mages required years of study in glyphs and incantations to work even the smallest of spells. They were sent off to the Magisterium to learn their craft. Sorcerers, who could shape energy with a thought, were sent to the frontlines to fight in the centuries long war against the Karaeli tribes.

Or they had been sent off to battle…until the Wraith Wars ended and the nobility became concerned about the number of fully trained war crows entering civilian life. Belorn had greatly reduced their numbers, but sorcerers weren’t entirely extinct. Not yet.

The true difference between mages and sorcerers was one of ability.

Janek had considered correcting Lorel on her misconceptions, but he hadn’t wanted to prolong the conversation. He’d rather her go on believing that he was only a simple advisor. He liked her too much to risk scaring her away. She wouldn’t react well to the confession, and there was really no reason for her to find out. By purposeful design, very few people knew of his abilities. Whether Asil’s enemies believed him to be an assassin, a sorcerer, or a spy, they all believed he was a dangerous man, and that reputation served Asil’s purposes.

Besides, he wasn’t on Erys in his capacity as sorcerer. Asil had been quite clear on that point. He was to keep his hands off the game board, draw no attention to himself, and focus only on guarding the prince.

In the alley, the cat finally pounced on its prey. The rat’s spirit tore from its flesh, and there was a bright flare of energy as the spirit ripped through the nexus. The knot of chaotic energy created by its passage was more potent than all of the aether floating about the village of Shadow Point.

Out of habit, Janek drew the energy into himself.