Piecov complied.

“Does the song you hear match your mood?”

He considered for a moment. “Yes.”

She asked the others and they agreed. We strolled around the Keep’s campus and tested the vases on the other students. Even going so far as to interrupt an argument. In each instance, the student’s song reflected his or her mood. We also couldn’t find any other magician who could feel the vase’s vibrations. Not even Ulrick felt it—only me. Even when I held the vase with another, I couldn’t hear a song and the vase remained inert. We returned to the shop.

“A mood indicator,” Ulrick said in disgust. “And not even my moods, but others. A useless parlor trick!”

“I wouldn’t say useless,” I said. “You might be able to use the vases to interrogate criminals, find out if they feel guilty or are lying.”

“Not the job I hoped for.” He snatched a broom and swept the floor with hard strokes.

“We might still discover other uses for your pieces.” I straightened the workbenches, replacing the tools.

He didn’t comment as we finished cleaning up the shop. I understood his disappointment. Four years in the Keep had been one letdown after another for me. But the Keep’s instructors had been trying to teach me to use magic in the traditional ways. Only when I had been in dire situations did my other abilities manifest themselves. While I wouldn’t recommend that method, perhaps Ulrick would have other opportunities to find out more.

Before dinner, Ulrick, Mara and I stopped at the infirmary to ask Healer Hayes about Pazia. She was only slightly better. In the hallway, we encountered Zitora. The magician sent Ulrick and Mara on to dinner and asked me to accompany her to her office. Usually Ulrick would fuss about leaving me alone, but he shuffled after Mara without saying a word.

“What’s wrong with him?” Zitora asked as we climbed the stairs to the fourth floor.

“Difficult day.” I explained about his power.

“When I first met him, I didn’t think he had any. His magic may include only one trick, but it’s better than nothing.”

I kept quiet, remembering my own frustrations. Once you get a taste, sometimes it’s hard not to crave more.

“How’s Pazia’s progress with magic?” I asked instead.

“She’s regaining her strength little by little, but it’ll be a good week before we know about her magic.” Zitora stared at me with a pained expression. “Opal, if you have truly taken her ability to access the power source, the Sitian Council will view you as a threat.”

Her words failed to sink in. I expected her to tell me the Council was livid, upset, horrified or all three. Pazia had the potential to become another Master Magician. “A threat?”

“Think about it. You can strip magicians of their powers. What if you decide Master Bloodgood should not be First Magician anymore? Or you don’t want the Council to be in charge anymore. You can take everyone’s powers and build an army of glass creatures.”

It sounded like a fairy tale. “I wouldn’t do that.”

“Really? What if Bain Bloodgood attacks you and you suspect he is working with Sir?”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“No, it isn’t. The most powerful magician in Sitia attacks you with his magic. Will you die or use your magic to save yourself? Or if he attacks Mara or Ulrick? Will you save them?”

“What’s the reason?”

“Does it matter?”

“Yes.”

“So now you get to decide if the reason is good or bad? What if he has a very good reason, but you don’t know about it?”

“I…”

“See? With this new power, you could be a danger to Sitia.”

I bristled. “I could be an asset, if anyone would trust me.”

“Aha! But what have you done to earn this trust? You already robbed Sitia of Pazia’s considerable talent just by experimenting with your own.”

“We don’t know that for sure. Besides, she attacked me with an illusion. It might not work against another type of attack. And it was a genuine accident.”

“Could you drain a person’s power who isn’t attacking you?” Zitora asked.

“I don’t know.”

“That’s why the Council would consider you a threat.”

And I wouldn’t want to try another experiment and risk losing another magician. I had wished to do more with my magic, but this wasn’t what I desired.

“Is this why you wanted me to come to your office? Another lesson?”

“Part of the reason. And not quite a lesson. I want you to be prepared for the ramifications if Pazia doesn’t recover. The Council could incarcerate you in the Keep’s cells while they decide what to do with you. You remember how long the Council needed before they trusted Yelena and she saved them from the Daviian Warpers.”

I had thought I felt terrible before talking with Zitora. The air in the room pressed on my body, stuck in my throat and pounded in my ears, matching the tight compressions in my chest.

Locked in the Keep’s cells would be horrible. The special magical barrier wasn’t needed for me, unless someone wanted to rescue me. I imagined Kade trying to blow the door down and the loop of protective magic, channeling his energy to trap him.

All the Council needed to do was keep me away from glass orbs and Sitia should be safe. The thought of not being able to work with glass terrified me more than spending time in the Keep’s prison.