A Charm for Draius: A Novel of the Broken Kaskea (The Broken Kaskea Series Book 1) by Laura E. Reeve

a surge of happiness flowed through his chest, something he hadn’t felt in a while. His face broke into an easy and genuine smile.
    “A cousin removed, Sire.” She bent her head and then returned a cool and tight smile, which quickly faded.
    “As you wish.” He dropped his hands from her shoulders.
    So it was true: she didn’t care to keep her name or her connection to her lineage, as was customary among the Meran-Viisi. The lineages of children were negotiated differently for each marriage contract and Perinon suspected her children, if she had any, were Serasa-Kolme. She’d given up everything her lineage could offer, which was substantial, and she’d become so—so unfamiliar. He wondered how the vivacious and loyal girl he knew had turned into this distant, controlled woman.
    In the flicker of an eyelid, he suddenly felt the sun on his face and smelled the cold water of the northern canals. He saw the eight-year-old Draius, diving fearlessly into the water, then bobbing up and calling to him. We are Meran-Viisi, Peri. We are never afraid , she’d said that day, trying to convince him to take his first jump off the canal bridge. Had the Fevers changed her so much? Perhaps marriage had changed her.
    “I’m reporting for the Office of Investigation, with my deputy commander, Lornis.” She didn’t provide the lineal name of her assistant. In theory, matriarchs planned unique names within each generation, so it was Tyrran custom to go by primary names.
    Perinon went back to his desk and sat, placing his hands on the smooth, cool marble surface. Everyone in the room started to look like transparent shells around writhing light and dark veins. The air became brighter and fresher: he was reminded of sun shining on wet grass.
    Mahri had silently entered the room and now stood behind his shoulder. His secretary backed away from the desk to stand at the wall; he knew when Perinon needed distance.
    “This crime has high visibility, Officer Draius. A member of the King’s Council has been murdered. We can’t have the people losing faith in their leadership, or in their City Guard. The City Guard must use whatever resources necessary to find this killer.” This speech, however pompous and trite it sounded, fulfilled his monarchal duties.
    “Sire, we’ll do everything in our power.” Draius gave him the rote answer, glancing at the creature standing behind him.
    Adults outside the King’s presence rarely saw Mahri. The element of Spirit, with golden eyes, was the keystone and the controller of the phrenic circle. Mahri stepped forward and Perinon reached up, almost brushing the luminescent mane that framed the creature’s head like the nimbus of a star. Like any other adult, he couldn’t touch the Phrenii and his fingers stopped a hand-span away from the creature’s hair. He sensed Draius stiffen.
    Some Tyrrans loved their King being exposed to the Phrenii and their magic, while others thought it unhealthy; apparently Draius was of the latter opinion. Perinon watched her struggle briefly with her distaste, then shrug it aside. Few Tyrrans could begrudge a relationship that made their King stronger than any other ruler in the Mapped World. Supposedly, “he who is bound to the Kaskea can command the Phrenii,” and no one knew the limits of their power.
    That was legend, because Perinon knew he couldn’t command the Phrenii to do anything against their will, not any more. The original Kaskea had been shattered more than five hundred years ago and only one shard was fixed in the ring he wore. The broken Kaskea held only a faint echo of its original power.
    “I’d like updates on your progress every eight-day, preferably in person. How goes it so far?” he asked, breaking the silence.
    He watched his cousin summarize the relevant aspects of the crime. Draius had the strong light of duty and loyalty to her King and country. With that light intermingled dark wisps of stubbornness and pride. The pride was tinged