Mother snaps out of the strange spell holding her captive. “Well, they can’t have you. There’s a chance they don’t know…a good chance…” “A chance they don’t know what?” She blinks. “What? Oh! Uh…I meant, know about your fire magic.” She lunges to her feet. “I’m going to write to the king at once, explaining our situation and begging for an exemption on the grounds that we already have one child missing in action. As long as Leesa is gone, you’re my sole heir. That alone should grant us leniency.” “Yes! That’s a great…wait, no. You can’t do that.”
