“Then what do we do?” Mira asked.
“Keep your eyes open and your wits about you,” Declan suggested. “There has to be an answer to this riddle. Learning how your powers were taken could prove vital to fighting back.”
Mira huffed cynically. “It might be too late to fight back. I’d settle for avoiding him.”
“I understand,” Declan said. “Your father has more control over the Outskirts than any ruler in memory. I’ve hidden here for years—studying, planning, scheming, and taking little action. But an old man can dream.”
“After all this time, why are my powers returning?” Mira wondered.
Declan smiled, creases radiating from his eyes. He pointed at her, the finger gnarled and bony. “Now we shift to the most important topic. Have you regained many of your former abilities?”
“Just a little,” Mira said. “Only the most basic shaping. Nothing like before my powers were taken.”
“And you were just beginning to tap your potential,” Declan said. “Your father has been using your combined powers to assert dominance over the five kingdoms. After you five disappeared, he began to gradually reveal his new abilities. There was no reason for most to suspect he had not enjoyed such power all along. Who would dare oppose a man who was not only High Shaper, not only commander of the legion, but also adept in all five major styles of shaping? He has dealt harshly with any who opposed him. Except now—word has it that his abilities are suddenly waning.”
“Why?” Mira asked.
“Whatever unorthodox shaping bound your skills to him is unraveling,” Declan said. “But only a fraction of the power is returning to you. Most of it is gathering elsewhere in Sambria.”
“To someone else?” Mira asked angrily.
“Evidently not,” Declan said. “Liam and I have carefully traced the connections. Your power is running wild, Mira. On its own. Somehow, it is evolving into a mighty semblance.”
“What?” Mira exclaimed.
“I know,” Declan said, both palms raised, the skin there the smoothest and youngest-looking on his body. “It’s unprecedented. But your power has organized itself into some kind of entity.”
“Father stealing my power is one thing,” Mira said. “But how can my power exist outside of a person?”
“It remains connected to you. After all, it is your power. If you perish, it will perish with you. For this reason, your father meant to hold you prisoner, not kill you. Had you died, Stafford would have lost that portion of your ability he stole. The same is true now, except your power is operating independently.”
“How can my power have a mind of its own?” Mira asked.
Declan spread his hands. “I don’t know how the separation was accomplished in the first place, so it is difficult to speculate about what is going on. I assume it relates to how we develop a mind for a semblance. Perhaps some aspect of your father has united with your power and changed it into something new. Perhaps dividing you from your talent eventually allowed it to shape itself. I can only guess. What we know for sure is that your power was recently wreaking havoc outside the town of Alvindale.”
“What was it doing?” Cole asked.
“No witnesses who got close escaped to tell the tale,” Declan said. “Same with the semblances Liam sent to spy—many failed to return. Those that came back brought only anecdotes. The people are calling it Carnag.”
“What?” Mira exclaimed. “Carnag is my shaping power?”
“You’ve heard of it?” Declan asked.
“Everyone has heard of it!” Mira said. “Sambria is in an uproar!”
“I suppose they would be,” Declan muttered. “There are dozens of incorrect origin stories. Accounts from a distance are unanimous that your power is leveling homes, scattering herds, tearing down trees, and erratically reshaping the countryside. Many people have disappeared.”
Mira held a hand over her mouth. She looked stricken. “It’s because of me? I’m hurting people? I’m wrecking communities? My power is out there causing harm, just like my power helped my father take control of the five kingdoms.”
“It’s involuntary,” Declan soothed.
“Maybe, but it’s still my fault.”
“Your father caused it. Not you.”
“If I were dead, this wouldn’t be happening.”
Declan raised his eyes and shook his head. “Why are the young so dramatic? And so rash?”
Mira looked irritated. “How should I feel?”
“You should think,” Declan said. “Solve the problem. Don’t leap to suicide as the best option.”
“Are there other options?” Mira asked.
“I should hope so,” Declan said. “There is a great deal of energy involved. Not passive energy that you could potentially summon. Active energy is out there, interacting with the world. Your power is free from any physical limitations your mind or body would have imposed. It’s pure, unrestrained, and volatile. Cut off that energy from its source, and we could have a disaster of epic proportions. Killing yourself would certainly destroy your power. The question then becomes how much of Sambria would be destroyed along with it.”
“It would explode?” Jace asked.
“Or worse,” Declan said. “That much unrestrained power wouldn’t go quietly.”
“Then what can I do?” Mira pressed.
Declan placed his palms together, tapping his fingers. “Here is where we must make some choices. Your father is desperate to reclaim you and your sisters. He wants to regain your powers, and he certainly doesn’t want you using your powers against him. Maybe he knows your powers are gathering outside of you, maybe not.”
“He sent hundreds of soldiers for her,” Cole pointed out. “They spoke about going after Carnag afterward.”
Declan gazed at Mira. “Your father was searching for you before now. But perhaps not desperately. He had your powers, you were out of the picture, and it had been smooth sailing for decades. His situation was not particularly urgent. It would have been safer to have you under lock and key, but it wasn’t essential. However, with his stolen talents fading, matters have changed. Going forward, all of his resources will be turned toward finding you and your sisters.”
“Where can she hide?” Jace demanded.
Declan spread his hands again. “This is one of the best hiding spots in the five kingdoms. Unfortunately, the legion saw you come here. A portion of Mira’s power remains with her father. It continues to seep away, but it is there. While any of her power remains with him, he knows that she lives. He will not rest until he finds where she went.”