Shelton was having breakfast with his spouses and most of their children when a servant appeared beside him at the table. The girl curtsied as soon as she had his attention, and said, "The sorceress Asema is here to see you."

He nodded. "Thank you. Take her to my office."

"Yes, Your Highness," she said, then left with a curtsy.

Shelton glanced around him at the curious faces of his family. "I must go speak to Asema," he told them as he rose from the table. Wildas was watching him with even more interest than everyone else, but didn't say anything, for which Shelton was glad; it wouldn't be easy to explain Coulta's situation to anyone other than those who already knew.

He arrived at his office to find Asema reading the titles of the books on one of his shelves, dressed in her usual baby blue robe. Her blond hair was tied loosely back and still seemed damp from an early-morning washing. When she heard him enter, she smiled, and he was reminded of the girl he'd grown up with.

"I was told you were looking for me," she said, stepping forward to hug him. "I haven't seen you in ages."

Shelton smiled. "I've encountered someone I thought you would like to meet. You still enjoy studying curses?"

Asema immediately looked intrigued. "Yes, but they are more rare than I had once thought. I haven't dealt with one for several years."

He went to his desk and found the paper he had placed in the drawer days ago, a copy of the letter Coulta had allowed him to read. "This is a copy of a letter that belongs to a friend of Wildas's. The man's name is Coulta and he saved Wildas's life earlier this month in Arren. He has a curse that forces him to obey the commands of whoever has power over him. Right now, he is sworn to serve Wildas. I don't fear him at all, because his actions prove that he's not a true danger. However, I would rest a lot easier if I actually understood him."

Asema took the letter from him and sat down in a chair to read it. Shelton stepped into the hallway and found a servant to bring Coulta. The man deserved to be there while Asema was trying to figure out his life, after all. Asema was still pouring over the letter, twirling her hair as she did so, when Coulta arrived a few minutes later.

"This is my friend I told you about," he said quietly. "I hope you don't mind that I made a copy of your letter."

Coulta shook his head, a flash of hope blazing in his strange black-and-silver eyes before he put on his usual expressionless mask. "If it will help, I don't mind."

Asema looked up then, and rose from her chair. She approached slowly, but Shelton could tell it was because she was looking Coulta over both with eyes and magic, not because she was uncomfortable or frightened of him. Handing the letter to Shelton, she took Coulta's right hand and grasped it between both of hers. Her eyes were closed, but he was startled to see tears soon streaming down her cheeks.

"This truly has been a curse to you," she whispered, opening her eyes to look into Coulta's. "It should not even be your curse to bear, and yet it is. You suffer from it. It forced you to take many lives, and you regret it every day. You have seen so much pain and sorrow, and I pray that it may finally end."

Coulta seemed to struggle for a moment to find his voice before he finally asked, "Then, it can be broken?"

Asema released him and took the letter back from Shelton. "Maybe we should all sit. I have much to say."

They all seated themselves in chairs by the hearth, which the servant must have gotten going again when she brought Asema. Coulta was trying and failing to keep his mask in place. Shelton could see hints of emotions warring across the young man's face.

"I read the letter your father left you," Asema began. "The first thing you must know is that, if your mother told him that she had linked your soul to another, then it is the truth. It's clear she was an Asir." When she saw Coulta's obviously confused expression she explained, "The Asirim are people whose powers are connected to the human soul. Creating links between two kindred souls is a skill possessed by the Asirim with the greatest power, which your mother must have had.

"However, just because she found a soul to free you, does not mean you will ever be completely free of the curse itself. It is incredibly difficult to completely break a curse, even when you find the one you are linked to. You will find that person, if you haven't already, but even the greatest love may not be enough to utterly sever the curse, so don't go expecting a first kiss or a night of lovemaking to do it. Curses are powerful magic. It is most likely that, in order to break the curse, you would have to save your soul-partner from certain death, and that act would require so much energy from you that it would unravel the curse itself.

"It would not be wise to go looking for this danger, as these acts walk a fine line between breaking a curse and killing all those involved. Such an event may never occur, in which case you will live with your curse until you die. Having a soul-partner is what makes that life bearable, because the other person would not take advantage of you in any way. You may still be bound to that person because of your curse, but you will not be suffering from it."

She paused, then rested a hand on Coulta's arm. The man was staring into the fire, an unreadable expression on his sharp face.

"Ask anything you need to," she told him gently.

"Will I ever find this person?" he asked, barely loud enough to hear. "How will I know?"

"If you have not found your soul-partner yet, you will," she answered. "Your souls are constantly searching for each other. As for how you will know, you simply will. You both will be drawn to each other and fall in love. It won't be a person you feel a wild, lustful need for, however. It will be someone you simply long to constantly be close to. Passion and lust may come later, but the need for simple intimacy will be what draws you together. You will know."

Coulta shook his head, then asked, "If I do find this person, and someday the curse is broken, will the soul-link end, too?"

"No. The link and the curse are tied together by nothing more than your mother's desire to give you a good life. She found your soul-partner to help you. There is always the possibility that the curse may weaken once you are with your partner, but it is a very rare case. Even then, a full destruction of the curse will not end your love."

Coulta just nodded and remained silent as he stared at the fire. Was he trying not to hope for too much, given the life he had been living until only days ago?

"What can you tell me about my magic?" Coulta finally asked, glancing up.

"First, what are the marks on your skin that your father mentioned?" Asema asked, making Shelton wonder how he had forgotten about those.

Coulta didn't say anything, but Shelton was fascinated when he saw black lines appear on the younger man's visible skin. They crossed his face, neck, and the backs of his hands like a thousand tiny vines, swirling and twisting as they went. Coulta pushed back his sleeves to show that they went up his arms as well.

"They cover my entire body," he told them quietly. "My father taught me to hide them before he abandoned me. I rarely let them show."

Asema took his hand and traced the lines across it. "Sometimes curses do leave visible marks on the body. I have yet to understand why. It is probably best to keep them hidden, so as not to frighten anyone."

Coulta nodded and the marks faded until they were gone, again without Coulta speaking.

Asema leaned closer to look into Coulta's eyes, then shook her head. "I'd like you to do something small with your magic. Move an object perhaps, just so I can see what your magic looks like."

"Here." Shelton took a poker from the wall beside the hearth and laid it on the floor.

Coulta didn't move or speak, but black-and-silver light surrounded the poker as it lifted off the floor. Shelton expected Coulta to bring it to his own hand, but he instead hung it back on the wall.

Asema shook her head. "I've never seen anyone with two colors to their magic before. Black is the typical color for those who have arcane powers, which you clearly do as you control your magic with thoughts alone. How you came to have two colors, we may never know. What have you used your magic for?"

"Not much. I usually used it to keep myself from being noticed by people. I had to use it to kill some people who were looking for Wildas. Also to run the roofs of Arren."

"Run roofs?" Asema asked.

Coulta nodded. "It was the only thing that gave my mind any peace. I used to go out at night and run across the city from rooftop to rooftop."

"I've heard of worse ways to pass time," Shelton commented. "I've decided to help Coulta build his strength for channeling magic, as he hasn't used much of his powers before. I wasn't able to determine how powerful he is, though we did duel yesterday and he countered my dragon spell."

Asema gave him a surprised look, then turned back to Coulta. "How?"

"I just thought that I wanted to defend myself from the spell," Coulta answered. "I didn't imagine a dragon, it just appeared to fight Shelton's. He used the spell twice and I only countered it the second time. Maybe I knew what he was doing and was able to counter it because I knew what was coming?"

"It shouldn't be possible that way," Shelton replied. "You should, in theory, need to understand how I made the dragon. You shouldn't have been able to copy the result without the spell."

"Perhaps it's the curse," Asema said thoughtfully. "If you have met your soul-partner, it could weaken the curse, as I said before. When curses weaken, the power that sustained the curse becomes usable to the person who carries it. I've been studying curses for years, and I've determined that they are within a person just like the three forces: magic, life, and life-giving. Like the magic force, which all people have but only some have enough that it is usable, a curse reproduces its power continuously. That is how it sustains itself, and, like the magic force, only the end of the life force will end the curse completely.

"However, if the curse is weakened or completely broken, that power is no longer sustaining the curse, only its magic. It becomes just a second magic force in the body. One that requires a lot of control to effectively channel. I suggest you continue to work with Shelton."

Coulta nodded. "I will."

"And if the curse breaks, how much stronger will his powers be?" Shelton questioned.

Asema gave him a small smile. "You'd better be prepared to no longer be the most powerful sorcerer in the world, Shelton, Wielder of the Violet Power. In your place will be Coulta, the Formerly Cursed."

"I'm not certain I like that title," Coulta grumbled, and Shelton caught a hint of fear in his voice. "You said it was unlikely for the curse to be broken."

She patted his arm. "I have a feeling it is far more likely now that I have an idea of who your soul-partner is. And, by our rules of naming, that would be your title. One of many, I should say. Those who were once cursed are just as highly respected among sorcerers as any other. In fact, the higher the power, the more respect is given. Those who were once cursed have the most power and thus receive the greatest respect. Everyone knows that someone who is Formerly Cursed has long ago atoned for whatever crime they committed against the one who cursed them. On the other hand, to be the one who does the cursing results in the sorcerer being shunned by any other that he meets for the rest of his life, even if the transgression against him was great. Such things are better dealt with through duels, not curses."

"And the power isn't fully containable, is it?" Shelton asked.

Asema shook her head. "He would need to use magic for everyday tasks to keep it under control. And his soul-partner will need to learn how to use and control it, as well."

"Why?" Coulta questioned.

"You won't be able to stop power shares," she answered. "Unless you decide never to be a lover to the one you love after the curse breaks. Power shares are usually controllable for the rest of us, but they won't be for you. Most magic can't even be passed on to a lover who doesn't already have magic, but curse magic can be. I think it will be useful in your situation."

"But it's not guaranteed that the curse will ever break," Coulta said, and he sounded like someone trying to hang on to the last bit of hope in a hopeless situation.

"Correct," Shelton said before Asema could say anything more. "If it happens, we will deal with the complications. Until then, I will help you with what powers you have."

Coulta gave Shelton a grateful look. "Thank you."

"Do you have anything else to ask?" Shelton offered.

"Nothing I can think of," Coulta replied.

"Once the shock wears off, and you think of anything else, you are more than welcome to speak with me." Shelton moved to Coulta and squeezed his shoulder. "Don't ever allow yourself to feel alone here."

Coulta nodded. "Thank you."

"You know who his soul-partner is," Asema said when Coulta had gone back to his room after a generous cup of wine from Shelton's small wine cupboard.

Shelton decided it was time to have a drink himself and used the largest cup he had. "Yes," he said as he poured the wine, "and that's what concerns me."

Asema waved him off when he offered her a cup as well. "You know he's not going to cause any harm. Even when the curse breaks, you'll just have to help them. The powers he shares won't be nearly as powerful as he will be capable of wielding."

Shelton took a long drink before replying. "That's not where my concerns are. I can easily handle the magic."

"What is the problem then?"

"Appearances. You have no idea what daily life is like here. Appearances are everything. The court would never overthrow Deandre or Wildas but they get antsy over every little thing."

"Oh, I know that," she interrupted. "I'm familiar with the strife I caused by forcing you to talk your husband out of making me a noble just for being your sister."

"And there are still some people who will argue about that if there's nothing else to argue about. Now we're overdue for an attack from Dyrai. One earl is slowly taking over the cities surrounding us and killing off my spies as soon as they report to me." He took another deep drink. "It's happening far too fast, it almost seems like he has been planning this all his life, but he shouldn't be capable of it at all. There is pressure on all of us on a daily basis. Wildas is handling it by choosing to ignore it. Deandre has decided to do the opposite and fret over it every waking moment of the day. At this rate, in a month's time we'll be at war against our own people. I fear for Deandre and I fear for Wildas. He won't be prepared to rule by then if he has to."

Asema clasped his shoulder. "Then you had best be a damned good mentor."