“You’ve kept your word about no torture.” Langley tipped his head at Pax while Lyndara scoffed. An abrupt gesture from Langley quieted her. “And the food and accommodations are much better than I expected from the rebel scum running this place. What we’re really lacking now is information. No one will answer our questions or provide any updates.”

  “And you expected them to?” Pax raised a brow.

  “Not really. Because I wouldn’t.” Langley gave him a wry smile before he leaned forward and looked down at Pax. “But I’d expect to find out what’s going on from you. You have news for us?”

  Pax caught a flicker of nervous eagerness under the calm facade that Langley projected. Pax understood. It had to be nerve-wracking to be held at your enemies’ mercy and know someone could kill you and your crew on a whim.

  Pax nodded. When thinking about how to approach this meeting, he’d decided to be as open as he could with the captain. With what Langley already knew, there was no way the rebellion could ever let him go back to the empire. That meant the only way forward was to recruit him and his crew to the cause.

  Back in the capital, he’d been a fair boss, giving Pax and his crew a shot just because they impressed him. Langley’s crew was also among the most elite in the empire, which meant they could very well become a crucial piece in helping the rebellion if they switched sides.

  Pax also felt bad about betraying Langley’s trust back in Salman. Sure, Pax had needed to gain access to critical war information to help the rebellion, but knowing it could blow back on a man who’d treated him well hadn’t sat well with him.

  Now was his chance to make that up to him, and Pax thought he had a decent shot. In the past, he’d heard Langley waffling on his commitment to the corrupt leaders of the empire. And he knew Langley was a pragmatist. Pax just needed to convince him that the rebellion had a real chance of winning the war and a shot at saving the empire from the beast hordes afterward.

  The muttering of voices in the prison row quieted as soon as it looked like Pax was going to share something. He guessed he was likely the most exciting thing any of them had seen all day. Plus, any juicy gossip they heard would be worth a few free drinks when those in cells for misdemeanors got out.

  Pax gave them a regretful shrug and activated the pendant Incedis had given him so long ago. When the sound barrier fell around him and Langley, the captain gave him an appreciative look. Mage Lyndara, not so much. Her glare promised retribution should he not come through for them.

  The guard didn’t seem to appreciate the privacy barrier, either. She stood and took a few steps toward him. Pax pulled out the message he’d shown her earlier and held it up with a pointed look. She subsided and, with a disgruntled shake of her head, took her seat again.

  When he turned back to Captain Langley, the older man looked impressed. “You seem to have trained some of them to heel already. Maybe you’ll be able to help me and my crew out after all.”

  “Not just some of them.” Pax kept his tone and expression stern and serious. “But in another day or two, all of them.”

  Langley leaned back and folded his arms, giving Pax a skeptical look. “How exactly do you intend to do that?”

  “I’m the only light mage alive, which means this entire base now belongs to me.”

  Langley’s mouth actually dropped half open in confusion before he did his best to recover. He shook his head, bewilderment and disbelief in his gaze. “What exactly is a light mage? And this place is a ruin. Only a small portion of it is even functional, so how can you own it?”

  Pax ignored the first question as he leaned forward and enunciated the next words. “But it’s got an altar.”

  It didn’t take Langley long to puzzle out the implications. His eyes widened in realization, but still full of questions.

  Pax gave him a wry smile and nodded. “As the only living light mage, you’re looking at the new commander of the ancient Light Guild Headquarters.”

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  Pax could see it was a lot for the captain to take in at once.

  “Commander?” he whispered in question, his confusion easy to read. “And you keep saying light mage?”

  Pax just waited, letting the information sink in, interested to see what conclusions the quick-witted captain would come to.

  Langley’s eyes suddenly narrowed, and he gave Pax a piercing look. “Are you saying you have a new type of elemental magic? Would this perhaps explain all the crazy stuff you and your friends pulled off in that last battle? What exactly can you do? And what does it have to do with this place? Are you saying the ancients who built this place used insane magic like yours and your friends?” His questions trailed off as he fell silent, eyes alive with ideas and thoughts as he looked to be running through everything that had happened in the past through a new lens.

  Pax just gave him an impressed half-smile and waited.

  Langley’s head was moving in half shakes back and forth, his eyes wide with amazement and questions. Then he lifted a finger and shook it at Pax. “You’ve had this power since back in Salman, haven’t you? I knew there was something different about you, some kind of potential. But there’s no way I’d ever have guessed something like this. So, tell me exactly what you can do.”

  “I can’t tell you everything right now.” Pax shook his head, holding his hand up when Langley’s brows furrowed in a frown. “But I’ll give you a general summary and then tell you how I plan to help the rebellion win. And once we win, I have a plan to fight the beast hordes to a standstill, so all of us don’t end up being food for them in the end.”

  “That’s a bit much to swallow from a mage student who’s barely old enough to shave.” Langley took a step back and shook his head, not bothering to hide his disbelief. “You talk a big game, and I know you’ve got some unusual spells. But that’s a far cry from helping this pitiful attempt at a rebellion dethrone an empire that’s held onto its power for generations.”

  Pax stood from his chair and moved his body up against the cell door as he activated the command he’d set up with the altar ahead of time. He placed a hand over the lock and leaned in close, his body blocking the guard’s view. “How about hearing it from the commander of this entire base, along with every powerful secret the ancients left here?”

  There was a soft click, and the lock of the cell door opened. Langley’s eyes widened in shock as he looked down at Pax’s hand, where he shifted the door open a tiny amount before immediately shutting it so others didn’t notice.

  It didn’t fool Lyndara, if the way her body stiffened was anything to go by. But she was professional enough not to draw attention to them, probably because she knew it meant Pax could help break them out.

  “Alright. You have my attention.” Langley stepped forward again. “How many of your stories are actually true?”

  Pax gave him a victorious grin. “All of them.”

  Langley let out a disbelieving chuckle and actually sat down on the ground in front of the cell door that Pax had already relocked. Now he was the one looking up at Pax. “Then tell me all about them. I’m listening.”

  Pax put his chair away in his inventory and sat down on the cold stone with the cell door between them. “The first thing you need to know is what light magic is and what it can do.”

  Over the next hour, Langley had questions that showed his keen knowledge of military matters. Pax kept a lot of his secrets, only sharing the broad strokes of what he and his crew could do. Still, he wondered if Langley would ever run out of questions.

  When the man finally fell quiet, Pax waited to hear his verdict. When he didn’t speak immediately, Pax asked, “Well?”

  Langley shook his head, still looking both stunned and thoughtful. “You know I can’t commit to anything without discussing this with my crew, right?”

  “We gave the committee a week to get their stuff sorted, so you have until then.” Pax shrugged, disappointed, but understanding the man. “Just let me know when you get tired of this place and want to Tame your own companions and get extra elements for your mages.”

  “Fighters like us won’t take that long to decide. I can guarantee it.” Despite his words, Langley looked apprehensive about explaining everything to his crew.

  Pax hoped he worked faster than the committee. If everything went as planned, Pax had a tentative plan to power level all his friends as quickly as possible, with Titus and Langley as escorts. In return, he would help both of the older crews gain as much as they could from his unusual skills. They’d also get first choice on anything new he came up with, which currently included unknown benefits from the Glitterflare Hive, whatever new treasures they found while clearing the rest of the base, and Pax’s new breakthroughs, possibly in runes and new spells.

  Pax stood and reached through the bars to shake Langley’s hand.

  The captain took a long moment before clambering to his feet. Voice full of wonder and disbelief, he finally took Pax’s hand, his grip strong. “I knew there was something different about you back in that courtyard, what seems like an age ago, but I couldn’t have imagined anything like this. It’s unbelievable.” His voice went soft. “Just unbelievable.”

  Pax grinned, unable to suppress the pleased feeling at having left the very experienced warrior so off balance. After all, it was quite an accomplishment for a student mage.

  He let go of Langley’s hand, took a step back and turned off the sound shield. A glance around told him that everyone was looking their way, blatant curiosity in their gaze. Pax realized that they’d picked up on how much he’d stunned Langley with what he’d shared. The captain had likely kept up a stoic front the entire time here, making it obvious Pax had shared something earth shattering.

  He grinned. They had no idea.

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