“Only six?” Kane raised both eyebrows. “Who’s powering everything you’ve got going on over there? All the excess energy in the gardens?”
Syri laughed with little humor. “And that creepy simulacrum?”
“Power stockpiled over the years when there were plenty of mages,” Archer said. “We’re supposed to meditate a certain number of hours of week.” He toasted them with his glass and took a delicate sip. “I pretend to. I’m not giving them any of my power when I’m essentially being held hostage.”
“Well, this gets better and better,” Kane said. “If you’re being held hostage, how are you here?”
“Liquid Gold has a certain amount of pull, politically,” Archer said. “Burrows won’t make waves if I come here for dinner occasionally. But I haven’t slept in my rooms here in almost two years.”
“He seemed
