The White Spell (Nine Kingdoms #10)(76)

“As out of reach as starlight?”

He smiled. “A good way to put it, though Ehrne will never admit as much. If he were called upon to save the world, he might be able to dredge up a spell or two, but it would be an effort. He fights endlessly with Sìle over a border I suppose he could defend if he had to, but the place is honestly starting to look a bit threadbare. The spells that are there are very old but no one has taken the effort to keep them up. Someday I fear some rogue mage will simply walk across the border and take everything they have.”

“But you have that magic?”

“I do.”

She had to pause and take a deep breath. “And Acair has that magic.”

Sgath nodded. “He does, as it happens. I don’t imagine it is the first thing he reaches for, but he has it.”

She suppressed the urge to find somewhere to sit, but since she was leaning against the railing of the dock, she supposed that might be enough for the moment. “Why hasn’t he walked across King Ehrne’s border to take over that throne, do you suppose? If the world’s magic is what he’s after.”

“I don’t know if he’s considered it or not,” Sgath said thoughtfully. “To be honest. I suspect my grandson wouldn’t think the crown worth the effort. Ainneamh would be a very expensive prize.” He shrugged. “Acair is, above all I daresay, a pragmatist.”

“He won’t play cards at a table where he won’t win?”

Sgath smiled. “Perfectly put.”

“He said as much.”

“I’m not surprised.” He watched Falaire for a moment or two, then looked at her. “Anything else I can answer for you?”

“I think I’m overwhelmed enough for the day.”

He laughed a little. “I wouldn’t blame you, but you’re handling it very well.” He paused, then looked at her kindly. “I understand how it is to believe the world to be a certain way, then find it is entirely different and in ways that are too much to be believed. I suppose that sort of thing inspires a return to bed where one might pull the covers over one’s head and hope that upon waking, one might find things as they were the day before.”

She considered, then looked at him searchingly. “Change makes me uneasy.”

“I believe it makes many of us uneasy, my dear,” he said with a smile. “There are always things you can rely on to not change, however, and perhaps that will be enough to help you bear the others.”

“You mean horses that are always only horses?”

“Perhaps that isn’t the best example, given your pony’s recently discovered talents, but aye, something like that.” He pushed away from the railing. “I’ll leave you to your ruminations. If you want a warm place to relax, my study is perilous only because of the piles of books.” He smiled. “Make yourself at home.”

“I’ll put my horse away, then accept that kind offer, if you don’t mind. I’d like to look at an atlas.”

“I’ll help you catch him before he flutters off anywhere else,” Sgath said, striding away. “Hoy, wait, you blasted horse!”

Léirsinn watched him run off with the energy of a man—well, she had no idea how old he was, but he looked hardly any older than Acair. Elven blood, apparently.

She watched him lead Falaire off to what she knew were luxurious accommodations, then took herself off to find a hot fire and a decent map. Perhaps if she had some idea where she was in the grander scheme of things, she might find the world less overwhelming.

At the very least, she might know what magical countries to avoid.

? ? ?

An hour later, she was in Sgath’s library determining just that. She supposed if she’d thought about it, she might have realized how large the world was, but she’d never had the time to do so. Her days had been full of barn chores, avoiding her uncle, and hurrying into town to give all her money to a woman who was apparently a witch. The things she hadn’t known . . .

Perhaps the most shocking thing at present was realizing how far away from Sàraichte she was already. And to travel even farther to Tor Neroche?

What in the hell was she thinking?

She looked out the window and considered her alternatives, of which there seemed to be only one. She could abandon her current path, a path she had definitely not chosen herself, and return to where she had come from. But if she did, she suspected that, as Acair had said, she wouldn’t live to see the end of the following fortnight. She wasn’t sure where that left her save being committed to going where she wasn’t sure she had the courage to go.

She realized suddenly that she wasn’t alone. She turned and saw that Acair was standing at the door, watching her.

“You could have announced yourself,” she said pointedly.

“I was overcome by the color of your hair.”

And she was overcome by the sight of his face, but she thought that might be something she could remain silent about. “You may leave off with the ridiculing of my hair, thank you very much.”

“It is actually rather glorious, like fire.” He shrugged. “I would wax poetic about it, but then you would be ridiculing me.”

She leaned back against a table. “Well, if you’re going to make the attempt, it seems that the least I can do is listen.”