Page 77 of The Red Woman and the White Bear

“She will ruin everything, and you would stand by and watch it happen.”

“And you will be watching from a dungeon cell if you do not leave,” Kael shot back. “Now.”

Werryn, now aware of the dark, thickening ribbons reaching for his wrists, backed away. “She will ruin everything, Kael,” he repeated before retreating from the room.

Still keeping her grip on his hand, Aisling guided Kael to sit. That same resistance she felt when they kissed, she found now when she tried to send her calm into him as she had before. He was reluctant to let her back in so deeply, to give her back whatever power she held over him and his magic. She reached across his lap and took his other hand, too, and tried to push past the wall he’d built.

“It’s alright,” she soothed. “Trust me. Let me help you.”

Little by little, she coaxed that wall down. She could feel it coming apart; if she closed her eyes, she could almost see it crumbling until finally, finally, there was nothing left of it standing between them. The resistancewas gone.

Kael winced as he attempted to pull those swirling currents back in. They retracted slowly, but willingly. He was in control again.

Rodney, who had not yet seen firsthand Aisling’s interactions with Kael’s magic, watched wide-eyed, somewhere between horrified and awestruck. She wondered what it looked like from the outside, whether he could somehow see everything passing between her and Kael. The feelings exchanged, the trust growing, the calm overtaking the storm.

If it looked anything like it felt, it must have been beautiful.

Not minutes later, Kael stood in the library’s doorway, speaking in hushed tones to a guard he’d summoned. Their voices were too low for Aisling’s ears, but she could tell by the set of Kael’s shoulders and the tight, affirmative nods of the guard that he was delivering harsh orders.

“I never should have sent you here alone,” Rodney muttered, more to himself than to Aisling. He was shaken by the encounter with Werryn, and by witnessing Kael’s magic and tenuous control over it up close. Reluctantly, Aisling tore her gaze from Kael’s back and turned to her friend.

“Rodney,” she said, waiting for him to look at her. “I’m fine.”

“But you weren’t then,” he argued.

“Well, I am now. I don’t want you carrying this guilt anymore. I could have said no, too.” She stood and circled around the table so that she could lean down and drape her arms around Rodney’s shoulders. He reached up to hold onto them and tilted his head so it rested against hers.

“You didn’t know what youwere getting into. I did.”

Aisling tightened her hold on him. “Everything worked out how it was supposed to.”

“You will not see him again.” Kael came back into the library and stood stiffly beside the table. “I’ve ordered him kept in his chamber; guards will be posted at his door to ensure it.

“You can’t have him executed?” Rodney asked, not entirely sarcastically.

Kael shook his head. “I cannot.”

By the drawn look on his face and the pained tightness in his voice, Aisling knew that he wanted to. He’d wanted to before—she’d seen it—but he wouldn’t. Werryn was as much of a father figure to Kael as an advisor. Though he’d never admit it, Aisling thought he still harbored some childlike fear of the High Prelate.

“Thank you,” she said before Rodney could press further. She straightened up, still with her hands on Rodney’s shoulders and, in a bid to distract them both, she asked, “Who were you talking about earlier?”

“Sítheach.”

“The Diviner.” Kael and Rodney both spoke at the same time. Kael shifted uncomfortably at Rodney’s casual use of the female’s name, having only given her title himself.

“She’s been around for a long, long,longtime. She sees things,” Rodney explained. He looked to Kael for confirmation, who nodded.

“Like Far Sight?” Aisling asked. Giving Rodney’s shoulders one final squeeze, she returned to her seat.

“Not quite, but similar. Her magic is calledGweldealain.” Kael said. “She keeps much of our old knowledge, and from it divines things yet to come.”

Aisling’s pulse quickened as her hope reignited. She’d have traveled anywhere, met with anyone to forge a new way forward. “How do we get to her?”

“It is less than a day’s ride, though it can be difficult to secure an audience with her. Most are turned away.” Kael began to pace slowly.

Rodney leaned forward to rest his elbows on the table. “Surely she wouldn’t turn away the Unseelie King.”

“I have tried more than once without success. But,” Kael paused, lost somewhere deep in thought, “the Red Woman may have better luck than I.”

---