Page 51 of Earth Dragon
“Do you trust Sir Patrick?” Ewan asked, slowly easing the pressure as her tears had stymied.
“Yes,” she said.
“Then there’s a way that you can make certain your father has no way of harming you ever again,” Ewan said. “Perhaps it’s time to stand up to him once and for all.”
It wasn’t a question and yet it contained one. Did she agree or disagree?
“I don’t know…” The tremor went through her again, nausea rising at the very thought. “I don’t know if I can,” she admitted miserably.
“If it means your father’s life or the lives of every person in the four kingdoms?” Ewan asked. “What about then?”
Was this why he had come after her? Because he knew that they needed her for Sir Patrick’s plan since she was the one who was to cast the spell to stop her father.
She pulled her hands out of his.
It truly was hopeless.
“I can try,” she said.
One thing was for certain: running was no longer an option.
Chapter 13 - Ewan
He didn’t want to linger in the small room for longer than was necessary. He didn’t want to be anywhere near her while alone in such an intimate place, it was too confusing. All he could think was that he should pull her close, stroke her hair, kiss her temple. The thought of her being this upset over a man who should be her foremost caretaker was aggravating beyond anything he could think of. The fact that she was so afraid of her father being a threat to her life was unconscionable.
He refrained from taking her hand to help her down the stairs.
She could manage, even in the fine green velvet she was wearing.
She looked overdressed for the coziness of Lady Marigold’s abode, and yet he could see her appreciating the nooks and crannies of the old house. Every time he visited it looked slightly different. It seemed the finer details of the structure itself changed depending on the weather.
He couldn’t quite get the look in those teary eyes of hers out of his head, though. That look of such deep despair that he couldn’t believe it wasn’t always present. She carried that around with her everywhere. It was staggering.
She should carry it, a voice spoke harshly within him.She should carry all the guilt of the world on her bare shoulders.
His hearts hardened again. She had made her choices and now she would have to deal with the consequences of them. Just as he would.
If she chose to help, it would be for her own sake, not to win favor with him. It would be to cleanse some of the stains off her name and repent for what she had done in the past, not to win back space in his hearts. She must know that would be futile and, if she did not choose to face her father, the spell was certain to fail.
He was not well-versed in spell work, but that much he did know. If there was any risk of one not casting with one’s whole hearts, then it was better to leave it alone altogether.
He was still trying to wrap his head around the thought that there was a spell powerful enough to entrap the elemental magics. His mistrust of the whole endeavor remained, as they stepped back into the common room, where everyone had finished their meal and were now sharing bread and fruit and more than a few laughs, by the sound of it.
“This woman is a firecracker,” Sir Patrick stated to Ewan. “I’ve never heard anyone tell a story quite like you,” he added, getting patted fondly on the cheek by the lady.
“It’s why I used to come here as a child,” Ewan admitted. “To hear stories. And to learn.”
“Magic?” Sir Patrick asked.
“Oh, yes,” Lady Marigold nodded. “We practiced Ewan’s connection with the earthmagic in this very room. And sometimes in the shed. Earth floor. Very old, very good conduit. But also, the history of Rogoros and the four kingdoms. Perhaps it’s time for another lesson? It might help prepare you for what you’re about to undertake.”
Ewan gave a nod, unsure of where it was going to go, but thinking that listening could not hurt. It never had before. There were few people within the borders of Rogoros whom he respected as much as he respected the lady.
He reclaimed his chair and Shannon sunk down on hers, folding her hands on her lap, gaze drifting to the dancing flames in the fireplace and staying there. She looked lost in thought. He supposed she had a lot to contemplate.
“In the beginning,” Lady Marigold said, “there were no four kingdoms—only one great big land. There were no borders, and the people were one people. Of course, they were divided into tribes and then, when they began to settle rather than wander from place to place, they were divided into villages. But they were still one. Then war broke out.”
“We all know this story,” Sir Patrick cut in.
